hello everyone,
we are hoping to migrate to australia asap, i have to admit i am really surprised at the amount of people who have gone there and then returned back to the uk.i have been trying to find negatives about moving there.it's my wife that started the ball rolling with wanting to move,she has been on about it for years and i have always said no before,the last time she mentioned it i thouight about it and said ok.we bought some books and after reading them and looking things up on the net i couldn't wait to start the ball rolling.i said to my wife there has got to be a negative to this,it cannot be as good as it first seems.the only thing we could come up with is we are going to miss the family,i know work is hard to find and that in some areas of australis it is expensive.
i would really appreciate it if some of you could reply with your reasons for coming back to the uk,i have made a list of why i want to go but from the amount of you on this particular forum it looks like i have not taken everything into account.
thanks very much

Hi There,

Thought I would start the ball rolling...

Our experiences....

We arrived in Perth in Feb 2003. We had planned and talked about living in OZ for ages, and as I was born in Sydney it made it far easier than normal. We sold our house (BIG, BIG, BIG Mistake) and off we went. At first it was good, all exciting. Getting a rental with a pool and being only 10 min from the coast, how wonderful.

Then the homesickness started, firstly with our 7 year old daughter and then with me. I found it very difficult to get employment and near immpossible to get anything part time around school hours. We found the cost of living compared to wages quite high. I could go on forever but you will only know how it is if you actually try it yourselves. Just rent your house out if you have one.

I found that I missed family and close long term friends far to much. This outweighed the beaches and the Aussie lifestyle for me by far. I would rather be happier and busy here (UK) than lonely, and bored in a hot climate with the beaches. It's just my feelings, everyone is different.

You have to live the life to even begin to know how it feels. If you think it'll be hard, then x that by 10 again and again. Not everyone feels like that and it has been a big adventure for us so I don't regret going at all.

Good luck

i think if you want an adventure, to explore a new country/culture and broaden your horizons whilst keeping an open mind then they are probably good reasons to be thinking about trying.

if your reasons for going include seeking better climate, less migrants, better economic opportunities, less rude violent kids, healthier lifestyle, lower taxes, low unemployment, endless beaches, laid back lifestyles, low house prices and escaping rip off britain etc etc i.e. the usual uk tabloid reasons then these are not probably the right reasons for going.

maybe your thoughts on why you want to go will shed some light. good luck.

my main reason was job related, although married to an aussie, but after 5 years had pretty much seen and done all we could.

hi there
try reading these threads
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hreadid=229559

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hreadid=236637

Can I ask what is the driving factor for going to Australia?

Good luck

thanks for your post,the driving factor for going is the lure of a better way of life,the stupid thing is i have got a good way of life here in the uk.i am 39,married to a loving wife,our 3 kids are, nearly 21,just turned 18 and 16 in feb.i have a really good job with good money,28 days holiday,pension and share options.in the last 6 years i have owned a bmw 735,audi avant,merc 300,merc 200 te,bmw316.i have bought 2 cars for the boys and we have just submitted plans to the local council to turn our house from a 3 bed 1 bath to a 4 bed with en_suite,2 family baths,shower and cloakroom downstairs,pool room with bar and a detatched double garage.am i mad to want to go to australia.
i am not rich by any means but i am not poor either,the cars were quite old and in total cost £10k,my house is in a not very great area and i have borrowed the money for the extention,i am a heating engineer by trade but can do electrics and i also had a go at roofing many years ago,i will be doing most of the work myself except the structural stuff. my wife has wanted to go to australia
for years now,i have shown her some of the posts here and she
is now umming and aaring.i want to make her happy but i am worried that she doesn't really know what it is really like,we were hoping to move to adelaide and we thought our kids, and in the future their kids, would have a better way of life.are we totally wrong to believe this,any more feedback would be very appreciated,
thanks

can I ask, how do your kids feel about moving?

My advice - as an Aussie - if you feel you must give living in Aus a go, only do so if you can get a good job or business in Aus. Treat it as a ~1 year experiment. You have a lot at stake at your stage of life.

In the old days the husband came ahead of the family, checked things out and then sent for the family.

If you have never been to Australia perhaps the best thing you could do would be to come for a holiday. Australia is a very large
country with different landscapes and climates, For example Victoria is alot greener and the climate alot cooler then Western Australia, and employment opportunities vary in different parts of the country. So make sure you travel around all the country and not make the mistake of just checking out one place like Perth and thinking all of Australia is like that. If during your holiday you find a part of Australia you really like, that has job opportunities in your field then it would make your decision to immigrate alot easier.

hello,the 2 eldest think it's a good idea but they can only see it from the beach/beer point of view and my daughter did not like the idea to start with because of her friends,she has now got used to the idea but think she would rather stay here,i think we need another family meeting to discuss the things we have read on here today,thanks for your reply

hi,i know it sounds really stupid but before i found this part of the site i thought i was going to paradise,therefor not needing to check anything out in person.i was under the impression it could only be better in australia than it is in the uk.to go for a holiday and look around would take 3 to 4 weeks,plus the flights and accomodation,i do not know how much that would cost but thought it would be better to have that money when we arrived.obviously i'm not so sure now and need to have a re-think.
thanks for your reply

Hello again, I have just been reading your comments on the Aus/NZ forum. You seem to be getting good advice. Nowhere is paradise. Good advise is not to sell up in the UK, we did and are going to struggle a bit going back. Try it for a year or so, you will probably be sorry in years to some if you don't.

hello linda max,do you mind telling me why you are returning,and i couldn't agree more with what you are saying about not selling the house etc,we have got ourselves in a good position and will not be able to return to it if we leave and have to come back,best of luck with your return

Why don't you give it a couple of years, keep your house in the UK and rent it out which will pay for rent in Australia. Put your things mostly in storage and come over with just very pesonal bits and bobs. In 2 years you should have made some friends you will also know the job situation and probably would be starting to settle. If you find that it doesn't come up to your expectations you haven't spent alot of money in shipping things backwards and forward etc. So you can use the money for an emergency fund.

I went over just with a sportsbag on a whv years ago, I brought as I needed things which saved me lugging things around. When I decided I wanted to stay I just gave myself 2 years which then it gave me an out clause if I wanted to go back to the UK. I spent over 10 years there. Since my return to UK wasn't going to be permanent, I kept my things in storage in Australia, which some things are still with friends.

Hope this helps.

Hi there,

Are you sure you'll be able to take the 21 year old and 18 year old?

For skilled migration there are rigid rules about childeren having to be dependent and if they are working full time they probably won't be classed as such.

The 18 year old will be over 19 when your visas come through, even if you start the paper work now.