nicrock

God help Australia if the Wiganer's are all on their way!

I don't miss Wigan itself or the weather! I just miss my family and friends and having a routine really. It's hard to be uprooted from what's familiar to you.

I'm sure as time passes it will get easier to settle - well I blimmin hope it does!

dave7370

We've been in Oz for nearly 7 months now and find it's a Catch 22 situation. The plus's of being here are the negatives of the UK and visa-versa.

The biggest thing for us has been the lack of friends and how difficult it is to make them. Nearly all the people we've met are friendly and we've got on with them well.... but then nothing. In the UK we both had loads of friends and the lack of a social life here can be a killer sometimes.

Although, my wife has been meeting other moms with young kids and went out for her first girls night out last Friday and I'm so happy for her that she's getting out and about. I get on great with the lads at work and in a kind of way the interaction I get there means I don't feel quite so isolated.

I miss my close mates back in the UK and chatting rubbish over a beer, and this is where part of the Catch 22 comes, I'd love to have a drink with them but probably not back in the UK.

We're relatively pretty happy here, it's not a case of sticking it out and hoping for the best because we see the huge benefits of being here and what is out there for us and for our little lad. Whether it'll be forever remains to be seen.....

To the OP, I feel for you and me saying give it more time probably won't make you feel any better. We've had some really low days which made us re-consider many things, and these dark days will show you what are the most important things in your life. Good luck with whatever you decide and all the best for the future.

By the Avon

I think a great many of us went through a stage like this, I know I did myself and now 4 years on I still miss my family but only to the extent that i would move them all out here too if i could. I love it here now but i remember touching down at perth airport and it hitting me what we'd done and just wanting to sob!

Hubby settled down easier than i did basically because he had a job and was meeting people. I'd worked in the uk and had decided not to here( i had a one year old) until i realised that that was just too much of a change, 6 months in I got myself a job and things looked up for me, I made friends, I got involved in life again. You don't have to go to work but you do need to get out and meet people, I did it through this forum, through taking my son to swimming lessons, Playgroup and going back to work.

So take care, there is hope and hey, if this place really is getting you down and it doesn't get any better there is nothing wrong with going back you know, but you don't know that this place is right for you unless you try it and I would also suggest looking at things like where you are, would you be happier in another area?

kazzybro

hi to all it has made me feel a bit better reading some of the homesick that people get. I thought it was just me have been here over 2 years still find it hard at times,is anyone from currumbin that would like to meet up for a chat
or a drink.
karen

NKSK version 2

Set yourself a target of 6 months. I think that's long enough personally. If you are all still feeling sad then I'd head back.
BTW remember that if your kids stop missing their family this isn't necessarily a good thing. It could mean that they are losing the emotional bonds that tie them together - I'm not sure that this is a good thing. Yes, it makes it easier for you but in the whole scheme of thing - life and death - is it really what you want - your kids who are estranged from your family?

northernbird

You see I don't think they are estranged. My children have a fantastic relationship with their grandparents and we have always lived away from them. They write letters, send scrapbooks and speak to them far more often than we did when we were in the UK. I also think they value the relationship far more than their cousins who see Nanny and Grandad every week. It is of course individual to each family.

NKSK version 2

Perhaps estranged was too strong and too emotive. My kids also have very good relationships with grandparents but there's no way it can have the same intensity or dare I say it, closeness, than if they lived 2 miles down the road and could pop into each other's houses, be collected from school by a grandparent, grandparent visits every birthday etc.

northernbird

I suppose so. I am quite a distant person I think because I never let my family in like that. I find the thought of relying on them in any way quite hard to deal with. Not once has any family member collected my kids from school or babysat them. I would rather pay someone, weird isn't it how emotionally different we all are.

NKSK version 2

I understand - I'm similar in some ways (hence I'm an endless traveller) but my kids are different and one in particular thrives on love and affection from the rest of the family.

lisaroo

hi kazzy, i used to live in currumbin and loved it, where do you live? im back in the uk for 2 years but we will be back to currumbin then, do you have any kids?

Damson

One advantage I guess is that when folk do (hopefully) come over for a visit they spend more one-on-one time with you all than they would if you lived closer to them. We live in Cheltenham, my parents are in Bristol and OH's are in Birmingham. Not too far apart but we usually only get together for a few hours flying visit here and there and never stay at Bristol as it's just not far away enough to merit spending a weekend there if you know what I mean. Also their house is too small for all 4 of us to stay anyway. Both sets of parents have said that when they visit they will stop for at least 4 weeks, which is a whole lot of snatched visits here and there. You've gone through so many hoops to get where you are that it would be a shame to decide to come back so soon. Try and stay positive and good luck with your futures.

ropersathome

Hi,we moved to Gold Coast in October 2006 and in April 2007 thought that we had made a mistake after having problems settling down and licencing problems,and also after finding that it was difficult to get to know the neighbours as they just did not seem to want to say hello.We decided to call it quits and made arrangements to return to uk in November as we have 2 dogs and there blood tests etc had to be right to bring them back.
So we moved to Melbourne,actually Rye on the Mornington Peninsula where we found people more friendly but we had already committed ourselves to coming back.
We arrived back in Uk november 2007 and eventually it has dawned on us that we did not give it time in Oz to get rid of the homesickness and that we gave up too easily,might just add that I am 47 and wife is 52 so we dont do much night clubbing so found social life also difficult,anyway we have decided to come back to Oz,looking to buy around the Mornington Peninsula and to enjoy Oz again.
I know its hard to start a new life but honestly coming back to UK was not right for us and so all i can say is stick with it in Oz

Does anyone have any advice on how our son,my stepson,aged 25 could come and live with us in Oz perm and work.
He has already been out on a working visa so that avenue is out

yasir.asad

well hopefully i will land in coming months in oz but i m scared after raeadin so many homesickness issues.
i am single and gonna leave all of my family and frds .and there is also a huge difference of culture.oh my GOD.lol
will i able to live happily.i never went out of my city more than a week or so.and every time i went out i returned home with double the speed
but to ve a better lifestyle for me and my family( parents and siblings)i think i should try.

Hope for the best and ready for the worst.

yea yea .. oz...i m coming .

shiels

Best place to ask more about this would be in the immigration section. Hopefully someone in there can help C x

fific

am gripped again by homesickness today after having a long conversation with my friend in Uk about coming home. Surprisingly it shook me up and I realised I dont want to go back to the life we had - and everything is going well for us here, but there is something that i cant let go of at the moment I suppose I feel caught in between the two not setteld here and knowing I dont want to go back to the cold and grey - any advice????