Penelope Pitstop

I took the citizenship test as soon as I was eligible - it then took 5 months more before I had the ceremony and actually got citizenship.

Maybe the doctors are different is Aus, I was suffering really badly, went to the doctors and he put me on low dose HRT - works like magic and to be honest I had forgotten all about the hot flushes. I had previously thought that I would never take anything like HRT but when your whole life is taken over by hot flushes to the extent that sometimes I thought I was going to pass out when out shopping and had to sit down, well then you take anything that will help you live a normal life without the fear of the next flush.

Are you flying Etihad or Emirates? Etihad don't fly direct to Adelaide (but Emirates do). I remember watching a tv documentary about Dubai airport - it is huge and some of the transfer times are tight so have your wits about you and make sure you get to you next departure gate as soon as you can. Don't get sidetracked by shops or restaurants, just get to the right part of the airport near your gate before you relax.

Sydney - London return with Singapore Airlines in October $2,163 London - Sydney return with Singapore Airlines in October £954 = $1,703 so $460 cheaper (over 20% less)

I like my husband's family very much but their ways are quite different to my family's. If I had had my babies in Australia I know my mother-in-law would have been totally overpowering and I would have really hated it. She would have been telling me what to do all the time and trying to take over, whereas my family are a lot less interfering and chilled out about things. It's important for a new Mum to have her own Mum around. I would have been really unhappy and felt quite displaced if I had been in Australia when my children were young.

Hi - I too am in a mixed marriage, my husband is Australian and I am English, so here is my experience. It is hard but we have been happily married for almost 20 years. The 1st three years we lived in Australia and I was really homesick. Cried a lot. I was much younger then, there was no internet or anything and I really missed my Mum. I knew I never wanted to have children in Australia, and I couldn't have coped having babies with my MIL there and not my own Mum. I can understand how hard it must be for your wife. I did feel as if my husband had everything and I had nothing. After 3 years we went back to live in England, the plan was for 2 years. We had 2 children and ended up staying for over 12. The intention was always to return to Australia, and I suppose I felt guilty that my husband was away from his family and friends for so long (although we made regular trips back and had lots of visitors stay with us). So we moved the whole family back to Australia in 2009, and I can honestly say that second time round, being older and ‘wiser’ and having my own children (and the internet) I haven’t felt at all homesick like I did before. So you can get over it. My Mum passed away several years ago from cancer so I have got used to her not being there anymore. However, we both (husband and I) have struggled to settle back in Australia, my husband hasn’t been able to slot back into life here and although he enjoys being back near his family he misses the UK and is quite keen to move back. So we are now considering moving yet again. We had a good life in England and assumed we would have as good a life here – but something is missing. We have one child who likes it here and one child who wants to go back. I am no longer homesick but I prefer living in England, despite the weather. I don’t understand why you are so ‘down’ on the UK, and why you feel you would be going backwards. What part of the country is your wife from? We had a good standard of living in England and have definitely gone backwards in Australia. Everyone I know in England has jobs and goes on regular exotic holidays, when we went back last year on holiday there were lots of expensive new cars on the roads, the restaurants, shops and pubs were all busy so it didn’t seem like doom and gloom at all. Also it is much cheaper to fly return England to Australia return than Australia to England return (just go on the Singapore Airlines website and compare the prices!). I do sympathise with your situation and I know what it is like to feel you are living in limbo. It must be the curse of the mixed marriage.

I quite enjoy watching AFL but can't stand how come there is an AFL story on the news (Ch 7or 9) every single day of the year!! Being asked 'how are you' all the time by shop assistants. Bad driving - most drivers in Adelaide are so slow and dozey it's unbelievable Being ripped off because everything is so expensive and you know it's so much cheaper in the UK The lack of awareness of what is going on in the rest of the world The sausages As mentioned before the freezing cold houses in winter That'll do for now...

I remember watching BBC News 24 live on 9/11 when the 2nd plane hit, which they obviously had footage of flying into the building, which they kept showing. The journalist in the studio thought it was an executive jet - I was tempted to ring them up and point out that it looked like a Boeing 767, certainly much bigger than an executive jet. Also on Channel 7 news when there was an incident with an A380 which had to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan, at the end of the news report it said that Boeing were investigating the incident!!!

Furniture is a lot cheaper in the UK, especially beds. We need a new bed here and I almost had a heart attack when I saw the price of beds amd mattresses in Harvey Norman. We went back last year to the Uk and even Waitrose seemed really cheap!

I'm not sure how lively Saffron Walden is, I know the secondary school has a very good reputation. Bishops Stortford is a bit closer to London, definately more lively, more cosmopolitan and less rural in feel (although technically it is in Hertfordshire) - has good schools too.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2587625/Best-rural-area-live-shadow-Stansted-airport-Little-known-district-Uttlesford-beats-118-regions-factors-including-employment-health.html I was brought up in this area and despite having moved around a bit, always returned (apart from now obviously, but very tempted to go back). Recently voted best rural area to live. Train line goes from Cambridge to London via Bishops Stortford, so quite a lot of people commute into the City of London. Some lovely villages, just make sure you are not on the flight path to Stansted Airport (good for holidays though!). Family said the recession in recent years never really hit this part of the world. The whole area is a lot busier than it was when I was a kid, and there is pressure to keep building new houses everywhere, but it's still a nice area.

As I said on another thread, one of the people on one of the Phil Spencer Down Under programs used to work where I work. The house that he bought during the show, by the beach, was well over an hour's drive away from his work!! Not much family time there. Needless to say he didn't last long and now has a job nearer home, but still probably 45 mins commute. The pretty beachside suburbs aren't always near work!

If this episode is the one I think it is Phil Spencer was showing 2 guys houses near One Tree Hill (NE of Adelaide). I remember the episode because I was casually watching it and there was another set of house-hunters in the show - I then realised that I had actually met the man from the other family at work a few months before - it was quite bizarre!

Good luck with the prospective marriage visa Katc78. We were lucky getting the documents certified as we are also in the middle of selling our house here in England and I asked the solicitor who was doing our house sale if she would mind certifying some documents for me as well. When I dropped them off at the office the solicitor asked to see us (I thought there was going to a be a problem) but instead she wanted to have a chat as she and her boyfriend want to to emigrate to Australia, she just wanted to ask us a load of questions about it and was only too happy to help!

I got my Spouse Visa subclass 100 granted today!!! Sent off for Police checks: 10th August 2009 Application Submitted: 12th August 2009 Case Officer (C/O) Email: 17th August 2009 Went on holiday: 19th August 2009 Back from holiday: 30th August 2009 (Police checks arrived back) Submitted police checks: 1st September 2009 Went for Medical/x-ray: 4th September Medical posted: 11th September Visa Granted: 15th September 2009 I know it looks really quick but mine was a very straightforward case. We have been married for 15 years and have 2 children, who although born in England have Australian citizenship by descent. It was really stressful getting the forms done and I got a lot of useful information from this site so thank you everyone!