Hi

We thats husband john three kids( David James and Elle) and me rose arrived in oz 21 April this year. we are no strangers to oz and know our way round.
(we holiday over here most winters) But now we are living here things feel different. we have always wanted to live in oz and having been trying to get here for the pass 7 years. i never thought i would say it but......i miss things about the UK...not the weather the people but my family.
i was doing great until we went on msn and had a web cam with them. they were so near but you cant touch or kiss them....... i love oz and there is no way i would go back ........ when i phoned them it never hit home but seeing them in msn that when it made me feel a long way away...... on a happy note most of my large family are coming to visit me and I'm sure by the time they go i will be glad to miss them.... ..

That's the good and bad thing about webcams So near and yet so far. i would say the honeymoon is coming to an end and reality is kicking in. Stay positive, look forward to their visit and don't forget this place to have a moan.

Hi Stressed Out,

poor you. People sickness isn't such a lovely thing to have, is it? theres been many posts on here in the past where peeps miss their friends and family, must be the hardest part of migrating.

Try to look on the postive side of things, you have your hubby and nippers with you and the family are coming to visit. You can keep in touch via mail / MSN / whatever (yes, it sounds upsetting for you at the moment but in time you will maybe come to love your time over the net with them...)

You've only been here 3+ months -, give it plenty of time. For some it gets much easier and for some it never does but you're having a go and that's what counts. where your future lies is up to you. Try to think about why you came over, how you felt when you got 'that visa', what your goals were for the future.

People are only really far away if you let them be.

Thanks for that !!! Rose

You're welcome Rose.

Making new friends doesn't replace old ones but it makes things more bearable, sometimes!

I'm sorry you are feeling so low. I can totally empathise as i went through the same process when i first left UK, just like so many others here.

In my mind, the problems so many of us face is due to the culture shock and not realising that to be successful in your new life you also have to change who YOU are to a certain degree. I was very naive and thought i could just carry on being the exact same person i was back in London surrounded by familiar people and familiar places which i totally took for granted. Making a huge move and life change inevitably means you have to change too, otherwise i dont think it can work. You have to develop new social skills that you may not have needed before along with many other new experiences you havent faced before.

I hope things settle down for you. Chin up

Mental note to myself don't use web cam next week always miss my family not spoken to them on web cam yet

Hi Rose,
Sorry you're feeling homesick. I've been here since April too and have only spoken to my family on the phone. Will be getting a web cam shortly but it wasn't untill I read your post and imagined seeing my mum's face on the screen that I realised how upsetting its going to be. I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face and can hardly see the screen!
I think I'm doing well all things considered. I'm enjoying meeting new people and visiting new places. I understand you do have to change to a certain extent because in a place where nobody knows you, you have to make the effort to get out and meet them. I'm replying to anybody that sends me a message and have met a few people this way. They have turned out to be really nice people and I'm glad I made the effort.
Hope you feel better soon and get used to seeing your family on the web.

Tracey

Thanks it make me feel better having other people to talk to and pass on feelings. i hope Ive not put you off the web cam its great. just hard at times.....my sister think now every time i wipe my eyes now I'm crying
once again thanks

Hiya rose,
how was today for you? New day, new beginnings? Everyday is fresh, take it all in your stride.

Hi there,
Greetings from Manchester! Sorry you're feeling homesick. Hope it's comforting to know you can post your thoughts on here and people are really empathising with you.

Also, you may not know it ...but...by posting your thoughts you are helping out people still in England who are going thru the process (like me at TRA stage) and are only looking on the plus side - to think about the disadvantages and to build up hopefully coping mechanisms before we get there.

Me n hubby sat down in a pub the other week and wrote down all the reasons why we want to move to Oz. - then when we get there - we know there will be down days - we will get out this list and hopefully remember our reasons for going.

I know this may be harder for you to do in retrospect - but if you can remember and write down all the reasons that led you to apply in the first place - that might just help to ease the homesickness a wee bit.

Hope this helps take care


L-j

Hi

Thank to all who replied I'm feeling much better today

Been reading this forum for ages but rarely write, except now . I come from Finland, married an aussie in London (we spent couple of years living there) and after a year back in Finland we moved permanently here six years ago.

Our son was born in Finland, was 3 mths old when we moved here so it did make the goodbyes a lot harder, my dad whom I'm really close to made it easier for himself saying we'll be back. First couple of years were hard, as we had our second child, and it's harder to meet people as a stay at home mum (a bit isolated at times) but that got better after going back to work. I had my husbands family around me a lot at the beginning (MIL is a real life Hyacint Bucket :scared: ) but still, it was hard around Christmas, birthdays and especially when both of our girls were born and my family couldn't meet them.

Thing about the webcam is that my kids love it, they can talk to my family online and actually see them, the whole thing is harder for me but once you use it more, you wouldn't change it for the world! It has allowed my family to see my kids grow, to see them wave good nights etc to my dad and although sad, I couldn't be more happier about the technology available now.

Thing is, after all this rambling of mine , that after two years my dad came over for a month and although saying byes again at the airport was just as hard, it settled me afterwards. It was easier to go back to my aussie life, as my family knew I was ok and happy and vice versa. Since then, few more family members have come here and feeling is always the same, I'm counting the days until they come, we enjoy their holidays alot but at the end, it's back to normal, missing them still but somehow I'm more settled after each time.

Mind you, over the years, I've made many friends and the kids keep me busy. Give it time, it's never a smooth ride but trust me, once you start settling, it does get easier. Sometimes a holiday back home reminds you of why you moved and gives you a better objective to see if you did make the right move to come here or not. I'd say give it couple of years of highs and lows and yes, I know that sounds like ages but it just might be sooooooo well worth it at the end, knowing you've made a new life for yourself and your family through it all.

A lot of it depends on how close your family is and how adaptable you are. It's not easy to uproot yourself and think that these feelings are odd, I'd be more worried if you didn't go through it all .

Aah, dunno if that made any sense, just me and my big mouth again.....

Being away from family can be really hard- and the first 6 months in Oz even more so as the distance seems immense.

We have recently come back from a visit, and for the first 2 weeks back I felt so unsettled and wanted to be in UK, but a couple of SA friends at work felt exactly the same after a trip back to their family, and that made me realise I am not alone!
Unfortunately it is a feeling which never truly disappears- but does become easier to cope with as time goes on. So just focus on the things you enjoy in Oz and the reasons you came here and it will feel a lot better (and the good weather which is just around the corner, helps even more- surprisingly!)

I visited the UK, recently for the first time in just over 16 years. I saw all of my very large family including numerous cousins. When I migrated here, my brother was only 13, last time I visited he was 23, this time around he was 40. We got on so bloody well. I dont know how we would have gotten on if I had not of migrated, But a lost relationship with someone close, is a very big price to pay. I missed people more this time around than ever before. However I do love being here. What settled me back into life on my return this time, Was work, and the good relationships I have with my workmates. I'd miss them if I went back to the UK. My freinds and workmates. Oh and one other factor, at last for us at least, We can just about visit at will.

Nothing major comes without a big cost.