[QUOTE how long was you in nz and why did you leave, intrested to know as i will be moving there soon, cheers Lee=milligano;5124346]We have been back for 7 months to the day. Unsure if I love being back or not. I certainly like being back but it is only now that I am realising that I won't be going back to NZ.

Miss my job, house and certain ways of life in NZ but love being near my family and friends again although don't see them as much you think you might on your return.

Bought our home at long last and move mid Sept so perhaps things will change once we have all our own things around us again and we can finally feel settled.

Our little boy has certainly taken to life here without any quibbles which is all that matters to me really.

One other thing we really miss from NZ is the coffee.[/QUOTE]

We have been back 6 months already! Loving it. We miss the beach on the doorstep (a bit), but nothing else.
Pretty hacked off with not having our own home. We have been living in other peoples for the last 9 months and really need our own space/nest/control..arghhhhh.The deal is taking an age.
Enjoying getting out and visiting things/places far more than we did.Can't wait for a proper Christmas! Happier than we have ever been bar the house thing of course. Regrets? You bet. Waste of a huge amount of money, but if it wasn't this maybe it would have been some other harebrained scheme
On here far, far less as prefer being in the real world in the main. Still good for a laugh and catch up on here though.

Can totally relate to that seasprite - if we hadn't done the whole Oz saga we deffo would have done something else drastic that cost money - sort of early mid life crisis I suppose!!

As for us - back one year almost and loving it - spent all day on the beach today with the kids plus grandma, aunty and cousins - kids are just so happy to be around family and it was just wonderful.

I have to say though, that for me, although family is important I missed England and Englishness just as much as family and friends and I am just so glad to be back and everyday I thank my lucky stars that I managed to persuade OH to come home!

And I can relate to that! When people ask why we returned I just say that I am too English. I am thankful my husband eventually agreed too. Would rather have spent the dosh on a caravan by the sea though. Or a couple of snazzy motorbikes, or hang gliding lessons....
p.s are you in Hampshire?

Congrats to all that have returned home to the UK and are glad to be back. We will be returning from Cyprus later this month and we cannot wait to get back. We miss so many things....

I just wanted to ask. Some people have said that they are living with relatives or friends and when we get back I will be going back to Mum, but hoping to apply for Council Housing.

Does anyone know if this will be difficult for us? We have no finances and have 2 children and another on the way. We have had some bad luck and been in Cyprus less than a year and want to get ourselves back on track asap.

My husband will eventually work and we hope to get a government grant to buy a property again (heard somewhere on hear about that).

If anyone can help with some advice it would be much appreciated.

Yours SweetHome x

If there is room at your Mum's then you will have to wait years with the Council, getting one given to you is like finding Gold dust now day's. Renting privately is what most have to do and that is what we will be doing as well. No such thing as a government grant to buy housing.

Hi Britvic, Thanks for reply.

There is no room at my Mum's, not for all of us, so I am hoping they do house us quickly. If I can get private rent and some help then that is what we will do.

SweetHome

That's what you think but the council will have other ideas, alright some areas are better than other's for council housing availability. I dont mean to put a dampener on you going home as I said we are also, but it's a cold hard fact of the matter you can not depend on being rehoused by the council.

We are fine Back one year. good jobs, mortgage, good schools etc etc. I have lots of guilt about returning because OH wanted to stay. So sometimes I think we should try again, but dismiss this at the mo because I would need to be sure its not the guilt talking if you know what I mean. But for someone who didnt want to return, hes actually far more settled and sorted than me and really enjoying life with no regrets We have a good life with a nice lots of friends/neighbours etc. Kids do more here than they did in Oz.
My inability to truly settle is a reflection of me and the bad emotional experiences I had in Oz - its nothing to do with the UK. I have had no problems with chavs, Eastern Europens, burgalry etc etc. I feel very safe.

On anothe note - I dont think you can get grants to buy houses. there is a scheme now where you rent half the house, buy the other half (so the mortgage is lower) Rent a lot cheaper than normal so total payment less than a whole mortgage.Then, when you feel able to take on a bigger morgage, you can opt to buy house outright. maybe that was it. She needs to contact housing associations rather than the coucil for this.

Most councils work on the basis that if you stay with a relative for more than a few days, you are housed. If your kids are under nine (?) years old, all you have to have is one bedroom in someone else's home and they will not help you at all. You have to be verifiably homeless, with no prospect of private renting, and even then you may only get a B&B for a few months. The fact that you are pregnant is irrelevant to them, until the baby is born. Coming home from Cyprus may also put you in the position of being intentionally homeless, bad luck or not, they will argue that you chose to return. This is what I have been told by five different councils around the country, the only detail I cannot specifically recall is the age at which siblings of the opposite sex qualify you for another bedroom based on need. Housing associations are your best bet really, but one of you will need to be working to get shared ownership.

Yeh, just didnt have anything else exciting to tell you (like we sold the house)...

Kath

Thanks and help for your advice guys. I guess we will see what happens when we get back.

SweetHome