Lawn obsessives burn turf in extreme new trend<\/a><\/p>\nThe company covered relocation costs and sponsored their visas, making the transition seamless.<\/p>\n
Renting an apartment in London costs about \u00a31600 (AUD $3000) per month which is only slightly less than doing the same thing in Sydney for an average of around $3300 per month.<\/p>\n
This meant that a slightly cheaper cost of living in Australia when it comes to food and other necessities saw the Groves family breaking even overall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe arrived just after Christmas, going from a dark, cold, and wet London to the middle of the Australian summer,\u201d Mr Groves recalled, a stark contrast that immediately captivated them.<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
<\/p>\n
Jim Groves and his family moved to Australia from London 17 years ago<\/p>\n
The global financial crisis struck the following year, prompting Jim to consider returning to the UK. <\/p>\n
However, Australia\u2019s relative resilience to the economic downturn, coupled with a job offer after his transfer expired, cemented their decision to stay. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe crisis didn\u2019t seem to be felt in Australia as much as elsewhere,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n
They sold their London property, purchased a home in Sydney, and committed to their new life, eventually gaining Australian citizenship.<\/p>\n
Fast forward a decade, and Mr Groves, inspired by Australia\u2019s \u201chave-a-go\u201d attitude and \u201cpro-entrepreneurial environment,\u201d decided to chase his dream. <\/p>\n
In 2016, he founded Rubberdesk, an office search business that has since expanded globally. <\/p>\n
Beyond business success, the Groves family has embraced the quintessential Australian lifestyle. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Groves and his wife, Sarah, enjoying the beach near their home in Sydney<\/p>\n
\u201cAussie life is being outdoors,\u201d he enthused, describing how his children took up surfing on Wednesday afternoons during school. <\/p>\n
With no language barrier, they quickly integrated, intentionally building a new support network through work and community. <\/p>\n
\u201cWalks and hikes are on our doorstep. It\u2019s idyllic,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
While housing in Australia is \u201cvery expensive,\u201d Mr Groves finds food and fuel \u201ca bit cheaper,\u201d making the overall cost of living comparable to the UK. <\/p>\n
He also praises the Australian healthcare system, describing it as \u201csubsidised\u201d and arguably \u201cbetter\u201d than the NHS. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never struggled to get a hold of a doctor\u2019s appointment. There\u2019s a large focus here on preventive care,\u201d he explained, citing his annual healthy heart check since turning 50.<\/p>\n
Despite the undeniable benefits, the distance from extended family remains a poignant trade-off, with expensive annual flights back to England. <\/p>\n
However, for Mr Groves, the advantages far outweigh this challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A terrifying home invasion in south London became the unlikely catalyst for Jim Groves to abandon the UK…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":502057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-502056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}