mandoz

Well there seems to be a number of threads lately with people who have pinged and are considering 'ponging'?

Just wondered If there are many of you that have already gone back to oz for the second time.

Want to know how its worked out for you a second time? How long have you been back?

Are the things that drove you back to the uk the first time still there or not? Or is it that you are just more accepting of those things and handling it all differently this time?

Was it easier settling in the second time?

What was the financial/emotional impact?

Would really appreciate the benefit of your experiences.

Thankyou

A potential ponger who pinged

mandoz

Bumping now the ozzies are awake

sonlymewalter

You're joking.

It's 5.27PM and we're nearly ready for bed again

mandoz

Nooooo! Really? Only in Queensland though right

Betty Boot

Maybe now they are back they love it that much and their new lives are so fulfilled they dont have time to go on BE

mandoz

Must be

lucy71

Great new thread Mandoz, let's hope you get loads of great, insightful replies!

... or else they really are all having such great lives that they don't need to post on here anymore...

Come on ping pongers, we would love to hear from ya!

Scrawni 2

Leaving everyone is just as bad as the first time. Homesickeness alot better 2nd time round but financially it is worse. House prices have risen (but are now coming down again) but the exchange rate is so crap that our money is still sitting in the UK.

lucy71

Hi Scrawni 2

Why do you think homesickness is better this time round?
Have you moved back to the same place?
How long were you back in the UK for and what made you decide to move back?

lucy

Scrawni 2

If you suffered from homesickness then you need to pre-plan your move. I know it sounds daft but you have to put you mind straight and accept that there will be times when you will fell like it again. The second time round plan what you are going to do about it if you do feel homesick and stick to it. If I am feeling homesick, I shake it off and don't allow myself to wallow in it.

I suppose that second time round, things are familiar to you and you are not so removed from your comfort zone. It doesn't feel like you have been dumped in the middle of another planet and then told to get on with it.

We were in Cairns before but have chose to settle on the GC this time round. This was mainly for location to everywhere else. We do have family in Brisbane (but hardly see them) but not in Cairns. The kids actively participated in finding a suitable place to live and this was as much their choice as it was ours. Our daughter (aged 21) has now returned to the UK and doesn't think that she will ever live here full time. That is OK, I have made my piece with that, it is still hard though as I know that she misses us very much.

We came back for a couple of reasons, first one being for our son who is 14. He hated it the first time but is loving it this time round and I think (although not always) that the kids are more on his wavelength, he is not a chav and he hates them with a passion. He is a well mannered teenager who love to play the guitar, being individual made him different. Secondly, we wanted our citizenship. That gives us choices.

I am not saying that by coming back a second time it is everything we want, it isn't and some things that we hadn't notice before or that didn't annoy us, do now. I am also saying that I will not allow myself to think that it is forever, too much pressure. Heck, I never thought we would return but here we are. Will we stay, who knows? It has been a very long journey for us and I'm sure that it isn't over yet and what doesn't break you certainly makes you

BayWhale

I'm a ping pong pom of the old school. I originally came in 1963 with my parents and brother and sister, I stayed for six weeks and went back to the UK (it's a long story). I came back in '65 with a husband so as far as I was concerned everything I wanted was on this side of the world.

I've just had two months in the UK and I can honestly say that for the first couple of weeks I was so homesick all I wanted to do was come home. Thank goodness it wore off and we had a ball seeing old friends and visiting childhood haunts.

Rascal

We are first timers in OZ, only took 40 odd years to get here.
Ping ponged from Uk to NZ, NZ to Middle east, then a short spell back in UK, back to Middle East, then ping ponged back to NZ to sell up...
Finally landed in country I always really wanted to be in....OZ!!!
LOVE IT!!!
All of us love it here and without doubt, the best decision of our lives.

Sam

Might be worth dropping a PM to Kris Maynard

as her and her family are ping pongers and are back over here (since Feb/March i think)

Kris did say to me that they had to go back to discover that they wanted to be here (if that makes sense)

Not that they wern't happy here the first time, but homesickness etc etc etc made the decision for them (so i believe) but they are very settled and happy this time around

scrubbedexpat001

We're ping-pong-pommes (well I am, other half & son are Aussies). We first "came back" in 2001 moving to Sydney seemed as good a place as any. Had a good time but we came back for a number of reasons (one wage, expensive housing, not a lot of UK cash to work with etc etc). In 2002 we moved back to the UK - Scotland to be precise.

Everything plodded along, we got jobs and ended up with careers, car, house, friends etc, etc.

Stuff happened in our lives which made my other half think that it was time to come back "home" and we did in Nov 2007 to Perth this time and at this point in time things are much better. Maybe because we knew/know what to expect, maybe because were older and wiser, maybe we just got sick of the UK and it's troubles - who knows.

We both have decent jobs (we may not like them but hey - they pay the bills atm), cars, a house and still have money sat in the bank to play with. Things haven't been easy in the few months we've been back here but we've rolled with it all and to be honest things seem much better than the first time round.

Will we stay for good this time - I guess only time will tell, ask me again next year....