The age old dilemma:
Loving life in the sun, but missing family and 'old friends'...
We moved to the Gold Coast, from leafy Wiltshire, almost 4 years ago. I'm a GP, my husband is at home and looks after our 3 children, currently 13, 7 and 4. We live in a beautiful house with a pool, and a boat, and the kids all go to a great private school. I also enjoy my work much more in Australia, compared with the NHS in England, for many reasons. I would struggle to go back and work in the NHS, although I do have a great belief in the principle of the NHS and free health care for all, I would struggle with how it is managed currently. Generally speaking though, life should be great.
The difficulty is, we have a wonderful life here, but no one to share it with...
My 2 eldest (girls) are wanting to go back to England, mainly because they miss their grandparents, cousins and friends. We miss the company, the love, the feeling of belonging with family. I feel guilty that my children are growing up without that valuable time with their grandparents, aunts and uncles, and the fun of spending time with their cousins. And of course, the family in UK are also missing out on our 3's childhoods. The longer we leave it, the more 'distant' we will become from our family. I feel selfish for staying here, predominantly because work is more rewarding, and because of our lifestyle.
Other things I miss about England: There's so many things to do, culture, history, Europe, 'genuine' people, courteous drivers, old friends who you can reminisce with, the countryside, and houses that are built for all weather (having had a cold winter - I've gone soft) with central heating and double glazing! I love the Gold Coast, for the weather and the stunning beaches, but I find it shallow, superficial and actually a bit boring. But then, I'm not particularly into sports, or watching sports.
We have made 2 trips back to the UK since we emigrated. The first one was for Xmas a couple of years ago. Xmas here is not really Xmas! Especially when you have absolutely no family here. It was cold, wet and dark, and we could not wait to get back to the Gold Coast! The 2nd trip was recently, for 3 weeks in June/ July. The weather was fabulous, the evenings were amazing (it's funny how you forget so quickly about it not getting dark until 10.30 at night!), and it was lovely not to get eaten alive by midges! It was heartwarmingly wonderful to see the family, and to watch our kids have fun and share love with the family again. I didn't want to come back to Australia this time!
Have started looking at schools near our UK family, and am also spending an unhealthy amount of time on Rightmove! But know that if we were to move back, we would miss the sunshine, the warmth, and I would miss my job. And we couldn't afford to send 3 kids to private school in England, it's much more achievable out here. I couldn't go straight back into being a GP again, as I have been out of England for more than 2 years, and would have to have a period of induction and ?retraining. The morale in the NHS seems so low at the moment, I'm not even sure I would want to. But I would have to find some sort of job pretty quickly to support our family.
The smaller house, no pool/ boat doesn't bother me. The endless rain might though. Have been hearing what a washout the school summer holidays have been.
We plan to stay here until we get citizenship, which should be in the next 6-12 months hopefully. At least that way, we can always come back if we realise that we have made a huge mistake.
But right now, I am desperately missing family, and close friends. I know the red carpet treatment on our return will not last forever, but I also know that our family will welcome us back with open arms. Of course, if I could persuade them all to move over here, I would probably try. But that will never happen.
Would love to hear from anyone else going through the same. Emotions are all over the place at the moment.
:ssign16: