LIBBY

Thankyou!!!!

brackley

get on with your new life enjoy with no guilt, your mum didnt make too much of an effort when you were back in the uk so you have done all you can. make a new life for you and your family, PLEASE DO NOT LIVE THE GUILT TRIP. good luck and all the best . wendy

blowers

Good for you Libby

I've not been on here for months and do remember your posts. I lasted 6 months in Oz and got v homesick and totally addicted to this site...came back to the UK in April- only to decide i did't give it long enough - so heading back early next year and have decided to tell my mum FROM AUSTRALIA! as i just can't go through that again!

Nice to see your post

x

woodyinoz

I think that what you have done highlights an issue for many returning. 6 months is not long enough to settle. In truth I think that you need to give a country at least 2 years min before you can decide whether it is right for you. At least if you return after this time frame you should know that you gave it the best go!

LIBBY

Hope it all goes well for you second time round.

I just hope your Mum understands why you have done it again unlike mine did at the time. We are a lot better now and speak probably once a fortnight and text a couple of times a week. If she can get over it then there is hope for everyone!

Where are you going to and is it the same place as you were before?

Good Luck,

LibbyX

banjo

What an abosolutely GREAT idea....I think I'll do the same!

Pants

so you going back too Banjo??

If you are going back can I ask what has made you decide that Oz is where you want to be and not the UK?

LIBBY

Hello fruit, you OK I hope, and why do you want to know, are you thinking the same way????? nosey arent I!!

LibbyX

banjo

You know.....even though I am strictly speaking not British, I have grown up here all my life. Whenever my family moved us about all I ever wanted was to come back to the UK. When we left for Oz I was 32 weeks pregnant with number two and because of the little surprise package everything was moved forward a good year or so. I think in my mind it happened too quickly and I didn't give Australia a fair go in the beginning. Add to that some poor financial decisions relating to cars by my OH and the UK was beckoning all over again. Then when I tried applying for my citizenship we were informed that because we had been out of the country more than 90 days the application would fail. We stupidly thought common sense would prevail and applied anyway.....and were refused. Tried to appeal, but no appeal process so decided that we should come back incase I ever needed to return and something dreadful happened to OH. (This was all very convenient for me who wanted to come back anyway.)

My OH and boys loved Australia and so it was decided to get citizenship there 'just in case' and what a good job. I belly ached about waiting at the time but now I'm glad that the OH stuck to his guns. Basically in the last year we were there everything started getting a lot better. We could get out more no longer restricted by the brand new baby, no new systems to learn, we knew where to buy what and even began getting to know some of the back streets. We kept saying things like.....the boys will be OK with a small garden - at least they'll have the grandparents, we'll be able to flit over to Europe for weekend breaks and of course all that access to cheap holidays!

The reality for us has been alarmingly different. The bottom kind of fell out of the Aussie Dollar so we haven't wanted to move any more money than absolutely necessary at the moment. We're renting with no real hope of getting back onto the property ladder where we live, work, go to school etc. Trips to Europe and abroad are unlikely to happen due to limited funds - even a camping weekend has us checking whether we can really afford it! And with the threat of our £136 per month council tax going up by another 6% holiday opportunities will become more remote. OH has got a good job with good money but that means he is working an awful lot.....so we hardly get to see him. The friends and family we could hardly wait to see....we have hardly seen because everyone is just sooooo busy.

There is still loads about England that we love, but at this stage of our lives Australia has more to offer us. We were in rural Victoria so our experience was probably vastly different to those who go to the cities or suburbs. Life for us there was slow.....and while we struggled with that in the beginning, coming here has made us realise we actually enjoyed that pace more than this.

The only advantage England holds for us at the moment over Australia is the grandparents. They have been so delighted to spend time with the boys and they will be completely gutted if we go. One thing we did do though is make sure to say we were coming over to sort out my citizenship. That should take 3 years though and we just want to go asap!

Now after all that I am wondering if I answered your original question..... Basically, Australia has the lifestyle - not just the big house and garden. Friendly support, children allowed / encourage to be children, well rounded education not solely focused on academic excellence.

Issie

Good for you Libby ...so glad things worked out in the end

Jaycee1

You are all so brave!
To return to the U.K and then have another go in Aus is just honourable.
I've lived in Aus as a child and returned to U.K when parents divorced and I really cannot see why anyone would want to return to the U.K.
However, we live in Oldham and there are lots of us on this site trying to get away from here. It is not the 'cotton mill town' it once was and is rapidly declining into a sorrowful mess
J x

HiddenPaw

It's not all bad. There are bad bits and good bits. Just like any country. And I suppose for those of us who have moved away, we can appreciate the UK that little bit more than perhaps we did when we lived here first time round.

The world is changing, it's not just Oldham!

Good luck back in Oz, hope you get your visa soon .

banjo

that's the real worry for me......making decisions that we think are in the 'childs' best interests and when they grow up they may not thank us for it at all! Did both your Mum and Dad return - albeit seperately - and did you not get citizenship?

Jaycee1

Hi Banjo, Hidden Paw,
I'm sure your children will thank you for moving Banjo, I had a great childhood in Aus. I have the trouble of convincing my 13 year old daughter who has firm friends here that it is the best choice. But am I doing to her what happened to me? I returned to U.K and did not know anyone. It is a catch 22.
My Dad stayed in Aus and is still there today. I left aged 13 with Mum and did not get citizenship
My Dad came over a few years later and we went to Australia House in Manchester (before it closed) and because there was a queue I said 'Forget it' :scared: :scared:
How stupid and yes I have kicked myself a hundred times. I do think that I would have been granted a return visa for living every 2 out of 5 years there.
Young and completely stupid!!
J x

grumpy

I'm just a grumpy old fart, but your opening post on this thread actually moved me to tears - I don't bloody believe it! Anyhow. Im so glad you're back where you want to be - and more importantly you and your mum are speaking again....she's the only one you've got - hang on to her. All the very best of everything to you and your family, on both sides of the world - my thoughts are with you......