backagen

Well I've not been on the forum for a while which I suppose was because I have sort of more or less given up on the idea of moving back to Britain for the time being. I would still like to think I'll live there again one day but it's just in the "too hard basket" for now, for a variety of reasons.

Anyway, it's not all bad news for me because after a very long drawn-out period of complete and utter uncertainty and just knot being able to make up my mind whether to stay or go, or what the hell to do, I finally made some sort of decision (and I think a pretty good one in the circumstances) about 2 weeks ago.

I decided ot quit my job, (which I have now done but I'm still working my notice period till the end of september) and to take about 6 months to rest and travel and LIVE for once, hopefully more or less stress-free!

So once I've finished work (end of sep) I'm off to good old England for about 2 months. That's way longer than any of my previous visits have been so it will do two things hopefully.

1. It will give me a really good long holiday
2. It will give me a better chance to work out if I really could move back permanently again.

I doubt I'll be moving back permanently in the foreseeable future but anything could honestly happen.

I'm very excited about the trip anyway!

ukintexas

Sounds great! Good for you

Mummy in the foothills

Sounds like a good plan.

quoll

Footloose and fancy free huh?!

Who knows what can happen while you are away - one of my sons went for 10 months 7 years ago and hasnt come back yet - things just slipped into place for him and took his life in a totally different direction to the one he had planned. So maybe something fantastic will happen for you and lead you down paths you had never dreamed possible!

Have a great time!

Tr1boy

Enjoy yourself and good luck with whatever you decide. Let us know your thoughts while you're there.

janet1964

wish you a good trip & hope you are able to decide where you want to be wish you every happiness in whatever you do .

kwazywabbit

Have a great trip, Just got back myself . Was all I wanted it to be as well. Just enjoy and take it 1 dat at a time.

Merseygirl

I wish you the best of luck and hope that it answers some questions for you. Hopefully in 2 months you will able to look at life in Britain objectively to see if it suits you after life in Adelaide.
I am currently in the UK for a 3 month recce and surprisingly I have felt slightly drawn back to Australia which I didn't expect but I also see a lot of advantages to staying in UK too.
The main problem in Britain at the moment is unemployment and trying to find work. The recession still seems to biting hard (although I only have the biased British media to go by!!).
But if I decide to return to UK on a long term basis, it is the job and money situation that concerns me most.
Good Luck

janet1964

unemployment is still tough in the UK, my sister has only just been able to get a job after being made redundant last July , every time she was interviewed they told her she was over qualified and or too old LOL !!! (she is only 47 )& she was prepared to take anything as a job, she has really struggled to find employment, she put over 150 resume out as well as appling online, glad I'm here in Canada & not back in the UK.

simongb

Unemployment or rather finding a job in the UK concerns me too. I have been here for two months and return to the US today. I have looked, but there is nothing in my field at the moment. It's such a shame!

backagen

Yes anything is possible right now!
My plan at the moment is after two months to come back to Australia and have a further 4-6 months rest before looking for another job.

Anything could happen.

Fleaflyfloflum

Hope you enjoy it

One peice of advice though. If you are doing htis to see if you would want to return permanently, please try experiencing different areas and different lifestyles. Many people just go back to what they left or similar areas. You could well be surprised at how much you enjoy something different within the UK. We have!!

Caymanite

Good Advice there from Flea.

Obviously if you just go back to what you were doing/seeing before then you will not get the whole picture. Also, there were reasons you left in the first place so go experience another side of the UK - even in some small way that you haven't before and keep your eyes and ears open to everything.

I lived in Cayman from 1999 to 2003, returned to England to almost EVERYONE asking why we came back and if it were them they wouldn't have etc etc - it made us feel blue, in fact we felt we had made the wrong decision and returned here to Cayman a couple of years later feeling we had somehow made the wrong decision to leave in the first place.

Now after having been here a second time for almost 3 years we are feeling it was the WRONG decision to come back and rather than listen to people in the UK who thought we had left some paradise we should have listened to our own instincts and experienced more of the UK instead of throwing in the towel.

Making plans to leave here by the end of the year, only this time it will be for good. Nice place but not for us to live permanently

I have probably confused the whole thread now, sorry

backagen

I'll do my best to do that, thanks! Any particular areas you recommend?

backagen

I've certainly experienced those comments many times ("Why would you come back to this dump?" etc). It can be very hard not to let it get you down, especially when the comments come from your own family and friends, and are constantly backed up by the British media.

I think we just have to be very strong about it and realise that we are the lucky few who know the real truth about living in other countries. We know that there are good and bad things about every country and that while Britain does have its problems, it is nowhere near as bad as the media would have us believe!

If we can't convince others of this, we have to at least not let them get us down!