Expat Life

After a decade of Brisbane’s year round comfortable climate, I was looking forward to watching the seasons change and London didn’t disappoint.

She’s a beautiful South African lioness. I’m a mangy Australian mutt. Her speech is refined, dignified, and elegant — the sweet rhythms of … . Mine is slurred, poorly announced, whiney and peppered with blasphemy and swearing.

My wife’s UK Spouse Visa application was refused on the basis that she was under the age of 21 but I heard that the rules changed back to a minimum age of 18 again?

Life in London can be described as hectic at best. With a population of over seven million and everyone in a hurry to get somewhere, a laid back 21-year old Aussie student was definitely in for the shock of his life.

Neemo, Laura, Bek and Layne from New South Wales all live in this week's Our House in East-Ham.

People often ask me why I left Australia; the English just can’t seem to comprehend it. They cite the weather, beaches, girls and attitudes as clinching proof that you must be insane to leave. And, I can never seem to give them an answer which satisfies them — or me.

RIGHT SAID ED | I've got to hand it to the Poms. Watching Guy Fawkes Night in and across the UK is one of my greatest thrills.

BRON IN THE DON | To tick off London’s Top 100 things to do and see, that is my mission and I have chosen to accept it! The mission started a few weeks ago when a friend of mine picked up a little book that features London’s Top 100.

CHRIS'S KITCHEN | The Aussie king of the kitchen, Chris Ark, gives oils a dressing down and lets us in on some exclusive chef secrets.

Boges from Kempsey and Oli from Melbourne both live in this week's Our House in Kilburn.

Is there a visa that would allow my financially dependent elderly mother to join me in the UK?

Some of my Pommy mates reckon I take things too far sometimes. I support Australia and anyone who is playing England. I don’t see why I have to relax my sporting beliefs just because I live here in the UK.

Sometimes you think you have had a fantastic stroke of luck, only to discover that this luck was in fact the root cause of all the unfortunate events that followed.

CHRIS'S KITCHEN | Chris Ark has called for a bit of help from his mates to prepare this week's tasty feature. Introducing Dave Walker for what Chris is calling, Dave's Delicious Dinner!

GO HARD OR GO HOME | WHAT will I miss most about the UK? I was asked this question a few days ago and I am still struggling to come up with an answer.

My daughter is a British citizen born in Australia and would like to attend school in the UK next year. What are the visa options for me to live in the UK with her?

Nick and Victoria from Sydney stay in this week's Our House in Wandsworth.

Back in Australia, I had an annual dose of horse racing on the first Tuesday in November courtesy of 'the race that stops the nation', the Melbourne Cup. Every year from early primary school I was part of a sweep, crowded round a TV at ten to three and cheered...

GO HARD OR GO HOME | This week’s column is not an easy one to write because I have made one of the toughest decisions in my life.

The chill is in the air, the scarves and coats have been wrenched from the back of the wardrobe and dusted off but the most ominous sign that winter has arrived... the cough!

RIGHT SAID ED | Just how sensitive are some people?

To mo or not to mo? That is the questions that thousands of people around the world will be asking themselves in the lead up to this years Movember.

Sarah, Amy and Jen from Sydney live in this week's Our House in Kilburn.

Aussies swarm to the UK like ‘scousers to a tash convention’ but sometimes we can get a bit mixed up with all the different lingo. NINA McGRATH explores the weird and wonderful world of British slang.

Now that the rugby has well and truly wound up and we have to wait ‘four more years’ until the next World Cup, CHRIS ARK brings the focus back to one of his favourite seasons of the food calendar: The Game Season.

GO HARD OR GO HOME | The ‘reality soap’ TV show 'Made in Chelsea' doesn’t interest me in the slightest. People-watching in Chelsea, however, is something I’d recommend tuning in to.

RIGHT SAID ED | I was honoured last Thursday with one of the biggest privileges of my life. I was royally invited to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen. Needless to say it was one of the most amazing nights of my life.

Vlad, it was clear, had been fully trained in an ancient art of vodka warfare and he was about to give me a lesson…

GO HARD OR GO HOME | Overall, I think I do a pretty good job of fitting in with the Brits. It helps that our homelands and cultures are so similar. But there are times when I feel like a bit of an alien.

There was a collective groan which rang out across Clapham, Shepherd’s Bush, Fulham, and all the Australian ghetto’s when the extended death rattle of summer finally kicked and October temperatures sank to where they belong.

David from Brisbane and Benji from Tasmania live in this week's Our House in West Hampstead.

I am currently on a UK Tier 4 student visa and would like to move onto an Unmarried Partner Visa. Can I make the application from within the United Kingdom?

This week top Claridge’s chef Chris Ark shares some pointers and techniques on making bread plus his top three bread recipes.

GO HARD OR GO HOME | Since catching the travelling bug almost four years ago, I was proud of the fact that I'd never lost my wallet, phone, handbag, or anything of serious value during my travels. That was until this month when I lost my passport at the airport.

CHRIS'S KITCHEN | As one of the main men running the kitchen of London’s famous Claridge’s restaurant, Chris Ark knows more than most about managing one’s health and that of his staff. This week he gives us some tips of how to stave off the dreaded cold and flu’s.

Don't be stung by English dates and their ability to go backwards in going forward.

RIGHT SAID ED | Australians living in the UK are a fairly tight community. We drink together, we play together, we travel together and together we reserve the right to whinge about the weather and whinge about the whinging Poms.

Kirsty from Queensland, Johanna from New South Wales, Ben and Mike from Chester and Andrew from Perth all live in this week's Our House in Bermondsey.

When will I qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain?

CHRIS'S KITCHEN | This week, chef Chris Ark is hoping to quell any share house feuds with some handy fridge tips and help bring the household together “through our stomachs and the love for good food”.

RIGHT SAID ED | Cockroaches. For some, that one simple word can evoke fear, revolt and panic. And no, I'm not talking about Queensland rugby league fans.

I recently got married to a British citizen in Australia. Can I now get a UK Spouse Visa?

Sometimes it feels as if the renting business is an ongoing battle. Sinister feudal masters against the meek and vulnerable that just don’t stand a chance. So, it's time to take issue with Landlords.

Choose your flavour, choose your colour, choose your chip. Just don't call them crisps!

Brigitte from Castrop-Rauxel, Kev from Gulargambone and Vix from Sydney live in this week's Our House in Barnes.

GO HARD OR GO HOME | I am going to be honest with you. I don’t care about the Rugby World Cup. Or the AFL Grand Final!

What can you say about this Indian summer, other than it's a gift from heaven.

UK law does not require that you have a written will, however without a valid will your estate will be distributed according to a predetermined legal process.

What is the process to appeal against the decision of the British High Commission in connection with a UK Spouse Visa?

Bruce from Adelaide and Sheila from Brisbane live in this week's Our House in Brentford Dock.