Another excellent site - deaths by alcohol is particularly interesting with a huge disparity between the EU countries.

Eeeuw, that one hurts my eyes!

If I was reading it correctly, it was surprising that the U.K was lower on the alcohol related deaths than the USA and other European countries.

Depends on where you are in UK. London is not the same as a remote Scottish island or Bradford !

What I find strange is people will say to me 'no' you shouldnt come back things are so bad but then asked them if they are thinking of leaving the country and its a definate no. I think they just like to think up problems. I admit that there are places were things are difficult but if the Government got off its rear end and did something instead of fiddle farting around it would be a whole lot better.

I know, plus Denmark seems to be at the wrong end of a lot of those tables., in stark contrast even to Sweden and Norway. Really interesting information, worth a long look. UK alcohol deaths surprised me.

Thats the thing, in my view Australia isnt better, the things you list are very much location dependant.

The overall national wealth and the childcare policy are not dependent on location, even if we accept that the quieter roads are. These are substantive, demonstrable facts.

Well I cant comment on whether childcare is better in one country or the other as my kids are at school. National wealth doesnt seem to be helping the average person in either country. My point is there certainly doesnt seem to be anything that shows either country as being better than the other for everyone. Our life in Australia was good, here it is very good and much more fullfilling.

The childcare assistance is massively more generous in Australia, and that is because the country is overall wealthier. These are the things I must use to balance our decision, etc.

Tonight (Austime) I had a bite to eat in a Bistro that I'm familiar with. I mentioned to the Manager with whom I get on well, that I was to depart these shores fairly soon.

I was asked what I was actually going to do in the UK?, how was I going to manage because it was 'so expensive'?. F is a really nice bloke, but I'm tired to the bone of these ludicrous statements.

I told him that the perception that the UK was 'much more expensive than Australia' is a myth. I told him I would actually find plenty to do!

A group of us were talking about this 'elsewhere'! (some months ago), that this not only comes up here, but also in the UK-'why would you want to come back to this place?'.

I'm going to be hard pushed not to throw a punch!
If I am asked this, I will ask the questioner why they returned from Australia? I expect the answer to be that they have never been to Australia. If that is so, than I shall advise that the decision I took was based on knowledge of both countries and not just one.
I hope that that will put a stop to such a question.

Make your choice; have no illusions....and stop listening to all the clichèd crap.

You may just have to develop a thick hide and an "elevator pitch". I went for a meal with some ex colleagues back in the UK.
I was mercilessly grilled about why we had come back to the UK. There seemed to be two assumptions going on.
1) That you can choose to live wherever you like, whenever. No knowledge of visas, having to pay tax in two countries, cultural differences, or any other considerations.
2) The USA is so exciting and glamorous, why would you ever want to leave it?

I felt exhausted afterwards, and felt like I'd been made to reveal way too much about our decision to return. Hence my husband suggesting I develop an "elevator pitch", a quick and easy explanation that should suffice.
My favourite people are the ones who are just glad to see us back, and don't ask "Why?"

So its a UK/US thing also? I'm losing patience with it.

For the deaths by alcohol, Denmark was a shocker but also Russia not being much higher. I have this vision of Russians drinking the anti-freeze out of their cars when they run low on vodka.

I think it's a UK/Just about anywhere else thing. It's also just a gulf of understanding between people who have and haven't lived in another country.
I was just amazed at how personal it all got. I'd done five years in the USA, a tidy amount of time I thought. They knew it was a job transfer, not emigration.
In that five years I had three major life events, about as major as they get. I was still left with the impression that some people thought I had "chickened out" by returning.
Eventually there was an attempt to put themselves in my shoes, but by then I was fuming!