moneypenny20

I don't think anyone actually believes that the crap that is "Eastenders" bears any relation to the real lives and suburbs that are the East End of London.

BadgeIsBack

The East End I was acquainted with - admittedly I did not know it well - about 20 years ago was sort of rough around the edges but genuine - and still a proud, fairly close-knit community...

viviennef

I think its really nice that you are concerned about your wife and her feelings and area taking the time to validate your concerns. It shows the type of person that you are so ignore Sparty and his tough love comments. He spends far too much time writing on here and avoiding the sun to be allowed an opinion

whilst I can see that 3 weeks kind of sounds like a pathetic attempt, christmas is a time which really makes homesickness kick in. I had it terribly the very first time I came in 1992 and lived inside a sleeping bag for 6 weeks awakening only at night to eat bits of cheese and mouldy bread. It gets worse and worse.

The answer is as many have said, to get out there and do some stuff. I would use the christmas break to enjoy being here together - its really hard to be home with the kids when you are used to being out at work. One of my friends said the other day, its like she was left in the uk - everything that was her, the essence of her identity - her career, people understanding "oh theres X the fitness instructor" was left behind. Here she became a nameless housewife waiting for her husband to come home.

I think you need to give it time but I also think both of you need to grab the bull by the horns and live it a little. If you dont like it then great - also its likely one of you wanted the move more than the other and so that can cause some underlying stress that perhaps she didnt realise was there.

I would also say - get the children in child care once a week or so - she will meet other mums and also the children will make friendsw.

Good luck!

sormesher

hi there,
we have been in brisbane for 5 weeks now i know the worse time will be christmas. im not working at the moment and have not met any new people yet either so would love the chance to meet up one day with your wife and anyone else for that matter. i dont have any children although iam very child friendly and miss my neices more than anything, i turn 31 next week but would love to meet people of any age to be honest (gosh this now sounds like a classified add).
we have given ourseves 2 years to make the decision to stay or go, i think having a date in our minds helps, i also know its easier for us as we dont have children. our stuff arrives in the next couple of weeks and i know that will make me feel a bit more homely.
anyway pm me.
sarah

clairemoir

Hello,
Me and hubby moved on a 457 visa - I was the one sponsored and from day 1 I hated the job and I knew I had made a mistake. However, we talked things through and decided that we would stay for 6 months before we did anything rash and we would treat it as a working holiday to see if things changed.

I think staying the 6 months was the right thing for us to do but at then end of that time ( during which we spent our first christmas away from family) we decided we both still felt the same and that although we didn't regret trying we weren't happy and wanted to return home.

We left 7 months after arriving and we had an amazing time in Melbourne but now back home I feel like I am finally settled in life and we both really appreciate the little things back home.

I would say that setting that tiem goal to just realax and see how we felt 6 months down the line meant we didn't get back to the UK and then regret making rash decisions.

Good luck in whatever you decide and I hope our story helps!
Claire

Nu-Shooz

Good post.

To the OP..i do believe 3 weeks is far too early to decide on leaving. Give it 3 months if not more, then have a re-think.
I gave it 3 years, then decided to leave and move back to UK, but i knew after 3 months i didn't want to stay in OZ. But 3 weeks is too soon.
See how you feel after Christmas

chrissystevo

Thanks to all the serious posters for your advice and opinions, that was all I was after not smart arsed comments.

We have talked things through and have agreed to stick to our original plan og seeing how we are feeling after 6 months. Hopefully by then we will have all settled or will have a clearer idea if we want to go back.

Thanks again.

spartacus

Vivienne I'm surprised at you . . . when I read your very personal attack above, the colour literally drained from my face . . . although I'm not sure anybody would've noticed . . .

Malcolm F

I have been in Australia 40 years, so I guess I know something about this place. When I came here I had about 100 pounds, no job and only 2 "A".
I have been back to the UK a number of times, but to honest I was glad to get out of the place. Last time I was abused at the customs for being on an Australian passport!
This is the best country in the world, where else do you have great beaches, cities etc. The UK is fast going down the drain, and wait till 2010 the s...t will hit the fan. I don't think people in the UK have been given the full story and explained the level of debt.
I am glad my kids were born in Australia, gone to University and now have families.
I am also a republican and we don't need the bludgers, I know we don't pay for them, but we need to have our own head of state.
Just give it a few years, and go back to the UK for a holiday, and you will want to get the first plane back, I know, I have seen many UK people do just that.

slapphead_otool

Sadly Malcom, I agree with you here.

The UK is in a far deeper mess than anyone is letting on. The country is deep in debt and it has very little left to pull it out. North Seal Oil is almost gone, traditional manufacturing (cars, motorbikes, cotton, wool, electrical goods etc) has gone to China. The ‘soft: industries like “banking and insurance” are highly mobile. The call centres have gone already, and the data centres etc are on their way. Head offices will be next.

The only thing left in the UK is a large population, some of whom are educated, but the vast majority are not. Many don’t even speak English, and some aren’t even legal.

I think it will take about 40 years to get Britain back on its feet, and I am certain it will end in civil war or mass breakdown of society long before that.
The UK is doomed.

hanjack

I have read this thread with interest.Being an Aussie living in the UK for the last 10 years let me be the first to say that no matter where u are it is always hard at first.When we came here back at the end of 99 nobody made an effort towards us at all.Being a house dad with 2 little kids I would see the same old faces again and again at the school gate for weeks on end and no one would even look at me(and this was a small village school in rural Devon.)It took years before we had any real friends and now we have plenty, but by God it took a bloody while and I am an extrovert!.Had the situation been in rural Australia people would have greeted me straight away(I know I would).I asked about this years later and they all said without exception that it is in the English culture to be reserved.Well in OZ we have another name for it, but I am not here to Pom bash.On another note, our family and most around here as well in this district are almost without exception sheltered(for want of a better term) from the recession and being where we are, don't know anybody struggling for work.Granted, we are not living on a council estate, but anybody who thinks that the UK is on its bloody knees reads too many papers like the Daily mail.Yes, there are lots out of work elsewhere but down here in rural Devon(and many other parts of the Uk as well) things are not too bad at all.
Yes, we are coming back to OZ( family is the draw) but the way the pound(and the Aus dollar is as well) - we might have to wait another year before we do.We don't regret one moment this adventure at all.
Things over here aren't that bad and the only real criticism we have of the Poms is that the people themselves mostly (but not always) see the glass half empty all of the time whereas Australians see it mostly full. We do we tend to see the bright side of things!

mohogony

It will probably be like that Michael CAine Film " The Children of Men". It was the empire that made the UK wealthy and powerful without the empire its just a small resource poor island.

hanjack

I rest my case-another doomer and gloomer- sheese we are all going to die!!!!! Wait- I cant find a cliff higher enough to jump off!!!!!

BadgeIsBack

Good post. Interesting to hear. Something for everyone...

viviennef

I am sorry, I can tell you have a sensitive nature and I am sure the RSI is making you a little more vulnerable. I was tired you see after slaving away all day under Ems evil glance. Someone just has to look out for the newbies otherwise all we will be stuck with is sex-talk and innuendo. viv