mandtooz

Well it seems logic to time my update with my first years anniversary.

A yr ago we arrived in brisbane with 7 cases and 3 children, full of excitement and hope for our new life in australia. Prior to coming to oz i was an avid BE poster (under different name) and thoroughly investigated everything i could possibly do from the comfort of my computer. Im quite obsessive about my investigating and list writing etc etc

So our first impressions were wow! weather beautiful, clear blue skys, absolutely breathtaking ocean, the children loved it, we breathed australia! ok the shopping centres were a shock, supermarkets etc, but haho we thought cant have everything we thought...............

We were so busy the first few weeks, sightseeing and doing touristy things, as well as the mundane jobs like TFN and medicare.... next came hubby securing work. Rung round lots of places keeping his options open, lined up a few interviews, all seemed positive. Managed to secure a rental in an area we liked and got the children all in school, kindy etc we loved it here....we saw some uk known friends go back to england (two families actually) and we thought they were mad........

Then!!...................hubby got caught up in one big political battle , he had gone to two interviews in two different areas (but they are all government run, so one main boss), and basically the director for each place wanted him -great you might think...........no - terrible news for us!! the two directors jobs were coming up, they were amalgamating the posts, and only one of the directors was going to get the job, so as you can probably see by now it got nasty! he was basically told if he didnt accept this one job (in a sh** hole) then it would scamper any future career prospects in queensland, we had a fifty fifty chance, which bloke did we back!!! We chose wrong, hubby got temp contract at the sh** hole with the one director and it was the other director who kept his job!!!! so as you have probably guessed by now the one who kept his job was pretty miffed with him!! Work life was made so uncomfortable for him, he left and got snapped up by a private company.........brilliant we thought, we can breath.

Things from here went down hill, we felt it was a constant battle, i dont want to appear negative so wont go into the nitty grittys!! Australia just wasnt what we hoped it would be, we found life harder - much harder.........hubby was having difficulties at work adjusting to their ways, he found his work backwards, he says like england 10-15yrs ago which is very challenging when in your career in england you saw the practice moving along with the times, and then you come here and your catapulted back 10-15yrs........, i am a midwife and found practising over here a real eye-opener , our youngest was having problems with kindy, then the continued struggles contributed to nit picking as you do.............and the moaning started! lol

This all came to a head january and we decided to give it till june then make a decision, and Junes come and we are going home! things are no better and to be really honest im tired now of everything, when you are planning to come here it takes over your life, and in fairness we have now devoted over 3 yrs in total, when you count the planning, application, house selling process.........and i cant take anymore!!!

Its the end of a dream, but we are happy with the time we have spent here, we have no regrets and have had a yr full of fantastic experiences, since january we made a list with the help of BEs search engine of places we would like to see, and we finished it a few weeks back, even did the big drive to sydney and back again!!

Learnt some great lessons in life and become a closer family, our marriage has gone through some huge strains coming here, but on the whole we are better people, we can see things from both sides now!! We have made some fantastic friends here who i will miss with all my heart, you know who you are Our children have had a year to remember and we have given them so much in the way of experience, opening their eyes to other countries, and im so lucky to have given them this year.

Im so excited to be going home!

mandxx

Stitch

Thanks for sharing that with us. We too are in a quandry and not sure how it will pan out. I wish you all the very best.

Here's to what's around the corner.

Cheers

Ginny

onepearlyb

That's a really good,down to earth post. No-one can slag you off for not "giving it a go". I wish you nothing but the very best for a new life back home. Life's too short to waste any more time if your not as happy as you know you could be.

*pearly*

mad city fan

Sorry to read you have not settled in Brisbane, before you go home would it not be worth trying another part of Aus to see how you feel it just seems a great shame to read of people who go all this way for new beginings and coming home without giving another City ago, Hope all works out for you and you find where you do belong Good luck with your future

egghead4

sorry to hear so many things went pear shaped for you.
good luck with your move home
bec

scousercarol

Hiya Mand,

In what way are your experiences of midwifery different to UK?

mandtooz

hiya thanks for all the well wishes, nice to have xx

to man city fan - cant face trying anywhere else to be really honest, very tired and exhausted of being on the rollercoaster.........want to get off!!! Im pretty sure in my heart of hearts that it wont make an ounce of difference, we would just be prolonging the inevitable. The ages of our children make a move back now, more timely, our eldest starting comp in september being one of them, and the middle one starting school.

We made the decision to go back january really and its now nearly july, plenty of time to change our minds, its not like it has been a quick decision then off!!

i can understand peoples concerns though

thanks again

mandx

mandtooz

oh hard one to answer in a thread! i will point out that this is my experiences, in the hospital (s) i have worked at, may not be the case everywhere!! my get out clause lol

my experiences differ in everyway possible, antenatal care, with gp or at hospital with obs, very little midwifery input, intrapartum care - americanised, watch the health channel on sky! lack of post natal care - no comm midwife here anyway.
As a midwife you are in essence an obs nurse, an example, lady post cs, 24 hrs gone by, you want to get her up, cath and IV out - STOP ask the dr!! in the hospital i work at, i have to check with the aneasthetist.............its just very frustrating!
its not awful and im sure i could get used to it, its certainly easier, less stressful, just not as rewarding but when you have been trained for yrs, its hard to adjust , in all honesty if it was me alone who was struggling here i would have put up and shut up! its not that bad that i couldnt, i just dont want to, i worked hard as im sure all midwives do to get their skills, and i havnt sutured, cannulated, scrubbed etc for over a yr!

are you a midwife thinking of making the move?

asher

well you gave it a fair go, it hasnt worked out for you so best of luck with the move back

I hope things go well and you settle back into Uk life easily

birdynumnum

Good post Mand
Best of luck with homeward bound.
Least you know now what its like on the other side
All the best
T

mick69

Good post Mand. You give it your best shot and appreciated the time you have had here.
Well done for making it work for the year and good luck with your move back to the UK.

Lynne x

themerlin

So many people seem to be off home at the moment, not just talking about people from BE

birdynumnum

I just told an Oz friend in Sydney I'm off, said she thinks about it all the time and doesnt think shes meant to be here...not only us brits is it

mandtooz

its all very sad isnt it? your right there does seem to be lots going back at the moment, and i was convinced i wouldnt be one of them when i set out on this long long journey............ but, iv come the other side if my sad days now, im happy, iv had a fantastic yr and am very lucky.

the friends who i have made here i will miss with all my heart, but for many of them, they are not sure either

mand

sammyg

I agree - it's a good post!

we are off to aus, jan 08 and we are trying to keep our feet on the ground with the whole experience. I feel like this year has already flown by and all we've done is live, talk and breath aus!

Good luck back in the UK

ps. bring your wellies and ditch your sun cream - its shocking weather here at the mo