Poly

Hi,

Has anyone moved to Oz but came back and dont know why?! I moved to Perth in 2006 and lasted just over a year. Not really sure why I came back to UK and if I am very honest I wish I never had. Has anyone done this before?

I moved there with my two kids to be close to family and give my kids a better life but I felt very isolated and found it hard to meet many people because I worked full time. I made the decision to move back to UK because I missed friends, shops and at the time lots of other things which I cant even remember now!!!!

My eldest girl wants to stay her now that she is back and the youngest wants to go back to Oz! The eldest is 10 and the youngest is 5 so neither of them are old enough to make a decision. I started working as soon as we came back but cannot settle at all and I am desperate to move back!

Does anyone have any advice??

Px

bethandneil

hi your affectionately known as a ping pong pom!

apparently very common, my advice get yourself back here and start living, you must feel like you've been in no mans land for a while, as for the children, they really dont have the life experience to know whats best for them,its down to you and life in oz is better for children than life in uk (i think). Maybe Perth wasnt for you, maybe try somewhere else.

Good luck in whatever your decision is, but i would say that if you an emmigration website you have already made the decision!!!
Beth

anson aussies

Nice 1

Maple Leaf

i concur with bethandneil!

i know how you feel as i have been basicaly living between australia and canada for the last few years.

and i feel a lot like you i work full time and in some ways am settling and in other ways not.

i miss my family incredibly and my friends.

i am so ready to go Home! and stay put. the time will come eventualy.

all the best for your move if that is what you decide to do. at least you do have family there..

beanz

Thats a hard one, I think once you start going backwards and forwards you can never settle. Friends recently returned to Australia for second time and then went back again without really giving it a try. Lost out big time $$$ wise with buying/selling of property/furniture/car.

FloridaLee

Spot on. I'm sure this is the case for many people (including me)

bluekipper

Yep done exactly the same although we had more serious reasons to come bk the UK,but now its all dealt with we are interested in returning to OZ, however we in the same boat, have jobs and bought a house so its gonna be tough up rooting & starting all over again! but I think we will have to bite the bullet & just do it soon or else we`l go mad, cant see it happening this year with house prices dropping, but hopefully nxt year, we will be all sorted & ready to go!

when are you heading bk?

Bluekipper

mandoz

Yes worried in case that turns out to be us. Think my hubby would divorce me if we went back only to discover I couldnt settle.

claire doyle

We ping ponged but are here to stay now. You will always live with the "what ifs" the trouble is you miss home then when you go back you miss Oz and you never fully settle but you need to do a pro and con list and if there are more goods than bads move back. Dont need to sell your house put it with an agency and rent it out and then rent over here it makes you more flexible to move around until you find a place you want to stay ... Australia is a big place! Take the plunge

mandoz

Thanks for that Claire-

Just very afraid of uprooting my family (again!). It was a very rough trot for us unfortunately coming back to the uk in many ways.
we had been gone for six years, so bit like coming to a foreign land in some ways in returning and starting from scratch.
Guess that is what scares me 'this time' ( in terms of upheaval )I know exactly what is involved. It will be damn hard work for the first few years. Oz is not the land of milk and honey!
Im also mindful of making the move before my two kids are old enough to settle.

How long were you back in the uk for? How did you come to the conclusion to move back again? How long have you been back now? Did you go back to the same spot?

Sorry just always very curious when people have done/been through this!

joh117

We are moving back for the second time on the 1st August. Been back in Blighty for 2yrs and we have a house and both had good jobs again. I am pregnant with number two (first born in Frankston nr Mornington Peninsula, VIC).

This time we are going to Brisbane and we have never been to QLD. So its all new. However this time my hubby has a job to go to we would not have made the move back without him securing employment. He is on a good salary and I wont have to work and can stay home with the kids. I cant do that here in the UK and suddenly my career does not seem important time with my kids does.

We are renting the house in the UK and only renting in Oz as this gives us flexibility should we not like Brisbane we can look to live elsewhere in Oz. I would not be so hasty if we decided we wanted to be back in the UK. We have to try and settle somewhere for the kids sake if not our sanity.

Trouble is I love life in Oz and I love life in the UK. The pros and cons are very balanced to both countries for us too.

Anyway good luck with your move back and you will love the Mornington Peninsula it is a great place to live.

Jo

mandoz

Good luck with your move too.

Did the job come up or were you actively looking for work back there?

We have also said one of us 'must' have a job to go to this time.

What does your hubby do?

ezzie

This is so fascinating. For those of us contemplating a return to the UK - speaking for all of us contemplating a return to the UK, I think we'd love to know more. What exactly is it that you like about living in the UK and what is it about Australia that you missed? I know it'll be a pain in the bum to type it out, but you've an incredibly unique perspective on this situation.

claire doyle

I think that when you have young children you miss having family around you and sometimes feel that they are missing out. The longer you stay in Australia the more you believe that you had such a busy life in UK with loads of friends and only remember the sunny days etc Then if you end up living in a boring place (Blackwater!!) you end up thinking there is no choice but to move back to the Uk (Wales) and do all the things you missed. Then you make the big move back have a great time for a month then reality sets in and the things you missed dont really happen. Winter comes ... kids are bored, its dark at 4 pm freezing cold, kids have a swing set for Christmas and dont get to play on it until March!! There is only so much shopping you can do before you crack up! Everything is GREY everyone is pale and white every event is indoors!! Shops are hot and crowded, cafes are full. Beaches are superb (Gower in Swansea) but too cold to go in the sea! Then you start getting pains when ever you think of Australia and desperate when you think of what you got to go through to go back ... and how can you leave your family again. BUT immediate family comes first and stress is good for you and when you do finally come back you NEVER NEVER regret it!

Summer in Wales ... WET COLD MISERABLE

Winter in QLD ... Blue sunny happy healthy!!

ezzie

Yes, it's the dark freezing cold I'm worried about, but I do miss the Brit humour soooooo much. Maybe in the future we'll all live in virtual reality worlds and can invent our own......Viggo Mortensen will be my milkman for starters!