thanks Bev
Yes that is what I intend to do, I have been told that in the hospitals, it has posters up saying expats have to be back in the country for 6 months before you can been seen by a doctor ??.

Jaylew

I know exactly how you feel Poppet. I am in the throws of considering it too. I think the thought of living in Perth forever scares me!?!?

Wow, it is so good to know that other people feel the same, we are confused, been here over 5 years and have enjoyed it but are getting to the stage where we don't want to get "stuck" here. Both kids were born here in NZ and we have got our NZ passports now but the pull of friends and family is still very strong. We can't see ourselves being here forever. My husband has never been happy with the work situation here, not a lot of money for doing lots of work, anyway he has just been informed there is going to be redundancies at his work and so the decision may be made for us! Just wish we could go back for a year and see what it is like actually living back in UK. If we do go back we are going to try and rent the house out here.

We are going to do just that, treat going back as a sort of experiment, we have a wonderful house here so will be renting it out. We can then see how we get on.

Probably because I just got back from my visit, but the urge to go is still so strong, I miss everything and everyone.

We came to NZ for a change and because my husbands family are here, luckily my husband loves the UK so is happy to go. I can't see my husbands family being thrilled, but his parents are coming down to see us this weekend and this will be the first time since our son was born nearly a year ago and for me thats just not enough now I have a child. Before my son the urge to go was hardly there at all.

I have made some fantastic friends here, but somehow its not the same.

Not Our experience

3 days after getting back after being away for 4 years. We joined our local GP. We told them that we had just arrived back and no one seemed to bat an eyelid. Family members have now been seen by the doctor twice, I have had a check up and my daughter is booked in to see a consultant. We have also noticed that compared with the Canadian health system the NHS is far better.

My understanding is that if you are back to stay i.e. not on vacation, you automatically qualify for full NHS care and indeed why wouldn't you?

Hello Well many years ago in my youth I emigrated to Australia from my native England but after 4 years of living there I returned back home, not that I did not like the life in OZ I loved it there, but it was when I was young 19 and single with no responsibilities of a spouse and children, so my advice probably would be no good for you, but anyway after 5 years at home in England I took off again and emigrated to Canada, stayed 3 years there and then took off again to USA, I have been living here for 32 years and I am now 64 years young, my life has been quite good here but I have always missed my family, but just got on with my life over here in Las Vegas, time went by I had my usual visits for a month each time back to England every 3 years, had great times with my family, I am a grown Man but I always cried when I left my loved ones, my family to board the plane to come back here,
Now I want to go back to England to live out the rest of my days with my Mother who is 90 years old now, and be close to the rest of my family, Sister, Nephews, Aunt, and my 35 year old Son, Im leaving the U.S. within a year from now, and I am thinking of nothing else right now, I can hardly wait,
but as I said my situation is a lot different to yours, but would I have done anything differently if I could roll back time? probably not, we all have to live our lives as we feel fit, and feel is the ultimate word, whatever you feel inside of you, whatever feels right for you at that time in your life is what you must do, but whatever you do decide to do go or stay if you love your husband make sure you stay with him, and talk to him and together in the end you will make the right decision, When you find love never ever let it go,
Regards, Rodney,

I really appreciate your post - so thanks!!

I think although our situations are different, I am currently fascinated by the draw a home country has on you.

Funnily enough I haven't been talking to my husband much and yesterday had a small melt down over breakfast and feel much better for talking to him, sometimes I forget just how great he is!

moving home is still very much on my mind, but I am also aware of lots of other changes in my life and want to wait for stuff to settle down to make sure that isn't impacting my decision

Hello fionao Thanx for a quick reply, I just wanted to share something with you, when I was living in Australia I was engaged to an Australian girl and the reason I left Australia was theresa and I planned on living in England together and getting married over there, and settling down there, so the plan was that I leave first, spend a few months getting a Job and an apartment and she was to follow me within 6 months, well this is what happened, yes I got a Job, there were plenty way back then in 1968, and I found a nice apartment for us to live in and our future life together seemed wonderful to both of us, we were very much in love, anyway we wrote to each other every week, ---- the snail mail was the way people communicated then as the computer was not yet even invented, and phone calls were way too expensive, so anyway six months past by and the last letter I got from her was she could not hardly wait to get to England to start our new life together, and she talked even about details of the wedding, she was due to leave Australia on the long flight to me in a couple of weeks, plane ticket in her hand, flight booked, everything was great and was turning out just how we had planned it, well a couple of weeks went buy and I received a letter from her Mother telling me that she had canceled her daughters flight to England and she feels that her Daughter is way too young to get married and to start a new life in England with me, so actually her mother forbade her Daughter to marry me, Theresa was only 18 and I was 24, back then one had to be 21 to leave the country or marry without parents consent,
So of course I was broken hearted, to this day all these years later, 40 years now has passed I have never forgot her and never will, She was my first and only love,
The morel to this true story of mine is if you find someone and you love each other never let them go, not even for an instant, the reason I shared my story with you is that if you and your Husband decide to go back to England,
Make sure you go back together, whether it's for good or just for a holiday,
And if the two of you do go back try to make it work in England, if it does not work out for you both you can both easily return to New Zealand, but at least you gave it a good shot, I guess what I am trying to say is do everything together,
I wish you two and your baby and ALL THE BABIES TO FOLLOW A WONDERFUL LIFE, and remember the secret is never take each other for granted,
Rodney,

Hi, Joefrank,

thanks for the info, it has made me feel a lot better.

I have just taken an injunction out on my husband, so life in Spain is not so good at the moment,

I think I might be home by next week,

Thanks for the help

Jaylew

Hi Rodney!Just read your posts and you sound like a real sweetheart.I left Oz aged 18,backpacking,ended up in the UK,met loads of people,but decided to head back to Oz.The night before I left the UK,this guy proposed to me!!!we were just good friends,nothing more,but he knew I was the one!Long story but a few years later I married an aussie guy (bad mistake that was!!!),ended up separating.I then started thinking about this guy in the UK.I wrote to the local newspaper in the UK asking if anyone knew his whereabouts?A week later he rang me!We've been together for 10 years now,married for 6 of those years!Did you ever try and track Theresa down?Maybe facebook?Who knows what she might be doing now?Sorry not sure if you are already married or whatever,but if you're single?

Hi Rodney, Yes, like "Living in Reality" I am wondering if you ever tried to track Theresa down? You can do a Google search for her name, that might come up with something. I did that a few months ago to try and track down an old college friend of mine in the UK, and lo and behold, her father's name came up in an obituary! He had died just a week before and so the newspaper announcement was still online. I wrote to the funeral home and they passed on my letter to my friend for me and now we email after 35 years! So you never know! BTW Thanks for the post in the other thread, re going back and feeling down. Why wait for easier questions at the US citizenship interview - life is short and precious, as well you know. They are not that difficult so I hear, and I am sure you can pass, your memory would be a year older if you wait anyway! I have my fingerprint appt for next week, all being well, I plan on moving in Spring of next year. Of course I have a house to sell...........another story

What a lovley message, it almost made me shed a tear! All the best to you in your coming year.

kind regards.

Hi jon frank

did you find it ok getting jobs? seems some area's are worst hit than other...

Hello Livinginreality,
Thank you so much for your post, WOW what a story !!!! It just shows you that no one knows what life has in store for us and what that magic thing called fate can do to completely change our lives and hopefully put it on the right course, and now you have been together for 10 years, and thank goodness after the divorce from your Aussie husband you remembered that proposal from the English guy just before you left, the timing then was wrong for you, but it turned out that this man in England new then that you were the one for him, he knew without a single doubt, It makes me feel wonderful that you finally found happiness,
With me well I did finally get married here in USA it was 1980 but it did not work out and we got divorced in 1983, now still single all these years later,
thanks for advice on trying to find my Theresa, Im going to try facebook and google I may get lucky, who knows even if she's happily married now with half a dozen kids it would be nice to be able to just email each other as old friends, or she may be divorced like me and then as you say who knows,
I will post you again if I am lucky enough to be able to find her,
kind regards Rodney,