psb182

I have been in the states for 22 yrs and the first 14-15 was very good and enjoyable,although it never really felt it was my home but I enjoyed it here and could handle living here.
From year 15-18 I started to get very unsure about if I wanted to be here,from yrs 18-20 I wanted out and it seemed my priorities just flipped upside down and the last 2 years I have just really hated it.
One year ago july 11th my mum died in the UK and I swore I would not die in the states and only a few months ago my MIL (very good MIL btw) died as well in the UK.
Came here at age 23 and full of beans about the place then yrs 15-18 about 38 yrs old I just started to think different and had different values,once I got over 43 I was living in a place I hated.
My wife has been here 13 yrs and really loved it too but over the past few yrs she has also had a longing to go home she is the same age as me.
Is it once you approach 40 and then turn 40 that your priorities and values change or is it something else.
i really don't want to be sat on a rocking chair at age 75 saying shudda,wouldaa,couldaa.
BTW unless you have sprinklers the grass really is greener in England

Big Pete

Yes i do think age has a lot of relevance ,
I am in the Uk and always felt this was my home aged upto 40 i never ever gave moving away a single thought , then soon as i hit 40 the whats life all about kicks in . since then slowly and surely i have been longing to get away from the place .
You start to think about slower pace of life and the body lets you know your ready .

In your case i noted you say it never felt like home , so maybe its not your home and your age is making you yearn for the UK..
I would say just come over for a month or so it will either hit you with a wow this is home ! Or make you suddenly feel like you have been at home all along .

Fleaflyfloflum

Yes, we are both mid 40s and i truly believe your values change.
When we left UK, it wasnt because i hated it. I just needed to go see what was out there if you know what i mean. I had never really travelled much apart form a few package holidays.
Now that i have lived overseas for sometime, it has made me realise just what the really important things are in life.
I dont want to spend what i feel are the best years of my life in a place that makes me feel empty. Afterall, we are running out of time! I have so much i want to see and do elsewhere, but base it from the warmth and love of being with my family.
I have just become a grandparent. Its a big wake up call. I need to be back to see the kids grow up!
For me, Australia is too far away form everything and out of step with everything thats going on in the world.

I am also about to enter my second childhood. I want some fun and excitement back in my life. London will give me that!

birdynumnum

I think age does have something to do with.
I'm 40 too. Was in my mid 30s when we came here, took it as it was and had a great time on the whole.
Although alot of the things that appealed to me about Oz initially are here, the more time I spend here, the more I know I dont want to stay here for alot of reasons. The things that drew me here arent as important to me as the things I left behind, you miss your water when your well run dry & all that
As Flea says, there so much to see & do elsewhere and I feel as though I've seen what I want to here.
Life here feels easy, its pleasant yes, but not diverse, interesting or stimulating & I personally cant wait to be somewhere with access to a wealth of everything that adds to the richness of life - & the countryside of home, ahhhhhhh

Fleaflyfloflum

Shall we sail off into the sunset across Europe on my pink vespa Birdy?
Just picture the scene.. scarves trailing in the wind, and the sound of the vespa like two bees in a biscuit tin...

birdynumnum

Thelma & Loise eat ur heart out
Flea........... we're as bad as each other arent we

PS. Still not heard oooooorrrruuuu

dreamcatcher

All your posts on this thread are lovely to read,and to people worried abput what decision they are making, I hope they read them because it might make them feel better.
By the way you two,please dont do the whole Thelma and Louise thingy

tillergirl

Hi

You're right Dreamcatcher, these threads did make me feel better. I've a good giggle and some lovely visions.

Cheers girls. Do some more, pleaseeeeeeeeeee.

katesbackagain

Although I've only been in the US for 4 and a half years, I feel that my age is contributing to my wanting to go back to the UK. I'm 32 this month, and by no means old, but the vacation time given here is lousy, and I finally figured out why I've been feeling more and more tired with each year that goes by. I don't party all night, I'm a total homebody, so I know it's not that that's wearing me out, but I feel like all I do is work and sleep.

Also, I know none of my family are getting any younger, and every now and then, I get a "what if" in my head, and it's hard to shake off. I know that if I can't be there when a member of my family is very sick, I'll never forgive myself. I don't have the money to just get on a plane and go in an emergency, so that leaves only one choice, and it's a choice I'll be much more comfortable with.

YankeemovingAbroad

Nice point of view.I agree age does matter,I love America my birth nation yet there is a yearning in me to experience living in Europe that has allways been there but age has made that goal that more important to me.I believe 40 is a age that you come to grips with the fact your best physical days are in the past and its time to get off the pot and accomplish those long sought after goals.Where the body goes the mind will follow and vice versa.

YankeemovingAbroad

What do you mean when you say life is not diverse in Australia? Are Australians very accepting of ethnic diversity compared to the UK?

Dave_Was

I've been in the US for three years. For me I had a really rough week last week as it was my Dad's 60th birthday. Really realised that no one is getting any younger and I would like to be around when my mother and father retire.

I love living in the US but do miss my parents and everyone loads.

My view is that I want to work here for another five years or so and then move back home.

birdynumnum

Hi there.....I'll get shot down for this but.....what I mean is that its pretty one dimensional in many ways. Its obviously a very big country but without much in it. UKs small but a big country as its packed to the brim with variety. There is diversity of wildlife & landscapes here but places are so so so far apart. In terms of life - its hard to pin point but its very same same on the whole. You drive miles to a different place and its not that different from where you came from. Of course theres some lovely 'heritage' towns here n there, but compared to UK where theres a wealth of different/towns villages/ countryside/places to go/different things to do all within close proximity to each other. Theres just not that marked a difference between places, part from Melbourne & Tassie (for me). Day to day you do what you do everywhere - work, eat, sleep, but doing different things (especially out of a city and I'm not a city girl), you simply run out of anything to do for a change. Thats b4 even starting on the cultural apsects.
Another example is the media - in the UK (& I'm not trying to just go UKs tops Oz sucks......theres intelligent discourse about current affairs, its interesting, its hard to avoid & makes you feel part of life. Of course some UK media is tripe but on the whole its more stimulating.
I do like aspects of living here, I love some & I'll miss some but to stay here long term - no way jose, even if I was retired.
I really thought I'd be happy as larry living here long term - I was wrong. Just need more stimulation, sunshine & beaches arent enough for me..
Plus its misogynisitc too

I wouldnt say Oz is more accepting of ethnic diversity than the UK - suprising considering the countrys made up of a range of migrants. A huge generalization I know. Its definately much better in the cities - eg/ Melbourne.
In fact Melbourne is more diverse full stop. Its got more to it, more culture, more depth, more stimulation etc. Great place to live 4 a while.

britvic

Of course it dose, I'm not as easily impressed as I was in my younger day's

Yoong

Yes, age does make the influence at my perspective in life.
When I hit my mid forties, I started to let go of my insecurities,
I think I am more accepting of myself ,others and not afraid of being wrong.

Feeling thankful and gratitude at small little things.
I am happier now than I my younger years which was filled
with a few losses of loved ones, especially the sudden death of my sister
in Toronto a few months prior to my landing there.Trips were planed with her,
everything just turned upside down when she passed away.
As I looked back, I felt thankful that were kind people who were there
for me to help me heal.
Yoong