Emmylou

I am a Registered Nurse and I've been offered two jobs... One in Hollywood Hospital in Perth the other in Bunbury. Hubbie's and chippy and we have no kids. We lived on the Gold Coast for two years and have been in the UK for the last two years but thankfully we're about to return and want to try WA. Anyone out there who can fill me in on Bunbury vs Perth to help us solve our dilema. :arghh:

Shouldn't have a problem registering as a nurse with a dipolma.... Loads of the poms I knew in Oz had dipolmas rather than degrees. if you aren't sure email AHPRA they'll get back to you within a week. Detail your experience and qualifications when you email. Unlike most people onn here I had very good service from APHRA.

Thanks guys! :biggrin:

Ok so, we're in the UK, hoping to come back to Oz before our PR expires 2014. Hubbie's passport expires soon, anyone know what we do about getting a new visa label put in it in the UK? I know you don't actually need a label anymore but get the impression from other posts it can be easier sorting stuff out when we get back to Aus (esp. medicare). Ta Mxxx

We had our leaving do on the friday night. Said good byes to family and close friends on the saturday arvo in the pub, then a close friend took us to the airport. We said goodbye to him at the drop off and set down point and stayed overnight in the airport hotel as was an early morning flight. We found it much easier that way. Don't think I could have faced saying goodbye at the gate.

Thanks guys will start researching all of those places. Any other ideas appreciated. Mxxx

OK so thinking of heading back to live in Aus next year... Lived on the Gold Coast last time, but not keen to head back there. Thinking WA might be good, but not sure about Perth as quite expensive from what I've researched. It's a big state so would love some suggestions for places to consider. We are considering coastal and outback type places. Would be good to know about housing costs, weather, jobs (I'm a nurse and OH is a carpenter). We prefer the quite life, although we don't have kids (but no objections to family friendly). All opinions appreciated. Mxxx

Only reason I wish I'd never gone to Aus is now I'm back home I just want to go back again. Homesick for UK in homesick for Aus in the UK!!! God help me :laugh: And when are we going to start importing Australian Coffee?? Totally agree.... it's fab!

Thinking maybe try somewhere else. Never felt the Gold Coast was a true representation of Aussie life, possibly part of the problem in the first place. Always felt for us a bit like Blackpool with sunshine. Thinking maybe Adelaide or Perth.... have heard good and bad about both cities. All advice and suggestions appreciated.

Thanks for replying! Just hard decision to make as you probably know not keep to be moving backwards and forwards from one side of the world to the other. Guess that's something that makes me more warey! But you're right the bit of my post you quoted does hit the nail on the head to speak. :wacko:

Ping pong poms.... I phrase often used to here, but does it work out, do you ever settle in one place or another? We lived in Aus from 2008-2010. We had a good lifestyle, OK jobs and nice weather (we were on the Gold Coast). Came back home as I was really homesick. I knew getting on the plane it was a bad move but by then too late and thought it was just nerves. Two years on all the reasons and more for moving to Aus are still evident, although older and slightly wiser I and my husband are more cautious. Ultimately the reason we came back was my homesickness, it got quite debilitating a visit home made it worse. I wonder whether I had stuck it out longer I'd have got through the homesick bit (had been in Aus 18 months before I felt that way). I know it would be harder to go back this time (financially imparticularly)but I'm not happy here, we just haven't settled. We have managed to buy a small bungalow and live in a nice area. Hubbie is a self employed carpenter and once he got work here (took 6 mths) he hasn't been out of work. I am an ITU nurse and have finally found a suitable job after 12months of hopping from one position to another. Friends are ace, family are great (but thought of leaving parents who are not getting any younger worries me - but I know they would support our decision), fincially we survive and have managed a decent holiday this year! We enjoyed life in Aus more and made an effort to do stuff. We say we should make an effort here but never do, I guess we have friends and family to fall back on so we don't need to leave the comfort zone. So ping pong poms what do you recon? Pro's and con's please? How many times have people ping ponged? Have people found they've settled better in Aus second time round? Is it easier/harder? Did you go back to where you came from or try somewhere else? :wubclub:Mxxx

Yep! We didn't have to prove anything just told the consultant we were planning to stay in the UK which we are (you would need to have a permanent UK address). As for three months wait, possibly a generous estimate. From your GP's referal to seeing a consultant should take no more than 18 weeks (that is a government target) in our experience this was true. However it can be longer than that before you get surgery as depending on what you need doing they'll be scans and bloods and rpt visits to the consultant then approximately a three month wait once they decide to put you on the waiting list. OH was told that in Oz he would have to wait three years to see a consultant and in the interim he was referred to a pain specialist and physio who were both really good, but ultimately he needs an operation (we knew this as we paid privately to see a consultant to get his CT and MRI reviewed so we knew what was going on). If you decide to come home and get it done bring back all the scans, xrays, blood work you've had done and get a letter from you GP detailing where you are up to in terms of treatment this will help speed things up. Certain non-urgent conditions eg. removal of gall bladder have longer waits as they tend medically manage until they become problematic - then they operate. Waiting lists for some operations are up to 18 months in certain areas (eg. hip and knee replacements). Good luck

Was in Liverpool yesterday afternoon and midweek the city centre was packed creating a scene not dissimilar from forementioned pics. Although it did appear as though the terracotta army was out in force due to the first day of decent weather we've had in two weeks!

Hubbie is in the building trade and has no problems finding work it is out there but the money isn't as good as it was 3-4 years ago. There are jobs in the UK but people can't pick and choose, sometimes you just have to take what you can get then keep applying for jobs you want until you get there.

Hmmmm I lived on the Gold Coast in Oz and my friends that had kids would argue all this is available there. Added to that the better weather and what more could kids want? Like anything you can find what you need if you look for it or are prepared to take the time to make it happen.

I have no idea about this, but would also be interested in how all this works.

I got the impression from one of the other posts that you're doing nursing...... Advice based on sensible me... train here as it's still free (if you're nursing) and I would say uk nurse training is will better prepare you for work (opinion based on the new grads I've worked with in the UK and Aus, although not saying the Aussie new grads are bad they just find it harder to find their feet once in post). But if I had that opportunity I'd be off like a shot to Aus!! :wink:

I must have been quite lucky with the people I met and mixed with while I was in Aus. That's not to say materialism doesn't exist in Aus as unfortunately it happens everywhere to some extent.

If you can take a career break and try it! If you can't there is always a way back all be it harder to achieve. You only live once and the most important thing is to be happy!! We moved to Qld thinking no way back and not planning to come back either, but two years later we did because I was so homesick that I couldn't even talk about home without crying. I was painfully miserable and isolated. On arriving home I knew we'd made a mistake and we haven't settled here, so hopefully we'll be heading back next year a little older, wiser and skinter!! Do what you think will make you happy and remember nothing has to be forever!

Good luck getting a GP!! The most insulting thing that happened to us when we returned was because we were British nationals and had returned from abroad with no permanent address (stayed with a friend initially) the local GP refused to register us as we had no proof of address (although we had every other proof of id imaginable). However if we had been immigrants and in that position we could have showed our visas and they would have registered us!!! With a lot of arguing with the practice manager she eventually agreed that was a stupid rule and we were able to register with them. Everything else was pretty ok, our bank was really helpful the tax office and NI were fine, no issues getting a mortgage although we did get gazumped buying our house although that worked in our favour in the end (Aussie house buying is easier and more protected). When we left we kept our UK bank accounts ticking over so we had a decent credit rating when we returned. I had a job lined up and OH who works as a carpenter and joiner took about six months to get a job. All in all it wasn't too traumatic returning, certainly no more hastle than arriving in Aus.

The feelings of loneliness and isolation I felt in Aus are nothing compared to the constant feeling of having made a huge mistake in coming back to the UK. We've been back two years because I felt homesick after two years on the Gold Coast. Maybe we'll get to go back before I PR runs out in 2014 but this time I'll be more cautious. I may have been homesick in Aus but it took 18 mths before it really bothered me and it felt as though I was mourning what I had in the UK maybe it's something we all have to go through? Some of us stick it out and some of us go home. You just have to do what you think is right for your circumstances. I knew when I got off the plane at heathrow that I had made a mistake and been reactionary rather than rational. OH didn't want to come back and neither of us have really settled. I miss the wildlife, the sun and thunderstorms that shake the house. I miss my job and the fantastic people I had the pleasure of working with. I miss the lifestyle and the adventures we could have on days off (not that you can't do that here, just restricted by the weather). I miss being the person I am not the person I'm expected to be by those around me. Not that I am unhappy in the UK we have some fab friends and family and we've had some really good times, but I'm not sure that is a reason to stay? Life is what you make of it and you can enjoy yourself anywhere. Be happy. If returning home is what you think will make you happy do it, but it may not be as good as you'd hoped. And if it is what you hope for then

Totally agree with Lucyboo. We were on the Gold Coast for 2 years I got homesick after 18mths so we came home (OH didn't want too and feels that Australia is the only place he'd call home). After two years back in the UK we are seriously considering going back, neither of us have settled properly back into life over here although we have good friends and family we've seen another side to life and liked it. I'd say Australia has got under our skin in a big way!

We moved back to the UK in 2010 after spending two years in Qld. Hubbie didn't want to come back, but he did it for me. I thought it would be like we'd never left and in some ways it was.... Two years on and all the things I dislike about the UK are still a problem and our friends seemed to have stagnated while we still feel as though life is an adventure and far too short to spend every saturday afternoon sat in the same pub, having holidays to the dame destination each year (if you can afford one given the economic situation here) and doing weekends away to the same places. Whilst both of us have been lucky enough to find jobs neither of us have settled, the initial relief I felt on returning rapidly disappeared and life was 'back to normal'. Although I missed my family when I was in Oz (which was triggered by mum having a cancer scare - fortunately she's fine) I loved living there. It is an amazing country. Hopefully a little older and a little wiser to these feelings we'll return next year (we have PR till 2014) to continue our life down under. With hindsite I would never have returned, I would have tried to face the homesickness and get through it rather than turning tail and running back home. Everyone is different but keep and open mind while you're waiting to get citizenship your feelings may change. Maybe trying a different area/state might help. Good luck with your decision and try to enjoy the time you have left in Australia.