slidingbyee

To the OP I read/scrolled through 12 pages to get here. Your decision now seems very sound. Perhaps the best anyone can learn from this is do not rush headlong into housebuying whereever you go. Always give it a minimum of 6 - 9 months before even considering buying no matter how perfect the deal seems.

For me - I wish I had the &@$#&% to get up and go back perhaps this year.

Elaine B.

That's sweet of you Jules

Jules Europe

I can be both sweet and charming when the need arises

quoll

I've kept out of this one because it seems so essentially Canadian but to the OP - good on you and good luck for your move home!

I've been in Aus for 30 years, I guess I always considered myself an expat and was interested in the comments about the difference between expats and immigrants. Yup, definitely an expat who has happened to get stuck here and not enjoying it one iota. I reckon it doesnt take you long to make the decision about whether you "belong" in a place or you dont. 5 months is quite enough IMHO - by that time you realise the values of the community you are heading into and your own values and if there is a mismatch you can work out whether you can compromise your values to be in line with theirs.

So many people are suckered in the first instance by the weather (speaking from an Aus pov here) the McMansions, the beaches, the wide open spaces but after a while you can have too much sunshine, your house is bigger and harder to keep tidy and doesnt keep the cold out, you get sick and tired of sand in everything you own and space is all fine and well but when you drive for 8 hours and cant say where you are based on the scenery it all gets very boring. I guess for me the question would be "how long is the honeymoon period?" because that is equally valid. People who are in raptures over a place because they have been there 5 months are usually (on this and other forums) lauded for settling in so wonderfully and "absolutely loving" the place of their choice. Check with them 10 or 15 years later and things may well have settled into "OMG the holiday is over, I want to go home" mode. I know quite a few long term UK expats here and the vast majority say the same - some wistfully regretting their situation and some actively seeking to go home or at least, like me, visit home for their sanity every year or so.

So, OP - Go for it! Have a ball and enjoy UK once you get home, you will look at it through new eyes and realize what a gem you are living in!

canzoet

In complete agreement. There are plenty who leave but actually never leave. They go with great expectations about a new life in another country but find that they should have maybe stayed. The decision to return is not easy but is the only answer. I have spent 42 of my 62 years living outside the U.K. many years in Canada and the last 30 in Holland. Fortunately I have been able to intergrate in each without any longing of returning to the country of my birth. Emigration is never easy, for some it works and for others, the only
answer is to return home.

AmandaUK

Hey Gotoronto - I think you were on Trackitt? I didn't know you'd left Canada? What went wrong for you? If you want to PM me I'm on [email protected]. I was AmandaUK on Trackitt. If I have the wrong person, just ignore this!

Elaine B.

Amanda you might want to delete your email address from your post before you get a lot of unwanted spam

AmandaUK

Oooh good point thanks ... how do I do that?!

Elaine B.

It's too late to edit your post yourself but if you ask one of the mods I'm sure they can do it for you.