Why we are going home
Apr 26th 2007, 12:16 am
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 81
Why we are going home
Hi everyone (a warning this is going to be long)
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Apr 26th 2007, 12:32 am
#2
Sunshine Coast -Yeepee!!
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Sunshine Coast - Oh yea!!
Posts: 464
Re: Why we are going home
Hi everyone (a warning this is going to be long)
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
I just wanted to wish you luck with your move back to the UK. We are going through the whole should we stay should we go issue at the moment so understand where you are coming from. I am also a teacher (primary) and despite being registered since January and having contacted every school in the area have not received even one day supply! My husband managed to get a job very easily and may be up for a promotion. We are also having our first baby in October and seem to question whether we should go back to be closer to family every day. I think I find it harder than my OH as I am stuck at home and miss my job so much. In all honesty I want to go back but it is frightening. This whole 'mistake' will have cost us a huge amount of money, terrible family arguments and two great jobs. I just wish I knew for certain what we should do. Anyway good luck with everything and remember you are not the only ones going through this and at least you gave your dream a go, many wouldn't!
Apr 26th 2007, 12:45 am
#3
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 81
Re: Why we are going home
I know I really miss working it is so depressing staying home everyday
Apr 26th 2007, 12:48 am
#4
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 511
Re: Why we are going home
Hi everyone (a warning this is going to be long)
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Good Luck with going home!
Apr 26th 2007, 1:41 am
#5
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,199
Re: Why we are going home
It's the same old story told time and time again unfortunately, with us all believing that OZ is some sort of paradise and that our lives will be somewhat better.
As always said, we will never know until we try, but then we realise that we have escaped nothing, except more sunshine. It just isn't enough.
You deserve better, good luck with the move back.
As always said, we will never know until we try, but then we realise that we have escaped nothing, except more sunshine. It just isn't enough.
You deserve better, good luck with the move back.
Apr 26th 2007, 1:53 am
#6
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Depends
Posts: 4,041
Re: Why we are going home
I think I went to Oz at the right time, in the early 90's, my wages were 3 times higher than what I got paid in UK for the same job, houses were cheaper and you got more for your money and getting a job seems to have been much easier as I never was out of work, not unless I wanted to.
Reading some of these posts, It was probably good I decided not to go back. I think now there are so many more countries with opportunities and with flights being much cheaper than they were when I went to Oz, maybe if you feel you want to leave again is look at somewhere a bit closer so you are easy accessible to the UK. I always wished Oz was much nearer and cheaper to get back and it's when you get on that plane you realise how far away you really are.
I wish you well and hope your Mum isn't in too much pain and hope life is kinder to you.
Reading some of these posts, It was probably good I decided not to go back. I think now there are so many more countries with opportunities and with flights being much cheaper than they were when I went to Oz, maybe if you feel you want to leave again is look at somewhere a bit closer so you are easy accessible to the UK. I always wished Oz was much nearer and cheaper to get back and it's when you get on that plane you realise how far away you really are.
I wish you well and hope your Mum isn't in too much pain and hope life is kinder to you.
Apr 26th 2007, 3:28 am
#7
Back to the future!
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: All over the place!
Posts: 151
Re: Why we are going home
I think you're doing the right thing Stardust.
Why give yourself anymore stress of not being able to be with your mum at a time like this.
Good luck to you and your family and I hope your mum is ok.
Deb x
Why give yourself anymore stress of not being able to be with your mum at a time like this.
Good luck to you and your family and I hope your mum is ok.
Deb x
Apr 26th 2007, 5:01 am
#8
going home!!
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 525
Re: Why we are going home
Hi everyone (a warning this is going to be long)
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
goodluck
Apr 26th 2007, 5:44 am
#9
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Pacific Pines, Gold Coast.
Posts: 775
Re: Why we are going home
Never underestimate the tug of family.
What I would do now to hug my Mum and have a cuppa with her.
Really hope you are happy going back and remember, when you have wobbley days when you are back in England, as I am sure you will, (as I did) just think why you returned. Wish someone had said it to me!!
Take care and be happy and go give your Mum a hug.
LibbyX
What I would do now to hug my Mum and have a cuppa with her.
Really hope you are happy going back and remember, when you have wobbley days when you are back in England, as I am sure you will, (as I did) just think why you returned. Wish someone had said it to me!!
Take care and be happy and go give your Mum a hug.
LibbyX
Apr 26th 2007, 6:22 am
#10
Account Closed
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 3,533
Re: Why we are going home
Dreams are never where you thought they'd be are they?
So sorry to hear about your Mum. I had similar news about my dear old Dad two years ago now. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, and I ended up going home for his funeral. If only I'd known he had such a short time left, I would NEVER have taken his beloved grandchildren away from him. I think I will live with that guilt for the rest of my life
(I know I couldn't have 'known' but you get what I mean)
Good on you for going home. Spend as much time with your Mum as you can when you get there, because you just don't know what's around the corner.
So sorry to hear about your Mum. I had similar news about my dear old Dad two years ago now. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, and I ended up going home for his funeral. If only I'd known he had such a short time left, I would NEVER have taken his beloved grandchildren away from him. I think I will live with that guilt for the rest of my life
(I know I couldn't have 'known' but you get what I mean)Good on you for going home. Spend as much time with your Mum as you can when you get there, because you just don't know what's around the corner.
Apr 26th 2007, 7:14 am
#11
Banned
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 155
Re: Why we are going home
Hi everyone (a warning this is going to be long)
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Just thought I would post about my experiences in Oz and why we are returning in July after 6 months.
I am a secondary school teacher my oh is a nurse. Emigrating to Australia is something we dreamed of for years. We felt England was overcrowded, too expensive, English teenagers just hung around on street corners (the whole hoodie culture), which was one of the things that spurred us the most as my son is 12 and approaching the dreaded teenage years.
The weather seemed permanently grey and I think we had this weird idea that we were all going to get really fit as a family when we moved to Oz!
Anyway we had holidayed in Australia before visiting friends who lived in Bronte and Bondi and thought wow this is the life for us. So we saved and dreamed. Eventually we got sponsored on a 136 permanent visa.
I was dreading leaving my mum who is on her own and I am very close to but thought after two years I can sponsor her to come over here. Two years is nothing etc. Also kidded myself that because my dad is retired (they are both divorced) that seeing him once a year for the few weeks he came over would be enough.
I also assumed because me and my OH skills were seen as shortage we would have no trouble finding a job
Anyway, (said this would be long) did some research before we left looked at the usual sites on the net and decided Cental Coast would be the place to live. Booked a holiday there so we could look at houses. We found the only place we liked there was Terrigal which was way out of our price range. The only other places we could afford seemed really poor and like real back water towns (sorry if this offends people just my opinion) with shack cinemas and weird little bargain shops and lots of boy racer type weird men cruising about.
So we went back to Sydney (a city we love) and settled in the Shire in rented house. We live in Sans Souci, I do find the people friendly but traffic is awful there is a big six lane motor way which cuts through the middle of it, it has no centre or heart and again house prices here average 600,000
Wasn't really happy, homesickness really kicking in, no jobs for either of us, then bam, got a call from my mum she had been diagnosed with cancer. My first thought was we are all going home but then the dog had just come over here! (We still hadnt found permanent jobs just a little bit of supply work. ) so thought we would stay put
So I ended up going back to England while mum had op and leaving OH and kids here for a couple of weeks. Emigration really splits families up. While I was in England felt torn up about leaving kids. Now I am back in Oz torn up about not being with mum she had another op on Monday which I couldnt be there for
Anyway after lots of crying, no work, our bank balance shrinking rapidly. The realisation that to live anywhere decent in Oz you need to earn more money than we can, we have decided to go home in July.
What decided us was to make a list why we wanted to move here and if these things were better over here.
Cost of living -no better. Houses in the decent areas more expensive than back home. Fitter as a family - if we wanted to get fit we would have done that in England. Teenage culture - this is a tricky one do find teenagers are nice and polite in the area we live in but then think that there are nice teenagers in England (I taught them!)
we shouldn't judge all English teenagers by the few who are hanging about street corners or that we read about in the daily Express! I find most English kids are ambitious they are really keen to get their GCSE's and go to university.
The standard of Education in my opinion is higher in England and our kids are better equipped to deal with the workplace. And our schools aren't falling down. Public schools in NSW only get 30% funding from the goverment.
There are areas with a lot of poverty in Australia just like England. Take a train from CBD to Blue Mountains and take a look at some of the towns you pass on the way! Next time you drive past Redfern really look out of your car window, it is shocking and sad for all the homeless Aboriginal people there.
All that we are left with is the weather, which is undoubtably better but hey sunshine is defo not everything. I would rather have my family thanks
Righto think I have bored people enough (writing this has become like therapy!) Can't wait to go home
Anyway remember just my opinion and many will probably disagree
Im in NZ right, and I talked myself into going back from OZ because I wanted to be able to do the following : Ski in the winter, surf in the summer, own a house and work in a job I loved. I found OZ overcrowded and a bit of a rat race.
After 6 years im no closer to this dream than when I first arrived. It has proved elusive that damned dream...
Anyhow, the longwinded point im trying to make is :
I could have that dream in England! I could go skiiing in Europe, surfing in Africa etc etc...
And I would not be a pom, I would only be a northerner...
Apr 26th 2007, 8:28 am
#12
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 81
Re: Why we are going home
Dreams are never where you thought they'd be are they?
So sorry to hear about your Mum. I had similar news about my dear old Dad two years ago now. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, and I ended up going home for his funeral. If only I'd known he had such a short time left, I would NEVER have taken his beloved grandchildren away from him. I think I will live with that guilt for the rest of my life (I know I couldn't have 'known' but you get what I mean)
Good on you for going home. Spend as much time with your Mum as you can when you get there, because you just don't know what's around the corner.
So sorry to hear about your Mum. I had similar news about my dear old Dad two years ago now. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, and I ended up going home for his funeral. If only I'd known he had such a short time left, I would NEVER have taken his beloved grandchildren away from him. I think I will live with that guilt for the rest of my life
(I know I couldn't have 'known' but you get what I mean)Good on you for going home. Spend as much time with your Mum as you can when you get there, because you just don't know what's around the corner.
Anyway thanks for the replies everyone - will have to slowly wean myself off this site soon
Apr 26th 2007, 8:45 am
#13
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 23,400
Re: Why we are going home
I had similar news about my dear old Dad two years ago now. Unfortunately, he didn't make it, and I ended up going home for his funeral. If only I'd known he had such a short time left, I would NEVER have taken his beloved grandchildren away from him. I think I will live with that guilt for the rest of my life (I know I couldn't have 'known' but you get what I mean).
(I know I couldn't have 'known' but you get what I mean).Please don't feel guilty about that Tracey, you didn't know, you didn't do it on purpose to be nasty, you did what you thought was right at that time.
Guilt should be for those that purposely go out to hurt someone, to do it in a malicious fashion.
You havent done anything wrong, you never stopped loving your Dad and as you say, you couldnt have known.
I bet your Dad would not want you to suffer the guilt you are feeling now.
Apr 26th 2007, 8:59 am
#14
Life is more than a dream
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Kings Moss, UK - it's a bit like Emmerdale
Posts: 1,389
Re: Why we are going home
Hi Stardust - so sorry to hear about your mum's illness, I really hope that she is ok.
I totally relate to everything you have said in your post - you plan things so thoroughly and think that everything will be fine but in reality it's all so damned different isn't it? There are problems in Oz, just as much as there are problems here in the UK.
It's all so much more difficult than you could ever imagine, especially when the funds are dwindelling and work is hard to find.
Good luck with your return - hope it all goes well for you.
I totally relate to everything you have said in your post - you plan things so thoroughly and think that everything will be fine but in reality it's all so damned different isn't it? There are problems in Oz, just as much as there are problems here in the UK.
It's all so much more difficult than you could ever imagine, especially when the funds are dwindelling and work is hard to find.
Good luck with your return - hope it all goes well for you.
Apr 26th 2007, 11:53 am
#15
Back in the UK
Joined: Apr 2007
Location: Australia-UK-Australia-UK
Posts: 366
Re: Why we are going home
Being a teacher who was forced out of the profession due to lack of jobs I understand completely your disappointment coming here. We told the Queensland Education dept that we would go anywhere they sent us. Still no jobs!
I also understand your feelings about family. I would rather be holed up with my family inside sheltering from the cold than by ourselves in the sun. If we want to be just the two of us in the sun we can have a holiday on the Med!
Good luck with your move.
I also understand your feelings about family. I would rather be holed up with my family inside sheltering from the cold than by ourselves in the sun. If we want to be just the two of us in the sun we can have a holiday on the Med!
Good luck with your move.