blobby1000

Where are you these days Wattsy??

Fair enough and I hope it works out for you

But that's the Brits that ask all that in Oz! but the Brits don't do it in the UK! i think it's just about trying to find something to talk about.....and subconsciously checking you are doing OK by making sure others aren't doing better than you!!!,!

Yeah we met a lot of nice older people and they didn't dance round our kitchen either! you are right...it's bloody hard trying to find that vibe! Even as a middle aged man now, I missed having mates round and going out with people I actually liked. It's really hard to find friends full stop...and particularly friends that can measure up to the 20+ year friendships we have in the UK

Yeah I found that We went to Oz for a different life....but we found that we still had to work, vacuum, wash up, pay the bills, sleep, cook etc surfing before breakfast? I don't think so....who has time for that every day when you have to start work at 7am 100km from where we lived!! we found the lifestyle and opportunities we were after but work still got in the way regarding watching TV/XBox etc...I agree...I don't think people change. My wife watches tele all evening, she did it in Oz and she does it here, but that doesn't mean I can't go out running, take the dogs out, sit in the garden, take my bike out, take the kids out to the park etc. I have stopped nagging her about it, I no longer care about it....people will do what makes them happy..... im not telling you how to live your life...and it's hard to get motivated when you are feeling down...but you should lead by example...say "right, this suburb is boring.,.....i want us to live somewhere better" (and there are better suburbs in Melbourne than Greemsborough) you could move somewhere better without uprooting the family...... if if your family won't listen then you go and discover that suburb,....and then show them it.....you could win them over! i know it's not that easy.......but you can only control what you do, and it sounds like you haven't given up on finding happiness in Australia so I reckon you need to carry on!

I i were you.....or if we were heading out pre-kids I'd be going to St Kilda its near the CBD. It has a beach....it's a bit crappy compared to the beaches on the Great Ocean Road...but it's decent for Melbourne. St Kilda has a lovely feel to it....yes there's a bit of crime, a few hookers, and drugs about but it's a funky place and you don't need to indulge in those things! There's lovely parks, great restaurants and it's not too far from the CBD... People have different opinions but I don't rate Altona at all and Point Cook is as dull as it gets and you'd be better off with a paddling pool in the garden then the beach at Point Cook!

No need to apologise! You are not in Melbourne yet so you cannot possibly know what is a realistic question! These were the things we were looking for and probably the things most people hope for!

Glad my threads can still include a bit of drama even from 10,000 miles away! my advice though, is stop squabbling ladies and get out and enjoy the sunshine! I'm sure you both have perfect marriages just like me!

im not moaning for the sake of it....I'm just demonstrating the complexity of my mind!!! Haha and Hoping that this will help others in a similar position my pros and cons are certainly contradictory..,the whole thing is contradictory! i never claimed to make any sense (or at least I hope I didn't!)

Hi Davlap, i havent read any posts past this one yet so I may be repeating what others said. But it's almost my bed time and I wanted to reply to you! Really you are echoing a lot of what I said when I lived in GREENSBOROUGH! (See my post "Melbourne Smells" it was quite notorious and got a lot of replies and really kept me going through the tough times!!!) Anyway I get what you are saying about Aussie sport. It really got on my tits. What you say about them mentioning the 5th placed Aussie (or even the 25th placed) but not the winner is SPOT ON! Do you remember the Olympics! The Aussies under performed so they just said (on tele and radio, papers etc...all media coverage in general) 'we don't like the Olympics! It's not real sport!" And then They started saying "the Sydney Olympics were much better than this!" Quite simply Australians are the worst losers in the world and that is annoying! But does it really matter!? When I was there I said YES but now I think : why couldn't I have just laughed at that! Well because really I think being able to lose is a skill that is required in a sensible society.... But anyway! When we look back on our 2 years....we wished the first year (in GREENSBOROUGH) away and then headed to Torquay. But now, looking back, we preferred that first year. G'boro is not much cop, and you could have picked much better places, it's a boring suburb but it is safe and there are a few nice parks...I'd say it's one of the better northern suburbs, but is it worth travelling across the world for? Certainly not.....but if you go into URBAN GROOVES say hi to Manuel from us (he won't remember!) but it's a great cafe on the Main Street! But the good thing about GREENSBOROUGH is it's so near so many nice places....But I guess you were near them, in Heidelberg. Personally I'd have gone to Warrendyte. It's much nicer and more character, yes, more expensive, but it's worth it I reckon as it feels like you are somewhere different to the UK and the people are pretty chilled out and friendly...that's where we would go back to (but we won't!) Anyway what was the point of my post? Oh yes...I remember... My mum and her elderly, rather thin, always on the toilet, friend came over in 2011 when we were in GREENSBOROUGH, I spent three weeks telling them how crap it was whilst taking them to 3 weeks worth of truly amazing places, all within driving distance. I wish I'd stopped to think...actually this is quite good! But I kept saying..there is only 3 weeks worth of good stuff and then You just have to repeat things,.,.. Well...now back in the UK we repeat stuff all the time! We go on holiday to the same place, I take my dogs on the same walk, we take the kids to the same park, we cycle on the same tracks, we drink in the same pubs, we eat in the same restaurants, we get our Chinese from the same takeaway....that's life....it's what we do! Somehow we expected to have it different in Australia....but it's still just life and you can't have exitement every minute! anywaay I get what you are saying and I hope you find peace in whatever you do.

Oh, and £3000 to bring him home!!

£4000 for a retriever 5 years ago! i think you have a good price!

Thanks for all the comments guys... Its really helpful to read your opinions and it keeps me sane!!

Davlap..... im not trying to be a smart arse, but what in the name of God are you doing in Heidelberg Heights? If you are renting, (or even bought) the first thing to do is get the hell out of there. Have you always lived there whilst in Oz? There are a million nicer areas than that and you could move without any upheaval to your family....you'd only have to go 10 miles and you'd find a totally different experience.

Hello everybody! We have now been back in the UK longer than we were in Australia and have returned (via a failured venture in Cornwall for 8 months) to the same house and town that we left in Gloucestershire . We have been back 31 months and were in Australia 26 months? Its been an interesting time and generally quite unsettling for the adults! Our children have settled into a great school, our oldest has been well behind due to not starting in Australia (and attending a rubbish school in Corwnall) so effectively missing the first 2 years of education. But he is catching up and both our children are happy. Our trusty dog (now 10) is still alive and has been joined by a new puppy. I have a job that I enjoy and Mrs Blobby has a job that she doesn't (no change there) I suppose the point of my post is to say that although we seem to be doing quite well (and are hopefully about to move house as well) we have found it difficult to get Australia out of our heads. It was a while ago, but you may recall that during the 26 months we spent in Australia, I spent most of my time on here moaning. Towards the end I saw the error of my ways, but Mrs Blobby grew to absolutely abhor Australia and all things Australian. It's fair to say I would have given Australia one more chance in terms of moving whilst we were there to try a third location...but coming home was my idea at first...and it was always going to end that way after we agreed we wanted to leave....having said that we NEVER expected to be back in the same town, the same house (and until recently, me doing the same job)....we had hit a wall in Australia and just couldn't see anything good about it......it was all to do with absolute total negative thinking (everyone on here told me that,,,but I didn't listen). Anyway, now we are back there are some positives and negatives that I think would be interesting to mention. I genuinely find English people nicer than Aaustralians..friendlier, funnier, more intelligent....(I'm talking generally...as we all know there are plenty of ignorant, unamusing, unfriendly thick English!).... And I do prefer England as a country...the greenery, the seasons, Christmas, swimming without constant worry about being eaten or drowning, the humour, the pubs, the ale, the football (although I've gone off that)' National Hunt racing (flat racing sucks!), snooker (!!!), being able to drive my car without being tailgated, sworn at and driven off the road, not getting speeding fines every week, sensible weather (not 46 degrees!) BUT life just doesn't feel the same! I'm lucky...I have a lovely family...believe me I'm not saying life is dull...it is not. But our time in Australia, looking back, was so exciting! We had the whole country to go at...we didn't really know where we would be living from one year to the next...we could get in the car and go on road trips having no idea what we would find....we lived by the beach...the coffee was great...the scenery was incredible, we could spend our time looking for whales, trying not to get eaten by sharks, seeing Dolphins, watch our son dive into our own private pool in Bali and swim a width before breakfast, never knowing when it's going to rain and when it rained did it bloody rain,,,and the electrical storms....never seen anything like it. And you did get in a car wondering if you would die! It was really edge of the seat stuff at times! And we had money, and we didn't know what to expect from one day to the next (although at the time I kept saying I was bored) it's funny but I have good family and friends and loads of stuff I like to do that I can only do in England. In a sense, when these things come around England feels special but it also gets me thinking 'was it REALLY worth coming home for this? Is Cheltenham Race Week really that important?!!! i guess you can only make a decision based on how you feel at the time. And at the time I genuinely think we were both a bit depressed and actually quite paranoid. I look back now and really do think that. im not saying we made the wrong choice but I miss the adventure. And funnily enough, Mrs Blobby would return to Australis tomorrow if I would agree! I wonder if that would work? (We are NOT coming back! Too risky. And too much upheaval for the kids!) anyway just a few thoughts In conclusion, I have to say... Life is never quite the same after you've emigrated!,,