britishvixen21

Ive been in Canada now for nearly 9 years and will get my citizenship tommorow!!!

I do like it here, have a good job, nice home, good friends all the usual stuff nothing to complain about perse, However, ive had a yearning for home for quite some time. I miss my family a lot and feel like the short weeks here and there we get together really isnt enough, I also got divorced from my Canadian husband last year so finding it hard to see an anchor here for me.

Id like to go home just to see what it feels like to be back in England for an extended period and wondered if anyone had done a sabatical there for any length of time.

I was thinking of going next summer for three months. I believe i could sublet my apartment and my job would probably give me the time off as ive been here nearly 5 years and i know they value me as an employee, I thought that if i did really enjoy being there that i could come back after the three months and finish up my affairs to head back permanently.

has anyone else gone down this route and how did it work out?

Thanks

Mummy in the foothills

The most I did was 6 weeks, it felt good but I was in holiday mode, we even spent a week in Spain.

dunroving

I didn't, but I should have. I think making these important decisions isn't easy based on short vacation trips and a sabbatical can help you sort your mind out and make a much more informed decision.

The only suggestion I'd make is to do it in the winter, not the summer. If it seems right in the grotty winter then you are probably right. Britain in the summer can be great and you lose sight of the grinding long dark cold winters.

britishvixen21

I live in Canada LOL I understand very well long grinding winters LOL

Id also like to treat it like i treated coming here, that its an adventure into the unknown that is for the time being temporary and if it works out then great il go home. Id like to go in the summer so that i can really enjoy myself, if nothing else i feel exhausted from the divorce and all that life has thrown at me for the last little while.

dunroving

I was thinking more in terms of the relentless rain in Britain, especially in some areas.

Dashie

I'd be quite happy with the relentless rain..lol! It's the relentless snow and not being able to go anywhere with small children and no car I find much harder Our visits to the UK in winter have been bliss in that respect - last time we left the car at the airport in Toronto, it said -32!

If we could go for a few months, we would. 2 weeks isn't long enough to see what it and people would be like if we moved back I don't think.

sallysimmons

Yes, after a few Canadian winters, I was pining for those wet grey days.

I don't understand how British people can complain about the winters. There are lots of winter days in Britain when it's actually possible to go out for a walk - there are very few of those here and when we lived in Toronto, there were next to none for 6 months out of every year.

I guess if you move to the UK from a warmer climate maybe it's different?

Pomster

we are back in Uk for 18 months- 6 months to go.

It has been good and interesting, but also makes me realise that there are lots of things I miss from Aus and the things I thought would be great (seeing lots of family, friends etc) have not really panned out.

Put a fair few ghosts to rest for us, but I think 3 months might feel too much like holiday mode!

dunroving

Really interested to hear your experiences. I think that is what I would have felt if I'd taken up the offer of a 12-month sabbatical instead of returning back to the UK proper and burning my bridges.

chris955

We haven't been back for an extended period but we know we want to be there and not here. The weather isnt important to us and we wont miss the long hot sticky days and nights. Winter here is nice though. We just want more out of life than Australia can give us.

cheeky_monkey

i floated the idea of taking a sabbatical for 6 months to come to Canada originaly. My boss at the time thought it was a good idea but once the accountants and the legal department got hold of it..they didnt want to do it told me i had to resign for legal and accounting reasons and they would let me comeback if i wanted to return.

britishvixen21

Thanks for the replies guys, I gues i have a lot of thinking to do.

citizenmarie

I hope you let us know what you do. I was thinking of doing the same myself next year, but on the other hand when I read this forum I get to live out every idea about moving that I have! (I think that was a good idea to go in the winter though... I never thought of that always had planned on spring).