brissybee

I have read many posts from those who are happy to be back living in the UK...

But... what are the unexpected negatives about being back home after an extended period living in Australia?

And, what are the big challenges when it comes to settling back into the UK?

brissybee

Right then... I'm off... looks like there's nothing wrong with being back.

It has occurred to me this thread might be in the wrong forum (ie maybe should be in back rather than going back... maybe a mod can advise/move if necessary please?)

quoll

Stinging nettles! The bane of my life on one of my country walk footpaths.
The narrow car parking spaces

I'll get back to you if I can think of anything else

chris955

To be honest for us not much at all. I agree about stinging nettles and as we live in a rural setting they are common A few niggling little things but quite honestly very very few things. My wife says she wishes she could dry clothes a bit easier but that's all. Our kids miss their best friend but nothing else. All in all it's a big

brissybee

Thanks for the input Quoll and Chris... sounds like you're both doing it tough.

Hmm, nettles, little car parks () slow drying washing... these do sound niggly (especially the washing) but certainly not deal breakers!

Anything else... anyone?

chris955

Those things wouldnt even come close to being a deal breaker, we are loving being back and dont have even the slightest desire to return to Oz. I honestly cant think of anything that I would consider a major gripe.

dunroving

As with so many questions on here, it depends on your individual situation and preferences. Some returnees can afford to live in nice leafy suburbs or country houses and in those situations, the UK is lovely. Others come back with less money, so "the price of houses" would be a "not to like". Before the usual suspects jump in, it isn't the same everywhere - in some other countries £60,000 would get you a decent sized house in a nice suburb, but not the UK.

For some people "the weather" is a not to like. Before the usual suspects jump in, yes I know the weather sucks in Australia, the southern US, and Canada, for example, but some people come back from countries, or areas of countries where the weather is temperate to warm, and dry. Also, some people actually like cold and rain, so it depends on your personal taste.

So, for me "the cost of houses and weather" are "not to likes", but there are a lot of positives, too.

roaringmouse

I'm not enjoying the narrow roads here at the moment, and also the smaller parking spaces!

chris955

I love driving on the narrow country roads, which is good as most are around here. I agree some of the parking spaces are narrow, the supermarket spaces are much better.

sallysimmons

No waste disposal units in sinks!

Seriously though one more important frustration for me is the lack of decent broadband in many areas. I'm sure this was the case in rural areas of the US too, but I lived in New York, so we took fast internet access for granted.

Here if you want to live even a few miles outside many towns, you can't get enough access to even watch a Youtube video. It's making our house search quite a challenge. Luckily North Yorkshire has a huge government grant that will give superfast speeds to everyone by 2014, but many parts of the country have no idea when they'll get hooked up.

The only other thing I'd say has been challenge is fitting back in with old friends. We were gone 22 years and, while everyone has been incredibly welcoming, you have to work at rebuilding the relationships you left behind. I can see that it would be very easy to let things slide and lose touch, but we're working at it and seem to be making good progress.

Oh and the food is really annoying - so many nice tasty things that I have gained 3lbs in just a few months. Have to get control of that before it's too late!

dunroving

I live in a small valley that is a black hole for internet, mobile phone, and television (though the latter has improved somewhat since the digital switch, I still only get a handfull of channels on Freeview - thank goodness for Freesat!).

If you climb to the top of the mountain opposite my house, the reception is much better for everything, though!

chris955

I agree about the food, I have to consciously resist certain things and willingly give into others.
We have terrible mobile reception here but then we had that in Brisbane as well. We get 7mbps broadband which is OK and there are times when 4 of us are all online at the same time. Apparently we are scheduled for superfast soon.

sallysimmons

We need about 15MB just to do all the things we do without a problem and that's very hard to come by in the countryside. Most of the rural properties we've looked at get 1-2MB which is just pathetic.

We recently discovered a local company who have provided superfast broadband to some remote areas of Yorkshire using wireless technology. They offer 50MB downloads. We may have found a house in one of their service areas but they have to go up on the roof and do a radio survey to make sure they can get the signal there. Fingers crossed.

Mummy in the foothills

Oh Sally I can help with one of your niggles.
Waste Disposal units

sallysimmons

I am SO getting one of those once I get my own house!