BrisPaul

I'll keep an eye out for that, thanks

I started feeling like we'd made a mistake within 12 months. After the first few months of catching up with everybody and the routine of life kicked in. Realisation started to hit home. I never said anything and just got on with it for fear of unsettling my family again. We just got back in time for my 15 year old to squeeze into secondary school as you all know the Aussie school age left her a year behind. She worked really hard and caught up with the curriculum and got back on track. So the option of going back to Australia wasn't even on the table. As I said in the previous post the timing was awful due to the school age of my eldest and was my biggest regret in the decision. I don't think we've ever said "we wish we stayed in the UK and never emigrated" because it was the happiest we've ever been as a family. Having a really well paid job the country really did give us everything we wished for and more. We lived in North Lakes and life just became a bit plastic. Oz is full of these estates that have gorgeous homes well thought out amenities with playgrounds, schools and shopping centres sprung up overnight. We were really, really happy for a while then started to feel it was a bit soul less. I can't put my finger but I wish we'd have just stayed and I've no doubt the feelings of wanting to return to our roots would have passed. We live on the Wirral so its not too bad of an area, and if anything being in Oz has made us appreciate where we are more than ever. I regularly go into Snowdonia National Park hiking and have weekends away in the UK more than what we've ever done before we emigrated. Life is full of crossroads isn't it? You make a choice and hope its the right one, some you win and some you don't and my own personal choice at that crossroad was wrong. But I will say one thing if I was still there now and had been trapped there unable to see my last remaining parent as all our friends over there have I'd be absolutely beside myself so I suppose I've spared myself that anguish. Hahaha. My eldest daughter who I've been telling you about rang us last night to tell us she's selling her car as she wants to go back to Oz for a month over Christmas. Strange turn of events this week for me stumbling over an old Pomsinoz email which lied me to post to my daughter saying she's coming back!! My youngest is in Leeds Uni and absolutely loves it and has no urges to return at all but either way the one thing I have given them is the option with the dual passport to leave if they want to later on in their lives. Anyway, I hope you all choose the correct turning at your own personal crossroads.

Hi, I haven't been on here for nearly 7 years now. The last time was seeking advice about returning back here to the UK after living in Brisbane for 12 years where I lived with my wife and 2 young kids when we went and left as teenagers. Just reading through the original post and other peoples replies and the memories of have exactly the same thoughts have come rushing back hence why I felt I had to type this reply. Right where to begin.... A lot had changed in the 12 years we were away and even move has changed in the years we have been back!! I can honestly say hand on heart we've made the wrong decision moving back. It has had numerous positives such as seeing and being with family, having a much better social life, going the match with me mates, holidays in Europe and enjoying the four seasons again. BUT the downside is it was extremely hard for my girls to move into UK secondary schools they are worlds apart from the Aussie ones, work has been much more of a struggle to find and to keep, cost of living is through the roof now. I though Oz was bad but at least the wages there were on par with the cost of living, Brexit and now post cover really are taking its toll on the economy. Don't get me started on the NHS!!! The current and proceeding governments have tried their best to quietly destroy it. Society here is a lot tougher than Oz. I'm not daft enough to say that Oz is utopia, its obviously not. I'm from just outside Liverpool and class myself as pretty street wise and can see the surrounding society for what it is and Oz wins hands down. Also the weather which I had grown tired of is the biggest thing I miss. After 6 years I still hate the wind, rain and cold drab days. As you all know it really stops you going outside and enjoying life. Don't get me wrong both my girls are happy here they are both at Uni's and are now in a different period of their lives and are happy. My wife is the type of person like myself who doesn't grumble and is happy where ever she is, as am I to a certain extent but if I had my time over again I would not have moved back. We still talk to ex pat friends in Oz who are thinking of coming back and I've told them to not rush into anything. I get that everyone is different and everyone has their own reasons for coming back which is fair enough, I just hate for anyone to make the same mistakes as we did in coming back when really all we had done was become accustomed to the life we had and craved something different. Who knows, maybe once you've lived somewhere for a considerable amount of time in a country you long for the good times you remember and blank out the bad stuff. I do remember being bored a lot out there and thinking now, that maybe it was me who was boring and should have done more, even though I do consider myself quite outgoing. As I've said I don't cry myself to sleep every night missing Oz and the time I'm spending with my Mum and her latter years is absolutely priceless and feel blessed but to be blunt that really has been the real only benefit of being back here. If my girls both decide to move out to Oz latter on in life we'll both be out there like a shot but if not then we'll just stay wherever they are...... Anyway thanks for listening and the best of luck to all whatever you decide to do.

Hi Goldyshell, It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride but its all good now. Both girls didn't pass the tests to get into the Grammar school. The gap was huge in relation to where both girls where in their schooling. We ended up putting them both into a local high school that had a good reputation. The 16 year old unfortunately had to be put back a year and with a reasonable bit of effort has got herself unto where she needs to be for her upcoming GCSE's. There wasn't even a conversation about her going straight into year 11 as there is to much to catch up on and it would've been unfair to put that pressure on her. Good luck with everything

Apologies, that wasn't my intention. I was merely putting into words my own thoughts on how my own life may or may not pan out.

After nearly 13yrs in Brisbane we are looking to head back in August to sunny Wirral. Never really felt at home here, met loads of acquaintances and very few real dependable friends. That said we've enjoyed it immensely did all the beach experiences brought both kids up here and gave them good childhoods but the pull of seeing family more often in their twilight years is too much to pass up. We'll be trading a 5 bedroomed house up up a 3 bedroomed semi so we'll end up selling belongings at a fraction of there price but thats life I suppose. If you value materialistic belongings more tham human friendships then you will probably die comfortably well off and lonely. Anyway good luck to all who stay and those who return we all have our own lives and as long as your happy that is the most important thing.

A quick update for anyone who's interested. The preferred secondary school we were hoping for have said they will not take her as we are not living in the catchment area, so in other words there is nothing we can do until we move there. We then tried the grammar school and they were great. They said they will see where she is up to and decide whether its year 10 or year 11. She will however have to do a test which they have emailed to my daughters school here in Brissy which hopefully should be done in the next week. If she passes my daughter and wife are getting shoved onto a plane in the next few weeks and my wife will come back here after a couple of weeks after getting my daughter settled with family and school routine , etc. Private tuition is almost definitely going to be needed to catch up. If my daughter fails the test then we have a back up plan that is already becoming frustrating. We contacted Wirral borough council as we'd been directed by the school to register my daughter and they replied by saying its a matter between your chosen school and yourselves. We contacted the school and they said to register with the council. Fingers crossed my daughter passes the test.

We've spoken to our daughter about doing year 10 and and she's completely "meh, I'm not bothered." She's a cool kid, the next worry is whether the school will find a place for her. Thanks to all for your kind words of advice they were all very much appreciated.

Good grief, this is getting too hard by the second. Thank you very much for your thoughts I really appreciate it. Its a toss up of her being too old by 2 years in school or possibly being too young by 2 years in college. The poor kid is out all day today so we can't speak to her about it until tonight. We certainly won't be pushing her into anything. Thanks again

Great, thanks I'll look into it tomorrow and see if we get any joy.

Robswife, So instead of going into a secondary school we would just enrol her into the local Met. College instead and she could do her GSCE's there?

Hi Everyone, We've decided after 13 years of living in Qld to call it a day and move back to the UK in August. We're doing this for a number of reasons but the most important is to be closer to family whilst they are still around. Our biggest issue is our eldest daughter who is 16 next month and how she'll fit into the uk school system. We've been told by friends she will have to re-sit her year 11 which she has just started in January (here in Oz) which although isn't ideal she is quite happy with that and so are we, BUT we've just been told she will have to re-do her year 10 in the UK aswell as the GCSE's are a 2 year study course. This will mean she will be basically kept behind for 2 years which is too much I feel. Is this correct? I know I should just wait until tomorrow night and ring the school we are intending to put her into in September but to be honest I'm devastated and I'm hoping someone can give me something to cling to now!