glittababe

Thats a lot of tooing and froing! Think of the expense? Maybe a validation trip/reccy is whats needed before people do this? We still don't know what we're doing. Everyday is more confusing than the next! I have likes and dislikes about both countries. Husband not keen on going back to oz as he's concerned he'll lose his career, although he's done stacks of research and is 90% sure there shouldn't be a problem. He doesn't want to make any mistakes or bed decisions though! Kids are happy at their old school (I personally think the kids would be happy where ever we were - they seem to adapt). At the end of the day it comes down to costs. We live in a nice area and have a small mortagage. Our quality of life here is great. In oz we would have struggled and ended up with a bigger mortgage? Lifes confusing!

heading downunder 2002

I knew very quickly, within the first few weeks that I was never going to settle and before anyone jumps on me and says I should have given it longer, with all due respect you don't know me and if you did you would know that I am someone who would not have taken this decision lightly.

And no Wombat42 there will be no whinge whinge whinge because Australia was not the problem it was the fact that I knew that I could never live there and that I would never settle. Australia is a lovely country, all the people I met were great but it was not my home and never ever would be.

I am not someone who went there on a whim, we had been twice and I and lived and breathed Australia for about 10 years before we actually went so I felt that we knew what we were doing.

Yes hubby came back because of me, he would have liked to stay but he didn't come back because I said he came back because he knew me and that if I said that I could not live there then that was true and to be quite honest me and our little girls happiness was far more important to him than living in Australia and also the fact that we didn't leave the UK because we hated living here.

He doesn't come on here because he is not into the internet etc but he would tell you exactly the same thing as I am saying.

And as for marriage guidance etc, we have been married 20 years and our marriage is as strong as it has ever been, we work together and if something isn't right for one then the other makes the sacrifice, if the boot had been on the other foot in Oz and my hubby had said he couldn't have lived there then I would have done the same for him. He is very happy back here and the only thing that annoys him about our adventure to Oz is the money it cost.

Susan

jad n rich

Simone I agree with you, people are very harsh in judging those who go back, which is probably why so very few ever admit they are going back on this forum.

Its far more complicated than blaming women for not giving it a long enough go, for a start many marriages suffer enormous stress once people arrive, no job, no income, renting after years of having security, that would be stressful if you just moved to a new town in the UK.

People do get a shock, so many people on here dont visit first and dismiss threads about education, cost of living, wages as people who live here whinging, what do people think happens when they realise what those people are saying is true?

Families dont just have one person, who is to say your entire family will love the place and not have very divided opinions on staying or returning.

Its very easy to sit comfortably in the UK and say lower wages wont matter, right now try saying that after 2 years of struggling, say my family are just a flight away, now say that when its more than most families will save in 5 years on aussie wages. Say relaxed education will make your kids happy now say it when youve just realised they are now years behind their UK friends. It all looks different when you are here!

Did the people who pack up and leave after a few weeks visit first, my guess is no. Would a research trip have prevented that, research not holiday You have to look at their point of view, perhaps going straight back they can slip back into what they gave up, staying on dwindles the funds!

Be a bit more understanding people, very few admit they are going back on here, understandably so who wants to be called a whinger when they need support! A lot go back next year it might be YOU! will you announce it on here tho

anya4oz

Reading the posts here and on the 'Moving Back' forum, I feel that, in 95% of cases, the reason why people go back is simply that they are homesick - it's not that they hate Oz, but just feel an overpowering need to go back to friends/family & all that's familiar.

There seem to be very few people who move on from Oz to a country other than the UK - it's the 'going back' that's the important factor here.

Anya.

desperate2go

The thing about being homesick is that it is something that you cant really anticipate. You know you will be homesick, but whether it is all consuming or not, you will never really know until you get there and try it. Going out there for whatever trip- holiday/research is never going to imitate the real feeling of knowing that you are not going 'home' at the end of it.

So its not really fair to criticise anyone for coming back - especially as we on here all know how tough it is going in the first place. I think we should admire them for trying it and wish good luck to them on their return. It probably means that you appreciate where you end up more than you ever would of in the first place.

odaat

good thread ....
yes it is true, migrating to Oz does not fix everything for everyone.

In my case, it was opportunities of profit in the property investment market that attracted me to Oz, the wife was willing to follow as she could carry on her career in the healthcare industry. We had young children as well, we thought the sea, sun and quality of life hype would give us all a win - win solution.

After five years we were raedy to leave and returned to the UK last year. No regrets for the move, happy to be back in the UK with fresh perspective and plan to do as well in UK as we we did in Oz .

People who have close and deep ties to family, culture and opportunity in UK cannot just reproduce it in the hot asian continent of Australia. Yes Australia is a part of Asia Despite the "make believe" that a cool beer and barbie on the weekend will make all your worries ( and asians) go away.

Family ties, marriage ties, culture adaptation, developing new friendships and adapting to the Australian work pattern cannot be tested out prior to migrating. You can only judge by trying it out and making decisions based on personal preference.

I totally agree that you can hedge your bets for sucess by looking at both side's of the migration pattern via a forum i.e. why people migrate and why people return. You have a far better option to reduce the damage if you have an exit strategy in place.

I fully understand why the likes of Wombat cannot get past a casual contempt for "whinging poms" who cannot hack Oz. We have herds of such as Wombat in UK as well - if it is not "made in UK" stamped on the a5se - it is foreign and it does not penetrate further than that. methinks they are the ones in a fog of self and miss the bigger picture.

IMO - the majority return to the UK because of missing family and cultural ties, closely followed by the "economic migrant" factor in search of a "top up quality of life" not always available in Australia ....

The economic migrant of today is not leaving poverty, recession, lack of freedom or persecution in order to migrate to Australia - they migrate for a far superior standard of living than they already have. When they realise Australia is not all it is cracked up to be on the tin - they take thier skills and money to a better rewarding country. The world is a global village and reduceing in dimension by the hour

As for the UK migrants of past decades - it was always the sun and sea attraction, for them there is now the second home in Spain, the Algarve, Greece or Eastern Europe for the weekend - they no longer have the motivation, resources, skills, funds required to migrate.

As for that silly little runt, Wombat .... every migrant that leaves Australia means less tax dollars for the Australian economy and more tax pounds for the UK government when they start earning back in the UK ....

Pollyana

I have to say that this is also true of many Aussies - they will only buy Aussie made stuff, all these labels "Proud to be Australian Owned". There is a painkiller being marketed here at present as "better than Nurofen" and the only reason they give for it being better is that its Australian. The Bloke said maybe I should take it, as it would be support for Australia and would "keep out the foreigners" - I said I don't give a flying fig who makes it, I take Nurofen cos I know it works!
I will buy whatever tastes good, or does what it should, regardless if where it comes from, but a lot of Aussies I meet say this is wrong and I should be "buying Australian."

wombat42

That is the biggest load of garbage l have ever read in my life.
First of all you are in the wrong forum. This is the Australian forum, your type of comments belong in the" Moving back to the UK forum" or what should be called the " Whinging Poms Who Failed in OZ forum".
Australia is not a part of Asia it is a seperate contintent. It is no more a part of Asia the Amercia or Europe. Asians only make up 5% of the population of OZ. There are far more Asians in the UK then OZ and far more racism in UK towards Asians overthere such as the Oldham race riots against Pakistanis.
There has never been anti asian race riots in OZ as in the UK.
Australia is a far better country to live in then the UK in terms Of climate, environment and standard of living. The average Aussie has a far better standard of life then the average Pom.
54% of Britains want to leave thier miserable cold conjested country and the most popular destination is OZ for these immigrants.while only 12% of Aussies want to leave Australia. If the UK is so great and OZ so crap why did you and
so many others decide to leave it and come to OZ in the first place. You know OZ is a far better country to live in then that cold, little, overcrowded, overconjested crime ridden class ridden shit hole called the UK.
Most POms only return not because they don't like OZ but because they
miss friends and relatives. In your case the only reason you went back to the UK is because your a mummy's boy who missed his mummy and found he could'nt live without her.

Quinkana

Think you should wait a bit before calling a crash - about 60,000,000 years at current rates of movement. Till then, Australia is Australia and Eurasia is Eurasia.

odaat

Wombat .... have you ever considered english comprehension lessons for adults, or are you deemed articulate enough according to Oz standards ?

wombat42

You can't argue with what l said because you know l am right so you attack my grammar and spelling instead.
As l said before you are in the wrong forum, get back to the " returning to Uk
forum" or what l call the whinging Pom failure forum"

odaat

What is Eurasia ? some mythic colonial plunder post maybe ??

Australia is a part of Asia in terms of distance and trade. One day soon it will be Australia singing out loud to the joys of the Asian / Australian economy pacts - Asia will be the only economy buying Australian wares as US / European tariffs go up to protect home industries from Asian cheap imports.

Australasia is not that far away - no doubt Wombat is already looking forward to it ....

Quinkana

Actually, old cock, Europe and Asia share a common boundary in making up Eurasia.

wombat42

America is one of our lagest trading partners and we have recently signed a free trade agreement with them. Austalia will always be an independent country unlike the UK which will soon be ruled by France and Germany under the European Union. Soon you wont even have your own currency, replaced with the Euro while OZ will always have its own currency. All the important decisions regarding your economy, defence etc will be made for you by other countries in Europe while all important decision regarding Australia's future will be made by Australians. Unlike you l live in an idependent country.

Quinkana

Perhaps your knowledge of real estate is as yet limited. Eurasia - you are standing on it. Perhaps your knowlegde of history has not reached its zenith. The sub-continent of Europe was the colonialistas lair.