Where have you lived overseas?

[VladTepes]

Aside, obviously, from your home country.

Between the ages of 8 (1978) and 12 I lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

That was an experience in itself, and allowed me to do a lot of travel to all sorts of amazing places, something I am very grateful to my parents for.

Some of the main things I remember:

- fatalistic attitude of the people
- bad drivers
- women all covered up
- religious police
- bizarre censorship  (some of the newspaper comics had entire text of the speech bubble removed!)
- bizarre bans on certain goods (nutmeg)
- bizarre laws*
- FANTASTIC food
- getting chewing gum as 'small change' instead of coin.
- cheap fuel, expensive water.
- never saw a motorcycle there, as far as I recall.
- saw huge number of Toyota Hiluxes, carrying camels.
- segregated them parks. i.e. to mirrored parks, with a wall between them. Men would go to one, and their wives and children to the other.  That qualified as a 'family day out' apparently.
- At one stage living in "Airport Village" a compound very close to the end of main runway. We could actually sit on the roof of our villas and see the pilots in the departing aircraft.  I laugh at people here who complain because they are under flight-paths...  Also that airport at the time was the civilian and military airfield. There were SAM batteries which would track all incoming aircraft...

* at one point it was illegal to purchase a vehicle until one had a licence, but at the same time one had own a vehicle in order to obtain a licence. 
Another weird rule with cars is that non-matching paint for panel repairs was enough to get the car put off the road.

[gsxbarmy]

Back in 1991, I lived and worked in California, USA.

[shanered6]

I worked and supervised the felling of timber in Siberia ..... 3 things i remember (1) bloody cold (2) timber full of shrapnel from WW2 (3) Vodka and roll up cigarettes 

[Tony Nitrous]

I was born, and lived in the English Midlands until I was 40.

I was all set to move to Cyprus, I'd been there 5 or 6 times and I had a job etc lined up.

I came to Australia on holiday, liked it, came back a few more times and checked out Sydney / Gold Coast / Brisbane / Cairns as possibles, I was torn between Cyprus and Australia and went with AU as I could get a permanent residency visa, but if I left it another year I would have struggled being over 40 (you score less points on the entry scheme) working on the theory I could always go back to Cyprus later.


The UK was OK, but not ideal for me.
I never liked the UK weather, the wildlife is nice but not a patch on Australia. In the UK I was never impressed with the standard of living. I could never afford the vehicles / houses / eating out / holidays I now have if I lived in the UK. Queensland isn't perfect but it suits me, I haven't seen a frost in 14 years, have no annual safety certs on my vehicles, detached houses are the norm not just for the wealthy.

In balance, the UK has a much stronger bike scene, more events, better events, everything for track days to bikes for sale is a greater choice and within traveling distance. Stuff like the NEC bike show, Bulldog Bash etc just don't happen here, small population thousands of miles apart. I was very much into Castles and Stately Homes in the UK, so many to visit, Australia doesn't really do history, I think Aboriginal art and history predates the UK, but without being too rude 10 years a go looks like 10,000 years ago to me!

UK has a great choice of processed foods, if you want 53 different baked beans and 62 different soups and a 100 different breakfast serials and chocolates. Fresh food wins or me in AU, fresh local prawns, fish, local pineapples, bananas etc, Moreton Bay Bugs, Flake (shark) Custard Apples.   Hard to find a great Balti around here, but I have found a place doing Bunny Chow.

I've been back and forth between the UK and AU 10 times since the year 2000. It's interesting seeing both countries and towns I have called home change. Kidderminster and surrounding area has a lot less corner shops and petrol stations, shops in the town stood empty, more Pound Land / £1 shops etc. Brisbane has traffic that's just gets worse each year, new roads bridges and tunnels that can't keep up, and fuel and houses etc are a LOT more expensive than when I moved in 2004, although my wages haven't kept up.

I still like the UK, I enjoy showing its history off to my Aussie wife, but its not somewhere I'd want to call home again. Even when I'm in the UK home to me is Queensland.  I've make some mistakes in my life, but getting out of the UK and into AU certainly wasn't one. 14 years and I love it here.

[Sweaty]

Born in Dundonald (county Down) N.Ireland in 1967. So lived there for 3 years, but don't remember it, as we moved to Australia in 1970 when I was 3 years old.
My parents were pushing me in the pram, with my 2 older brothers(7 & 9 y/o) walking ahead. Luckily, my parents got around the corner, just as someone had a knife to my brothers throat, yelling are you Catholic or Protestant. They screamed at him and he took off before my brother answered.
That was it, and they sold up and jumped on the ship to Aus, great move.
Not the greatest time to raise kids in N.Ireland at the time due to Religious/political turmoil.

[Mick_J]

My dad was in the RAF so I have travelled a fair bit, born in Northern Ireland and moved to Singapore for 3 years.  Came back to North wales for a year or so and then back out to Singapore for another 2.5 years, then moved to Yorkshire, Cornwall, Gibraltar, Devon then I joined the RAF and it all started again, have had 42 addresses but now live in North Somerset.

[ARH]

Similar to MGT... but Army brat    Born in Cyprus..lived in Belgium, Germany (2 stints), Aden (Yemen), Hong Kong.   Came back to Scotland in '75.   Moved to Germany in '09, then on to Austria 2 years later.   My view?  Living abroad is character building and gives you a far better 'sense of the world'.   Some of my mates haven't had the opportunities I've had so I count my self lucky...

[Andre]

Lived in Switzerland, USA (California, Utah), Spain, Netherlands (doesn't really count as just a few steps across the border). Now back in Germany (looks like here to stay).

[VladTepes]

My dad was in the RAF so I have travelled a fair bit, 

moved to Singapore for 3 years.  Came back to North wales for a year or so and then back out to Singapore for another 2.5 years,

then I joined the RAF and it all started again.

42 addresses must be a royal PITA when it comes to filling in your security paperwork...

When were you in Singapore? Was the Sea Vixen parked up on Sentosa when you were there?

The air museum I am in (or am in from time to time) rescued a whole one and a cockpit section.
https://qam.com.au/portfolio/de-havilland-sea-vixen-f-a-w-mk-2-txj490-cn-110017/
https://qam.com.au/portfolio/de-havilland-sea-vixen-f-a-w-mk-2-xj607-cn-110074/

[Mick_J]

I like moving house, never bothered me at all.  Don't remember what aircraft were dotted around as I was still on the tit and happily shitting myself, hope it doesn't start to happen again any time soon. 

[shanered6]

when were babies  were like old people .... then when we get old ... we turn into babies   

[Globalrider]

Lived in the UK for 23 years

[Hooli]

I grew up got to adult ages in West Sussex & now live in Yorkshire, it is like another country up there...

[seth]

I was born in Nottinghamshire
Left when I was 21 and moved up to North East Scotland 1 island 2 totally different countries .
Wouldn't move back south tho as I enjoy it to much up here.

[Irish in Oz]

Lived 26 years in N. Ireland, then 32 in Australia. No one ever pulled a knife on me in N.I. but when i got to Oz it was all Mick Dundee.
Back in the Emerald Isle again and loving it. I have been lucky over the years to return quite frequently and it will be continuing for years to come so you Ockers have not seen the last of me yet.