lucy71

Hi

How do you handle people at home saying to you that you must be mad / out of your mind / bonkers to be moving back?

I know we'll get a lot of it when we actually move back to the Uk soon in person too!

jojosan

Ask them how long they spent living overseas...

Eastbound

Simply tell them you wouldnt have missed the experiance for the world and that lifes an adventure, but right now this is the place you need to be
All the best

Ruby Murray

I'm getting exactly those kind of responses from everyone I've mentioned it to back home....but none of them have ever lived anywhere but the UK!! I've heard them all "country's going to the dogs, it's a sh*t'ole, I'd give my right arm to get away from this country/be in your position"..........and so the list goes on. I've even had an email from one of our relatives insinuating that if I come back to the UK, my kids will grow up like yobs.........EXCUSE ME!?!? I bring my kids up extremely well thank you very much! My 16, going on 17 year old son is a very polite and friendly kid - absolutely down to earth and totally un-yobbish. He wouldn't dream of speaking to an elder in a derogatory tone, nor mistreat their property. It's all down to good parenting, but unfortunately, we do have to come across the aftermath of bad parenting, no matter where in the world you live. The UK has it's bad zones, but it also has some really lovely areas too. In this part of Canada where I live, it's pretty good on the whole, and yet today's headline news reports of a shot gun shooting in one of the most prestigious areas of Red Deer!! I mean, it's everywhere! I'd stand more chance of being killed by one of these kn*bhead Canadian drivers here than I would running into trouble with "yobs" back home. However....I'm STILL having trouble getting my hubby around the idea of going back

Jerseygirl

A few months ago when I was collecting a car at Manchester Airport the girl behind the desk said 'I'd love to move away from this country it's a dump'. I asked her if she'd ever lived anywhere else but the UK...she said no. I did one of these then .

Eastbound

Hi Ruby Murray
Great post , couldnt agree more Ive got a seventeen year old ,and hes a long haired guitar playing ,living life to the max kind of attitude and I love that zest for life he has , but he has time for his elders does voluntary work and is of to Africa in a year to work in an orphange on a volunteer programme.
Your right all areas have their downsides , its all about where you feel the most comfortable and most happy

why

when i went back to UK to live i don't recall anyone ever saying that to me.they were all glad to have us back

Backhomeatlast

Get them to spend 2 years in Oz, then they will realise.

LouiseD

I got comments like that when I returned and still get them now a year later - all from people who have never lived outside the UK. I just calmly explain the differences between holidaying overseas and actually living there.

Unfortunately in this country, we are brainwashed into thinking that anywhere else is better than here so it's not really their fault. They simply don't understand that other countries have problems the same as we do here. They watch the TV shows showing paradise and believe what they see.

Good luck on your return

dunroving

Tell them it took living in another country to realize what a great country the UK is. Unless they've lived in another country, there's no legitimate response. If they go on about how brilliant Marbella is, or Orlando, just look at them pityingly and say " but holidaying in another counry just isn't the same as living there."

madcarole

we are in the process of selling our home to move abroad and people are saying to us.'what do want to go abroad for??'STAY HERE' YET WILL RUN DOWN THE COUNTRYY TAKES NO WORK and go on and on as to how bad life is here..
i think no matter where you are it seems the thing to say..
rather like when you meet someone and ask''whats the weather like?

just something to comment on
carole

dunroving

There will always be people who just want to rain on your parade whatever you say you are going to do, whether it be leaving the UK, returning to the UK, buying a car, selling a car, sending your kids to private school, sending your kids to a state school, watching Emmerdale, watching Coronation Street.

Best bet when you find those kinds of people is to not waste your energy caring about what they think.

Lionda

Good post - just what I would have said but you got there first

jojosan

You really do give the BEST advice to people, IMO.

Elaine B.

When we were back home at Christmas and we were telling people we plan to move back I was actually surprised that people didn't say "you must be mad" it was a relief as I really can't be bothered sometimes to explain to people the difficulties of living somewhere that's just not "home".