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發表於 08-4-22 08:14 |只看該作者

Everywhere is Almost the Same

Hi Kitchu

Yes, everywhere is Expansive these days.

Just look at the Petrol Price and the Rice Price - there have been at least 5 countries that the poor went to streets, protesting the High Price of Daily Necessities. And UN just released a report , claiming there are 33 countries that are in troubles because of the recent surge in food prices. Thailand has recently joined Vietnam in banning rice export, though is for 6 months initially.

Yes, the Lifestly in UK was quite appealing to us initially.

But we could not Afford it back in 2000 when considering having our second child. So, we started our Global Hunt for country to emigrate to. We ended up in moving to New Zealand (Canada was another serious consideration) , where the Pound Sterling could buy the Most.

My wife and I like our UK Memories MOST, because we met there 24 years ago, she defied the Opposition from her Uncle to go out with me and then ran away with me - all the way back to HK!

We must be getting old.

NO matter how Tough the time was, now when we look back and we think,

"It was NOT that Bad at all!"

We even went back to visit her Uncle before us leaving for NZ with our first child. We shook hands, had a laugh and a great dinner together - all in his Chinese Restaurant that I used to work part time for as a Uni Student!

It must be horrible to have a car accident.

Incidentally, I had two, but only myself to blame! Both accidents occured in my OWN Dirveway with no other cars involved, damaging the front part of the car on both occassions!! My Poor Driving Skill - never mind, I only Passed my driving test on the 6th Attempt!!

One of the Main reasons that UK drivers could be "Hit and Run" is because like the AA In NZ had once stated,

"It is estimated about 5% of drivers on the road do NOT have any insurance."

This could be applied to drivers in HK, Australia, Canada.

Same could be applied to Neighbours.

We had Neighbours in HK, NZ, Australia etc., that had Long Faces and seem like they would Never want to talk to you. This does NOT mean they Dislike you. The Pressure from Life is so Great that people just have too many things in their Minds, trying to complete task in time, make ends meet etc.

Globalisation also brings Great Pressure.

Mind you, we once talked to our appearing not so friendly Neighbours, only to discover they were acutally very friendly and we progressd from there.

Behaviours Create Behaviours.

Try this simple test next time.

Have eye contact with and smile to others.

8 out of 10 times, people WILL give you positive repsonse if not smiling back!

I often remind my elder, coming up to 9-year-old boy,

"Being Positive does NOT Guarantee Happiness, but being Negative is Defintely leading to Unhappiness."

Trust you are soon to have More Happy Experiences.

After all, one may not be able to change what is to happen, but could change its Effects on them.

Cheers
Fate
Difficult Circumstances Helping us to be a Better Parent

原文章由 Kitchu 於 08-4-20 23:59 發表
Hi there,

It seems that all of you like the life style in the UK very much.
I have been here for 3 years, but I could not get used to the living here.
Everything here is so expensive and I get no fr ...

[ 本文章最後由 Fate 於 08-4-23 13:22 編輯 ]

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22^#

發表於 08-4-22 11:07 |只看該作者

kidslittle1,

What you shared here is exactly the kind of info I am looking for... like how people deal with real life through their own experiences. People live next doors can be an issue if they aren't friendly...hmm, this never came to my mind before.

:pint:

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Zenia

侯爵府

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23^#

發表於 08-4-22 21:54 |只看該作者

Hi AJmom,

Have you tried the site: www.upmystreet.com ? and you can read comments about St Albans from here: http://www.channel4.com/4homes/o ... orst-St-Albans.html

I have been to London for 3 years only and living in Enfield (North London). I heard from my friend that St Albans is a very good place and it's not far from Enfield. As my boy is only 2, I don't have much to share with you about how to choose a school (although I will have to apply a nursery for him this year end). As they all mentioned, things in UK (especially London) is getting more and more expensive. You can see the price of food, transportation, petrol, private school fee (even university!) raise very year.

I agree with Fate that living style here is very different from HK. Although you will not have friends at the beginning, you can surely find some later (Err.... there are many HK people in my street, I'm sure Kitchu would say I'm telling 風涼話

)

ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

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Kitchu

大宅

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24^#

發表於 08-4-23 03:47 |只看該作者

Almaly , Fate, kidslittle, ukmum and AJmom,

Thanks so much for your wordings and all sharing!
They are really touching!
I can understand that no one is an island, what happened to me, also happened to others.

Fate, I like what you said,
“NO matter how Tough the time was, now when we look back and we think, "It was NOT that Bad at all!"

AJmom, I live in Ipswich, 2 hours drive from London.
The main population here is British, Local British.
For your house hunting information, I think what Zenia provided the www.upmystreet.co.uk is quiet good.
Actually, I went to this website to research good catchment areas when I was looking for house.
I was told by my friend, when she moved to another town, she had to phone up several schools to see any vacations.
Sorry I don’t know the procedures of admission.

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kidslittle1

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25^#

發表於 08-4-23 08:21 |只看該作者

原文章由 AJmom 於 08-4-22 11:07 發表
kidslittle1,

What you shared here is exactly the kind of info I am looking for... like how people deal with real life through their own experiences. People live next doors can be an issue if they are ...

AJ mom,

You know, my relatives said they were wondering how I could live in that old house for almost four years. Yes, next door neighbour is an issue. That's why we chose a newly built house because all people moved here are new residents. It's another issue if they turn to be bad. My hubby's some chinese friends also live close to us (just few minutes drive). When I first came to UK, I didn't know much about their culture. I remembered two carpet fitters came to my old house and were fitting the carpet. At that time, my hubby went to work and only I left at home. So, I was reading in the kitchen when they were fitting outside. When one of the fitters was working closely to the kitchen door, he used a big effort to close my kitchen door that scared me a bit. When he finished that part and opened my door, he showed me long face then talked to me very loudly and said: Can I have some drink? As we still hadn't moved in that house at that time, so we didn't have a kettle to make tea. Fortunately, I got some softdrinks, then I gave them. When my hubby came to pick me up, I told him about that incident. My hubby said it's my fault because Britishs give drinks to people who work for them. My hubby said they thought that I was impolite not to offer them drink. So from that day, I always bear in mind that I need to ask people if they would like any drink. I could find that some of them worked better when we treated them in a nice way.

When I lived in Toronto, I rarely needed to contact with White Canadian, except buying food or shopping at department stores etc.. Most of things we could deal with Chinese..eg.curtains fitting, renovation, electrical appliances, flooring, plumbing, banking, solicitors, doctors, dentists, estate agencies etc..(almost everything we could get from Chinese--just like living in HK). My mother said even she doesn't know much English, she could go everywhere on her own. Canadians always say "Have a nice day" even a postman, although it may also have some rude people live there too.

kitchu,

Hope you can have good experience from now on.

[ 本文章最後由 kidslittle1 於 08-4-23 08:57 編輯 ]

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發表於 08-4-24 20:26 |只看該作者

Zenia, Kidslittle1, Kitchu:
I checked up theweb address you all mentioned, it's indeed a very good reference site for school catchment and general house info. Many thanks. I never been to St. Albans, and all my current knowledges about the areas are based on information from internet. Seems most of the online comments are quite positive, so it's a relieve.

Fate, Thank you for opening this thread, its really good for people like me who has the intention to emigrate to UK, but not quite knowing what specific things to ask, only by reading other people's experiences to make out some understandings.

[ 本文章最後由 AJmom 於 08-4-24 20:29 編輯 ]

:pint:

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sbever

民房

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27^#

發表於 08-4-29 21:07 |只看該作者

跟ZENIA一樣講D風涼話先..哈哈, 我個CITY都有多好多中國人, 我係住BIRMINGHAM,大城市一定好多CHINESE, 不過就算大家係街見到, 都只係會望下大家, 都唔會點傾計, 有時覺得D鬼佬好勁, 可以週街SAY HI.

其實係英國住真係最怕個D細佬, 佢地最鍾意就係你地屋企門口攪攪陣, 所以搵屋真係要係evening既時候去睇下個area丫, 幾年前我住係derby個陣, 有試過係屋企見到一個食左一半既apple, 應該係d細佬係window 拋入黎, 佢地仲好鍾意用d魚線拎住個門把, 之後不停甘拉, 整響個門... 不過搬左去birmingham就好d啦, 呢度小偷多d....

有左小朋友真係唔同d, 以家都煩緊搬屋, 因為想搬間大d既屋, 都係睇新屋多d, 不過發現新屋通常都係係d唔好既區, 所以都好煩丫... kidslittle1 , 你覺得d新屋用料會唔會差, 你以家個度係邊個builer 架?? 會唔會無聽到人地講野, 因為佢地d wall 好似係plastic board黎...

to be HONEST, Uk lifestyle is super bored, 做學生既時候真係幾開心架, 但有左小朋友之後, 又無做野, 個生活圈子變細好多, 真係無HK甘多姿多釆.

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Fate

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28^#

發表於 08-5-2 17:53 |只看該作者

Have to Try First

Hello Everyone again

AJmom, Kitchu & Zenia, thanks for your kind remarks.

It is very hard to say whether a particular school is Good for a particular child.

One has to be "IN" the school for at least 3 -4 months if not two terms before the Truth begins to come out.

It depends very much on the Particular Individual - the Teacher of your child's class; it also depends very much on the Particular Group - the Classmates of your child. And a parent can NOT discover what they are like until their child is acutally "IN" that class.

I have known my HK friends, they want their child to be in "

ui Ching"; the other one have their child at "

ui Ching" want their child to be in "But Shui"; and the parents having a child at "But Shui" want their child to be in "Australian International School"!!! Never Ending, isn't it?

I suppose a school is just like a spouse - one does NOT know if the other suits until both actually start living together - "IN" the Marriage!!

If one can NOT change what is about to Happen/has Happened , One should then consider changing Themselves to better prepare for what is to Happen/to deal with what has Happened.

One of the Key Qualities we may wish our child to have to handle all these coming Failures, Setbacks etc. guaranteed in their later Life, is to maintain a Sense of Humour even during the Most difficult times.

So, let me share some funny remarks made by my children.

I once asked my then 6-year-old elder boy,

"What kind of car (i.e. make like Honda, Toyota) you would like to drive when you're an adult?"

My boy gave me a clear answer,

"I DON'T know."

Expecting a simple and straight forward answer, I was surprised and then curious to ask him why.

To my biggest surprise, he replied with a very sensible answer, which is..........................

Does any parent would like to have a Guess?

Cheers
Fate
Life is ALSO full of Pleasant Surprises

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almaly

子爵府

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牛年勳章

29^#

發表於 08-5-3 01:18 |只看該作者

to be HONEST, Uk lifestyle is super bored, 做學生既時候真係幾開心架, 但有左小朋友之後, 又無做野, 個生活圈子變細好多, 真係無HK甘多姿多釆. --- I CAN'T AGREE MORE!!!

Thinking back...the best time that I have in the UK was the time when I was a student here ~ though being cheated by English many many times... As a student, no need to worry about anything - just need to attend lecture, do assignments & exams. Weekend, holiday times, can join SU outings to visit other parts of the UK (that's when I got to see quite a bit of England) or get a cheap student ticket to fly to Paris for a short break... But once I have a family (even without a kid) have to rearrange my lives again. Now with a kid ~ become 24-hour on call ~ just lost touch with everybody, esp those friends who are not married or have no kids. Luckily can still use the internet to keep in-touch with the outside world & chat with other mums on BK

. Anyway, there are things that we can't enjoy in HK la ~ so I'm not complaining.

原文章由 sbever 於 08-4-29 21:07 發表
跟ZENIA一樣講D風涼話先..哈哈, 我個CITY都有多好多中國人, 我係住BIRMINGHAM,大城市一定好多CHINESE, 不過就算大家係街見到, 都只係會望下大家, 都唔會點傾計, 有時覺得D鬼佬好勁, 可以週街SAY HI.

其實係英國住 ...

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30^#

發表於 08-5-3 13:03 |只看該作者

When you are a student, you pretty much have fun everywhere given that you have enough funding to cover the expenses. I had a wonderful experience when I studied in the U.S.A. and there I met my husband in university.

But now that we have two kids, a different phase of life is set. A more stable and relax sort of family lifestyle
is preferred. I can give a miss of the colorful life in Hong Kong for a more balanced and quieter family life somewhere else. I just hope my kids won't get bullying in school in England, as I heard it's quite an issue in U.K.

:pint:

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Kitchu

大宅

積分: 2545

31^#

發表於 08-5-4 00:46 |只看該作者

Fate,

Let me have a try, the answer is............."BUS"?
I agreed with you, we will never be satisfied what we had, so I quite appreciate the concept of Christian. thank god for what we had.

想像出來既嘢,(即係未發生過既嘢), 係最好的, 我常諗, 如果, 我係香港係唔係都會唔開心呢? 果啲唔開心嘢, 只係同依家既唔開心嘢唔一樣姐. 不過, 講易做難!

almaly, AJmom,

做學生時真係好開心呢! 但同人同地再在一起, 係唔係會一樣開心呢? 又時係街上見到舊朋友, 好開心咁上前, 諗住好多嘢聊,但人哋好普通打過招呼就走, 都幾無引呢.

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積分: 215

32^#

發表於 08-5-5 15:04 |只看該作者

回覆 #31 Kitchu 的文章

Kitchu,

I know what you meant, I had that experience before, 都幾無引... ! I move on, people have different pace in life stages, try not to let it bothers you too much.
Fate,

You raised some good points about finding a school. We are deciding to let our kids to go for a private independent school, still in the process of looking for one in the area. School term starts in coming Sep, hopefully we can find one in time to put the kids in. Otherwise, I will be in troubles.

:pint:

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Fate

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33^#

發表於 08-5-8 21:48 |只看該作者

Good Try. Great Joy

Good Try, Kitchu - my elder son does like Bus and Train.

But the reason he stated he did not know what type/make/kind of car that he would drive when he's older because, in his own words :

"Dad, I don't know how long my feet will be!"

Children - we can Never think like them!
(Because we have long lost Our Charm, Our Imagination)

It's Fair to say that, at Different Stages of our Lives, we have Different Roles to play. And I believe the Best Approach is to look at the Positive Sides of the New Roles, ensuring we are to Get New Pleasures from the New Challenges.

Being a Parent is indeed the Most Challenging Role in Life.

Because there is NO Turning Back, NO Retirement and almost NO Rest (In Mind at least)

But then again, the Return is the Greatest & Priceless.
And we can Learn so much from our Children.

Learn from Our Children How Happy one can easily be - a 3-year-old child laughs about 300 times a day, whereas a 40-year-old adult laughs about 30 times a day.

Learn from Our Children How Good to be Forgiving - are we still mad about the classmate sitting behind us 20 years ago? Or the colleague 10 years ago?

Learn from Our Children ...........

Make the Most of our Current Circumstance.
Make Yourself and Everyone around you Happy.
Above all, Make our Boss, Our Children, Happy.

Have a Happy Weekend.

Cheers
Fate
With Reponsibilities Comes Great Joy

原文章由 Kitchu 於 08-5-4 00:46 發表
Fate,

Let me have a try, the answer is............."BUS"?
I agreed with you, we will never be satisfied what we had, so I quite appreciate the concept of Christian. thank god for what we had.

想像 ...

[ 本文章最後由 Fate 於 08-5-8 21:53 編輯 ]

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Fate

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34^#

發表於 08-5-19 09:05 |只看該作者

Life is Different & Affordability

Hi AJmom

It's Funny there could be completely different experience when suddenly bumping into an old friend/classmate not seen for the last, say, 10-15 years.

It could be Nothing Much to say, or
NOT enough time to say Everything!!

I think it all depends on the Life Experiences during the seperate times - if people have common grounds, they have more to share, and therefore more likely to become closer.

Meanwhile, regarding your preference for Private School, I've one point just to remind you.

I've a very well off friend in HK, he has given his children the Best in everything that he could Afford, which are Very Costly to most parents but nothing to him.

Still, every now and then, he is a bit worried,

"Can I afford CONTINUE giving my children the Best?"

(Because his business may not be good forever)

Because the world has changed so Dramatically over the last few years, one day one has a Very High Paid job but the next day he could be Fired.

As such, one has to seriously consider if they could financially capable of supporting their children in a Private School ALL THE WAY.

If Not, a child could be Worse Off from having to attend at a Private School for a few years, then being moved to a Public School.

Trust that you have already taken everything into consideration.

Cheers
Fate
Tomorrow is not Too Far Away,
And could be just Another Happy Day

原文章由 AJmom 於 08-5-5 15:04 發表
Kitchu,

I know what you meant, I had that experience before, 都幾無引... ! I move on, people have different pace in life stages, try not to let it bothers you too much.
Fate,

You raised some good ...

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Fate

積分: 5019

35^#

發表於 08-5-25 16:40 |只看該作者

The Most Impoirtant Thing I had Learnt

Dear Enjoying Peace Parents

Britain is always a Special Place to me.

Not only because I had spent a total of about 10 years (between 79-85 and then 97-01), but also because there were many "First".

It was my First "Foreign" country that I lived in;

I lived away from my family the First time;

I met my First Girlfriend on a plane;

I attended my First Disco party (organised by a techincal college in Birmingham that I was attending);

I had my First Child;

I had my First Driving License;

I had my First Job that I could walk to work(I now work from home if I want to);

..........................

But, I think I had learnt after living in and expericing in Britain, one of the Most Important Things in Life was :

Who were and still are acutally Ruling the world?

Does any parent would like to guess "Who They Are" ?

Cheers
Fate
A Better Future comes from Learning from the Past

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Fate

積分: 5019

36^#

發表於 08-5-31 13:30 |只看該作者

The Jews are Ruling the World

Dear Enjoying Half Term Holiday UK Parents

One of the Most Important Things I have learnt from Life, and Learnt while I was in Britain is,

The Jews are Ruling the world.

From Adam Smith, the Father of Modern Economics;

To Albert Einstein, One of the Greatest Scientists of All Times;

To Paul Warburg, Founder of US Fedrel Reserve System;

To Alan Greenspan, the Last and Longest Serving Federal Reserve Chairman (Serving 4 US Presidents);

To Ben Bernanake, the Current Federal Reserve Chairman - often being seen as the Most Influential Person in the World;

To Bill Gates, the World's Richest Man for the last 14 of 15 years - and was only made Second Richest this year by another Jew, Warren Buffett, the Lengendary Investor;

To Roman Polanski, Steven Spielberg etc., the Legendary Directors/Producers;

To Peter Sellers (the Pink Panther), Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas etc., the Legendary Actors;

To Sir Elton John, Barbara Streisand etc, the Legendary Singers;

To Monica Lewinsky, the lady that almost made History by Bringing Down a US President (Clinton);

To Calvin Kelein, Ralph Lauren, Levi Strauss etc., the Legendary Desingers;

The list goes on and on.........

Not to mention all these Local Councillors, MPs, CEOs of Major Firms in UK and the World!

They are So Intelligent, So Organised, So Rich, So Powerful and above all, So United.

And yet, the Jews have something in common with us the Chinese.

Does any parent would like to guess what they are?

Cheers
Fate
Learnign From Past,
Learning From Others,
Making Us Better

[ 本文章最後由 Fate 於 08-5-31 15:06 編輯 ]

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carolsin

洋房

積分: 263

37^#

發表於 08-6-2 00:55 |只看該作者

Dear Fate,

Let me guess.. Both Jews and chinese can be found everywhere all over the world.

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Fate

積分: 5019

38^#

發表於 08-6-2 15:23 |只看該作者

Good Try

Hi Carol

Trust that your two lovely boys are doing well.

Good Try - indeed both the Jews and Chinese are Everywhere!

So are the Japanese, Indians and to a certain extent, the Britons - after all, the British Empire once had occupied 1/5 of the World's Land with 1/4 of the World's Population!

But, sorry, Carol, that was NOT what I had in mind at the time. Like a Second Try?

Or another parent would like to have a go?

Cheers
Fate
Global Thinking, Local Gaining

原文章由 carolsin 於 08-6-2 00:55 發表
Dear Fate,

Let me guess.. Both Jews and chinese can be found everywhere all over the world.

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carolsin

洋房

積分: 263

39^#

發表於 08-6-3 09:40 |只看該作者

Hi Fate,

Thank you, my boys are doing fine.

Well, guess again, is it harding working.. 團結? This time, I don't know.

Your question always arouses our thinking.

私人傳訊

Fate