I miss my kids and grandchildren so much. I cry all the time and cant eat and have difficulty sleeping. Iv only been here 4 weeks and know its early days but miss my life back in the UK so much. Feel like my heart is being ripped out and just devastated. My hub and I put everything into this, sold everything in the UK and moved here, it was a life long dream but without my kids I just dont want it now. I want to go home but is it too early? I now know that I will never settle here without my kids, should I just cut my losses and go back home?

Where are you? What was the motivation for the move?

If you've moved to France, for example, I'd say to arrange lots of visits home, and pay them to visit you. If it's New Zealand, well, it's a problem.

As you value your family so much, I'd be surprised if you've moved to the other side of the world.

Wherever you are, yes, it's too early to give up because of home sickness, but if it's family and they're a long way away, that's not going to change.

Bev

4 weeks. Too early to think about anything clearly I'd say.

Hi

I can really sympathise with you because I've been stuck in Canada for the last 12 months and the homesickness has taken over my life. I knew after the first week that I had made a mistake coming here. I went back to the UK in May for 5 weeks and it just made me feel worse and I wanted to go home even more. There is light at the end of the tunnel for me now though because we have decided to go home and are in the process of sorting everything out for our return. My only regret is staying here for so long and feeling so unhappy.

Ah, I see you have moved to Australia. Have some {{{hugs}}} - people will probably tell you that it is too soon to make a decision but I reckon you know instantly whether the weather, big house and pool is going to make up for the important people in your life or not.

Good luck with it, I hope you can either get your life back or can live with your decision for a defined time and then make a decision about whether to return or not.

It isnt an easy prospect to live on the other side of the world from your nearest and dearest and it isnt always realistic to expect that they will up sticks too just to be with you as they have their lives to live as well.

I know how you are feeling as I have been in OZ for 6 months and am going back to UK for good in November. Every body is different but I felt I wanted to go back after a week here. Nothing changed for me from that point on really. When my furniture was due to be delivered I wanted to send it straight back to the UK. If it wasnt for my wife I would have gone back sooner as she loves her life here. I had good days where I felt positive but I wake up next day and be back to square one. Sleeping was a problem at times and I would dream about the UK. My kids are with me and personally I could not split the family.my lad is 17 and has hated the experience and longed to go back. he has threatened to go on his own and if one was to go we all go. I had doubts before I left the UK as things happened in a space of a year and I should have not come. I dont believe my life is any better here, yes the sun shines more and the surroundings are easier on the eye but you dont have friends and family. I dont feel i belong here and I am not living a life. My main problem was I hate my job compared to the one I had in UK and some days I have a sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach and just dont want to go. time has semed to go slower here for me and 6 months has felt like 6 years. I am counting the weeks down now and if it wasnt for the money I would have packed work in by now.
People will tell you you need to give it at least a year or 2 years but everyone is different. You know straight away if you want to live somewhere and if its for you. everybodys situation in the UK is also different. I never came from a place in Wales that had a huge population, crime, traffic etc. My life was pretty laid back and sheltered. I believed I was coming for a better life fof my family but personally that is not the case for me. I asked myself could I spend the rest of my days here and leave behind my life in the UK and the answer was no. I did not see the point in prolonging the misery and I am cutting my losses and going back. Like everyone I have spent a lot of money and cant realy afford to go back but its suprising what you can do when you are desparate. I am fairly lucky as I have a job to go back to as I took a career break. Even though i have to find a rental back home I still have a house with a tenant in it as I never sold. Give me a year and I will be back on my feet.
Good luck with whatever you decide and do what is right for you as all situations are different.

Thankyou so much for your replies. I havnt replied sooner because I was really scared that you would all say Im not giving it enough time. I have literally fallen apart. Im in Victoria, its beautiful where I am but the scenery does not compensate for what I have left behind, 3 children and 2 grandchildren the youngest being 10 weeks old. I had travelled through Hong Kong and Sydney and I was fine. As soon as I reached my final destination I literally fell apart and knew it could never be home without my family with me. I have really tried and even started work to see if that would help but Im finding fault in everything and its making my life unbearable. I have dreamed of living Australia since I was 19 year's old, but my dream always included my kids! I had to try nevertheless as I would have always wondered and wanted to go. Now im here I know I cant do it without them. As for work, I was really shocked at the standards! Im a nurse working in the operating theatres. There are certain standards that I thought applied to all theatre nurse worldwide, but I was wrong! My priority is patient care, advocating for them and keeping them safe during a vulnerable time. That includes checking instruments that have been used are returned and also swabs, blades and needles. To my horror, swabs were put into pots with specimens, instruments were not checked after cases, clinical waste bins were none existent in the operating theatre! The 3 theatres had to share one clinical waste bin that was situated at the back of theatre. The waste was disposed of where the instruments were cleaned! Each patients' used clinical waste was literally dumped into the bin with the next patients (how on earth would they be able to account for anything if something happened to a patient, I reallly dont know) Ok, if thats the way they do things here then thats fine, but, its not how I do things! It was this that has finally made me make my decision to return home, and to what is in my opinion, the best health service in the world, the NHS and my children and grandchildren. Now that I am here, the reality has hit me like a tonne of bricks and I cannot wait to pick my little grandaughter up and hug and kiss her and never let go of her again. I dont want to regret losing more time with my family which is why, after a very long talk with my fantastic husband, we have decided to go back to our family

Good for you! It sounds like a very sensible option to me - it would have been sensible if it were just the family thing but when you add in the job as well .....

I hope your move forward to UK is smooth and successful and that you enjoy those grandchild cuddles (nothing like them, is there? and you cant do them on Skype!)

I think you are doing the right thing. Don't deprive your grandkids of lovely grandparents any longer. Good luck.

Me too!!!! Go with your instincts, Wish I had!!!! Life is too short to suffer and live somewhere where one doesn't want to be. All the very best to you and your family for a safe return to the Uk.

I think you are making the correct decision. I am a Paramedic in Queensland and after 1 week I wanted to run away back to my job in the NHS. I have stuck it out a little longer but it is nowhere near to the standard of the job I left behind and I cant wait to return in November. Will never moan about my job or the NHS again.

Yep, the culture shock of the Health service here is enough to send many HCP's running back to the safety and security of the NHS... Add to that Terrible homesickness and being away from all of your children and grandchildren.

Well, it's a no brainer! No amount of sunshine and scenery is going to change your mind (I'm still reeling from what you describe in theatres) I hope that now that your decision has been made, your move back to the UK is swift and smooth.
Good Luck with it all.

Call yourself smart for quitting early. Some people spend most of their lives trying to save face after making this boo boo.

Aw big hugs to you and thank god you have a husband who listened, if mine had i would not be in the position i am in 13 years on, my own fault I should have just grabbed my kids and gone home, followed my heart..........today i go home for 8 weeks to spend with my family, my children are 18 twins and 19 now so I feel finally I can leave them with dad.......and i can do what I have wanted to do for 13 years.....be with my mum and family.
gary is your wife returning with you? I seem to remember your original post a while ago.
Best of luck to you all.

An update, well i didnt go into work on wednesday or today, my husband rang yesterday and just said i wasnt coping!!! Sent an email to HR explaining that I realy wasnt doing too good and they replied that they understood and tried to reassure me that there had been very positive comments about my work on the tuesday. Then the Nursing director rang me and invited me for a coffee, i told her I wasnt really upto it and id let her know next week. My heart is saying GO HOME, GO HOME, GO HOME but I have a niggling doubt and its making me say, what if it is too soon? In my heart I long to hug and kiss my lil grandchildren and constantly ache for them and my kids. But why is my head saying I have not give it enough time? I really dont want to get back to the UK and regret doing that too I havnt got much to ship back as you can imagine cos iv only been here 5 weeks but what I have bought I would like to take with me. I have been quoted by King and Wilson 2318 dollars for a queen bed and mattress, tallboy, 2 x bedsides, coffee table and tv unit, 32" tv and approximately 8 - 10 tea chests containing clothes, personal effects and all my kitchen things. My consignement is meant to be approx 10m3 and was wondering whether this is a good price? I havnt shopped around for many more as I just want to get sorted straight away.

Thankyou everyone for your thoughts. Infection control is not top of the Australian health care systems agenda unfortunately. I cannot change the way things are done and I was always taught, if you cant change it and dont like it get out! So many thoughts running through my head and to top it off once my husband thought I had changed my mind about staying he kinda went a lil mental! I think he wants to go back too but because Im kicking up a fuss he hasnt got to say anything about it as it will all fall in place for him eventually