10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

Wow, how time flies (jury is still out on whether it has been ‘fun’). In a nutshell, we moved to Northern Gold Coast from North East England and settled there, spending almost 8 years in the area. 4 years in I did have a huge wobble and we made the decision that we would move back to England, main reason being I missed family and established friendships that I have never really managed to replicate here in Oz. We did the whole citizenship process as we wanted to make sure that our children could have the choice of living in Australia or England in the future. So, we started to do the big clear out and get rid of ‘stuff’ that we wouldn’t want to pack in to a container back to the UK when No 1 Daughter announced she was pregnant.

To say this was shocking news was an understatement, ironically one of the reasons we moved to Australia was to give our two children a better life and get away from a culture where it was becoming more and more common to be pregnant at 15 and 16. Daughter No 1 had her first child at 17 years old and that was that, decision made we were staying in Australia permanently. Grandchild No 1 was followed 18 months later by Grandchild No 2 (planned) and we are now awaiting the birth of Grandchild No 3.

A couple of years ago hubby was offered the opportunity of a change of role with the same employer however this involved the move to a country town “Chinchilla'. After a lot of discussion we decided to make the move from the Gold Coast and start a new life there, leaving behind our property (with the pool :thumbdown:) for rent. No 1 Son was 14 and had to start at the local high school which was a bit daunting for him however he fit in easily, has made lots of friends and found part time work which he has had for the last couple of years. No negatives really for him.

I have struggled a bit more with it to be honest, I managed to hold on to a role that I worked in on the Gold Coast and for 2 years I logged in remotely to work a couple of days per week doing accounts related work however I had to give this up more recently due to the inconsistent internet quality here. I am now working around 10 hours per week at the high school on a casual basis but I am struggling to find permanent work due to a big downturn in the area. I am hoping to find something eventually so that I can feel that I have a future in Chinchilla, until then I do feel like I am in limbo.

Australia is our permanent home now, having grandchildren here has sealed that deal – I have been back to the UK 3 times in the last ten years and hope to go again either this year or next.

My advice to anyone in the early stages of moving is to give it some very serious thought, the curse of being an expat is that you are never really 100% happy as you will always miss your family and friends, that never goes away. You really have to be prepared to accept that once your own children put down their roots in Australia you are tied to the country forever.

All things considered, would I do it again, knowing what I know now? Well, yes I probably would.

Re: 10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

Long time no hear! ;) Congrats on the grandkids. Did your daughter and family move as well or are they still on the Goldie? Good to read your update, hope you find work soon. Don't be a stranger :D

Just had a thought, don't know if you know or not but Jothefw is in Chinchilla as well. She used to be in SA but moved up there a few years ago.

Re: 10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

Hi there, it has been a long time, I remember meeting up with you many years ago. My daughter followed us to Chinchilla and stayed for a couple of years but she missed her old friends and couldn't settle so she has just moved back to the Gold Coast.

I am not sure that I know Jothefw, and haven't been on here for a few years really but will watch out for her posts, thanks.

Julia

Re: 10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

http://britishexpats.com/forum/members/jothefw-49228/ She does post occasionally, maybe send her an email or pm and she'll probably pick it up :)

Re: 10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

Hi Julia! Amazing that our paths haven't crossed, it's always lovely to hear accents from home!

Chinchilla is certainly a changing town, we were here for the end of the boom and of course bought property at the market's peak! That said, we love it. We've been incredibly lucky to make great friends and never consider moving back to the UK.

We too clock up 10 years in Australia this year! It's amazing how time disappears so quickly!

Feel free to pm me and I'd love to catch up for a coffee! (I don't get on here very much so apologies in advance if I'm a bit slow!)

Re: 10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

Hey I'm sitting on 9 and a half years and still here in Brisbane and still loving Australia and all it has to offer.

Its so good I haven't had time to even log in for the last two years

Re: 10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

Same here, there was a few years between my last logon, I was never off the site at one time, but you do move on in time. Its nice to come back and revisit every now and again and see that people are still asking the same questions and dealing with the same issues all these years later.

Re: 10 years and a little bit… and still here!
 

Hi remember talking to you when we were all going through our visa stage, I'm also 10 and a bit, living in Perth and the same thing happened to us daughter had a baby and sealed our fate, still don't know if we have made the right choice , I think for our kids yes for us no, would I do it again if I had the choice maybe not, Anyway great to hear from you all the best for the next 10 years 😜