Angelica666

Hello

My family are currently in the process of emigrating to sydney Australia, and sure I'm going to experiance Homesickness, How long had you been away before it started?, What did you miss most?

Regards

Angelica X

Helen A

Hi Angleica

I think its totally different for everyone. It depends who close you are to people, how far away you're going and how happy you are to be leaving among many other things!

I have moved to the US and been here since start of June. The yearning for homely things is starting to kick in now. I think its because for the first few weeks you kind of feel like you are on holiday. Then you are busy trying to get your life organised, such as phones, finding the good shops and bars, making new friends. After two months that has died down a bit and normal life is beginning and I can't shake the feeling that something is missing, which I know is homesickness.

I was a little reluctant to come here though and leave my family. A different story is that my husband couldn't wait to come and live in England and only had one or two days of feeling homesick over 3 years. Once he hit the three year mark though the homesickness became unbearable and he had to return home.

So its totally unpredictable I would say.

Good luck to you and your family.

islandergirl

I tended to only talk about really trivial things which I missed eg Hula Hoops, as talking about important things (family, friends, sense of belonging and familiarity) was enough to reduce me to tears in my eyes even after 10 years.

Also you will find that if you say ANYTHING less than positive about Australia when Australians ask you what you think of the place they will be pretty horrible to you, so as a general rule it is best to steer the subject away from those topics and stick with really trivial stuff like crisps and Minstrels.

This is of course not the case for all Australians, some have lived overseas and been homesick themselves, some are kind and welcoming etc etc - just be careful who you are talking to is all I would advise.

quoll

For me it was as long as the holiday feeling lasted but once I realized that the iron bars had come down and I was trapped - this is forever - then the homesickness kicked in big time. OK so I was a bit of a slow learner - it took about 15 years before DH finally owned up and said he wasnt going to live in UK ever again (he is an Aussie).

As Islandergirl said, be careful who you talk to in the event of you feeling homesick, the natives really dont like to think of their patch of earth as being anything less than paradise.

Tr1boy

After about 10yrs, but tbh my divorce was probably the catalyst for it all. Happily re-married now but the homesickness hasn't abated.

backagen

When I first emigrated I was only 14. Being a kid obviously the whole thing seemed very exciting and sort of like a big holiday only even better.

But I remember the homesickness hitting me HARD while I was still on the tarmac at Manchester airport. I tried begging my parents to change their mind and stay in UK but of course it was too late and they just reassured me it was 'normal' to feel that way now, but it would be fine once we arrived in oz.

That feeling, for me at least, was absolutely horrible as I realised that I was about to leave home and not come back, at least not for a very long time.

Once we arrived in Australia I felt considerably worse and that feeling pretty much stayed with me right through the next few years until I was able to return to UK for a visit.

Since then I have felt homesickness in varying degrees and at various times.

Jay Bird

I have to ask, cos I'm puzzled...what is "Kuckle-dragging....."? Is it a new Olympic sport?

Danny B

I think it's doing something that you don't want to do.

Pim

Hi,

I've been here for nearly 3 years and seem to be battling home sickness most of the time!
It's hard when you realise that you have made a mistake but cannot do anything about it (rest of family love it).
You need to talk about how you feel, or at least have money saved up for a trip back.
I've just been checking out flights....

maka paka

Knuckle dragging is what the neanderthals done before they turned into real humans,their ape like structure meant that their overlong arms would scrape along the ground.
It is a term used to describe someone of low intelligence and near pre human mentality.

A fine example of these species can be observed every two weeks during Scottish soccer season at a place called Ibrox park home of Glasgow Rangers football club or Scotlands shame as they are now known.
It's no place for a lady believe me so be cautious if approaching this area with these beings present.

david28078

Three years ago when we moved to North Carolina and left - laugh a minute - San Francisco, CA

Oh and everytime I watch footie live on Setanta or read about the latest cool Madness gig.

Tr1boy

If it was, Aussies would be assured of all three podium places

Come and live here for a while, observe the Aussie male in it's natural habitat , you'll get the picture ( some of the women aren't too far behind either!)

katu

The first few weeks are spent unpacking and trying to get to the supermarket and back again without diverting through neighbouring towns <grin>. Then you enjoy all the new sights and do a lot of people spotting. Then you start yearning for someone you can chat to easily (pick the face of any of your friends or family for this) on a subject where you don't spend the first 15 minutes explaining the background, and the second 15 minutes wondering why you bothered starting the conversation in the first place.

I have missed all pastry goods, cheddar, flavoured crisps, pubs, Sunday newspapers, sweets... the most. Can't fault Italy for its fruit and veg beer or wine.

But most of all I have missed people I can chat to, even the people who work behind counters (i.e. Tesco's. post office etc) who you can just pass the time of day with.

I agree with the person above who said do not criticise the country you have moved to.....it is a universal law that foreigners should be grateful for everything and anything that their host country provides them with

Oh and be prepared for irrational tears when someone says that they miss you.

Cheetah7

OMG how true that is. My sister posted a message to me on facebook saying she missed me and I was at work when I read it. I was in tears

I also keep seeing people that look my Dad/sister/friend and the more that I stare at them, they sort of 'morph' into my loved one if that makes sense.

I have this battle of loving where I live and having no desire to move back - I only miss UK TV and the London music scene yet I miss my friends/family terribly.

But irrational tears at inappropriate times are all part and package of it. My Dad goes into hospital in September and I am so worried and feel ever so far away (I know I am far away but I dont always feel it).

I keep myself busy but I find my 'people sickness' cruelly invades my dreams so I wake up feeling upset.

islandergirl

Yeah the really cruel thing about homesickness is that it gets worse as time goes by and the reality of all you have given up sinks in.

The first year or two you are pretty busy trying trying trying the whole time to make a new life, find a job, buy a house, fill it with stuff, try and connect with people to try and replace and fill your (on the surface nice but empty inside) life. You don't tend to think or analyse too much IMO.

It's as the years go by that the grim reality check sinks in that you will never be at home here. I read someone's post who had worked out that they would only see their mum and dad another 5 more times in their lives if they were lucky - it was around then I said Sod this I'm going home.

Of course it doesn't help that so many people will bag the UK (most of whom have never been there and certainly never lived there) or if you say one word about Aus that isn't how wonderful it is they will bag you. (Yes the best way to help a lonely and depressed person is to have a go at them for the way they feel in the Aus psyche, (dunno if Canadians and Kiwis and yanks do this or not).

But people are also capable of real acts of kindness here, but then that makes you cry as well, one girl at work was talking about visiting her mum on the weekend then she looked at me and gently said "I have been going on and that's not fair cos you can only sede your mum every 2 or 3 years" and in a way that is worse than getting getting bagged, cos it makes you cry.

Reading this you would think I am really dismal and have hated it here, and I havent at all, have had some really good times, seen a lot and got to experience and different (NOT better just different) way of life, for this I am grateful, and I am totally "integrated" on the surface and have Australian friends etc etc