Hi Folks

Its been little over 5 years me and the mrs have been in Melbourne(no kids), we have now just moved back to the UK a few weeks ago, but didnt get round to posting my update so here it is.

I decided way back in 2003 that i wanted to move to Australia to scratch an itch, been there on several visits had family there and there were jobs in my IT field in Sydney and Melbourne. So finally got around to moving a few days before my PR ended in 2008 and put my stall out to stay until citizenship which would be mid-2010. That time just flew jobs were aplenty, meeting new people and seeing more of Australia was great, seeing more of my Aus family made it feel more homely.

After 3 years I made my first visit to the UK, was good to see everyone and the place looked good though there was noticeable changes in few shops closed, but life carried on as normal all friends were working and happy.

After around my 4th year i did start to feel I didnt want to stay here longer term, whilst I was getting work , i've disliked all my jobs in Aus as I found the environment, slow, full of poorly trained IT personal, and managers who knew little in delivering IT projects. I thought it was one company so stuck with it, but having worked in several industries I found the work to be the same, just started to wear me down as enjoyed all the work I had back in the UK.

Out of work I really enjoyed the beach life when we would get a couple of decent weekends, doing regional visits has been good fun. I've been motivated to learn lots of different things as we had more free time here.

I knew Melbourne had four seasons in a day its only till you live it did I realise it can be taxing still better than UK though. I loved the houses initially but the quality is so poor and the prices to get something half decent is a pretty steep. Driving here is an extremely irritating but its something you just get one with. Was also difficult having visiting most places that were of interest to me in Aus, the distances of how far Aus is from everyone really hit home.

The Uk still has the same issues that made me decide to try somewhere else, Melbourne is a good place however I now see the UK wasnt as terrible as I originally made it out to be and that making a few adjustments I should be able to make a go of it again - time will tell.

We've been back in the UK a few weeks and feels i just went on a long holiday, I do miss my friends in Melbourne and I know I will miss many aspects of life there. For now though it feels right to be back in UK for a while, enjoy time with my close family and friends here, make use of all the short euro trips. We are both dual nationals so can go back to Melbourne without a worry, the moves both there and back have been really smooth.

Who knows what the future holds but I would recommend immigration to everyone its a great experience.

Hope everything works out for you both x

Very balanced post. I work in IT in Melbourne and I know what you mean although I have been in the same job for 6 years now and it works well for me.... I also saw the same issues you describe in IT in the UK.

I hope you find somewhere to live that meets your hopes and dreams.

BB

Interesting update, thanks for posting. I hope the UK works out well for you both, but as you said - you have the option to return without any problems.

What aspects of life in Melbourne do you miss the most?

To be honest, I find IT fairly portable across borders. The issue I have is that IT is increasingly becoming commoditised at the 'sharp end' and as a result there are people coming in who would not get a look-in in the 90s.

Up to a point the solution is to stay clear of the 'commoditised' bits and add value to the other bits. Perhaps easier for some than others who want to stay at the 'commoditised' end.