commonwealth

the obvious benefit is they could get dual citizenship in due course which will give them more options where they could live/work in the future.

it's called 'citizenship planning'.

Gill73

We have a 5 year resident return visa which expires 2018. We are presently considering moving to Melbourne when our eldest daughter has completed her GCSE's in 4 years. A main motivator for this is we expect her to have a better chance of employment opportunities in whatever her chosen field is in Australia, rather than in the UK.

I appreciate that the UK economy could be looking much rosier by 2017, but I'm not holding out much hope.

We are looking at the move back as a long term plan for our two daughters, currently 5 and 12.

Lois1

Well we have been here only 6 months so prob not in an ideal position to comment too much as not even had the experience of all the seasons yet!

But as others have said its very individual, and also down to your children. Our youngest has thrived on the "outdoor" living, we are lucky to have a pool and ALOT of time is spent in there, she has enrolled in "nippers" and loves it and now wants to take surfing lessons. She is out doors as much as possible. So far i would say we have had about 3 days where it was just impossible to go out, otherwise we have coped, even if its little and often.

My oldest, hasnt really "changed", enjoys the pool but still just as interested in the TV !

Both enjoying school but as to whether this will be a "benefit" or not only time will tell. They go to a good school but again its down the the individual child.

I think (and its only "think" before i get pulled up on it!) that there MAY be more opportunities here for them by the time they finish education, but that will come with hard work and determination, which they could have anywhere in the world.

Sorry Ive not been much of a help but its our observations and everyone is different.

Good luck

GunnersCandy

That is what I feel my eldest daughter is 5 and she loves being outdoors and this winter has been so hard, she hates been stuck in the house.

I am interested to know what schools are recommended but I know that in the past it is like opening a can of worms lol

Almo

This is a big one. I am fortunate to hold several citizenships and it has definitely been a benefit to me. To be honest, it's largely the fact that we can leave again (but not necessarily go back to Australia) that made me so comfortable with our choice to move back to the UK for a while.

Aside from that, perhaps the more pertinent question is what would you like to change about your child/ren's current lives, and can you make those changes in Perth? For example, if you had a child with learning difficulties you might be seeking somewhere with better provision for teaching SEN children. I don't have kids but have worked in education and from the discussions I have seen here, Australia is considered to be behind the UK when it comes to SEN provision. On the flipside (and excuse the kind of crappy example) if you have a child who shows great surfing promise, it's likely that a move to Australia would benefit them. I'd say it's unlikely that a gaming-addict 15 year old would magically start spending all day every day outside though.

As I said elsewhere recently, and at the risk of sounding like someone who should be barred from going within 20 metres of one, I like Aussie kids. We plan to be (happily) childfree for life but if that changed I'd consider raising kids in Australia. I'd be most likely to raise them somewhere where they'd be bilingual though (Asia), and that choice is available to me, luckily.

big_matt

To be honest I think the benefits for kids due to weather is oz is wildly overrated. Yes, if they are into certain activities they might enjoy it more, but having an outdoor lifestyle is just as easy in the UK if they want it. I teach a kids football team here and they are desperate to play in all weathers (including the recent snow). They aren't sitting in their house every night watching tv simply because they are stuck in the UK.

I often think the weather is blamed in the UK for kids simply being lazy, and praised in Australia for making certain kids 'active' (when they would probably have been sporty anyway).

AusManCometh

Having spent time in both Perth, London and now back to Surrey with our daughters in tow, (all young) I don't think one is better than the other. We find we are perhaps less engaging with our kids in Perth as there is not as many things to do so there is more go outside, go for a swim in the pool type parenting. In London we were out and about more, there were more child friendly events on. It is too hot a lot of the time which can be restrictive like the cold. Beach, sunshine and outdoors is great but so is all the UK has to offer also Imo.

GunnersCandy

Thanks for everyone's opinion.

I just worry about what the Uk is going to be like in 10 years when my eldest daughter will be 15?! Without getting all political i just feel like this Country is going down hill this is just my personal opinion.

chris955

Noone knows what either country will be like in 10 years, we chose to bring our kids to the UK and we wouldnt have done that if we thought there would be problems for them. We dont see any signs of the country going downhill or at least no more so than Australia was anyway. Both countries are changing, not all the changes are for the best but by and large the UK is still a great place to live.

carolinephillips

For me, coming from Bucks, it seems like there is less pressure to keep up with the Jonses- people are more willing to help, and more accepting of a child who is an individual and likes manga, anime, cosplay and warhammer, rather than a makeup wearing, boy- mad prom princess.

I know you hear of the tall poppy syndrome, but in my daughter's case the move to Australia meant that not only is she NOT the target of bullies, she has mixed with many different cultures, has flourished in confidence and has lots more friends.

Kim67

I thought your kids were late teens, early 20's?

aries

In the long term your children should benefit from the sunshine providing increased vitamin D which helps with increased bone density. However exercise is also a factor, and I am confident from my own very long experience in Australia, that in Oz there is more opportunity for children to play outdoors.

big_matt

Just curious: For those who don't think there is much opportunity for kids to have an outdoor lifestyle in the UK, what are the reasons for this? Is it weather? costs? space?

I now live in Brixton, and even though its ultra-urban central London there are almost unlimited outdoor sports/activities for kids here.

Yes, it's not swimming in the sea etc but you could play sport outside every night of the week if you want. You can even play AFL here!

Not trying to defend the UK in any way, but given that I played lots of outdoor sports as a kid myself in the UK I find it interesting when people say its not as readily available here.

If the reason is weather, does that only apply to the summer? My memories of my Melbourne winters are day after day of rain.

Zen10

I'm one of those who thinks neither country has a particular advantage on this score. We played outside all the time in England, all through the seasons. Cold and rain can drive you in there, but so can the extreme weather in Aus. Same thing. Maybe a technical counting of days might give the nod to Aus but the margin would be slight, I'm sure.

commonwealth

depending on where you live the inherent problems relating to overcrowding can be a factor to consider.