Are you going back for good? If so where are you going to live?

we have been back since August.

In Aus I always missed the UK Christmas atmosphere....but I realise I was imagining them to be better than they are in reality.

The cold has been too much to bear and I realise that entertaining a toddler is hard in snow and ice as the park makes up a fair part of her external activities!
And we have both had more illnesses in the last 2 months than in the previous 2 years....just can't shake it off.

So for me- the thought was more appealing than the reality.

You HAVE gone back in the worst winter - that must be awful for you and as much as I love scenic snow, I won't appreciate months of the white stuff I'm sure.

You may have reverse culture shock too, especially if you have been away for a while. I must admit it took me quite a few months to get "into the groove" of how things are done differently.

As for the illnesses, well I have had worse flu since coming back to Australia than I ever did in England!!! I suppose your body gets used to different strains and has some kind of immunity???

It's early days for you yet, and just think spring is around the corner.........

Only perfect until they get their heating bills:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/bargain...in_page_id=510

Ha! If I could get my bills down to that level I'd be a happy camper. English people don't know how lucky they are in so many ways.

Well yes that is an AVERAGE bill, how can you average out the bills between say a 10 bedroom mansion and a 1 bedroom studio apartment?

It's like the "average" wage they give for Sydney, I should be so lucky!!!

I lived in the UK last winter, yes through all the snow in a centrally heated 2 bedroom flat. I had to turn off the bedroom and hall radiators as I found it too warm () and my bill was nothing like the "average."

My daughter's heating and electric bill for a 3 bed house here in sunny Australia was $850 for the winter quarter........

Blimey, I paid less than that for a 4 bedroom house in Canada.

But this is what you must expect if you choose to live in a large mansion.

Haha! I wish Just a draughty old house with bad insulation in the most expensive place in the world. At least my ridiculous heating bills here will make England seem like a walk in the park (trying to look on the bright side).

haha Sally me too, just forked out almost 600 bucks just for heating oil, not even a full tank.......and we pay out about 250 a month for electric and then 50 for the privilege of water being pumped to the house.....that 600 oil will last til end Feb I hope, we let the temp go down to 62 over night though so heating doesn't come on.
A mansion I wish......

We have the opposite, high summer bills close to $1000 over three or four months and low winter bills maybe $200 over three months. (I keep it cool, trying to acclimatize the family) Not really, we use the wood burner all winter and it helps a lot, usually burning $250 worth of wood a year.

In the height of winter our joint gas and electric bills can be $700 per month and then in the height of summer they get back up there because we have to have the window AC units blasting (and last year we needed huge fans all over the house as well because it was so unbearable).

You'd think I'd learn my lesson and look for a new house next time, but every time I look at houses, I'm always drawn to the old ones. It's a curse!

I've completely forgotten what hot or even warm weather is like now! It seems such a long time since....... But at least it's been several degrees above freezing for the past couple of days or so.....well, until tonight anyway as it's a wee bit on the parky side again now....