I have many reasons for moving back to the Uk but first and foremost family.
Coming from a hugh close knit family I cant get over the fact my daughter won't be part of it.I really think family is the most precious gift you could give a child. Before I came I convinced myself that Skype and MSN would allow that bond to take place,living the reality is very different and I don't want my daughter growing up not really knowing/loving her family.
There are things about Brisbane that I am disappointed with... I find it really strange that I live in a housing estate but NEVER see kids out playing.I have a park 2 mins from where I live and I have never seen another mum there...I find this Bizarr...granted at the weekends the beaches /parks are packed but during the week is a non event and for a stay at home mum it can send you a little
It scares me how much money you need for doctors/dentists....my little one has had many bouts of sickness since she arrived and we are lucky to be in the position to pay for any prescription we are given I often wonder how people cope when they have no savings.
Intrest rates and bank charges are hugh over here...our mortgage is 9% at the moment...you pay for a bank account ....to use your debit card...to take money out of non bank Atms ...annual fee on credit cards...really is stepping back in time...I feel that we pay way too much for nothing.
The "laid back " attitude doesn't always work in our favour...we are building a house and are a year behind schedule... nobody cares about this..there attitude is "whatever"...and I have found that this attitude in customer service is brisbane wide.
My husband hates his job...he works longer hours for less money and it wasn;t the job he was told it was going be.
I could go on about the supermarkets ,shopping ,crap TV etc but Im sure everyone has heard them before.
But the main reason Im moving back is because I love Scotland...and being here has just confirmed this. The same problems are here as in the Uk, just some people prefere one country to another.
Never once have I thought as a Uk citizen I was privileged for having free healthcare,Income subsidised by WFT credits,free prescriptions for children ,free dental care for children,Maternity payments and free dental care while pregnant /child is 1 year... now I see all this in a different light and I really feel privileged to be living in the uk
I also cant wait to have seasons ... christmas time when its cold, appreciating the few hot days in summer ...instead of ground hog day brisbane when its sunny and warm or raining and warm
We have travelled all around Brisbane and seen some of NSW but Its time for us to go home....leaving in Oct even if the house isn,t finished /sold....looking forward to giving my little girl the christmas she deserves.
Thanks Joe! Good honest post! I know what you mean about Cold Christmas! I was born on Chrissy Day and cannot get used to being a Summer baby!!!!
__________________
Joanne
"POZZIE" - HAPPY AND LOVIN` IT
Can we pl;ease avoid turning this thread into "Let Us All Bash Earslwood." That is not the title of the thing. Earlswood has asked what reasons others may have for deciding to return to the UK. That is a perfectly reasonable question.
There was a load of similar nonsense not long ago when Essex to Aus asked the same question. His first thread descended into such depths that I closed the wretched thing, started a new one and policed the second one to prevent it from getting out of hand as the first one had done.
This thread is not about Earlswood. He is merely re-inventing the wheel by starting it at all because the subject was discussed pretty exhaustively on the second Essex to Aus thread recently:
Hi all
I am definately with Gollywobbler on this & well done Joetrac on giving an honest account of why you want to go back. Sometimes you do need to make huge changes in your life to appreciate what you have or what you've left behind. I think all points of view have a place on this forum and its a shame to shoot someone down in flames just because they have a differing opinion to you.
Mandy x
Excellent and honest post Joetrac and I agree with everything you have said!
If I could go home it would be for very much the same reasons - family and friends foremost. We only have a small family but we are close and it breaks my heart that for various reasons my parents will never get to meet their great granddaughter who is on this side of the pond. I have one son in UK who unintentionally emigrated back and found that the lifestyle and career opportunities were very much more to his liking (like many young Aussies). The other son and granddaughter live here, out in the bush being self sufficient. Married to an Aussie who wont leave, I am not likely to go home to live unfortunately but that is another issue.
Also for me would be the history - a history that is relevant to me and positively tangible wherever you look. The variety - being able to drive 30 miles and see a myriad different scenes that you would probably not even come close to if you drove 300 miles here. I love the countryside that changes with the seasons, the hedgerows which are vibrant colour, the grass that is Greeeeeeeen and gives under your feet when you walk on it.
I love being able to go outside to do things without having flies crawl up my nose, in my ears or even in my mouth if I am stupid enough to open it wide enough to speak. To go outside and not have to be slathered with suncream or wear a hat for risk of turning my skin to old bootleather. I would much rather be rugged up against the cold than need to lurch from one airconditioned environment to another in order to avoid sweltering. Canberra is beautiful and we do have defined seasons which is great - especially the colours of autumn but we go perilously close to divorce for a few weeks in the summer because DH refuses to get aircon (everything can be managed with good insulation is his mantra!) and those nights where you drip sweat all night are definite life stressors. I hate the drought - you really do get to the point where you scan the bom site for cloud cover and precipitation even if the weatherman says it is going to be another fine day in paradise. Our rainfall has been horrible this past few years and the land looks very sad and depressed - along with many of the countryfolk who rely on the rain for their livelihoods.
I envy my UK friends who are at the same stage of life as I am - they are all forever jauntering about on the continent for a week here and a week there, I have to save up big for my month home every year. Most of them have timeshares somewhere and all of them are looking forward to a rich (not necessarily financially but emotionally) retirement. I miss the sense of community - I would even join the WI if I went home - some of the WI activities my friends enjoy are amazing. (OK so I am old!).
After all this time I really dont have many Aussie friends - people will say that that is Canberra but it isnt. Most of my friends happen to be long term expats like myself but that isnt the reason that the friendships developed, many were work colleagues who made it into the "friend" category when I retired. Other friendships that I have made over the years have drifted as our kids made different choices (there were some nice friends with kids the same age) and people's careers took them all over - Aus is quite an itinerant country and it is not uncommon for people to move all over during their life times.
My biggest regret is going with the flow of things - it was easy to go from student to work here and then we got on the mortgage merry go round and the security of permanent employment then the kids were in school etc etc. If I had my time over, I would have considered at every point whether this was the place to stay - as it is DH is so settled that he wont go back and I wont go back without him. I can think of a couple of transition points where perhaps we would have been better served elsewhere but, then, hindsight is perfect vision I guess.
I think these threads and posts are quite helpfull to a lot of expats returning back home.
It makes us feel sane and that were not alone in thinking that Oz isn't for us.
My reasons are also because i miss my family and friends.My job in the UK (which i've been offered on my return) was also better and better payed.
I don't like AFL,rugby league and cricket which is all the main sports over here.
There is no five a side football here either,which i played 3 times a week back in Scotland.
I enjoy having seasons, where it gets cold and mild and frosty and sunny at different times of the year.
The long summer nights in the UK are also a big lure for me.
These are just some of the reasons i'll be heading back as soon as.
I can also see why Australia is a great place for a lot of ex poms to live,it's got a lot going for it,but for me it doesn't float my boat.
My heart goes out to you quoll,i really wish in the future that you and your DH could reach some sort of compromise so that you could experience life back in theUK for at least a couple of years,even in retirement.
It would maybe improve your mental health ten fold.
All the best for the future.
My heart goes out to you quoll,i really wish in the future that you and your DH could reach some sort of compromise so that you could experience life back in theUK for at least a couple of years,even in retirement.
It would maybe improve your mental health ten fold.
All the best for the future.
Thanks Barab - we do have a sort of compromise which I can live with - I get to go home every year for at least a month and whenever I want to. He is compromising because he wants to go and live in the bush and be self sufficient. I'm afraid a flush loo and broadband are non negotiable as far as I am concerned. My mental health really isnt too bad In fact, since I have discovered that I am not Robinson Crusoe and can vent on here I feel much better.
BTW I adore those long summer evenings too - forgot to mention them. We land on 19 July this year so looking forward to light late evenings even if we do miss the solstice by a month.
I have many reasons for moving back to the Uk but first and foremost family.
Coming from a hugh close knit family I cant get over the fact my daughter won't be part of it.I really think family is the most precious gift you could give a child. Before I came I convinced myself that Skype and MSN would allow that bond to take place,living the reality is very different and I don't want my daughter growing up not really knowing/loving her family.
There are things about Brisbane that I am disappointed with... I find it really strange that I live in a housing estate but NEVER see kids out playing.I have a park 2 mins from where I live and I have never seen another mum there...I find this Bizarr...granted at the weekends the beaches /parks are packed but during the week is a non event and for a stay at home mum it can send you a little
It scares me how much money you need for doctors/dentists....my little one has had many bouts of sickness since she arrived and we are lucky to be in the position to pay for any prescription we are given I often wonder how people cope when they have no savings.
Intrest rates and bank charges are hugh over here...our mortgage is 9% at the moment...you pay for a bank account ....to use your debit card...to take money out of non bank Atms ...annual fee on credit cards...really is stepping back in time...I feel that we pay way too much for nothing.
The "laid back " attitude doesn't always work in our favour...we are building a house and are a year behind schedule... nobody cares about this..there attitude is "whatever"...and I have found that this attitude in customer service is brisbane wide.
My husband hates his job...he works longer hours for less money and it wasn;t the job he was told it was going be.
I could go on about the supermarkets ,shopping ,crap TV etc but Im sure everyone has heard them before.
But the main reason Im moving back is because I love Scotland...and being here has just confirmed this. The same problems are here as in the Uk, just some people prefere one country to another.
Never once have I thought as a Uk citizen I was privileged for having free healthcare,Income subsidised by WFT credits,free prescriptions for children ,free dental care for children,Maternity payments and free dental care while pregnant /child is 1 year... now I see all this in a different light and I really feel privileged to be living in the uk
I also cant wait to have seasons ... christmas time when its cold, appreciating the few hot days in summer ...instead of ground hog day brisbane when its sunny and warm or raining and warm
We have travelled all around Brisbane and seen some of NSW but Its time for us to go home....leaving in Oct even if the house isn,t finished /sold....looking forward to giving my little girl the christmas she deserves.
Can't believe it! You have just summed up all my feelings in one post!! We have not 'made the decision' yet, but have pretty much decided we will not be here long term, we are trying to pull out of some land we just signed a contract on..they want a $4,400 cancellation fee!! Don't want to be tied here just now.
Hopeing to go back in July for 3 weeks to see what we think, don't want to make a mistake in going back, it's such a hard decision, the kids faces are a picture when running around barefoot, but then so were they when they saw grandparents and family!
Anyone tell me what to do??!!!!!!
__________________ Visa granted 2/11, got here 1/2/08 GOING HOME 30/6 Dave (electrician) Lisa, Holly 5, Samuel 3
In fact, since I have discovered that I am not Robinson Crusoe and can vent on here I feel much better. 
