Reasons for returning to the UK
Feb 21st 2019, 8:04 pm
#46
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Posts: 1,830
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by spouse of scouse
We'd planned for a long time to move to the UK to retire. Husband from Liverpool, had lived in Australia for 25 years, me an Aussie. We moved to Merseyside (New Brighton on the Wirral) in 2015. I loved everything about living there from the start - the lovely old house that we completely renovated, the weather (so sick of the Perth heat), the proximity to Europe for amazingly cheap holidays, the wonderful variety variety of fresh fruit and veg, the friendly 'we all stick together' people.
My husband couldn't settle, various things got him down but in particular the winters. It was concerning for me to see this usually up beat, 'nothing gets me down' bloke so obviously not enjoying life as much as he had in Oz. We talked about it a lot and I offered to return to Australia at any time with him, as I can be happy in either country. We decided though to wait at least until I'd obtained my British citizenship. The crunch came in the winter of 2017, a few months before I was due to apply for FLR. Our lovely old mate, a beautiful golden retriever who'd come with us from Australia suddenly became very ill on morning and we had to have him put to sleep within hours. That afternoon we were attacked and robbed in the street by a random bloke, an extremely rare occurrence for the area we lived in. After we'd returned home from hospital, I looked at my lovely man's face (as much of it as I could see through the bruising) and said 'let's go home'. So we did.
My husband couldn't settle, various things got him down but in particular the winters. It was concerning for me to see this usually up beat, 'nothing gets me down' bloke so obviously not enjoying life as much as he had in Oz. We talked about it a lot and I offered to return to Australia at any time with him, as I can be happy in either country. We decided though to wait at least until I'd obtained my British citizenship. The crunch came in the winter of 2017, a few months before I was due to apply for FLR. Our lovely old mate, a beautiful golden retriever who'd come with us from Australia suddenly became very ill on morning and we had to have him put to sleep within hours. That afternoon we were attacked and robbed in the street by a random bloke, an extremely rare occurrence for the area we lived in. After we'd returned home from hospital, I looked at my lovely man's face (as much of it as I could see through the bruising) and said 'let's go home'. So we did.
Feb 22nd 2019, 11:22 am
#47
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Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 20,387
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by UkWinds5353
Your post really touched me. So sorry to hear you've had a bit of bad luck. Returning home can often present a great many road blocks which at the time can feel overwhelming. But don't let several barriers be the last say in your life journey. Reassess when the time is right if that is what you truly want. Anything worth having is usually worth fight for.
Feb 23rd 2019, 2:09 am
#48
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,830
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by spouse of scouse
Thanks. We've both settled back in Australia and are very happy
Mar 4th 2019, 11:23 pm
#49
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Location: Coming up for air
Posts: 98
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Yeah. Me too. If I don't do it soon I'm looking at years of Australian suburban life, getting older and saying 'what if'. Older people aren't respected much in Australia and even more so if they're single!
Mar 5th 2019, 6:46 am
#50
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Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by moonsurfer
Yeah. Me too. If I don't do it soon I'm looking at years of Australian suburban life, getting older and saying 'what if'. Older people aren't respected much in Australia and even more so if they're single!
Mar 5th 2019, 7:00 am
#51
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Location: Western Australia
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Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by brits1
When we first arrived back in the UK we caught a bus to the nearest town, our youngest was 17 at the time and he had gone very quiet by the end of the ride....he said later he was shocked at seeing so many old people on the bus (same amount as youngsters on the bus) then I realised he had really not seen old people in our area of Perth. He said a few years later ..it must be like the old go off to live somewhere else in WA. Lol
Mar 5th 2019, 7:03 am
#52
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Location: Western Australia
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Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by moonsurfer
Yeah. Me too. If I don't do it soon I'm looking at years of Australian suburban life, getting older and saying 'what if'. Older people aren't respected much in Australia and even more so if they're single!
Mar 5th 2019, 8:59 am
#53
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 3
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
After 17 years, I am currently getting my house ready to sell and go back to the UK. I came out here in 2002 with my Australian girlfriend who I met in London. We had been together 4 years before she wanted to return and I felt ready to move on from London. We lived in central Sydney for about 8 years, had a wee boy in 2008. I always preferred Perth and I managed to transfer my job there in 2010. We had the lovely big house with pool near the beach etc. We were living the dream and I thought we would end our days here. However, in 2015, my partner, aged 45, took a cardiac arrest and passed away 2 weeks before our son’s 7th birthday. Needless to say, my life has bever been the same. I decided to stay on for the past 3 years as my job was a good gig and it afforded me the flexibility to attend to my son. Last year, I was made redundant. Since then I have increasingly felt completely detached from Australia and feeling ‘Australian’; with my Australian partner gone I no longer feel the association nor joy of living here. in fact, despite meeting some of the most loveliest people I have ever met here, I have grown to dislike Australia after all that has happened. I just want to go back to my roots and my identity, to be with my family while they are all still around and my son can enjoy life with them.
Mar 5th 2019, 11:02 am
#54
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Joined: Nov 2018
Location: North West England
Posts: 240
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by Scootrboi
After 17 years, I am currently getting my house ready to sell and go back to the UK. I came out here in 2002 with my Australian girlfriend who I met in London. We had been together 4 years before she wanted to return and I felt ready to move on from London. We lived in central Sydney for about 8 years, had a wee boy in 2008. I always preferred Perth and I managed to transfer my job there in 2010. We had the lovely big house with pool near the beach etc. We were living the dream and I thought we would end our days here. However, in 2015, my partner, aged 45, took a cardiac arrest and passed away 2 weeks before our son’s 7th birthday. Needless to say, my life has bever been the same. I decided to stay on for the past 3 years as my job was a good gig and it afforded me the flexibility to attend to my son. Last year, I was made redundant. Since then I have increasingly felt completely detached from Australia and feeling ‘Australian’; with my Australian partner gone I no longer feel the association nor joy of living here. in fact, despite meeting some of the most loveliest people I have ever met here, I have grown to dislike Australia after all that has happened. I just want to go back to my roots and my identity, to be with my family while they are all still around and my son can enjoy life with them.
Mar 7th 2019, 10:47 pm
#55
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Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by spouse of scouse
Not trying to be argumentative, but what makes you feel that older people in Australia aren't respected in comparison with the UK? I'm 60 and help my 85 year old Mum out a fair bit, and that's not something I've experienced.
Just my opinion and maybe it's where I currently live :-)
Mar 20th 2019, 12:46 am
#56
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Location: New york
Posts: 1
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Hi Rebbeca
we are relocating to Plano later this year September / October we currently live and work in New York and have been here for 7 years
we are also from Bournemouth and are excited about our next adventure moving to Texas .
Would you mind if I can contact you with any questions about the area etc. My wife Lisa works for J P Morgan and they are relocating us
Thanks Rebbeca
Regards
Richard
we are relocating to Plano later this year September / October we currently live and work in New York and have been here for 7 years
we are also from Bournemouth and are excited about our next adventure moving to Texas .
Would you mind if I can contact you with any questions about the area etc. My wife Lisa works for J P Morgan and they are relocating us
Thanks Rebbeca
Regards
Richard
Mar 21st 2019, 12:41 am
#57
Just Joined
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 26
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
[QUOTE=TiaMaria57;12599237]
Things rings true to me also. When ACA kicked in my health insurance premium quadrupled and the deductible doubled.
Originally Posted by sherbert
Yes: I think for those of us in some parts of the US the cost of living, even with massively high wages, is becoming ridiculous, places are becoming overcrowded, commuting is a nightmare and the resulting quality of life coupled with the isolation/distance from other countries is not really worth the cost and stress imho.
I agree with the cost of living in the US. It’s not like it used to be. I believe that salaries have to be higher because of the massive premiums one has to pay for health care ever since the Obama Care Act came in. It has pushed up the health premiums to unreasonable levels, on top of which there are co-pays and deductibles on top. $1300 + per month is unacceptable for the premium for one person and with a large co-pay, never mind two people in a household. It seems even more unreasonable when you’ve never visited a doctor or a hospital! It never used to be like this until the ACA came in with Obama. When you’re self employed and faced with these costs, you have to charge more for your services. Therefore even your local handyman has to charge more for his services, which are so much cheaper to get fixed in the UK.
Issolation can be a problem. Distances are so great, unlike in the UK. We enjoy being back in England taking day trips, knowing that we will be where we want to be within at least an hour and not having to stay overnight to get back the next day.
I agree with the cost of living in the US. It’s not like it used to be. I believe that salaries have to be higher because of the massive premiums one has to pay for health care ever since the Obama Care Act came in. It has pushed up the health premiums to unreasonable levels, on top of which there are co-pays and deductibles on top. $1300 + per month is unacceptable for the premium for one person and with a large co-pay, never mind two people in a household. It seems even more unreasonable when you’ve never visited a doctor or a hospital! It never used to be like this until the ACA came in with Obama. When you’re self employed and faced with these costs, you have to charge more for your services. Therefore even your local handyman has to charge more for his services, which are so much cheaper to get fixed in the UK.
Issolation can be a problem. Distances are so great, unlike in the UK. We enjoy being back in England taking day trips, knowing that we will be where we want to be within at least an hour and not having to stay overnight to get back the next day.
Apr 20th 2019, 3:26 pm
#58
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Joined: Mar 2011
Location: North of the 49th parallel
Posts: 140
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by spouse of scouse
After we'd returned home from hospital, I looked at my lovely man's face (as much of it as I could see through the bruising) and said 'let's go home'. So we did.
Apr 20th 2019, 11:56 pm
#59
Banned
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,830
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Originally Posted by moonsurfer
Yeah. Me too. If I don't do it soon I'm looking at years of Australian suburban life, getting older and saying 'what if'. Older people aren't respected much in Australia and even more so if they're single!
Aug 2nd 2019, 5:43 pm
#60
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Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 946
Re: Reasons for returning to the UK
Reviving this thread as there are oodles of posts about people moving back. I see lots of posts about worries here about finances, healthcare, retirement, relationship woes and general homesickness.
I'm still here but still plotting to leave by the end of the year. Impending Brexit put a hold on my plans to move to London (the EU OH would have none of it) so it's looking likely that we'll end up somewhere in Europe, which is fine by me as a 2 hour flight back to blighty is infinitely better than a 12 hour one.
I'm still here but still plotting to leave by the end of the year. Impending Brexit put a hold on my plans to move to London (the EU OH would have none of it) so it's looking likely that we'll end up somewhere in Europe, which is fine by me as a 2 hour flight back to blighty is infinitely better than a 12 hour one.
