Dear All on the mbtuk forum!!!

I hope that everyone is well and coping with their individual situations?! Some of you are aware of the situation we as a family found ourself in whilst getting a new life in oz. Thank you to all of you who offered comfort and laughter to me......kept me reasonably sane......i think!!

We were there for 7 months total, and have now been back in the uk for 7 weeks!!!


We have suffered a lot of ups and downs and still have not got our bloody container yet and were sitting on blow up sofas but hey ho, been through worse than uncomfortable chairs!!!


My boys are now back in uk school and although they are in a different area than where we were originally from, they have settled so quickly. My hubby has been offered lots of work, and has gained his confidence that he is employable. I no longer have a misery around me.

Not so sure about me..........feel we done the right thing in the financial sense, the work situatiuon, and for the boys.......but why do I feel like I've lost something?

It is great to see everyone, but I feel like I'm missing out on Oz, and the few friends that I made there........

I have found new beaches to walk on, fabulous city for shopping, job hunting is much easier and I have 2 interviews next week, signed up for a home study course to work toward a degree, but I feel empty.........

are these the classic signs of a ping pommer or should I just get over it?

all agony aunts please help!!!

Good to hear that you are settled (mostly!). I suspect what you are experiencing is the same sort of "loss" after a holiday away - you can always see how much nicer a place is when you are on holiday there and to some extent your time in Aus was just that. Combine that probably with the loss of a "dream" you thought was going to last forever but hasnt. Regret is a powerful emotion but in reality, you arent missing much except better weather and beaches and in time you would have got bored with them (well, they wouldnt assume the importance of new stuff is what I mean) as one does when one lives with something as a matter of course.

You can always come back for a holiday when you are fed up with weekend breaks to the continent etc!!!

Hang in there, hope it will get better for you!

It sounds as though things are coming together really nicely for you back home.

Your feelings of loss may be due to a degree of disappointment in what you thought would be. After all it was less than a year ago that you were planning your new life in Aus and now you are back in UK. I don't suppose many of us come to Aus without fully expecting & hoping it will all work out and when it doesn't it can be hard to accept and draw a line under the experience.

It sounds as though your boys & husband are settling in well and I am sure you will too once you have started a new job and/or course and feel part of something again.

My parents were ping-pongers-when in Aus they missed the countryside & history of UK, when in UK it was the beaches & sunshine of Aus. There are good things in both places and you will always be aware of the things that aren't on your doorstep wherever you are-nowhere is perfect after all. I don't know your full story but it sounds like your family had a hard time making a life in Aus but everything is falling into place back in UK. I would say that's a good indication you are in the right place.

Take care-it's onwards & upwards for you now!
Jools

Hi, it's nice to hear that your family has settled in well....I agree with both Jools and Quoll just give it time and maybe when you are in more of a routine things will start to fall into place...I think women do feel more of a "tug" about places or things....I use to feel so fed up when we came back from holidays when I really should of been saying to myself that was a wonderful holiday now plan more good things to happen for the futue...I have been here in Aus for 11 years now (nearly) and I know I will miss things here...and at the moment I am finding that a suprise and hard to deal with but the options of staying here for both my family and our sons want to be with their families, cousins, aunts , uncles etc...me...I just want everyone to be happy...and I do miss home and Aus never really felt home...so you are "normal" I think because we have returned (or returning) home we think life will just slip back into how it was before..it will and for most it will be for the "better" but just give it time...plan a holiday to look forward to.....days out to places you missed while in Aus.....just give yourself time...you will make friends and your "things" will arrive soon which also do give comfort.....
Take care and be easy on yourself for a while.....

I think when moving back, there's a sense of wanting to justify its the right move. Looking at everything very critically, to be sure its better.

Missing things is normal, it was big part of your life. I don't know about 'just getting over it' you have just moved half way round the world, just because you are coming 'home' doesn't make it any less of a transition. Give yourself a break...
Enjoy being back, and let yourself appreciate the new opportunities you have, good luck with the job interviews
Louise

Ive been back 7 months now and have recently had those feelings, dont ask me!!! my heads still all over the place, I do agree though friends I made out there I miss terribly and my eldest daughter but weird sometimes I find myself longing for something there (slap slap) must make a mental note.......

"I WILL NOT BECOME A PING PONGER" gulp

if its any consolation we've been back for coming up 7 months and were out there for 16 months, and to be honest i miss oz far more than i ever missed uk! and now that we're here my eldest is back in his old class in school but not all is well really, he enjoys the school and his old friends but before we went his class had about 17 kids now it has 32!!! which we definatly notice, he is nowhere near the stage that he would of been at in is aussie school! the difference with us though is we in the last 6 months of us being in oz we never really wanted to come home at all, but we felt that we had to really as my hubby had agreed to take over a bussiness and we had told f+f the plan to do so!!!(very gutted), anyway the news is good as we still have 3 years left on our pr visa, so its aussie bound for us again in about 2.5 years time, sounds a long way off but we waited that long the 1st time from reccie, applying and actually going, and this time the hubby has assured me that he would rather divorce me than ship a full 20ft container, 3 kids and my shoe collection again!!!

Hi Kel, I am sorry to hear you are feeling this way, but apparently, it is very common. You might like to read this......http://britishexpats.com/articles/mo...culture-shock/

I would say it was very natural to now feel 'empty', after all, you've had alot of on your mind and an awful lot going on this past 6 months or so and now the pace has slowed and you are settling into 'normal' every day life again. Take your time and enjoy what you have for awhile, then maybe see how you feel next year. Keep us posted.

thanks everyone. lovely to hear your comments. I'm still feeling like a fish out of water. Not sure where I might feel sane again?!!

I am making the most of what we have right now, and keeping it all crossed that the housing market continues to fall in our favour!! We are renting at the moment and making more money in our savings account than what houses are making.....houses are currently losing on average of 160 gbp a day!!

hows it all going for all you lot? Are you still enjoying your time there? are you pining for here?

The weather has been quite pleasant, but I still feel cold!! May take some time to reaclimatise!

thanks again guys and dolls xxxxx