It's been a while!!
 

For anyone who may actually remember, I used to be TraceyW! I still am actually, I just can't log in as me! For those of you who have absolutely no idea who I am, I moved to Perth with husband and two small children back in 2004 and after years of being really homesick eventually moved back to the UK in Oct 2008.

I haven't been on here for ages, which is quite amazing in itself as i used to be on here every day of the week when I lived in Perth; it kept me sane speaking to people who actually understood how I felt. ;)

I wanted to drop a line to say all is still really good for us back here in the UK. We love Devon, it's the best place we have ever lived and that's the truth. Our children are thriving and go to lovely schools. They have not turned into chavs/gang members/muggers/drug addicts (we awere warned of this prior to returning...honest!) and they are very happy children :). Husband is happy playing cricket and football, having the odd pint and digging the garden! I am very happy with my job, love my home (it's got character, it feels like a home and only takes me a couple of hours to clean, unlike the Perth house!!)

I love being around family again. I love seeing the seasons change. I love being part of a country I belong in and I love being British. Oh, and I don't buy a newspaper!

So, to anyone thinking of moving back, good luck to you. It's not been without its challenges, but for us, it was worth it and we have absolutely no regrets :thumbsup:

Re: It's been a while!!
 

:thumbsup:

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:thumbsup: That's great!

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I always love hearing from those who have made the move back, I crave the details both good and bad! If you have time I'd be very interested to hear what the challenges have been. If we are manage to go back it will be, like you, with young children so that aspect is of particular interest. Did you pick your location based on the schools and did you pick it before you moved back or did you take temp accommodation first while deciding which area to move to?

Sorry lots of questions, I guess I really do like all the details!

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Was your avatar rolling eyeballs?

Glad to hear it's all working out :thumbsup:

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What a lovely post DevonTracy. I'm all smiley now, and even more excited about our move back next year!
And I shan't be reading any papers, (or watching the news) either! :thumbsup:

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Bad bits were in the first 6 months; the readjustment I think was harder than we anticipated. We stupidly expected to be able to slot straight back in, and for the most part we did, just certain things didn't go to plan: our daughter, who was 7, found it hard to make friends (she's fine now!), the initial school we moved the children to wasn't what we believed it to be (we moved them, they're great now) the job situation was pretty bad but it's working out now.
Everything that seemed a little alien to us when we came back now feels like it's ever been any different. I no longer think of Perth with bad feelings, it was an adventure I learned loads from and I am grateful for having it.

We chose to live here because we didn't want to go back to where we'd moved from; that's taking a backwards step in our opinion, so we chose somewhere we'd always wanted to live...Devon (and it's close to husbands folks). We chose our town because of its fantastic schools (apart from the first one!) and this was a very important issue for us and has proved to be poignant as both children are flying high academically and have made some great friends and are very happy....and if they're happy, we're happy :thumbup:

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Can't find the avatar!!

Hope all is well with you :thumbup:

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Tracey W as I live and breathe!!!! How are you darling?

I'm glad it's all worked out so well for you all.....just like I said it would ;)

All we need now is nu-shooz, flea and St George's Girl and we could have an old girls' reunion!

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Hello Tracey W, I remember your posts and your rolling eyeballs. Used to enjoy reading what you had to say. Glad to hear that you are doing well in lovely Devon and that it turned out to be the best decision for you and your family.

PS. I miss Flea, Nu Shooz and St Georges Girl too. I wonder how they are doing.

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Glad it worked out for you all. :thumbsup:

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Hi Tracey

So pleased all worked out good for you:) Everything sounds like it has finally found its place.

Nu shooz is good loving life and very happy.


Kath is back in Perth and very happy(can't remember what her name was here)

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Did St Georges girl go home ??

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No I don't think so, last I heard (about a year ago) she was stuck in Perth and very very sad, she wanted to go home but realised if she did it would have to be without her OH :(

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You left Perth the month I signed up with expats. I do remember reading your posts both here in Perth and a few from Devon,where it didn't seem to be going as good as may have been hoped.
Good to hear all is grand a few years on. Whatever happened to a few of the others on around that time?
Flo I think was one. Cricket was back recently after a long absence. Always interesting to catch up on some of the old names and what they are doing years later.