cockney pommy

i've spent 12 years total in oz and 22 in uk and i have come to the conclusion that i want to be able to spend summer in each respective country for the rest of my life
obviously i would have to be self employed and make quite a lot of money to achieve this, but this is my ultimate dream
i'm torn between the two of them cos my immediate family live here in sydney, i prefer the weather, and i like the laid back lifestyle
in the uk i miss the social scene(i will never have the social life here in oz that i had in uk), the more dynamic vibe and personality, and sense of humour
when i'm in the uk i tend to have more to laugh about yet also more to whinge about, and i have more extreme ups and downs, and experience more stress
when i'm in australia i tend to have less to worry about, life is easier, but i also have more periods of boredom and sometimes feel like a complete zombie
can anyone relate to what i'm saying?

quoll

That would be my ideal as well. It worked for my parents - when they retired, for 15 years they arrived here in October, had the welcome back parties, played golf, had the going away shindigs and left in March to go home to UK to a round of welcome home parties, played golf then the going away shindigs. They had a brilliant time. They built a granny flat on our block, bought a car, joined the best golf club in town and never looked back until they got to 80 when they decided that it was a bit much to do the trip every year so they went home and stayed there. I think sometimes they regret the weather but I dont think they would have changed what they ended up with.

I thought we may do that in our retirement but my DH wont leave his tomatoes! Apparently being self sufficient means you have to tend the garden all year round and it would screw up his carbon footprint heading off to UK and back every year!

Buzzy--Bee

When I lived in the UK my plumber spent 6 months of the year in London and 6 months in Auckland, New Zealand. He had done this with his entire family for years.

Because he was so reliable and reasonably priced his customers in each country waited for him to return for any non-urgent jobs.

He owned property in both countries and let it out for the unoccupied 6 months.

So it can be done.

Buzzy

dave_woodsy

yes i can completely relate to what you are saying . Ultimately its something i'd like to be doing and ideally not have to wait to retirement to do it. I know it used to be pretty common in the Greek Community where they'd spend March to October running a Taverna or whatever on one of the Greek Islands and then spend a few months working over here . Sounds good to me

BadgeIsBack

Village life in the Dandenongs or Bayside for that matter (Melbourne) I reckon can get you the best of both worlds. I was dubious about Melbourne when we first got here but now I love it.