I posted a thread a year ago that got a good few replies, so I thought I'd post another thread a year later about how I got on.

I returned at the end of feb last year to a job in central London. I was extremely happy to return no matter how bad the weather was. What i'd realised when out in Oz was the bad weather: wind/rain/snow is a big part of what makes a brit. The feeling of living in a country that is one of the main conduits of news/events and also one of the main world cultural players is exhilarating (no matter how expensive it is) when you've lived in a tedious, remote hellhole like OZ. I'd rather move to any place in europe and force myself to learn the language than move back anywhere in Australasia.

On another note: My best friend married a Brisbane girl 5 years ago and for the first 4 years of their marriage all she could talk about was their planned move back to OZ to bring up their little girl. She went back home for 3 months earlier this year and has returned with hugely mixed feelings about going back. She said that she found it dull and sterile in Brisbane suburbia and could totally understand why a lot of people dislike her home country (for anyone who knows an Aussie, they will realise how hard it is for one of them to admit to this).

That's exactly how I feel. I love Sydney and think it's a beautiful place. I have been here 14 months but am already thinking that 2 years will be enough for me and I will move home.

I miss the vibe, culture of England. It's a great experience to live abroad, and I will go home with my head held high knowing that I have experienced something that has broadened my horizons and has changed the way in which I feel about my home land.

I'm glad you're back where you feel you belong. Hopefully I'll be there meself fairly soon.

Here's to returning, staying and loving it! Hopefully I'll be booking tickets back to the UK before long......vibrant, what a wonderful word, a word I haven't heard for soooo long. 'Vibrant' my new adopted word.

Now when someone asks, with a look of astonishment and surprise on their face, 'WHY' I want to go back to the UK, I shall smile, just a small contented smile and say, its 'VIBRANT'!....

before they can respond I will go on with...

I miss choices and variety, I miss belonging and being part of something bigger, I miss the feeling of frost on my face and christmas in the winter, I miss M&S and Thorntons chocolate, I miss motorways and train stations, I miss different cultures and different people, I miss churches and historical architecture, I miss decent pubs and theatres, I miss Britain and all things I hold dear, I miss being me and I miss having a real belly aching laugh....but most of I miss life...then I shall say with a big smile...I miss 'VIBRANCY'! thank you Mogwai, I feel at peace, great post.

ditto to that lot!

Great to see Mogwai is enjoying life back in Blighty. Long may it continue. Oh, and thanks for taking the time to let us know how you're finding things. x

for anyone who knows an Aussie, they will realise how hard it is for one of them to admit to this

I can't agree with you more. that's bloody true

It is useless to persuade them.

I no longer bother anyway

am fed up of hearing how great is the country , how great are Aussies, and Aussie accents are so the best !!!! it's so hott! , and so on and on and on

I feel exactly the same about canada...i am ready to go back to the UK!!

This'll probably fade after a few weeks of being crushed to death against someone on the underground, but I actually kinda miss the convenience of the tube....

6 weeks to go until I'm back home...can't wait.

I spent 18 months in Sydney as a carefree young professional quite a few years ago now, having spent the previous few years living it up in London. I found day to day life much the same in both places apart from the scenery to be honest and have never really understood why Oz polarises people to such an extent. I came home after my alloted time, having missed family and friends; I had always gone for a fixed period, never thought about staying and was happy to get home.

Many years later, a couple of holidays back in Oz have made me think I'd like to spent more time there, and now I have PR. I'm hoping I'll be able to spend time in both countries, but as I age I find Oz is calling me more loudly. Well I say Oz, but I really mean Sydney. I think it's a much nicer city than London. I wouldn't even think about Brisbane, the climate doesn't appeal.

Anyway, my point. I see the OP lived in Newcastle and has moved back to London. Do you really think you are comparing like with like? Can't say I know Newcastle intimately, but isn't that a bit like comparing say Northampton with London. I can't help feeling a Sydneysider would think England a bit lacking if living in England to them was living in Northampton.... I reckon you should have tried one of the capital cities before calling it a day.

However, it's good to see you are happy now and think you made the right decision. But if you are like me, you might find that your views and priorities change over the years.

I think it is different when you know that you are only somewhere for a fixed period than when you get stuck somewhere that really you dont want to be in. Whilst I thought that I had the freedom to move wherever and whenever I fancied, I was content to be here but once the steel bars came down and it looks like this is "forever" then I am much less sanguine about growing old and carking it here.

My young professional son has moved to UK - he didnt intend to, it was just a regrouping gap year for him 6 years ago but he has found the whole experience just so much of a buzz that he is very happy to stay there and whereas he really doesnt like Sydney (he tried that) he adores London and has also had many trips to the continent and has seen a lot of UK as well.

I think there is definitely a feeling of contemptuous familiarity from those who want to leave UK and probably from those of us who have had to live in Aus for any length of time as well.

I am a Brisbane girl as well who returned to Brisbane and I agree with the feelings about it being dull and sterile. Not being able to afford to live in the trendier areas also annoyed me. In fact not being able to afford to live in the dingy suburb I grew up in was even worse! I honestly believe once any Australian with an ounce of intelligence leaves Australia and sees what the rest of the world has to offer, it is very hard for them to feel settled in Australia again. However that is the universal expat's curse as well.

Nicely put and I see what you mean.

Exactly! From one Aussie who has no intentions of returning within the next decade.

I moved from Peterborough to Newcastle so not much of a difference really.

Sydney is a nicer city than London for sure but a more interesting and exciting one? Never in a million years.

The hustle and bustle of Central London is not for me as I'm now in my early 30's and enjoy a quieter life, so I'm having the best of both worlds and living in a quieter suburb (near Richmond park) but able to travel into the centre with ease.

I can't see myself ever hankering for Australian life as I get older either. When I returned to the UK I found myself realising that I don't miss one single thing about Oz.

It would be interesting to know if it is only single people or couples without children that think that it is best in the UK ? I always heard that Oz is such a great place to raise a family ? Did I hear wrong ? I am living in South Africa and have a different perspective on things. I think one can easily be spoiled living in Oz or the UK! For me Oz seems like paradise and very family friendly....?

Bienkie