Pollyana

I'm honestly not sure now, a lot of things have changed in friend's lives, and I think I would be very much on my own, apart from family on the other side of the country. Have no real cash to move back with and certainly no chance of a job as good or as well-paid as in Brisbane.
Never say never though.......

Angelstation

Ah, you're after my own heart. As someone Brit born, who lived in Australia for over 42 years and now been living in the hot and sunny Southwest of the USA for ten years, you are absolutely right. I love the sun, but you actually can get tired of it shining all day every day. Especially when you burn as easily as me.

I LOVE my trips back to the UK. It makes such a change from where I live. I guess I look at it with different eyes from those who live there all the time. I miss my autumn colours, I miss gathering chestnuts, I miss my history. Me mam was a lassie from Lancashire and the north is magical to me; I was born in Hampshire and the gently rolling hills and thatched pubs..... Ahhhhhh......

We had loads of clouds here in Phoenix the other day. It was beautiful with the clouds slowly drifting across the blue sky and the gentle breeze. We were working in the garden, and I said to my husband " This is JUST like an English summers day". Lovely.

But perhaps that is easy for me to say. I am citizen of two countries (UK and Australia) and a soon-to-be citizen of the USA. I have the freedom to go wherever I please. I'm pretty content wherever I am and wherever I happen to travel. World is a fascinating place!

Sally Redux

You seem much more settled now, eurotramp

Alfresco

So would you trade hot sunshine for ice and snow now?

Alfresco

Then you really have your butt in the bummer!

jad n rich

Its difficult we spent a fantastic week with one of my brothers, sort of week where you never stop laughing, great fun. SInce we have been back we havent heard from him

I think it might be to do with a bit of shit stirring from another family member however you do think OMG what did we do, - but I have just put it down to hes moved on They pretty quickly figure your so far away the friendship is really only emails etc , and get real people in their lives instead

Pollyana

Sad isn't it...and when it happens with someone you were close to for years it makes you unfortunately wonder about the loyalty of other people too - how long will that last.
Migration must be one of the toughest tests of friendship ever.

Seabird

Glad you got back safely, Jo.

Our experience of the UK when we returned was much like yours. In fact it felt like landing on an alien planet that we had never been to before - very strange feeling. I knew where everything was my logic, but none of it was in my memory. We also found it crowded, grey and all the colours looked as though someone had gone over them with bleach.

Seabird

jad n rich

We were over in dec and january, 6 weeks in all. Never got the bleach look. We had 2 weeks of real cold, glorious weather, colours amazing, blue skies, white skies, shades of frosted with snow, holly, berries, plenty of green shrubs around if not trees, rabbits, squirrels and one deer while driving.

Before the snow, we were on the south coast, mild for dec double digits and a couple of hours of sun a day at least. We got wind, sun, fog, showers, rainbows, bright sun and that was just during one week in hastings. Quite fascintated with the variety of weather up on the cliffs, didnt see the same stuff twice.

Once back in OZ we have had pretty much the same weather since feb, hot mugg and wet, day in day out, very blah and boring, miss the variety. Finally today its cooler, no humidity and sunny,

quoll

Must say that was my experience too - February/March for me and I was expecting it to be drab and grey (read too many BE posts to expect otherwise) but I had amazing variety in weather and countryside in just those 5 weeks. When I look at my photos (as I do) I see beautiful blue skies (especially the week I had in gorgeous Cornwall, which also had its daffs out). I had crisp snow and mini blizzards, bright sunny days with the green and white of snow covered hills in Yorkshire - seeing the panorama from Pen-y-ghent to Pendle was gobsmackingly beautiful. I was expecting to freeze to death and bought myself a very nice down jacket - it stayed in the boot the entire time and I didnt need it once!!!!

Here in Canberra, sun, sun, and more sun - ranging from the very hot to the marginally hot and hopefully soon the much cooler but always with that boringly harsh blue sky - not drab, sure, but not beautiful either even though there is a bit of a break in the monotonous eucalypt background as the deciduous trees range (very rapidly) thought their autumnal colours. We did have rain on Saturday and it was glorious but you would not guess it now as there is still a lot of brown dust and a half hearted attempt at "grass" (more like green weeds really) - none of that nice lushness that I was beginning to see even in March in UK.

I guess we all see what we want to see.

On the friend front - I do have half a dozen real "friends" in UK but I wouldnt expect to be in anyone's pocket if we were to return. As it is, with those friends I do have, we can be in each other's company for 5 minutes and it is as if those intervening years/months have never happened and we have the best laughs - something that I never get here with any of my "friends". I can quite understand though that people get on with their own lives - why the hell should they keep a vacancy open just in case we decide we want to waltz back into their lives? We may like the way their lives have moved on (and I must admit that I do like what my friends have moved on to - they have a far richer lifestyle than mine, and I dont mean moneywise) or we may not (not impressed with some of my rellies that's for sure).

OP I am glad that you have worked out where it is that you want to be, that must be a real relief and you arent wrestling with the what ifs.

Pollyana

The weather has been great I've had everything from snow and Arctic winds to balmy sunshine!! everything is so green here now - and in so many shades - I'm wonderng what Brisbane will look like in comparison.
As for the friend thing, I don't expect anyone to stand still, or be there all the time, but I think I have realised that if I did come back I would have very limited support as I just don't "fit" their new lives, sad but true. I wouldn't have been looking to be in anyone's pocket, and I think thats just as well as I'm not sure the pocket still has space for me. Its full of people from a new lifestyle, in a totally different sphere of life from the one I would be in if I moved back.

Like you Quoll, I'm really glad Jo has worked out where she wants to be; in my case its more a question of having had it worked out for me. I made a bed a long time ago, now I just have to get on with lying in it. C'est la vie.

sonlymewalter

Again it's a question of choice and one size does not fit all. That's why it's so difficult to tell prospective migrants whether they will like Aus as you can't ever tell. One man's meat is another's poison and often with such massively opposing views, strange ....but actually no one is wrong ......everyone is bloody right

That's why it's so strange to hear folks getting upset when others don't agree

Polly it's great to hear you've had a lovely holiday mate and maybe your ghosts of the past are being laid to rest? This realization might allow you to move on in your life in Aus and could be the start to a more accepting, fulfilling life in Aus? I hope so mate

renth

We just got back yesterday from a 3 week trip to the UK, it was great.

The spring weather was magnificent, seeing family and friends is always special. We were very lucky with the weather. I was actually sad we were not delayed by the volcano. could have done with extending the trip.

I still cant get over the amazing choice and prices in the supermarkets, at M&S they do a deal most weekends where you can get a meal for 2 for 10 quid and that includes a bottle of wine. You pick the starter, main and pudding from a selection.

Great place for a holiday, wouldn't want to live/work there though.

In my ideal world I'd spend three months there every year. The rest in Australia or somewhere else nice, better hope I make enough cash for that to happen.

Malaysian Airlines weren't too bad - seats more comfy than Emirates and the lady always came when i rang the bell for more beer. Planes do look a bit old though.

joho

Lots of valid points. It will also depend on where you live here too. I mean its quite hilly where I am, with lovely high viewsn across the ocean and lots of greenary wherever you look. No fields and cows etc. So when we saw the flat, fieldy UK its seemed very bland, our first week was grey and overcast and maybe this first impression was the one that stuck with me. I am sure there a lot of places here just like that and worse. I also had quite a bad time with one of my best friends dying and another losing the plot, so that put a bit of a dampner on it too.

My view hasnt changed but I realise that it is just that, my view.

Jo

BigH68

I have never lived in a country were so many people having such a bad opinion about their own country...

one of your previous threads

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=413392