she'llberight

We're in the process of moving to Australia. We've had it with asylum seekers, Tony Blair and his cronies, litter everywhere, Political Correctness gone crazy, national health service where now patients are asked to take in their own pillow (I kid you not), money shortages everywhere (education: uni fees going up/lack of equipment, NHS where people are dying on trollies in corridors because there aren't enough staff to cover), oh I could go on.

So I know that Australia (or any other country for that matter) is not Nirvana and that some of the problems here will be over there, but what is SO bad, that it makes you return home?

I guess we all need to be happy and if you're in a place which makes you miserable then, if you can, you do something about it. It must be awful to feel trapped and so far away from home. I'm just trying to understand that's all.

paddythepilot

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Interesting post and some valid points!

However, I'm not sure you will find things much different in Australia?

I wouldn't recommend 'emmigration' based upon 'wanting to leave', it would be far better to Immigrate based on 'wanting to move'.........if you get my drift?

I am not being critical, just a gentle reminder that life in Oz will have the same problems as the UK......at least the weather is better though.

Anyway, good luck with your plans.

Cheers

Simone

I totally agree, go for the 'pull' of Oz, the adventure etc, not because something is pushing you away from the UK.

I think, if you find lots of things to 'whinge' about in one place, you'll find them(or others) in another place to.

And reasons to go back?
I think feeling at 'home', missing friends/family is a reason for most people.....

CalgaryAMC

How many people does the Daily Mail cost Britain every year?

I've heard different statistics quoted, although sources are suspiciously lacking most of the time. Apparently between 50 - 60% of Britons return home within a few years. There is a special medical term that encompasses all of their reasons: homesickness.

You'll find that different places offer lots of quality of life improvements - lower crime was an absolutely massive quality of life improvement for us moving from Manchester to Calgary (Canada). But in some areas, like shopping, it can seem (and in fact is) very backward.

And then there are the things that just can't be replaced: family, friends, country pubs, or whatever it is that floats your boat...and so the homesickness sets in, and it festers, and people end up going back.

In my opinion the people who stay are the people who integrate into their new community, make new local friends and get involved.

she'llberight

Point taken Paddy.

The reasons in my last post were not the only ones for emigrating, we already have relatives over there. Perhaps we're a bit too idealistic, I don't know - only time will tell, but we're hoping for a more laid-back, less rat-racey life.

Who knows, in a few years time I may be posting on this forum desperately wanting to come home but it's something we have to try - there's nothing worse than the 'what if' syndrome. Life's too short for that!

Thanks for your reply.

CalgaryAMC

Absolutely right.

(if at all possible, try not to sell your house in Britain though)

flashman

So true. There are some people who can easily assimilate into their new surroundings and then there's others who simply refuse to change and adapt.

The most extreme situation is working for a company who will relocate you every few years so adapting to (and welcoming) change becomes a job requirement as it is in most progressive companies anyway.

Some of the negative comments on this forum are quite trivial in content and relect the originator's reluctance to change which could definately be a career limiting attitude.

Remember George Carlin's advice about not sweating the petty stuff (and not petting the sweaty stuff)

paddythepilot

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Mae,

You are quite right.......life is too short!

Iv'e got to be honest here.......I just love living aboard, I really do love it!

There are good and bad things about the UK, but overall 'for me', I couldn't settle there again, although I did try about 2 years ago, but it wasn't for me.

If you treat life like one great big adventure, and like someone already mentioned, maybe hang on to your property in the UK to keep the options open, (and keep you sane that you can go back anytime soon), then I think you'll fine!

Good luck, give it a go and keep positive.

Cheers

janeyray

When in the UK it's easy to bring all these types of issues to the top of your list of reasons to move. I think they were quite high up on our list too but.......

You will have similar issues here believe me. The Medicare system here is awful, makes the NHS system seem brilliant. I have used the health system and find it disgusting and expensive.

Issues like those above though don't make us want to leave. What makes us want to leave is........

1. Employment in Perth is dreadfull. If you hear from a job application you're lucky, getting an interview is rare and getting a job is like winning the lottery. I haven't worked in proper employment for over 15 months now, and it wasn't for lack of trying. It takes it toll when knowone wants to employ you.

2. It's to hot for me during the summer. Being outdoors in temp of 38c+ is almost immpossible unless you are in the sea. It stops you doing things as the rain does in the UK.

3. The winter is cold (compared to the summer) and the houses are freezing, electricity and gas prices hit the roof as you try to keep warm indoors.

4. The cost of living is no cheaper than the UK and the wages are lower.

5. Financially we are far worse off.

6. The education system is strange and I feel my daughter is held back. In a class with 5, 6 and 7year olds how can she learn to her abillity?

7. We spend to much time inour cars!! Travelling everywhere because everything is so spread out.

8. Miss having a social life, ours is virtually none existant. Friends are few and close long term friends are missed greatly. I find OZ extreamly boring and lonely.

9. Miss family/parents/brothers and sisters to much. Can't bare the thought of not seeing them again or only possibly only a dozen times during the rest of our life.

The above list is not to compare the UK with OZ, it's 'our' opinion. Family and friends are to big an issue with me, I miss them more than I ever thought I would. You don't know how you miss them until you live here.

Someone said life is to short, so you take a gamble and come to OZ,
I say life is to short, so live your life with family and friends around you.

jat

janeyray - i agree 100%....

exactly my reasons for going back - although i have worked all the time they have not been challenging and im dying to get back into a proper work environment!

Tapalinga

Watched the film at the weekend for the first time, i'm so glad i never went to see it at christmas i would have cryed all the way through. It sums up why we are returning to the UK. The scene at the airport of family and friends hugging and kissing, its great saying hello when family visit but god it is so hard to say goodbye when they have to leave. Everytime we have visitors i just want to get on the plane and fly back with them. Good luck with your move to oz enjoy it as we have but be prepared for normal life after the honeymoon period is over.!!!!!

jat

love actually

we watched it through work back in nov and the scenes of london were amazing!!!!!!! it really did make me think..

someone in the office said - but its not really like that in london at xmas - i said yes it bloody well is!

HiddenPaw

I came back when I did primarily because I was pregnant and wanted to have family support with a new (and first) baby. Plus I didn't fancy being pregnant in 40 degrees heat! I would have stayed in Oz longer if it were not for the bub....how long tho is an unknown. Maybe only another year...... I went in the first place because I could....it was always an opportunity to live/work/travel elsewhere before we started a family. Well the family started sooner than expected hence heading home.

I'm glad I'm not in Oz with a new baby and no family.

There is a lot that I love about Oz and a lot I don't. I dont think I could stand the isolation long term. It's too expensive and too far to go many places on Oz wages. There's only so many day trips that you can do from the city!

And probably the bit I found the hardest was the long dark evenings between end MArch and end October, when sunset was bewteen 4.45 and 7pm. (Me and hubby do a lot of cycling and it really is one activity that is no fun in the dark!)

I also found the city too busy, noisy and polluted....that's a personal thing...I live in a little village in the UK near lots of fields and greenery. PArking myself smack bang in the middle of a city of 3.5million people probably wasnt the smartest move but I didn't know that until I tried it!

Now I'm back in the UK I'm as thankful as ever for clean air, trees everywhere, polite drivers and quiet roads.

I do miss the vibrancy of Melbourne and the amount of quality restaurants, bars, entertainment, sport, etc but I couldn't live there long term.

robertd

my thoughts exactly, but we are here for a minimum of 1 more year, would be a very hard discission to return to the uk,as a large tax bill will be awaiting

madscientist

I'm hoping to move away from the UK to go back home to the USA. I've been here three years and I'm so fed up with it all. Being American in the UK is really hard; the British are actually rather abusive to us and it's really depressing. For the first six months I was here, I was on anti-depressants; I was in individual therapy for another 2 years. Ever since we made the decision to leave, I've felt great. I can't wait to get back.

My reasons for moving back to the USA are many. I can get better healthcare there for my condition than I can here; the schools here are no better than schools in the USA; the employment situation here is dire (I don't care what anyone says; I've been looking for another job for a year with no luck), taxes are crippling, salaries are depressed, and it's just so gloomy and depressing being here. I want to be back with my own people, where people won't make fun of my accent...where I can get proper junk food...where I can drive on the right again...where I can have a house bigger than a shoebox and garden larger than a postage stamp....where I can enjoy proper thunderstorms...where I can get proper barbecue, Mexican food, and good old-fashioned southern cuisine...yep...I can't wait to go home.