sasbear

Canberra. Where are you?

Australia_bound?

Get her to validate then at least she's not cutting off her options or stay with her if it's going to upset you that much. Is up to you at the end of the day and you need to talk to her.

frances

I am on the Central coast, what is it like in Canberra (Busy), it is lovely here on the coast but hard to get work for me anyway, I work in Admin, at the moment working in a Nursing Home, which isn't great but will do for now I am working on a casual basis at mo Frances

sasbear

Hi Canberra is not busy at all to say it is the nations capital

Central coast sounds nice - would love to visit one day. What is the nearest big city to you?

I was in teaching but moved to admin for the less stress - plenty of admin work down here (government)

Sas

frances

If you do visit we could all meet up, so let me know you are welcome, who knows I might come to Canberra, we haven't even been to Sydney yet we have only been here 5 months. I would probably get a job easy in Sydney but not sure if I want the travelling now but I might not have any choice, I used to work in the city (London) when I was younger and loved it but now I am 45 not so sure but who knows, how far is Canberra from here we are near Gosford which is the main city. The trouble with getting work here is all the people that commute everyday want to get out of the ratrace and work locally on the coast so that is why not much chance for me when it comes to applying most of them don't even get back to acknowlege your application. FRances

sasbear

Hey we are only about 4 hours apart then - It is 3 hours to Sydney give or take 10 minutes!

Would be good to come down to Canberra - let me know if you decide to visit.

I don't like the hustle and bustle of city life but didn't (couldn't afford) to be rural - jobs wise and kids etc. So chose Canberra as the perfect place - not isolated but not busy.

Sas

frances

Hi,

hopefully one day in the not too distant future we will come to Canberra, I would like to see as much of australia as possible if you are this way don't forget to let me know take care Frances

seanandmaria

My daughter was initally really excited about coming, then as the application process dragged on, she met a lad...... usual thing, he put a lot of pressure on her to which we weren't aware of at the time, but she decided she didnt want to come, we managed to persuade her to come for 6 months, we told her if she hated it, for any reason we'd support her fully in going back to the U. 7 months on, shes working, earning far more than she could in the UK, and loving it, shes bought her own car, been to sidney for weekends with new friends and is a completely different girl. She still keeps in touch with her old friends, the boyfriend fizzled out 2 months into us arriving, but out of sight out of mind, if you ask her now to go back i doubt she'd trade for anything.
On the downside, she thinks the music scene is pants to, but she downloads off limewire and plays it top notch in her car.
dont give up all hope good luck

soonbethere

Wow, i enjoyed reading this one, our 17yr old DAUGHTER (again!!) was an absolute nightmare when we arrived back in August, (she was 16 then) she left her boyfiend behind and a great network of mates, they were all at the airport waving us off and it was a teaful event, although our daughter wasn't the one crying, she was the most positive of all of us. But when we got here, she was dreadful, we were the parents from hell, and we didn't understand.....she is still looking to go back to the uk, she is saving like crazy (she is a lifeguard here and earning good money) she wants to go to Uni back in the Uk, we aren't stopping her, because we think it will just make matters worse...the only 'advise' if it is advise, is don't encourage the mobile or msn, she was on the mobile constantly, its not that it costs a lot, but it made it harder for her, then msn was even worse, she still gets up early to speak to her boyfriend and mates. They all encourage her back home, they tell her what they have been upto, which is nothing to what she does here, but she misses it so much, it sounds worse when her mates are calling her home.
On the bright side, we have her in a good school, she is doing her TEE's, she is finding them really difficult, but because she wants to go home to Uni, so she is studying like crazy, she has the most fantastic time at school with regards to phz ed and outdoor ed, she goes snorkling, she is in the school swim team, learning how to coach swimming, (her work are really encouranging her too) and she is learning how to drive, all this in such a short length of time, (only 2 months of moving here to Mandurah) and we still hope that she will turn a corner and stay, but the reality is, she will more than likely catch that plane home, if only her mates would just stop encouraging her back and let her decide for herself, but if she does go we hope that she will be back.........
All i can say is all the very best of luck, your going to need it!!

jdt3000

Hello,

My family and I moved here when I was 18 (Mum, Dad, Sis and I), out of all of us I was the one who was most against leaving UK, all my friends were there, I was happy with my job, etc etc...Tensions ran high in the last few months before we left, so many times I almost bailed out of going with them, I was so desperate to stay...Played the lottery for the last 6 months of living in UK in the hopes I would win and could buy the house off my parents!

Anyways, we moved here in September 2005, and while it has definitely been hard adjusting (getting a job, meeting new people etc), I am definitely glad I left the ****HOLE that is the UK!!! The lifestyle is so much better here, we have got our own pool, the beach is 5 mins away, people are so much friendlier...

I remember my Mum telling me that partners and friends come and go, even if you stay put, and while that sounded stupid then, it actually makes sense now. You meet new people all the time, and things move on. I think if I had stayed and my parents left, life would have been hard for me, and ultimately I would have regretted my decision to stay, even if it took another 5-10 years to realise I had made a bad choice. Try to put the onus on your daughter, she needs to realise that the UK is going down the pan, and Australia has so much more to offer.

Hope everything works out,

Jamie

PS. To several posters (not the starter of this thread) who have replied to this thread: Do you really think we might make the decision to stay to HURT you intentionally? If personally I HAD decided to stay, the decision would have been based on my feelings alone, I would not have factored my parents feelings into the equation at all. To think that your child would decide to stay just to hurt your feelings is both ridiculous and insulting...

Peter & Karin

Hi
We're in the same position, we're hoping to go in the next 6 months, our son who will be 17 in April does not want to go(again, leaving girlfriend and mates etc), we have told him to come for a year and if he doesn't like it he can come back and live with his grandparents. There has been lots of tears but h opefully he said he will give it a try but I can see him heading back after a short space of time, that's if he even gets on the plane!!

Karin

tracey.d

I don't think this is the case at all. I know that it is because of her boyfriend. The sad thing is if they end up falling out (which is always a possibility) then she could have lost her visa as she hasn't got long left on it. If that happens she has no desirable skills at present that would get her into oz on her own merits. She will find it hard.

I can present the facts to her but at the end of the day it's her decision to make. I just hope she makes the right choice for her.

Glad to hear you've settled by the way

Tracey

ebowlas

to all those struggling like me Thankyou
We have a 17 year old son who wont come with us and its heartbreaking.We are due to fly out this weekend and our son said he was coming for a while.He has now just informed us that he is not.
It will break my heart to go and leave him behind and my only hope is that he will come later and stay.
At the end of the day I wouldnt want him to be miserable,but I will miss him dreadfully and have a feeling of overwhelming guilt for going without him.But we would all resent him if we stayed .
I hope all works out in the end

Donna&Neil

Hi I'm in the same situation with my 20 year old son. He has always said he did not want to leave his mates. Like you I feel terribly guilty at the thought of leaving him here, with effectively no parents. ( no contact from his dad who lives in Qatar) Part of me thinks it will do him good to stand on his own two feet, but can't help feeling like I am abandoning him.
I do hope when he visits it will change his mind. Makes this stressful process alot harder to cope with. Hang in there.

Donna

AVW

Hi

Again , heres another family in turmoil our 18 yr old doesnt want to come, a very hard decision for us to make leaving her here, but we have 2 younger kids 8 and 11 and we feel the benefits for them and my hubby and I are so much better. I try not to think about the day we go it will be one of the happiest but with a lot of sadness at leaving her. Sitting crying at the thought right now. How ever we have applied for a visa for her as she is a full time student and totally financially dependant on us. So may be one day......I pray.
It sure is a hard one.

Anne