Gina123

We fly out to Patterson Lakes in Melbourne on a 457 visa on Tuesday, and dont get me wrong... I am sooooo excited about it, but Im anxious and nervous too.
I sit here tonight in an empty house with a glass of wine looking at my husband and two children (a two year old and a 14 week old). Thinking this is our Last Satuday night in the UK.
Saying goodbye to people is hard, and my Dad cried today when he left me... the goodbyes are harder than I anticipated, If Im really honest I actually feel a bit guilty, like Im upsetting all these people that I care about because Im following my dreams.
We are getting visits off people we havnt seen in years saying they will miss us! funny that... we dont see anyone then they all turn up saying they are gonna miss us! But yet I have still shed a few tears saying goodbye to friends! The tears keep catching me unawares, sneeking up on me!!!!
I dont think it has sunk in yet that i am leaving and will not be returning apart from holidays, I wander when it is, when you suddenly realise you are not returning....
I keep getting butterflies in my tummy, its a mixture of extreme excitement tinged with nervousness! Im trying to embrace the feeling and go with it... its part of the adventure!
I keep thinking that I would rather regret something i have done rather than regret something i havnt done.
Dont really know why i have posted this here, I suppose im just reflecting on my life as i know it now, and wandering what the future holds...
Please dont think that I am having second thoughts or that I am not grateful for this opportunity. I am over the moon about our move, and want this more than anything, but Im just trying to describe how I feel this being our last few days in the UK and all....

medwaymark

It's a funny old feeling isn't it.

Probably wont hit you until you've been here a few weeks....when you are in a new routine, then you'll realise this is for keeps.

Good luck....

BuddysMum

It really is hard isn't it?

I haven't yet made my move to Australia but I have moved away from friends and family a few times and had friends move away from me and I have cried buckets over it.

But at my grand old age I can say with certainty that the friends who are worth keeping you will keep.

I know it is very different with the distance involved with this move though and I know that I cannot move away from the in-laws (much as I would love to!)..so we wait....and wait.

Our last move (back to UK) I did all wrong though. I didn't want to return and as well as that I was in the early stages of depression, so when we got here I failed to make friends and I kept on dwelling on what I had left behind. That was 4 years ago, and to be honest it was only last year that I realised that I was clinically depressed and sought treatment, and then started seeing that I had made all the mistakes etc.

Usually when we have moved I have been able to really "get myself out there" and create my new life. It is a great opportunity to start afresh, and I love it once I start to feel a bit settled and can find my way around the supermarket (and to and from it!) without a map! Simple things.

I hope that you will get through these next few days. Don't get sucked into anyone's guilt trips, just remember your excitement and your new hopes and dreams. And if you do find that it doesn't work out...it wasn't a mistake, it just wasn't the best. You can rectify it!

Take care, give my love to Oz. Tell them to expect me and enjoy your adventure!

Let us know how you get on.

Funky Monkey

Hi there.

The goodbyes were tougher than I ever imagined although we kept the house and I knew we would be going back to the U.K to see people again at some point. You are shutting down one life and starting another, your life in the U.K will be a memory and will not really play any part in your life in Aus. You will find it get's better the goodbye's are the worse bit in my opinion although of course there are new challenges.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy the experience and have a great time, James

quoll

You do yourself no favours by thinking that "this is forever" because that feeling can become overwhelming and so you are better to think of "this is an adventure" and know that if it all goes pear shaped then you can go back again. Once you have the finality of knowing that this is "it" it can be quite crippling and so much harder to bear.

mand8002

After almost four years here, I agree with the comment that life in the UK becomes a memory. In some ways I am so settled here that I feel like I never lived there, although of course I know I did. It is a strange feeling really

Funky Monkey

Hi Mand I have only been here for only 3 months and it seems like a memory although a very recent one. My stepbrother has been here 20 years and he describes it as an almost unreal "other" life

stuckinblighty

agreed

good post

mand8002

That is exactly it "other life" sums it up well

georginabutcher

You made me cry! We are leaving for the second time in 8 years 4 weeks from now.Saying goodbye is the hardest thing to do.My advice is don't let anyone come to airport with you,it's too hard.
Goodluck.

Gina123

Hello again, thanks for all the replies... I have had early Christmas day today at my mums and no tears today just presents and turkey and a tree! infact today Im excited about my new life,.... this is like a rollercoaster! Its a bit scarey but a great ride!

Gina123

plus no one coming to airport, taxi picks us up at 12 noon on tuesday, we wave goodbye then...