Der Roter Kampfflieger Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 (edited) Hi all, I don't post on here much but do a fair bit of lurking and have read a lot of peoples posts about returning to the UK after various periods of time and for various reasons. My wife and I are thinking of doing the same next year after being here in Perth for a year. My/our story is as follows, it may help others to make a decision or give them something to think about! I first came to Perth ,(I have never been anywhere else in Australia!), in 1994 with my then girlfriend who is from WA. I was on a WHV and we spent a year here before returning to the UK,(she is a dual citizen, as am I now). We got married then spent the next 5 years working in London and Edinburgh as well as buying a house etc. Eventually she wanted to return home and so we began the process of applying for a spouse visa for me and were told we needed an assurance of support due to me not having a trade or any qualifications beyond A-level, we got the assurance of support from her uncle and moved to Perth in 2001. I struggled to find any work, (in the UK I was a Butler/House manager in private service, not really something people here understand!), and ended up buying a vehicle and doing courier work as well as temping for agencies. We sold our house in the UK after renting it out for a year and were fortunately able to buy a house here with next to no mortgage! However we ended up having 3 kids ,(my eldest daughters, Katie and Emilie were recently on 'The Voice Kids' on tv so some of you may have seen them!), and, although everything seemed ok neither of us were really happy in the relationship and so we decided to separate and I moved out into a shared house which turned out to be a nightmare. My casual work and inconsistent pay caused all sorts of problems with child support and mortgage and rent and I ended up losing the plot after I found out I was being evicted due to the tenant of house illegally renting out rooms,(a friend of my brother in law!), I had no money and no family apart from my 3 very young children so I pressed the button on my metaphorical EPIRB and my family in the UK paid for a ticket home for me in the spring of 2006. I had obtained citizenship here so I knew I could come back anytime. I sold a 40% share in the marital home to the state government in order that the children not be homeless/having to look for another home and got a junior management job in the UK local to where I come from in the Cotswolds and moved on with my life as best I could. My job progressed and I met an amazing girl whom I married and now have 2 more children with,(glutton for punishment I know!). We bought a place in Oxfordshire and we both came to Perth once a year to see the kids and even paid for my ex and the older children to come and visit the UK for 6 weeks in the summer of 2008. Unfortunately I was made redundant from my job in 2012 but got another position that was quite senior in another business soon after, I was there for a year and then made redundant along with others so it was at that point we decided to come to Perth to live. My wife is an IT analyst and had been in her job for 15 years and so was desperate for a change and we wanted all the kids to grow up together. We sold our place in the UK and moved here in June 2014. Well, it's a bit like groundhog day, nobody will recognise my management experience from the UK ,( I was a Production Manager for a very large food producer, then an Operations manager for a national food distributor), so I ended up back lifting heavy things in warehouses with guys 20 years younger than me, I'm 41, and usually a lot bigger than me,(usually Maori!), as well as the odd bit of forklift driving. Anyway, my wife has decided she really doesn't want to be here, and to be honest, my younger 2 have gone backwards in school which is disheartening to say the least! My wife's work experience,IT analyst, doesn't match here qualifications, electronic engineer, so agencies/employers have said they can help her get work at Coles/Woolies stacking shelves etc but at her age, 42, she wouldn't get much else. To top it off I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the doctor has ruled out heavy lifting etc, so I am on centrelink So, with a heavy heart, I have to tell my eldest 3 that we are leaving after already missing out on 8 years of their lives. My advice to anyone coming here as a spouse, especially other men I suppose, is to make sure you have a skill that is recognised or some work lined up or you will end up on a centrelink payment! It seems that most people on here are skilled migrants or on 457 visas, they ask questions about whether they can survive on 100k a year etc, well, we live on $1500 a fortnight and $800 of that is rent. We would stay if we could afford to but the dynamics of the situation make retraining too difficult. All the best, Damo Edited December 21, 2014 by Der Roter Kampfflieger internet collapse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beckdownunder Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Sounds lie you have had a tough time Damo, best wishes for the future wherever that may find you. Beck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 I think it's fair to say you gave it a fair go, and it doesn't sound like employers in Australia did the same. To be honest I am surprised, I can understand the private service but very surprised with your wife's experience in IT (that's my field). I think it's fair to say getting a start as a migrant can be hard, I had to take a much lower job (earning less in $ than I had in £1) but over two years I easily worked my way back up. You were an unusual migrant and your reasons for returning to Perth were very different to most on here and your post stands out as having absolute honesty so I am not in any way questioning your experience, just surprised. We left in 2012 and I get the feeling from this forum and friends still there that the economic climate is tough so maybe it was just a matter of timing. Best of luck on your return to the UK, the IT market here is booming so your wife should have no difficulties getting work back here and hopefully the same is true for you. The only thing is the housing market has boomed too in certain areas so you may be working your way back up the ladder there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacaranda Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Sounds like you have been through some difficult times. On the plus side though,you have given it a go twice.It hasn't worked so that's telling you something. My advice to you is when you return to the UK,stay in the present moment.Don't get on that horrible treadmill of thought process,that "There's always somewhere/something better"It'll only make you unsettled and miserable. Focus on all the positives of being in the UK. For us its being able to travel outside the UK (Yeah I know that sounds weird,I do love the UK but I also love travelling). Plan a nice summer holiday somewhere quiet away from the p***** up brits abroad brigade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1977 Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Good luck, you've had it hard.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamffc Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 All the best Damo, you can only do the best with what you have and can't change the cards you get dealt. Sounds like you are looking at things very sensibly and dealing with it all as well as could be hoped. Also, there are plenty of worse places in the world to be than The Cotswolds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Hi all,I don't post on here much but do a fair bit of lurking and have read a lot of peoples posts about returning to the UK after various periods of time and for various reasons. My wife and I are thinking of doing the same next year after being here in Perth for a year. My/our story is as follows, it may help others to make a decision or give them something to think about! I first came to Perth ,(I have never been anywhere else in Australia!), in 1994 with my then girlfriend who is from WA. I was on a WHV and we spent a year here before returning to the UK,(she is a dual citizen, as am I now). We got married then spent the next 5 years working in London and Edinburgh as well as buying a house etc. Eventually she wanted to return home and so we began the process of applying for a spouse visa for me and were told we needed an assurance of support due to me not having a trade or any qualifications beyond A-level, we got the assurance of support from her uncle and moved to Perth in 2001. I struggled to find any work, (in the UK I was a Butler/House manager in private service, not really something people here understand!), and ended up buying a vehicle and doing courier work as well as temping for agencies. We sold our house in the UK after renting it out for a year and were fortunately able to buy a house here with next to no mortgage! However we ended up having 3 kids ,(my eldest daughters, Katie and Emilie were recently on 'The Voice Kids' on tv so some of you may have seen them!), and, although everything seemed ok neither of us were really happy in the relationship and so we decided to separate and I moved out into a shared house which turned out to be a nightmare. My casual work and inconsistent pay caused all sorts of problems with child support and mortgage and rent and I ended up losing the plot after I found out I was being evicted due to the tenant of house illegally renting out rooms,(a friend of my brother in law!), I had no money and no family apart from my 3 very young children so I pressed the button on my metaphorical EPIRB and my family in the UK paid for a ticket home for me in the spring of 2006. I had obtained citizenship here so I knew I could come back anytime. I sold a 40% share in the marital home to the state government in order that the children not be homeless/having to look for another home and got a junior management job in the UK local to where I come from in the Cotswolds and moved on with my life as best I could. My job progressed and I met an amazing girl whom I married and now have 2 more children with,(glutton for punishment I know!). We bought a place in Oxfordshire and we both came to Perth once a year to see the kids and even paid for my ex and the older children to come and visit the UK for 6 weeks in the summer of 2008. Unfortunately I was made redundant from my job in 2012 but got another position that was quite senior in another business soon after, I was there for a year and then made redundant along with others so it was at that point we decided to come to Perth to live. My wife is an IT analyst and had been in her job for 15 years and so was desperate for a change and we wanted all the kids to grow up together. We sold our place in the UK and moved here in June 2014. Well, it's a bit like groundhog day, nobody will recognise my management experience from the UK ,( I was a Production Manager for a very large food producer, then an Operations manager for a national food distributor), so I ended up back lifting heavy things in warehouses with guys 20 years younger than me, I'm 41, and usually a lot bigger than me,(usually Maori!), as well as the odd bit of forklift driving. Anyway, my wife has decided she really doesn't want to be here, and to be honest, my younger 2 have gone backwards in school which is disheartening to say the least! My wife's work experience,IT analyst, doesn't match here qualifications, electronic engineer, so agencies/employers have said they can help her get work at Coles/Woolies stacking shelves etc but at her age, 42, she wouldn't get much else. To top it off I have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and the doctor has ruled out heavy lifting etc, so I am on centrelink So, with a heavy heart, I have to tell my eldest 3 that we are leaving after already missing out on 8 years of their lives. My advice to anyone coming here as a spouse, especially other men I suppose, is to make sure you have a skill that is recognised or some work lined up or you will end up on a centrelink payment! It seems that most people on here are skilled migrants or on 457 visas, they ask questions about whether they can survive on 100k a year etc, well, we live on $1500 a fortnight and $800 of that is rent. We would stay if we could afford to but the dynamics of the situation make retraining too difficult. All the best, Damo Damo , my thoughts and best wishes go out to you mate ....you have tried to make things right , done the right thing .....but life can be a bstard , as we all know . Its bloody painful . Turning left ...when your instinct is telling you to turn right , all for the sake of others and the greater good .....taking the tough decisions ,because no one else puts their hand up ....does that sound familiar ? Just keep putting one foot in front of the other ......head down ...soldier on ....BEST OF LUCK ...Bunbury Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Damo , my thoughts and best wishes go out to you mate ....you have tried to make things right , done the right thing .....but life can be a bstard , as we all know .Its bloody painful . Turning left ...when your instinct is telling you to turn right , all for the sake of others and the greater good .....taking the tough decisions ,because no one else puts their hand up ....does that sound familiar ? Just keep putting one foot in front of the other ......head down ...soldier on ....BEST OF LUCK ...Bunbury Damo , just to add on from Grahamffc , there are some real positives about being here in the U.k .....and bloody hell the cotswolds is fantastic ......love it ,for me out through stratford ....shipston ...moreton in the marsh ....broadway .....chipping camden .....stow on the wold ......bourton on the water ......CHIN UP , you could be in the australian desert areas .....theres no bloody water ,never mind your local sainsburys and the no32 bus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Roter Kampfflieger Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 Ha ha, yes, I used to fly from Long Marston just outside Stratford, and I'm from Bourton on the Water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Would you try another city- Melb or Sydney or even Brisbane? Might find more work than Perth . Just a thought. At least you would be nearer your first 3 children. Good luck whatever you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Roter Kampfflieger Posted December 21, 2014 Author Share Posted December 21, 2014 To be honest, we're really only here for the children, we wouldn't have moved here otherwise, so moving elsewhere within the country wouldn't be something we'd consider. We found it pretty easy cash wise to visit from the UK and I'm not confident about being able to afford to visit them from somewhere else here. Also we know nobody over east. All my friends in Perth are aussies, I only know one other person from the UK.....my ex mother in law!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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