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So many coming back!!

So many coming back!!

Old Apr 11th 2006, 11:17 pm
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by ionaskye
Wouldn't we all, to nip round to my sisters i would have to fly to Houston, to see my bros its a 2 hr drive, which we do about once a year, and no way in this world would i take my 78 mad as a hatter mother to the shops

And we haven't seen any of OH family for around 7 years

I would love to be able to nip round to see my sister to. [/QUOTE]


Ahhh , cheers, this is the nearest we'll get
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Old Apr 12th 2006, 12:16 am
  #92  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

[QUOTE=daisymoo]
Originally Posted by Beryl the Peril

So sorry you feel lonely, the reason i'm alone most of the time is because husband works nights as a taxi driver and cant afford to make the change of career as this would mean a month or whatever with no wages as we are paid daily. If we go to oz it would mean the sale of the house and a whole fresh start careerwise for both of us. You may well ask why dont we do it here but we've tried without success a few times, as for making friends our closest friends have just made the move so we would go and join them, also all of my little family are very good at making friends and i can talk the hind legs off a donkey as you may have noticed. If it didn't work in perth or we didn't like it then oz is such a huge place we would look at moving somewhere else, the gold coast looks good.

carol
Hi Carol
I haven't read the whole of this thread so I might have missed a few points. Does your husband have skills other than taxi driving? The reason I ask is that in our experience it has been very difficult to get jobs unless you have experience and qualifications for that particular job. It is not any easier to start a new career here than in the UK. Even coffee shops ask for coffee shop experience!! Actually it is more difficult as there are a lot of tradesmen such as painters, tilers, bricklayers, etc working as handymen because they have to wait for their licences to be granted.

Australia is great but when you have to earn a living it does start to feel the same as anywhere else. I have missed my relatives and friends dreadfully, even though we didn't live in each others pockets in the UK. The fact that they were there, and I could visit them whenever I wanted, is something I find very difficult to cope with.

Hope things do work out for you though, as everyone is different.
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Old Apr 12th 2006, 11:17 am
  #93  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by thatsnotquiteright
I would say something similar, but would add an extra footnote; almost in some cruel twist of irony, I still believe in what I believed in 4 years ago, it hasn't actually changed; in other words, I don't feel I need to feel guilty about rose tinted glasses. I still haven't changed, I'm still true to myself, if that makes sense.I am more open to telling other people that it might not be plain sailing, because I feel more charitable from an expats point of view. For a long time, I couldn't be bothered! Initially, I preferred to concentrate on showing people the real 'funny' australia, if only the positives so I got a reputation for positivity if not rose tints. I had no need for negativity because I had lived here. I often wonder how I might have gone if I had not visited here before joining the forum. Meanwhile I was making sure my wife was absolutely sure she didn't have a rose tinted view of Australia herself. I remember sitting her down and warning her! Seems like only yesterday.

I was also lucky to see the real Australia, outback, rural, semi-rural and suburban and not as a holiday. And the funny thing, is that I STILL like Australia for the same reasons I liked it 4 years ago. Nothing has changed! So it is a kind of a win win situation.

Hevs I loved that post you did (last year) when you agreed with me (oh no!) and said "you either get it or don't get it". I was like, at last, someone knows what I was trying to get at all those years ago! I think that is more important than rose tints, or lack thereof.
...and the reasons for liking Oz are..
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Old Apr 12th 2006, 6:30 pm
  #94  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

[QUOTE=kt.2006]
Originally Posted by daisymoo

Hi Carol
I haven't read the whole of this thread so I might have missed a few points. Does your husband have skills other than taxi driving? The reason I ask is that in our experience it has been very difficult to get jobs unless you have experience and qualifications for that particular job. It is not any easier to start a new career here than in the UK. Even coffee shops ask for coffee shop experience!! Actually it is more difficult as there are a lot of tradesmen such as painters, tilers, bricklayers, etc working as handymen because they have to wait for their licences to be granted.

Australia is great but when you have to earn a living it does start to feel the same as anywhere else. I have missed my relatives and friends dreadfully, even though we didn't live in each others pockets in the UK. The fact that they were there, and I could visit them whenever I wanted, is something I find very difficult to cope with.

Hope things do work out for you though, as everyone is different.

MY husband has tiling experience and i have hairdressing qualification with 3 years experience. Have looked into tra and we both have references
carol
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Old Apr 12th 2006, 6:34 pm
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by Margaret2
I would love to be able to nip round to see my sister to.

Ahhh , cheers, this is the nearest we'll get [/QUOTE]

I never pop round to my sisters and very rarely pop to my mums, our closest friends who we used to see all the time, go on holiday together etc have just moved to bunbury, we will go and be with them as well as look to make other friends oz or brit or anyone come to mention it.
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Old Apr 12th 2006, 11:27 pm
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by jlkk
We are one of those ping pong poms.
We are on our way back although we are not returning to the same place as we were, I do think that was a big problem for us. We did not settle in Adelaide and put it down to homesickness, but the reality is, we did not like Adelaide that much. (our opinion).

All I will say to those returning to the UK or anywhere else is, (like it was said to us plenty of times)...try somewhere else first...believe me its an expensive way of testing what you do want. If that does not work then at least you know either way.

LibbyX
HI libby

we are ping pong poms too. We came out in 2003 to Whyalla (mistake) as we came from cornwall we thought we knew rural (big mistake)So moving on to Wagga Wagga (mistake) found it was incompatible with husbands employment as he needed to be in Sydney. Arrived after 4 months in Sydney and became morose and homesick. Husband didnt mind being here but felt he didnt want to be here forever whilst daughter loved it. Son being at Uni in UK.My career going backwards made decision to return to UK. Got back there including ping pong pets to realise ....hmmmm what was I missing and persuaded very tolerant husband to do the whole thing again. This time bringing son who had not been doing well at Uni. Back here again and trying hard to adjust Son loves it and is back in study doing well. Australia is a great country I have met many lovely people and it has been a fabulous experience, however, still not sure if I want to be here forever. We still have our home in UK rented out. Some days better than others and my head swings from wanting to stay to wanting to go. We are all different and some poms I have met would never go back whilst others are planning to return.
If you are staying, going or ping ponging good luck
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Old Apr 13th 2006, 12:10 am
  #97  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by Margaret2
I would love to be able to nip round to see my sister to.

Ahhh , cheers, this is the nearest we'll get [/QUOTE]
I'll be home in the summer what about you !!!!
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Old Apr 30th 2006, 3:56 am
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by joh117
Carol

It is not all you dream it to be over here!! Don't get me wrong each and everyone of you have to give it a go. We have been very successful here well hubby has I however have gone backwards career wise.

But Hubby spends 3 hours a day commuting whereas in the UK he was home in 15mins. Oz charges you for everything it costs to see the doctor, there are as many taxes, it may seem cheap here but you wait till you are earning the $ then it is all relative.

We do not get the lifestyle we were looking for. And so what if the sun shines everyday you get over it and it becomes the norm. When it is really hot everyone is inside with the blinds shut and the a/c on with the lights on hardly what you could call enjoying the great weather!!

Anyway we are happy here but are returning as we feel our daughter is missing out on knowing her family. But then we never left the UK cos we didn't like it we just fancied a change. A change we have had and now we are returning.

We have not had a holiday since we arrived beg 2004 and in the UK we could go abroad at least twice a year.

Annual leave is 20 days a year sick leave 10 days a year and maternity/parental leave well you will be lucky.

Jo

Oh and as for property it is the same here house prices have gone up so much that youngsters can't get on the ladder either

I understand fully where you are coming from. We have been here 13 mnths or so and now that I am pregnant my homing instinct has kicked in and I want to go home.

I feel that my daughter needs her family and I know we shall need the support. I can't work if I have no family support so coming here to achieve a better life will not occur...well, not with any degree of financial security.

We don't regret having left the UK for a minute. But there are times when certain things occur in your life and make you realise that the grass is not always greener.

Cheers folks
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Old May 2nd 2006, 11:56 am
  #99  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by barkingRockateer
HI libby

we are ping pong poms too. We came out in 2003 to Whyalla (mistake) as we came from cornwall we thought we knew rural (big mistake)So moving on to Wagga Wagga (mistake) found it was incompatible with husbands employment as he needed to be in Sydney. Arrived after 4 months in Sydney and became morose and homesick. Husband didnt mind being here but felt he didnt want to be here forever whilst daughter loved it. Son being at Uni in UK.My career going backwards made decision to return to UK. Got back there including ping pong pets to realise ....hmmmm what was I missing and persuaded very tolerant husband to do the whole thing again. This time bringing son who had not been doing well at Uni. Back here again and trying hard to adjust Son loves it and is back in study doing well. Australia is a great country I have met many lovely people and it has been a fabulous experience, however, still not sure if I want to be here forever. We still have our home in UK rented out. Some days better than others and my head swings from wanting to stay to wanting to go. We are all different and some poms I have met would never go back whilst others are planning to return.
If you are staying, going or ping ponging good luck
I am also a self confessed Ping Pong Pom and proud of it
I lived in Holland for 5 years then applied for and got a visa for Oz. Went to the Blue Mountains (Lawson) then down in to Merrylands, Manly, Gosford, then on to Brisbane Fortitude Valley and finaly Browns Plains. I was really depressed at some points and wanted so badly to come home. Then my OH got pregnant with triplets and we headed back to the UK when they were 6 months old and able to fly. We came back to my home town and found everyone had moved on with their lives and it was very hard to make new friends especaily with the babies and all that goes with it. Felt as lonely here as we both did in Oz. I hated it it so much in Oz at times I slagged everything and everyone off, looking back now I feel awful. Any way we are off again in September, OH's parents are out there and we are going to see them for a month then going to buy a car and travel up to Cairns from Brisbane and then down to Sydney. I am looking forward to going back and this time I have sorted my "issues" out and intend to make the best of it. I know I will miss the UK I am 47 and am a Pom born and bred, but I will also look forward to the things we have planned and the extra long holiday we are going to have with the boys. We hope eventualy to settle around Byron Bay or maybe Tweed heads.

I think a lot of people once they get back to UK then go back to Oz.
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Old May 3rd 2006, 8:45 pm
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Interesting thread, we were all set to start the visa application process this month but are having second thoughts.

I work in IT and my research into the job market shows that there are a huge amount of applicants for each job. Now if it was just me and the mrs we would be there but we have two young kids to think about and don't want to get there and struggle to make ends meet. There are other things concerning us too but the main one is not wanting to screw up the kids lives!

I guess we just need to way up the pros and cons for going there against staying here but it's good to read differing points of view.
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Old May 3rd 2006, 11:14 pm
  #101  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by bainser
Interesting thread, we were all set to start the visa application process this month but are having second thoughts.

I work in IT and my research into the job market shows that there are a huge amount of applicants for each job. Now if it was just me and the mrs we would be there but we have two young kids to think about and don't want to get there and struggle to make ends meet. There are other things concerning us too but the main one is not wanting to screw up the kids lives!

I guess we just need to way up the pros and cons for going there against staying here but it's good to read differing points of view.
I think the old adage about 'not what you know, but who you know' is especially true for white collar jobs in Oz - if you know *anyone* out there, abuse your relationship to the maximum. I'm a journalist by trade and in the fortunate position of having many contacts in and around Sydney who I'm sure I could tap for work. Funny thing is, I have no intention of carrying on writing and want to set up my own business.
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Old May 3rd 2006, 11:53 pm
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by bainser
Interesting thread, we were all set to start the visa application process this month but are having second thoughts.

I work in IT and my research into the job market shows that there are a huge amount of applicants for each job. Now if it was just me and the mrs we would be there but we have two young kids to think about and don't want to get there and struggle to make ends meet. There are other things concerning us too but the main one is not wanting to screw up the kids lives!

I guess we just need to way up the pros and cons for going there against staying here but it's good to read differing points of view.
I recently met someone who works in IT and hasn't had so much as an interview, never mind a job, in the six months that he's been here (Perth). Luckily his wife is working, but it effects everything, e.g. buying a house, your confidence, being stuck at home, realising that things work very differently here. Not trying to put you off, but really worth thinking seriously about!
Best of luck with your decisions anyway.
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Old May 3rd 2006, 11:58 pm
  #103  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by TraceyW
I'm not having a dig at you, I'm just telling you as it is. THIS IS NOT UTOPIA. IT IS JUST AS HARD TO SURVIVE OUT HERE. Like the old saying goes "never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes"
Totally agree with you 100%

For example, in Queensland all the paperwork you need to do is incredible, there is so much red tape...My dad used to run his own business in the UK, and the amount of paperwork he has to deal with here matches up with that fairly easily...and that's just for everyday living!

Also, in Queensland you need a qualification to do ANYTHING, probably even to wipe your butt FFS...

Getting a job is a nightmare, and I mean a nightmare...We have all been looking for jobs for 7 months, with no luck...About 5% of the jobs you apply for get back to you AT ALL, and 95% of those only call back to say no, and the ones that do invite you in for an interview ask the same old question:

"So you haven't had a job in Australia before?"

At that point you may as well apologise for wasting their time and leave, because they ain't gonna ask you back anyway...

LOL, Sorry if I sound like a whinging POM, don't get me wrong, theres a lot of things I love about being here, such as the beaches, gorgeous weather, friendly people, and LOADS more living room; its just that the work/business/admin side of things is just as difficult, if not more so, than the UK...

Jamie
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Old May 4th 2006, 12:44 am
  #104  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by jlkk
Hi Mrs JFW,

We are off to the Goldcoast. We did visit there on the way back to the UK and fell in love with the greeness and tropical look of Queensland. We stayed up at Noosa Heads and it was lovely. We knew then we had made a mistake but thats life and you learn by it and just get on with it. Roll on June 1st!!

LibbyX
Well done for trying somewhere else, we did the same when we came over. We spent a year in Perth before realising it was not for us (lovely city but too isolated for us after London) so we moved over to Brisbane to see if that suited us any better. After a year here and it taking a while for hubby to get a decent job we are feeling much more settled and very glad we gave it a go. I'm not saying it is utopia or anything but Qld has a lot to offer.
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Old May 4th 2006, 7:11 pm
  #105  
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Default Re: So many coming back!!

Originally Posted by Beryl the Peril
I recently met someone who works in IT and hasn't had so much as an interview, never mind a job, in the six months that he's been here (Perth). Luckily his wife is working, but it effects everything, e.g. buying a house, your confidence, being stuck at home, realising that things work very differently here. Not trying to put you off, but really worth thinking seriously about!
Best of luck with your decisions anyway.
I know one person in Oz so my contact list is extremely short! I appreciate this info, it's good to know both sides of the story before we make the decision. I don't want to wake up in 20 years and think what if but at the same time I don't want to blow all our savings on what is essentially my idea. Ah well time for a few beers and a lot of thinking!
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