Hey everyone, we have just gone thru our first really bad few days since we have been here.
As you all know we have been here 7 months now and have loved every minute of it so far, quite hard but you get thru it.
Well the last 3 weeks my brother and his family came over from the UK, our kids enjoyed every minute of them being here, as their children are about the same age, oh my god nothing prepares you for when they go home again, it is awful the house feels so empty and we miss them terribly yet they were only here for a short while, it was a really weird feeling!

Makes us think we dont want anyne to come now because it is so bad when they go again.

We are lucky to have some great friends who help us thru it and we are back to normal now knowing, they are round the corner

P.S.
My brother and family loved it that much they may even have a go themselves

It is very unsettling having visitors and I think that the fact that you had the first 7 months here before your brother came was probably a good idea as you have had chance to start your own life here first. I am sure that when people have too many visitors too soon it is a recipe for severe homesickness.
Glad to hear that your brother loved it as it must be hard when family come and do nothing but find fault. Here's hoping that they decide to live the dream themselves.
Hope that these feeling subside soon and you get back to loving it yourselves.
Nicky

My mother came out 6 months after we arrived and it was a mistake, unsettled my wife no end. I would advise anyone to try and get at least a year before you have close family / friends come and stay.

Paul

hiya dave/ karen i know i,ve not seen you guys for a while glad your getting back to normal, we know what you when,t through with our mike going home it tears you to bits inside still does. We went through a rough patch last week knowing it was our daughter Claire,s birthday just to give her a kiss and hug. Anyway hope to see you over xmas take care pete & deb

Hiya mate, i feel for you but stay focused and remember i am only a phone call away if you ever need a natter! speak to you soon mate, Gaz.

We had three lots of visitors in the 16 months we were in perth and each time it got worse when someone left. In the end I wondered what kind of effect it could have had long term on our daughter had we stayed?

I have been here 12 months, and i grieve when they go back, i hate that airport, but i think it will get easier, For me it is my kids i cant stand going back.

think this is where we're lucky. Mum's family live in aus and we never hear from my dad's side at all! My sisters won't visit either! Billy no mates

My god, I know exactly what you mean, it's almost comparable to a bereavement - well I thought so anyway. It took me days to get over it when my parents left. My parents also loved Australia so much that they are retiring over there...so won't have to go through that one again. I'm sure I will have the same feelings when friends visit though, will cross that bridge when it comes to it. Maybe they will apply to come out too!

Sorry to hear of the bad times mate but glad u r back to normality again.....we havent had to go thro this yet as no bugger has come to visit lol, MIL and FIL are coming out next Jube for a month ahhhhhh!!!!

And I am sure it will be very difficult when they go back....especially for the kiddies.......then we have mates coming over September time which will be a riot

Take it easy mate

H
xx

Couldn't agree more about visitors making you feel unsettled.
You look forward so much to them arriving, and then the empty house.
It was so weird for us the first lot of people that came, we felt our world our bubble had been invaded, the them and us thing mixing together, it was strange! We had three lots of visitors 3 weeks each, :scared: in a short period of 6 months, it was mega unsettling and in hind site a big mistake, we should have tried to hold off visitors for a while. Some people cope well, so each to their own.
On a plus side, the time you spend with people is good quality time. my sister in law stayed for 3 weeks we had a great time. since we have been back in the UK we have seen her 5-6 times for a short period each time. We would see more of a lot of people in oz for quality time then back here in the UK.
Keep smiling, don't do what we did, (that is go back to UK, and now be planning a return to oz!!) hang in there, and enjoy it for what it was. How much time did you have to spend with these people when you were back in the UK?

Thanks for the warning. Close friends arrive in the morning, will have 3 days with us to get over jetlag then they'll go see the sights and return on Christmas Day for a week. I've been so excited to see them again and am also looking forward to my parents and sister & her family coming over in April.

Now I'm slightly concerned and will make more efforts to have things planned and visits with Australian friends and family organised so we've something else to look forward to.

Is it always so terrible when loved and wanted visitors leave? Should I try and have the immigration forms ready for them to apply while they're here?

talk about visitors being unsettling... my girlfriends best mate (an aussie) who we used to hang around with in brissie a couple of years ago came back for a visit and stayed over at my place (she left to work in london). all the talk about the uk and how she was enjoying it made me get my first real feelings of homesickness in the whole 5 years i've been out in oz. only lasted a few days tho, and i'm back to my old self now!

At least you friends are returning for Christmas after seeing the sights so the first time they leave won't be that bad.

I compared it to the day we left for OZ when people left to go back home to the UK. It was bad each time for us but it maynot be so bad for you. I suppose it depends how badly you want to be where you are, my daughter and I didnt want to be in Perth and longed to go home.

I think that's what I was wondering about. I really do love it here so I should be OK but don't want to rock the boat. So sorry you had it tough - are you more settled now?