Flake

Thank you, I agree. These honest conversations are so not easy :-(

Hi All, I'm British, have a British born son 18 months and an Australian Husband. This is the 2nd time I have lived in Aus. I knew there would be things I wouldn't like but I felt for the sake of my newborn son he would see his cousins and extended family more and perhaps that outside lifestyle would be of benefit. In addition to this, the wages being higher I thought we could offer more. As it stands, we don't see the family as much as I thought, being outside is too hot most of the time and he's not free to play in the garden until I have checked under everything for spiders. The wages are decent but the cost of rent is huge. We live in suburbia and it's so dull, all you can hear is motorway and it's generally nothing like what I want. We spent thousands returning here and I regret it so much. I want to go home so badly. I'm desperately unhappy with everything but only have myself to blame as I was very much a part of the decision to return. I have told my husband, I think this whole thing has put such a strain on our marriage, I know for my part that if we did not have our son, I don't think we could get through this. But we do have a son together and have to make it work. I think my husband would return to the UK but not for years and I'm not 100% sure he would. Im just so afraid of feeling this trapped and not knowing what's best to do. Is anyone else in this situation? TIA

If you can, register a Proxy voter on your behalf- the ballot papers are not sent until 4 business days prior and will likely not arrive in time. It's crazy to me in this day and age that voting cannot be done online! So frustrating

Yes registered by proxy vote. Will be voting to leave. I think it will be tight either way, not sure how it's going to turn out!

In may 2015

Hi All, my husband had a UK partner visa while we were in the UK, we only had it for 18 months so couldn't apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residency) and we have since returned to Australia. what I want to know is does that partner visa become null and void now that we are over here? Or is still valid? will be calling UK immigration too but due to the time difference I will have to wait, so thought I would ask here too TIA

whilst I agree with that in principle. It's not always the case. In my situation neither field is green, there is no 'perfect' place. But for me being closer to the rest of the world and enjoying 4 seasons is my preference. I should also add that these things get blurred when you are living your life not just for yourself but for your partner too.

I moved back, I regretted it so moved back to Aus, now I'm REALLY regretting that and wishing I gave more to the opportunity while we were there. If I never end up there again I will regret it for the rest of life. I was too impatient and took flight instead of fight. Now I'm hating on myself for it. Just have to hope my Australian husband is willing to go back to the UK once again in our lives but I can't hold my breath and either way I have to be here for years to come yet as its not fair to go back so soon as I could be accused of doing the same thing here as I did there. So mad at myself, feeling like I woke from a walking coma and only now realise the full extent of what I actually want. If it were just me and not me, my husband and baby I would be on the first flight home. Living in Australia for the 2nd time around has really confirmed that I don't want to be here for the rest of my life at all.

Yep Sydney winters ideal- shame it's such a short season though.

agreed! Funnily enough the only friends I have made have been English too! If I'm ever lucky enough to make it back to the UK we would have to be in/around London too, never thought I would ever 'want' to live in London but after returning to Aus for the 2nd time, i honestly don't care where we live in the UK I just want to be back.

i lived in Braunton and worked in Croyde for YEARS. After that Mid-Devon became my home, Exeter is my favourite city in the world, and Devon countryside just can't be beaten. I wish with all my heart that my life takes me back there one day

could have written this myself! I'm only 1 year into my stint back in Australia (lived here for 3 years previously) I will live here up to 10 years for my husbands sake and his family (as they are all australian) if I have my way though I will be back in 5 and never leave England again.

That's great thank you all for the info

Temporary Visa Holders and School Fees: Hi all, My understanding is that the state school fees are $5,000 per year per child for temporary visa holders in NSW. My question is if you choose to attend a private school do you pay the $5,000 in addition to the fees charged by that school or instead of? Thanks in advance

Hi All, does anyone know where I can watch the UK NYE celebrations on Aus TV? So frustrated that I player won't work over here thank you

You are very privileged to be going to Exeter. We tried moving back 3 years ago but returned to Aus as there were no work opportunities. I'm a Devon girl and Exeter is my home city, miss it so much absolutely fantastic place. My husband is australian which is why we are back here. If we win lotto I'm heading straight home! ( I should add that I would always be back to Aus regularly though, I have a home in 2 countries - a blessing and a curse.

So jealous! Have an amazing time, I'm a Devon girl my heart will always be there

Yes have had all these thoughts, I worked in Aus for 3 years and then returned to the UK, I have since then returned to Aus! (This is over a 6 year period) I am here now but I still hold doubts, I don't think I will ever truly have peace of mind, having said that I am happy to have just made the decision and not to be living in limbo anymore. I still miss the UK culture, countryside, shopping, history and of course family and friends, but Australia has also provided other comforts for me, it's basically just swings and roundabouts in a lot of ways. I personally don't see how one place exceeds the other, for me it's just different.

I realise this and to be clear I am more than prepared to go offshore if need be, but after receiving information from Department of Immigration in Australia, and as our circumstances have changed, I felt it was appropriate to investigate. For your information exceptions have been made previously and so it is apparent that it is not as black and white as you may believe.

Hi All, My subclass 100 visa is ready to be activated, however I am already onshore in Australia. I was was advised that I would need to depart the country for 3 business days in order for my visa to be activated. After speaking with the Department of Immigration here they advised that some discretion can be given to this but I would need to put my case forward to the UK office. I therefore contacted my migration agent who in turn contacted my case officer, and his response was that there was 'no discretion whatsoever' just wondering if anyone else has avoided the need to travel for visa activation and if so how did you do it? Please note that this is my first visa application for subclass 100 and did not require the first 309 visa and there are solid circumstances why I am trying to avoid the travel. Many thanks.

Can anyone recommend a decent area in western side of Sydney that's a decent commute to the city? Would like a safe family friendly area, house rather than an apartment and some green space as a preference! Currently staying in Kings Langley (with my in-laws) which is a lovely suburb but I would quite like to find an alternative suburb to make our own (plus a little distance is healthy!) the other crappy factor is budget- need to stick to $600 per week at the moment as we have a small baby. It's annoying that my husbands work is generally confined to the city as it means we can't go where we actually want- we are stuck with what could logistically work. In a perfect world I would live up on the central coast but it's not a perfect world and Sydney doesn't appear to be either! I do love living in Aus though

Hi All, thank you for your responses, just to clarify, yep I'm talking $500k AUD! I'm not looking to be very close to Sydney CBD in fact it's the opposite! I love to be away from the city, as much as possible but we are restricted going too far due to my husbands work, so an hours train/bus ride is what we considered ok in terms of life balance. There do seem to be some places available for under $500k but who knows how long that will last?!!! Silly Sydney. If my husbands family did not live here, I would likely not choose to live here.

Tell me about it! The only place I can find are places like Mount Annan in SW Sydney, have heard ok things about there but I guess the fact is anywhere worth living means a crazy price tag!

Hi All, we arrived in Sydney 2 months ago and are now staying with the inlaws in the Hills District. I am now researching suburbs in the hope of finding somewhere that can offer a house for under 500k decent schools and a distance of 1 hour or under commute to the city for work?! This is seeming harder than I thought! We would like a house rather than an apartment nothing flash just something! Any suggestions? Please note that family are all in Sydney otherwise we would have likely chosen another area altogether!