Eric Hitchmo

I had that reaction. They just can't bear the thought of anyone leaving Aus.
They do it to their own as well. If any Aussie in the media even suggests moving to England they get crucified.

Good post.

ShozInOz

Just to give you a more balanced view:
Afraid you get that in Aus too: Plenty of bus shelters smashed, graffitti, etc. It depends where you compare here and there. Where we are in South Hants there are few if any notable anti-social behaviour problems - smae as where we lived in Aus (Coogee, Sydney). In other places we've lived there has been more social problems, like other parts of Aus we've visited (e.g. West Sydney, Gold Coast). If you're expecting that to be different you might be disappointed - it depends EXACTLY where you live now and in the future - best to lower your expectations a bit though. On the whole I think Australians are more friendly though, but harder to get to know.

As for things to do, you have to be careful there too. The sun is so hot from November to February/March that doing anything outside is not easy. We are finding FAR more things to do in the UK - obviously because it is so more developed there are more different things to do within a short-ish drive. In Aus we found it was far more limited.

As for house prices - they will be cheaper in Aus so long as you don't go to Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Perth. The regions would be cheaper than UK regions, but build quality is often not comparable (single skin, no double glazing, no central heating, etc).

We are buying a house in the south of England that is the same price and bigger, and better built (not difficult!) that what we looked at in Sutherlandshire, South Sydney.

ShozInOz

No regrets whatsoever - not one. We love being back and more so as time goes on. We feel more alive and stimulated. We didn't realise how bored we were. Of course, there are some things I'd like to import to the UK, like the generally more friendly nature of the average person you meet on the street, the winter, late autumn and early spring, the isolation. But there are also many things I'd leave there, like the hot sun, humidity, the flies, lack of things of interest (to us) to do. On the whole though, we are happier and more fulfilled here. That is not to say the UK is forever for us - I imagine we'll move around a bit more to experience different countries, but moving back to Australia seems more unlikely than trying another (probably northern-)European country. Australia is too limited for us at this time of life, but we may feel differently sometime in the future when we have less desire to focus on our career, friends/family, and visiting parts of Britain/Europe/US.

Here is the BUT: If we had no option but to move back to a bad area of the UK, we may feel different. But that is not the case for us.

HiddenPaw

We moved back to UK from Oz when I was 6 months pregnant, as, after lots of deliberation, we decided we wanted to raise our family in the UK. The pregnancy wasn't exactly planned so we would have otherwise stayed in Oz a bit longer (how long, I don't know, but the objective for going to Oz in the first place was to work/travel abroad before settling down to have a family, so I think we would have come back eventually - we weren't in love with Australia that much that we thought we wanted to spend the rest of our lives there.)

As for regrets, none whatsoever - none about emigrating and none about coming back. I can't begin to explain how valuable the family support was after birth complications and looking after a new baby. 2 years on, we have another baby, and again, I am so grateful for the family that we have around us.

In the last 2 years we have talked at lenght about returning to Oz but have never actually done it. Half the time I feel like I can't be bothered with the upheaval again. If I thought Australia would provide me with a dream environment in which to raise my children, I would go, but I can honestly say that I saw enough crap in Australia to realise that there is no dream place to raise kids. I have no qualms really about raising my children in the UK, and I suppose that I would happily raise them in Oz too.

Oz was an experience I'll always cherish - mainly for the travelling we did as carefree newly-weds with no responsibilities. Once we settled into Oz life, it was great but also no different essentially to our life in the UK - I mean in terms of going to work, working long(er) hours, paying bills, traffic congestion, crime, etc etc. Some things were better, some worse - but all much of a muchness really.

I will never say never, tho, about going back to Oz. At the moment, I just don't feel the need to 'get out' of the UK.

Jessie James

Thank you for all your feedback - some of the feelings expressed are very familiar to me! I don't relish the stress of uprooting again and worry (as I did coming this way) about whether jobs will work out as we need them to etc. etc. but overall certain that it is the right thing to do and place to be. We'll just have to recapture that reckless bravery we had on moving here, plan as much as we can and go with it!

TracyAnne

Hi,

We are in Melbourne (Berwick) and have been here nearly 8 months. Its good to know that others feel the same as us, I thought for a minute I was the only one that feels that the UK has more to offer us as a family. Life is not all about big houses and swimming pools.

Flights are all booked and we leave on July 12th, how about you? Our house hasn't sold yet but we will leave it in the hands of the agent. Only problem is that we can't buy a house in the UK till we get the money out of this one. Never mind, we are moving to Wiltshire (used to live in Surrey) and we ar ehaving a fresh start. Our daughters have all been enrolled in new schools to start in September. Will be staying with the in laws who have just bought a 150 acre farm in lovely village near Trowbridge.

Good luck with your move.

Tracy

gruffbrown

Whereabouts in Sussex are you planning to return to?

Jessie James

Nowhere near the flight booking stage as yet (more saving to do) but that's fine - we have been saving for a year now with a view to buy mid-next year so I've got a nice amount of time to research areas, build up my skills / CV at work (they have just agreed to pay for some pricey courses which is all good!) and make the most of this country before bidding it farewell!

Jessie James

Either East or West of Brighton where we used to rent and our friendship base is. Have been looking at Newhaven and the areas in between to the East and as far as Worthing to the West

gruffbrown

I was from Worthing, lived in Lewes before that. Worked in Brighton, which is really expensive as it seems to be full of London Commuters. Avoid Peacehaven like the plague.

Jessie James

Yes....had worked that one out - such a misleading name!

Avoid Peacehaven like the plague. [/QUOTE]

gruffbrown

From what I recall, Newhaven isn't too bad, it seemed to be on the up, lots of redevelopment, close to the Sea, nice countryside. Unemployment was bad, unless you make pens. A little remote maybe. I used to go fishing there a lot.

Jessie James

Yes there seems to be a nice variety of housing there and we may be able to afford a decent Victorian (or the like) house. Unemployment is a worry but having done some extensive internet searches of agencies in busier places nearer London but within an hour'ish commute (Crawley, Croydon) there seem to be things about that I could go for. I like the idea of having the downs so near by as well as the sea and also being able to get to Brighton on the train in around half an hour.

I think I have to think about it a bit strategically just like when moving here - I work in the Melbourne CBD because that is where the decently paid emloyment is for me so I have to think in similar terms about the UK and make sure we live in an area that isn't too far away from decent employment zones. Newhaven could work in that sense. A little remote in some ways perhaps but I know I won't feel half as cut off as I would if we bought here in the suburbs (yuk).

gruffbrown

And there's always the Seacat for cheap booze runs to France If it's still running?

Jessie James

Yes - had thought of that too and not sure if it is but my parents plan to retire in a couple of years and spend six months of each year in France so that could work out very nicely for cheap holidays!