How doo,
I just thought that i would give an update on my original post.....
Well been back in the UK exactly 1 week, now living with me mam & dad in my old room!! We managed to sell everything in OZ but at a loss, i dont like to reflect on this but given that i'm giving an honest account i'll give you all a run down on where all the money went.
Bought a new Camry when we arrived paid $30k, after 4 weeks got $21,500 visited over 8 dealerships and this was the best price which we got, they knew that we wanted to move back to UK so we were putty in their hands.
Lost $2k with the bond on the house
Cats are where the most expenditure lay, what with shipping them across and staying 30 day in quarentine, for us to ship them back and have to pay for 6 months quarentine this has cost us $21k.
One word of advice if anybody has pets who they are thinking of taking to OZ, then please look at the "pets passport scheme" if we had got the cats done whilst still in the UK they wouldnt have needed to go into Quarentine for 6 months and we could have collected them from the airport. Instead we are now travelling 110 roundtrip each weekend to visit them.
Our flights cost us $5k there and back, that dosent take into account the clothes whch we had to bin because we were over the 20kg limit!!
Cancelation cost of FOXTEL, Bigpond etc as with OZ everything is 24months contract this was around $500 dollars.
We bought everything new when we arrived ie: beds, TV, outdoor furniture, towels everything which you need, again we lost about $3k.
Then there is the cost of both Visa, i wouldt class this as a waste as this has enabled us to become permanent holders, but is still a factor as is the cost of coming to OZ on 3 other seperate occasions and all the associated costs.
SO HOW DO I FEEL NOW.......
Got off the plane at Manchester and got the train back to Bolton, all the scallies from Salford got on the train going to Blackpool, took one look at Mark and told quite firmly "it's your own f**king fault" with this just looked out of the window and could cry.
We were met by my parents at the train station and in all honesty i wasnt even excited to see them, given that i thought this was the overiding reason why i wanted to come back.
Went shopping to Asda yesterday and again looked all around me and thought "what have i done". We went out for a drink to Blackpool last night and my my my what a state the people were in. I dont want anybody to think that i'm being all prim & proper as i more than the next likes a drink, but everybody just looked like they wanted a fight.
We needed to buy a car due to visiting the cats plus not wanting to rely on parents car, this cost us £6200 for a new punto, so again more expense.
On the upside i have been given my job back in Bury so at least some money will be coming in to pay for our very expensive holiday in Brisbane!!
Do i regret coming back YOU BET, is it a possibility that we will return?. Whilst our visa will allow us both, the cost which we have incurred will result in us staying here for a good 12/18 months. Mark is very hesitent and said that i will feel the same as i did before and that i cant keep changing my mind as it is unfair.
We sold up in the UK and moved to OZ, sold up in OZ and moved back to the UK, only for me wanting to sell up in the UK and move back to OZ....
So what would i have done differently.....
Well apart from giving it longer-would have come back on holiday first (as a lot of you suggested)
Shipped the cats across when i was settled
Not bought a car so soon and rented one
Rented a fully furnished property in the first instance.
For anybody who is having a bad time in OZ and boy can i empatise with you, pease take note of this post and reflect. Nothing has changed for me since being back, are the friends who i missed so much knocking the door down to visit? am i seeing all those people who i thought i was missing?
The top and bottom of it is no, it's still the same nothing nor anybody has changed. The news is depressing as ever, people dont smile or take the time to say "hello" petrol is now £1.10p a litre etc.
Nobody could have changed my mind whilst in OZ as this was made up and i wanted to come back HOME. Maybe this is what i needed to consider what it was that i had left behind in OZ.
I dont think i'm going to soul search about the should i or shouldnt i have done, whats done IS done. Nobody has died, yep our bank balance is a hell of a lot lighter but we are both 30 and will work our way back up.
Please dont let this post put anybody off deciding what to do, go with your heart and give this SHORT LIFE a blast, i've always said that i would sooner regret doing something than not at all.
Who knows where we will be in the next 18 months (not Bolton i hope)
Thanks once again to all the people who took the time to respond to my original post, it did help honest.
Cheers.
. Luv wendy
