Arthur Daley

Hello my name is Arthur.
I have been in NZ for 5 years now and I still love it here but I have a major dilemma. NZ is a fantastic country that is getting better by the year. The only trouble is that I have just been back to London (my home town) and I loved being back there too - it just felt so right. My life history is there as were all of my oldest friends and despite what some people say it is still - in my very humble opinion - the best capital city in the world. Yes the traffic was terrible, so was the rubbish, overcrowding, high crime rate (did not see any of it myself though) blah blah blah.......... but I still loved it and very importantly it felt like home.
I was even offered a job while I was there which was and still is very tempting.
I live on my own here in NZ (by choice) and if I had family here I would probably not go back to the UK as long as I could have a trip back every other year to satisfy my English cravings which are many.
Oh, the agony of choice eh??
So....... in the words of Joe Strummer - Do I stay or do I go?
PS. Didn't Joe also sing London Calling??

Reylan

Oh dear, bit of a clliche but only you can decide! How about starting with the list of pros and cons - it doesn't work for everyone but it's a good place to start. Whatever you decide, good luck.

hazeandsteve

Go back, if you need expats to persuade you that here is better than mini Warsaw, then you're too far gone.

Arthur Daley

Mini Warsaw??
Oh I get it now .... you think that London is full of Polish immigrants.
Well apparently they have all now buggered off home as the cost of living in London versus their minimum wage was not worth the racism.

yorkybar

London is a great city, agree 100%. I would stay in NZ for another year and see how you feel then.

Stormer999

True but they did make full use of our NHS prior to departing without leaving any forwarding contact details for all outstanding debts.... As for your dilemma then I should think you need fellow Londoners to reply as although being British never in my life could I entertain any thoughts of living in amongst 8 million people who never see a cow or a sheep unless it is cut up on a meat shelf so returning to that would never be a yearning from anywhere....

P18PPS

I had similar feelings about (don't laugh) errr Birmingham when I went back a couple of years ago - it threw the whole family into a spin... however, I have now come to the conclusion that what a fantastic situation to be in - I am comfortable here in NZ, but there is also another city/country on the other side of the world where I also call home and feel equally as comfortable living. Therefore I no longer stress about one or the other - if a job was to take us England then fab, but I would still regard NZ as my other home - who's to say you can't flip every few years between countries as you would do jobs?? You'd think nothing about moving the family from, for instance, Manchester to London, so what additional disruption is there really in moving between 2 countries where you have friends and a support network in both?

Arthur Daley

That is so true........your reply makes so much sense to the way I am feeling right now.

simonsi

Nope, they went to Leicester, thats why Tesco there has a Polish aisle.

No-one in their right mind would suggest all Chinese nationals, regardless of skills, should have right of abode and work in the UK, why should it work for Poland or many other countries???

Must be impossible to get a plumber in the smoke again now....

Expat Kiwi

Go back for a while and scratch that itch . You've got no family in NZ to worry about, give England a go for a while then come back to NZ. Nothing wrong with ping-ponging.

nik

Go back - you've nothing to lose. If you don't go back you could spend months wondering, if you do, at least you will know for sure where you want to be.

We lived in NZ for 4 years, moved back and realised pretty soon that we should have stayed. it's taken 10 years but we are finally trying to get back to NZ. If you're on your own then there is no family to uproot so its easy to do and easy to go back to NZ if you realise that London is not for you.

Good luck with your decision!

Arthur Daley

Thanks Nik,
Sounds like the plan. Now, just got my house to sell.

dannigirl

What a great way of looking at things!

Arthur Daley - I agree you have nothing to lose by returning to London.

Am Loolah

I agree with P18PPS.

I'm from London and went back for the 1st time in nearly 4 years recently. I didn't feel any particular yearning for it to be honest. I thought it all seemed more run down than when I left, but I'm pretty spoilt where I live here! But I agree that it's a wonderful city. I grew up there as a child and my 2 eldest were born there and I always refer to it as home.

Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck.

Kentish Lass

I was born in South London and at 13 moved to Bromley.Moved out here from Romney Marsh after living there for over 20 years.
We've been here for 7years. I went back last year with my 14 year old daughter. Went back to family in Bromley and friends in New Romney. It felt like home. Because of my daughter I felt that I should show her London. I felt a lot of pride there.It had been a long time since I'd seen the sights myself and I loved it. We did the usual..Big Ben, St James' Park, Buckingham Palace etc etc. The place is alive! Walking along the embankment, I thought, I was born only 'up the road' from here' and people flock from all over the world to see it. London....charactor,life,colour.