IMD

125.4% of made up statistics are meaningless...

I'll be happier when they nuke Jerusalem. Using a filthy, filthy bomb that'll irradiate it for millenia. Then the dumb religious martyrs can go and really test their faith. God'll protect the truly holy from massive doses of radiation, i'm sure. Aaaaaaanyway... I went and got my coat. Syndey may not be heaven, but it's far nicer to live in than London. I loved London, but it's no place to live long term. But to the UK bashers... either fix it or leave it. Home is where you are happy, not where you are born.

Indeed, but then I have lived in more places than Engerland. Also, to quote the late Douglas Adams on Australia: "Alone of all the races on earth, they seem to be free from the 'Grass is greener on the other side of the fence' syndrome, and roundly proclaim that Australia is, in fact, the other side of that fence. They call the land 'Oz', 'Godzone' (a verbal contraction of 'God's Own Country') and 'Best bloody place on earth, bar none, strewth'. The irritating thing about this is they may be right." (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A53650)

Pretty much why i'm off to Oz - me and t'wife want to start a family - both city professionals on above national average income - can't afford to raise kids and live in the city - so off to somewhere that's still possible. With big hairy spiders. Erk.

Couple of mates of mine just moved back to Oz, and are buying. Nice stuff on North Shore is going very swiftly and for over asking - rental market is apparently rather sharp as well, units not staying empty for long. The Oz bubble makes even less sense than the UK one. Still, i'll be renting when I go over.

It's how I am (well - the wife) - getting in - but good luck trying to get an agency to talk to you if you don't have a Visa and aren't after a specifically advertised job - recruitment consultants there are even lazier gits than they are here. However a mate of mine who is a Pharmacist (an 'in demand' job) went through an immigration agent who hooked them up with a job. It can take as little as 2 months if you have an employer sponsored visa lined up. Getting in isn't all that hard if you have a decent education or set of skills - as to whether you'll like it or not, who knows? I think Laurejon has a touch of the rose-tinted about him, but our Aussie mates who persuaded us over say similar things. It's all a matter of if you enjoy the country / culture* / people and can cope without your old friends and family. Only one way to find out * may be a joke

That'll be your typical brit then...

Yes, when someone beats me up I want them trained properly...

Horrific this may be, but WTF has it got to do with Blair?

Sure, then we becoem beholden to the Australians, with them having 40% of the worlds Uranium reserves. From a military / non-dependence point of view, renewable is the only real choice. Plus as a military bonus, renewable sites tend to be small and widely distributed (eg wind / solar / wave farms) and thus it's harder to destroy the supply.

Naah, happened to me back in the mid 90's - the Landlord was one of these Middle class chancers with a big SUV and a crappy expensive clothes shop. Recieved a letter addressed to "the occupiers" advising us the house was being repo'd - first we'd heard of it...!

Those who 'know god' tend to be simple, yes. The complete lack of evidence that Gods do exist anywhere but in the minds of humans would count. There's no proof of animate talking teddy bears either, except in childrens books. We don't claim they exist simply because there's no proof to the contrary. A book, written by a human, is not proof of a thing, whether you beleive it to be so or not.

TV Licence. Same way they keep showing sweeping shots of Canary Wharf and the City when all of the action is in.... Brentford.

Yeah, but then Dresden was about to go red hot...

I quite agree. But nobody is going to get rich or powerful out of that.... (Ahem: Thank God i'm an Atheist)