hey we are not far from you...Leeds..i loved Manchester also. So when you get there we will be round for a good old and celebrate our return

now i have something to look forward to..in a year or so

we'll return to the east midlands but since I travel 300k's to work 50 for a party is nothing

I was last in Leeds about 18 months ago... the place was jumping.. cranes everywhere.. I moved to Bristol from Manchester about 10 years.. great move for us.. just a shame this last move hasn't turned out the same.

God I could murder a decent beer.. even paid $7.50 a bottle for a Brit beer at the weekend..

What made you decide to move to Oz?

I got the offer from work and we saw it as an oportunity.. we had a good life in the UK and hoped it could be even better in Oz.. and in some respects it is, we have, by UK standards, a huge home and a pretty comfortable life.. but we were social animals in the UK, with people regularly staying with us and that's all gone..
I don't care how good things are if you have no-one to share it with its all a bit flat.

Yes, you are right.

I would rather my little two bed place in Wales, stuffed to the rafters with friends and family who have come to stay, than the "better quality of life" I seemingly have here.

We have a big house here, but nobody stay's with us anymore. Too sad. Not used to it. I actually think it's me unintentionally giving out bad vibes, which people are repelled by!!

Lots of things for me. Lack of culture, identity, etc. Mostly I miss being close to Europe. I identify with Europe, especially being a cyclist. I can't even begin to understand Aussies, they're to myopic and brainless for me.

Being here is like being in a marriage that everyone on the outside expects to work, but on the inside you know you're in a vacuum and headed for divorce

Anyway we've signed a 12mth lease on a nice place in Lane Cove but I think some serious plans will be made in the coming year. Bloody hope so

We had a friend, that we met via a board like this, come and stay with us for three weeks from the US. It gave us a rare chance, to see your own country through a foreigners eyes. Her impression of England and Wales was just how staggeringly beautiful the entire place was and how steeped in history it is. Its amazing just how much you don't see when its in front of your eyes every day... and her favourite spot of all?? The Brecon Beacons.

don't think it is you ,in aust. staying over just isn't the thing unless you get legless and no-one can carry you out .half the time it's near impossible to get people to come round for a party .very anti social.

It is gorgeous. I was lucky enough to have lived in some beautiful places in the UK. That's probably why I can't get to grips with Australia long term, I think I have been spoilt, and have aquired some high standards along the way. I did have some fantastic holidays here in Oz, the best. But living here is terrible, and the thought of the possibility of never living in the UK again is too depressing. I am determined to get back there somehow.

Everywhere we lived in the UK we had loads of visitors, Aussie usually. They are great fun outside of their own country. They were the ones who could travel, so that might give them a different view of the world than your parochial type.

My sister owns a holiday cottage in Wales, about 20mins from Camarthen. It's very nice countryside, different to Somerset.

We used to live in South Gloucs so it was easy to get to Somerset or Wales or the Midlands.. and that's one of the things about the UK.. it was so damn quick to get to places that were totally different.. too many 'towns' in Oz where the only attraction is the pie shop.

Will you get to stay there when you go back?

We still own our house in North Wales, Am I glad we decided not to sell it, we lived there for about three years before we came to Australia. Our little boy is Welsh.

I have lived in Derry and Belfast, Northern Ireland, that too is absolutely stunning, the coastline, just beautiful. I miss it so much. And being from the South west of England, well what can I say, I have been thoroughly spoilt.

Do you remember I said my Dad was going to have a nosey at Dorchester? He didn't think much of Poundbury Village, you know the one Prince Charles designed.

You can have a fantastic time just visiting places in the UK. I can't even be bothered to go anywhere in Australia that is within driving distance, there isn't any point, it all looks the same.