chris955

I think that is definitely a factor in the ping ponging of some. Most places around this area are lovely and I could easily live in any of them but there are also places that I think OMG what a craphole. If you found yourself through no fault of your own in one of the latter you may not last long.

aries

I am envious of those who have returned to the UK and are happy enough to post that life is glorious here. I would imagine that there are many places which are not pleasant to live, just as there are many places which are very pleasant to live. Unfortunately we can't all find our idea of Paradise when we return home.

Nevertheless, the nearest I've found to Paradise has been a small town alongside the River Neckar in Germany, and I will be there again next week. If I could afford ongoing health insurance I would move there in a shot, but it isn't possible.

However, I would also be happier living in Central London, but I can't afford to live there either!

So would I be happy returning to Australia? Highly unlikely, I would dislike the things I didn't like before, but worse, and I would constantly wonder if I should have given England a better go. As we get older and have more health problems, life is not so easy to turn around. However because of health problems, living in the UK gives me great concern, the NHS and other care has more problems than I expected.

dunroving

Out of interest, what is it about the place in Germany that makes it so perfect?

Almo

Aries, I'm so sorry things haven't worked out as you'd hoped. I remember reading about the issues with your flat right from the start, and I'm sorry things have remained difficult with your property.

All of us on BE are making massive leaps of faith, whether it be those leaving the UK for the first time, returning to the UK or those ping ponging from one place to another. It's easy to underestimate the stress involved and that, combined with the loss of your sister and issues with your flat, cannot have made things easy for you.

I don't know how readily you feel able to move again, and I know you've said you would not return to Australia, but would you move elsewhere in the UK? I spent many years in Devon before moving overseas, and have a huge fondness for the place, but it does get a fair bit of rain, and if the damp is contributing to your health issues might you be better served living elsewhere?

We are coming up to a year back in the UK and have had our own trials and tribulations. All is far from rosy but on balance it was still the right decision for us to move back, if only for the fact that whatever happens next it will have put some questions to rest. We both suspect we have more overseas adventures in our future but will be here for a while yet. Both my OH and I have had major wobbles and I miss Melbourne hugely, as does he. If only Melbourne were closer to the rest of the world we might never have left.

I wish you well for the future and hope you find peace with your move. It is often said on here, but I truly think that, with a few exceptions, once you become an expat you never entirely settle in one place. And that can be far more of a curse than many first setting out on their expat adventure realise.

aries

It isn't perfect by any means, but it is a place where I feel happy. I have German friends there who make me welcome, and I like the general feel of the small town. When I lived there four years ago I didn't see any bad behaviour in the streets, the people were friendly, and the town is a mixture of old and new, people as well as buildings. It seems to have found a good balance, and is close to romantic Heidelberg.

Certainly there are more exciting places to live, but it is how we feel inside at a particular time.

I have also lived in Bavaria south of Munich, but although it is a beautiful region, the small town there didn't give me the same vibes. It is now too late for me to look for perfection, so I suppose I will never find it.

For those who like beautiful scenery coupled with history and nice music, here is a lovely video of Bavaria. It is long, so make a cuppa, put it full screen, and sit back. I know many of the places and have good memories. It starts off with Lindau on Lake Constance, a really attractive town on an island at the side of the lake. Enjoy

http://watch.wliw.org/video/1316897867/

dunroving

That's interesting, thanks very much for sharing the information.

It is difficult to put your finger on why a place works for you, isn't it? We are very lucky these days with the internet - we can look at street view, read crime statistics, check how far the nearest train station is, find out house prices and council tax band, all of this is wonderful. But it sill doesn't tell you whether a place will feel right, does it?

I plan to retire early in 2018 (fingers crossed) and figure I need to start looking at places to retire now, going on road trips to check places out, and of course coming on here to ask people what places are like. Everywhere has a compromise of some sort. I live in a place that is hugely convenient for hiking, biking, dog-walking, it's a decent little community, far enough from the rougher areas of Glasgow, etc., but I really don't want to retire here because it is just too far north - I can't get people to visit up here.

When I first moved back to the UK, I lived on the edge of the Lansbury Park Estate in Caerphilly, which has a terrible reputation, and rightly so. Whenever I get a bit disgruntled about where I am, I remind myself of how scary that place was!

aries

I can't get people to visit me either, yet after living in Australia, I feel that I'm just a picnic ride away from family. A niece with her husband and daughter in South Australia drive nearly 50 miles each way every Saturday morning to do their weekly shopping, and have been doing this for years. I suppose our perceptions of distance are different when living in a big country.

brits1

"What goes on behind close doors" I always try and be honest not for others but for myself as you really cannot kid yourself. It will not just MBTTUK that some will dress up to be good etc, unfortunately thats life. Myself I tend to try and see and do the positives in life a negative situation for one person is not the same for another and if I find myself in that type of situation I move heaven and earth to change it, what else can you do...sit and wallow, so really in the end you have to choose for yourself what path you are going to take, what works for some does not for others etc.

pippalonghorn

the troubadour

Enjoy reading your posts aries, and recall when you were in SA preparing to leave.
I thought about returning to live in England at one stage but have put the idea quietly to sleep.

What does interest me though is your sojourns to Germany. We often spend time by the River Neckar. Which town do you stay? In fact have pencilled it in as a possible retirement place. My OH speaks fluent German and we have a few small properties there.

We would probably hang onto our house here in OZ to maintain a base, but Germany is certainly attractive. We have also looked into Malta, long term renting as wouldn't buy there and Northern Cyprus, the Turkish part, as well as Malaysia, but the heat can be stifling there.

Looked at other regions in Australia but very hard to come up with somewhere worth moving to.

Anyhow keep writing your experiences and do tell where along The Neckar. We could even be near neighbours at some stage.
Oh we have a place in the centre in Tubingen and another outside ....

brits1

We recently had a mini break to Brugge and really enjoyed the lifestyle there, we like Northern Europe and I know Germany slightly, more the South, I would like to visit Dresden and Leipzigand although I love visiting these Cities etc I never really feel like I could live there, I find the more choices I have the harder it can be to choose lol

sallysimmons

Well, it's cheap

Aries, does Germany have private healthcare? I didn't know that.

lgabriel73

Sometimes its not actually the place thats the issue its the person. Many people blame where they live and bounce around all over the place and never find the happiness they are looking for. Sometimes you have to actually do work on yourself first and then figure out where you want to be!

dunroving

Yep, as the saying goes, Wherever you go ... there you are. There's no escaping yourself, though that doesn't stop people trying.

J.JsOH

Reading all the happy returnees stories (no, no need for you not to apologize for being happy) only makes me feel bad that I have not found my part of England to be all that marvelous. I tend not to come to BE all that much now for this reason.

Oh, there is a lot of good, the countryside is just as nice as it always was, there are some nice individuals and places, personally I am comfortably well off (through my own efforts overseas) - but when I look outside of myself and when I am not in the countryside I see a society that has a lot of problems and I am not impressed.

I can be / am happy here in UK if I ignore society but that is hard for me to do and it often intrudes unbidden.

Is the answer to escape to the UK countryside and live a sheltered independent life there away from society for most of the time?