landv

Going home and need to sell.

Hyundai Getz, 1.4, 5 door, 2010, manual.

New tyres, full service history, tinted windows, REG until August.

67500 km on odo and in excellent condition.

$ 7500

Perth NOR

Ok so I have recently made the move from Tasmania (an absolutely beautiful state....shame about the people (In my opinion)) to the Sunshine Coast.

 

It is so much better, people seem to be friendlier, kinder and overall I am very thankful I have been able to get out of that place. But there is still something not quite right.....

 

I think us Brits initially think of Australia as this fairytale lifestyle, we watch the tv programmes on a cold winter day and see the classic Bondi Beach, Australia zoo, Coral reef beauties and believe the dream is here.

 

I do feel grateful for this opportunity and of course my friends back home still see the above so are hugely jealous of me but I am not sure I feel the way I should about the land down under. I am doing it alone, a sole parent and of course moved to a new state where I have no family or friends.

I miss the NHS so much. I have recently discovered my daughter has Autism and other special needs. Therapy is expensive, seeing her Pediatrition costs me $400...and the list goes on.

I find everything more expensive than the UK. Renting, food and lifestyle. Maybe because I don't have a partner with another income coming in but I am broke!! We are struggling. School will be expensive too. I feel I am never going to be in a stable position.

Jobs are also just as scarce as the employment in the UK!

 

Making friends is hard, Aussie's are not easy people to socialise with. I feel like an outcast most of then time. I do not feel like I fit in with other mums and children. I'm nervous and do not feel good enough.

 

Maybe we expect too much, maybe us Brits really are 'whingy poms' who find the negative in everything. Maybe we are a little bitter about missing our home land so never except the change, maybe we will always compare....I don't know.

Or maybe this is just me LOL

 

Even though I would like too....I won't ever make the move home. I am here for my daughter. She will benefit from growing up here. We arrived here when she was just 1 year old so she will be a 'true' Aussie at heart. Schooling will be good, sports and I feel she will have better opportunities here. I hope I have made the right decision for her.

Or is it?? Am I wrong about this too?

 

Would love some feedback please

What makes you think that your daughter will benefit from growing up here? What will she become and/or gain by living here? As a mum of a two year old girl, I'm genuinely interested.

I have thought about this a lot since my daughter was born, and by looking at the bigger picture and long term, I think ultimately she will benefit more ('more' being the keyword) from growing up in the UK. But I understand, it's a very personal decision.

The question should be who annoys you most rather than what annoys you most on PIO :laugh:

Is it the fact that this country was basically formed by nicking it from the original Australians before slaughtering them?. Or that it was essentially a rubbish bin for the British to dump their undesirables?. Either way it's a country which (in it's current incarnation at least) came into being under a bit of a shadow. Then you have decades of immigrants coming here because they feel that their country of origin was holding them back or was unable to offer them the lifestyle they wanted. They get here and secure that life and in the process over-identify with their new country, becoming pathetically grateful to it for what it offers them. All the while harbouring resentment towards their countries of origin for failing them. How many posts do you read on PIO from British people who feel aggrieved with the UK, that the government prioritises the needs of ethnic minorities, asylum-seekers, immigrants, single mothers etc ahead of their needs as the silent (sic) majority. The crack gets made often enough about Australians having a chip on their shoulder, but there are plenty of angry British white van drivers queuing up to get to Australia where they'll be quick to tell anyone who'll listen how the UK's gone to the dogs, how Australia is the future and thus beyond critical appraisal. And thus a whole new generation of chippy Australians are born!

That is so true

They aren't just insecure, but have a huge chip on their shoulders too. Some of them are quite frankly, just simply arrogant. Not so much the women, but the men. In actual fact, Aussie men make my skin crawl... the macho attitude they're trying to exhibit...little do they know it isn't clever, it isn't big, and it certainly isn't impressive... it's just pathetic.

The best Bowls Club in Victoria that. That night you won the in tmeat-tray raffle will live long the memory. Excellent fish supper at the end of it too.

I bet... I'm getting some really disturbing mental images right now..:laugh:

Chavs

M25

february

strictly come I'm a celebrity Big Brother get me out of here with the stars

Football and WAGS

traffic jams driving to and from work in the dark

Daily Mail

dreary council estates

posh bastards who think they own people

the hard nosed materialism and aggression ("oi what you lookin at?" "are you laughin at my mate's joke?") in the SE of England

Islamophobia, Francophobia, Europhobia

 

Looking at that list, a lot of those could be avoided by NOT returning to the home counties and heading for the SW instead!

Funnily enough, my hubby mentioned exactly the same thing the other day.

For me the main thing is getting colds and flu. I have hardly hardly had a cold in 10 years after I left the Uk, but I know I will catch them quickly - I used to get at least 3/4 a year - bad ones. This is getting me worried but I know its not worth staying here just for that. Just have to be a lot fitter I guess and eat healthier!

Same for me, I had only one cold during my four years here, back home I used to get nasty chest infections on top of bad colds too at least once a year. Interesting isnt it? It must be the dampness in the air.

Chavs

M25

february

strictly come I'm a celebrity Big Brother get me out of here with the stars

Football and WAGS

traffic jams driving to and from work in the dark

Daily Mail

dreary council estates

posh bastards who think they own people

the hard nosed materialism and aggression ("oi what you lookin at?" "are you laughin at my mate's joke?") in the SE of England

Islamophobia, Francophobia, Europhobia

 

Looking at that list, a lot of those could be avoided by NOT returning to the home counties and heading for the SW instead!

Oh yes.... chavs! I did think of putting chavvy towns with dreary council estates on my list, but I did mention postcode snobbery....:mask:

And yes, will avoid the home counties this time.

It's strange really, that even after being back for over 2 years I get bugged by very little. The sense of belonging really is a warts and all feeling and I find a great deal of peace and acceptance.

I really hope it will be the same for us too.

I know we are all immensely looking forward to moving back to good old Blighty including myself, but occasionally I do a mental reality check what I won't be too keen on to see/experience again.

I only do it, so I can prepare myself and won't have a massive wobble in the first months or the first year.

I'll start off:

- getting up half an hour earlier in midwinter in the freezing cold and dark to scrape the car

- foggy, damp, drizzly, dark days that seem to last forever

- parked cars everywhere... and I mean everywhere and having to stop every meter to let the traffic flow

- paying council tax and whingeing about the council (yet again) about not collecting the bins for weeks and not filling in the potholes on the roads (amongst many other things)

- the price of petrol

- looking for parking spaces

- driving on the motorway

- postcode snobbery and toffs

- working for the NHS again (I'm very apprehensive about that)

- getting payed monthly

- January & February

May I add that the reasons for going back far outweigh all the above, and this thread is also meant to be a little tongue-in- cheek.

I don't hate Oz.... only occasionally (depending on my mood):cute:, after all, I chose to come here, made my bed now lay in it and all that.

It's OK to hate it sometimes, occasionally we hate other things in life too... jobs, the boss, paying bills, the world, cleaning the house... you get the picture.

I agree with Verystormy, I think it mainly depends on someone's mindset and individual perception of the place and/or people.

Personally I find this place very superficial, lacks depth, crass and harsh on the eye.... and at times, 'in my face', and these are some of the many reasons I loathe it here.

We have been here 5 yrs and have decided to move back hopefully July this year. Reading your posts we feel the same, and its nice to see were not alone. It would be easier to stay here, but we would be very unhappy. We have tryed to make the best of everything Australia had to offer us, but that constant yearning for the UK just wont go away, and its making us unhappy. Its been an emotional roler coaster these past 5yrs, and we have had to work so hard for everything we have acheived, which in the long run has made us stronger people, and closer as a family. By knowing this we feel that we are ready to take on the next journey in our lives, and i'm sure we will come across some hurdles. But we just have to go back. Uk is were we belong. Going back to Face book it sure is a curse, I stopped using it, as every time i popped on for a nosy, it made me very depressed.

Absolutely. In the end, I just couldn't fight against that yearning anymore and I had to accept the fact that I can't settle and immerse myself into "forever life" here.

The realization was hard and it felt like some kind of defeat at the time, but it has also been a life lesson to remain true to myself.

In bold are my pet hates, and I grew up in Liverpool where there are lots of similar bastardisations of the English language. I mean, newsreaders using terms like 'Ambo's,' 'Pollies' and 'Fire-eys?, really?. Speak properly. How hard can it be Stevo, Thommo, Davo etc?. This is just laziness.

 

Using the words 'awesome' or 'legend' totally inappropriately. Seeing your child come into this world is awesome, someone making the photocopier work is a bit less special. Similarly, Pele, Salvador Dali and Tommy Cooper are legends, your mate Stevo/Thommo/Davo buying you a footlong sub kinda pales into insignificance by comparison.

:biglaugh:

Also, getting a happy meal from Maccas........... awesome maaaaaaaaate (and they're all nodding in agreement) :cute:

Just read this in our local paper,,thought you would all enjoy it as much as me:)

 

According to a new National survey

The key to being a True Blue Aussie is helping out your mates

Second most popular selection in qualifying as a True Blue is to enjoy a Beer and barbie

And of course eating Vegemite was part of the criteria,with nearly 1 in 4 people choosing it as a qualifier

 

 

 

This is for real,,,honest

I'll never be a True Blue Aussie..............:cry::cry:

AWESOME- drives me mad :mad:

I'll think of more...

I know exactly what you mean. when I went back last time my family organised a family reunion and there were so many of us we had to book a function room in a hotel. I felt terrified as I didn't know so many of them. My 3 brothers and I had kids but my brothers kids had married and had kids and their kids had now had kids. Having been away 30 years you can imagine how much I had missed! Also some had got divorced and had new partners I had never met on prior visits. the 2 year old was 6ft 4" so I didn't recognise him nor know him. I felt like a ghost looking on and latched onto my nieces partner who I didn't know and who looked as lost as I felt and spent most of the time on the veranda talking to him about his heritage as he had found out he had Indian grandparents an had never been told. I was so disorientated I was very shocked and stunned and the whole weekend I felt out of place and nervous that I should recognise people in the hotel that might be one of my relatives! When everyone had left, we stayed on for a night alone - I needed it. I tried to work out all my conflicting emotions. I was there for just over a further 3 months and during that time I went from family to family trying to connect properly. I got more and more overwhelmed by their love for me too. I wasn't used to being loved so much! So many emotions and so much sadness at all that my kids had missed as well as me. When I got back to Oz I realised that I would never settle here again - what matters to me is in the UK for me and this has been one long holiday here in Oz but it's time to go back and give back to my family. They have continued to be overwhelmingly supportive of all my emotions and cannot wait for us to get 'home'.

An honest and lovely post Fizzybangs, I think you're taking on a huge emotional challenge moving back after 30 years in Oz, and I admire your courage.

I guess (and I'm just thinking out loud here) it would be so much easier choosing to stay here, to remain within the comfort zone, subconsciously shying away from another massive challenge of moving back to uncertainty and to the 'what ifs' .... but ultimately that could make someone becoming unhappy and resentful in the long run IMO.

And the possibility of it happening scares me more than the challenges I'll have to face of trying to rebuild my life back in the UK.

I work as a receptionist in a doctor's surgery - late last year I was trying to make an appointment for a man standing there and I was not too sure when certainly public holidays were and he actually stood there and said "Well with your accent I wouldn't think you would care anyway", my response was "I may not be sure exactly when they are but of course I care, they give me a day off work!"

 

Bloody cheek and people wonder why I hate the place!!

Bloody hell! First class ar@ehole!

As for Australia Day..... CBA :dull:

Well I've done the unforgivable thing and been on Facebook to 'spy' on my old workmates back in the UK. I wish I didn't. It has left me feeling very unsettled and upset and I'm not sure why.

It's been over 4 years since I left the UK and the pain is still very much there... the grieving for my old life... the realization that things will never be the same again when we eventually move back. And TBH I don't want it to be the same, because my life has changed so much, I've changed so much, I've moved to the other side of the world after all.

Right now I feel like I've been living a parallel life in the past four years... that someone who I once was, is no more.

It has also scared me. I'll have to change my life again and have to start again in the near future and although many people like friends and old work friends have drifted away, I really hope that my family, our family will expect us back as we were.... if that makes sense. And somehow, I can now understand why some expats who are not entirely happy here still choose to stay here... perhaps because they feel they cannot face those changes again, it's too painful.

Sorry for my ramblings, but I needed to put my thoughts into words as hopefully some of you can identify with those feelings.

My experience is that yes had an ok life back in Uk but struggling for money and stuck in a rut, we had a chance to emigrate and it took 5 or so years and we just didnt want to give up on it and so it became all we thought about and talked about and saved all our money up for and so we couldnt see friends and family much, didnt want to spend money going out doing stuff or going on holiday as it was all about Oz. I guess we just had this image of what it was going to be like, we had been here for holidays so not totally in the dark but that was before children and a while ago. We knew we would regret it if we didnt come here so now we are here and yes as you know I feel like this isnt somewhere I can stay for the rest of my life. I dont think I will be able to adjust and dont feel I want to! I think coming here was the only way to get it out our system and as we have a PR visa we can come back again if we do choose to go back to the UK.

What I am trying to say is that whatever I read/heard I just wanted to get here regardless of how expensive things were, how it wasnt all it was cracked up to be and thought the people that chose to return were crazy especially after how much money it did cost to get out here and the stress and the arguements etc.

I wish I had spent time and money and spent on creating a better, happier life back in the UK which we could have done and now if we go back it will take a long time to get settled again.

I so agree with everything you said, especially your last paragraph.... we should have done exactly that, move to a different area in the UK and improve our life. Looking back, there was nothing wrong with our life as such, we could have made those changes in the UK and move out to somewhere like Norfolk, Suffolk or the South West.

I was extremely fed up with the rat race, we lived in one of the Home Counties, I worked in London for over a year and the commute to London got on top of me.... so I had this "lightbulb moment"... lets move to Australia where life is quiet, laid back, no traffic, no stress....LMAO. I now find myself in a different rat race.. that is Perth and the commute to the city.

The cost of groceries are simply outrageous, a total piss take.

I've just done my shopping this morning and I'd kept grumbling to myself all the time, apricots $12.98 a kilo, they can keep them and let them all rot on the shelves, mango has gone up by $1 each from $2.68 to $3.68 - I thought they were in season (?) - why the need to increase the price then, tomatoes $6 for a kilo, nappies have gone up by $2. I used to love duck pancakes back in the UK, I used to make them a lot, here we only have it as a treat as it would be roughly $20 for the ingredients to make them.... I could go on and on.

We don't have Aldi here in Perth, so I have no choice but to shop at Coles.

These days, I'm doing my shopping with a calculator, I simply cannot go above $200 for a week's grocery shopping, if it goes above that figure even by just $2, I put something back, and the only way I can keep the cost of shopping down is to cook a big meal and eat it, plus take it to work for lunch, for 2-3 days.

Living the dream..... yeah right, our living here consists of constant budgeting, sacrificing, penny pinching and sometimes I don't eat so my daughter can have the left over meal or a special fruit, so I don't have to go out and pay more for an extra days meal to keep within the budget.

Rant over.

OMG, Kerry I'm so sorry to hear this, I can't really offer any advice other than what has been said before, and just want to say that please stay strong, stand your ground and seek legal advice. :hug:

Who wants to tell Quoll,,,,,,I am still bloody fuming

I dont get that pissed off, with some of the retards on PIO, that often, but today I could of got in my car, driven down to Hobart, hunted that evil witch Skani (sod it, Im saying her name,,,M2M knows how pissed off I am), and wrung her bloody neck.

She was bang out of order,and it was an absolute disgrace the way she treated mygirlies, who I am very glad has now joined us, on our private forum.

She is one of the main reasons I don't go on the open forum anymore, I've had enough of her... I had quite few run-ins with her in the past, both on the open forum and privately.

Sorry to hear about what happened to Mygirlies:no:

3 months so far and not ashamed to admit it....I dont care about the 'you need to give it 2 years'. Although not planning to go back to the UK just yet, my husband knows how I feel and so we are going to put some kind of plan in place.

Hi there and welcome to the group.

I have just read your other thread where you've mentioned that you'll need to save up to move back, my advice is to start now., even if you don't have any firm plans right now to move back.

What I personally do is I put a certain amount in a savings account every fortnight when I get paid and I don't budge on that, it has to go in the savings no matter what, and is a term deposit account therefore I cannot be tempted to touch it.

In the meantime I try to put my moving back plans in the back of my mind and try to enjoy it here... it is difficult I know, but the thought of the savings are growing whilst I'm kind of getting on with my life makes it a little bit easier. It also gives me peace of mind that if my mental health cannot take it any longer, there will be some money to go back with at that time.

You can still plan, but it doesn't have to be active planning, at the same time you can still go with the flow and if in 2 years or whatever time you decide that you don't want to move back after all, you'll have a nice lump sum in the bank :biggrin: