Rosy

Well we`ve sold the house, flights booked, returning to England in 3 weeks. We`ve learnt a lot from our time here, had some great experiences, wouldn`t have missed it for the world. It was a tough decision to emigrate, but an even tougher one to return to England.

anyway, for what its worth (not a lot, but hey, I`ve got to put a "parting post" on, haven`t I?) -these are the reasons why we came and why we are returning. They`re not in any specific order of preference, and I`ve probably missed a few, but these are "off the cuff":

What I`ll miss:

1. Day after day of cloudless skies
2. Outdoor lifestyle
3. The friends we`ve made
4. The sense of "Civic Pride" e.g. clean streets, well maintained public areas etc. etc.
5. The sense of "National Pride" e.g. national anthems sung at primary school assemblies (all children standing up, no hats on please - denotes lack of respect), crowds of all ages who turn out at Anzac Day Parades etc. etc.

What I won`t miss:

1. The Aussie TV
2. The shops
3. The "Queenslander mentality" of "She`ll be right mate" which literally translated means "we don`t give a toss whether its right or not mate"
4. The unprofessionalism of almost everything.
5. The sense that life is just driftnig along aimlessly - God it can be pretty boring here in the `burbs of Brissie`
6. The snobby-ness of some people - Jeez, if you think some people in the UK are up their own whatsits, wait until you meet some of the ones here!!!
7. The lack of humour
8. The low standard of education

What I`m looking forward to in England: (other than opposite of above)

1. Buying a house with REAL character (for what we sold our house for in Brissie we can get a 5 bedroom 100 year old house in excellent condition with 6.5 acres in Lincolnshire, or perhaps a 250 year old thatched cottage in Suffolk - not that we`re moving to these counties, just examples from estate agents websites visited today)
2. Opportunity to travel very cheaply to so many countries which are so diverse.
3. Seeing family and friends again.
4. Working with professionals again
5. Giving our children better opportunities for their future (guess I`ll get attacked on this one!)

What I dread about returning to England:

1. The weather
2. Motorway and city-centre traffic congestion
3. the weather
4. Pathetically weak government (and all that entails)
5. The weather
6. Yobbish behaviour of teenagers (and beyond)
7. The weather
8. The invasation of England by illegal immigrants (hum... now that wasn`t meant to be provocative, but I expect it will be interpreted as such)

So thanks for hearing me out. As I have said many times before on this forum, my advice to anyone considering coming to Oz is:

1. Research WHY you want to come - is it because you hate where you are or do you really want to live in Australia? (Big difference)
2. If you are as sure as you can be (and no one can be 100%) that you want to live in Oz, come. You will probably love it. It is, in many respects, a WONDERFUL country.

It was just not for me!

TTFN (showing my age a bit there)

Megalania

Ta, come back sometime.

Kath

Good luck with your move back.

I do agree with your post and feel much the same as you about living in Australia, we've been in Perth for 1 year now. I think we'll end up going back to England as I don't think I'll ever feel settled here. We're going to give it a bit longer, enjoy one more Summer, do some travelling then see how we feel.

Like you, I'm so glad we've come to Australia and experienced living here.

How long did you spend in Australia before making your decision?

whisky

Good post Rosy.
Good luck with your future. Sorry that Australia wasn't for you. None of us really know until we get there.

Whisky

Badge

excellent post Rosy.

Anyone that can afford a 5 bed home in the UK is doing well.

I was amused to see the things you are not looking forward to in the UK - the things that some of us are moving for !!

You are bang on when you say move because you want to live in Australia. I am going because I like Australian life and love the people - from whatever background they come from. QED. This is number one before weather etc.

For what's it worth - I can only say to people - be careful of Queensland!! people seem far happier in Melbourne / Sydney - just my personal advice!

badgers

tinaj

An excellent post Rosy.I hope things go to plan when you return to England. One thing that hasn't changed is the weather. Kids broke up on Wednesday and for the past 2 days it has been raining, nothing new there then!

Where are you aiming to live in the Uk?


All the best


Tina

PeteY

Best post ive seen you make.....Good luck in blighty

Badge

I like your reference to the notion of (both) "civic" and "national" pride.

It's a thread you've mentioned in the past.

badgers

Rosy

Difficult to put an exact time on it really. I suppose around 10 months. Many will say this is too short a time to make the decision, but for me, the reasons would be the same in years to come, so with two children we had to make the decision sooner rather than later. If we hadn`t had to consider their needs I am sure we would have stayed on a couple of more years, but STILL eventually returned to Europe - no actually, if we hadn`t had the children we`d have gone to live in France in the first place!

Bella

Maybe you'll have a pleasant surprise with the weather Rosy. I know Sindy said it's been raining for 2 days but prior to this, the last couple of months in the south east have been wonderful! I've been sitting in the garden or on the beach lapping up the sunshine.
Also, don't you just love english autumns? I'm really gonna miss 'em.

Good luck with your return though.

Teresa

Thanks Rosy, great post, and you have done it and thats all everyone can, agree with Badgers and yourself about weather (not a reason to go, having spent time in various places in Oz, know its not all sunshine anyway!)

We met in Sydney and G has lived and worked in Oz for a year so we have a pretty good idea although know things will be different, have researched from friends ( in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Qld so the help has been enormous), they list all pros and cons (this list is bigger but at least we are informed before we arrive) and they keep us updated.

We feel confident knowing the country (recently visited again early this yr for third time) but are not too proud to move on if we feel after a couple of years that its not for us.

You only get one shot at life so its whatever suits you, everyone will always have an opinion

Good luck

Teresa

plumber39

I know it's been said so many time's before but 12 month's is surely not enough time it's take's a least a couple of year's to settle. I currently live and work in Wale's,it took us a least this amount of time to set up business , make new friend's and get kid's settled at school,for a lot of people it's took 2 year's to get there! Are you sure it's the right decision? Like someone just said many of the your reason's for leaving oz are the same one's you left uk for!
what do i know only a plumber!

Don

Good luck, Rosy - tell us how you get on in a few months' time.

Rosy

Hi there Plumber,

Please don`t put yourself down - "only a plumber". Your opinions are just as valid as anyone else`s regardless of their profession or trade.

I have made lots of friends since coming here (all of whom are either Aussies or Kiwis, none are expats!). We deliberately set out to integrate into the Aussie way of life rather than try and live a kind of "Ghetto" existence with other Brits. (If we`d wanted to do this, we`d have gone to Perth!).

My reasons for leaving Oz are not the same ones we left the UK for in any way, shape or form.

I do think that for me, 12 months is long enough to make a decision, as I have said a few times before, the reasons it is not for me will not change with time.

As far as your last question is concerned, I`m not sure it`s the right decision to return to England, but I am sure its the right decision not to stay here!!!



In answer to your

ACE

Nice honest, balanced post. The very best of luck to you in the UK, hope you'll be happy!
Kind Regards
ACE