zephyr

Hi Kayleigh You can apply for a British assport through the Australian post office. If you look at their website there should be a section about passport applications. I have just done this for my 18 month old son who was born here. You can pick up an application form from the post office or you can download it from the website. It was a fairly straightforward process and I received his passport 2 weeks later. However the advice given by the post office is to expect between a 4-6 weeks wait.

Thank you to everyone who has posted for their advice. I'll take on board the info and opt for a minimum stop over :-)

Hello all, Myself, my partner and our 18 month old boy will be moving back to the UK in 6 weeks time (after much deliberation.....) We will be travelling from Perth to Manchester and want to get back in as little time as possible, but realise a stopover gap might be beneficial for our son and us. I am looking for any advice on how to keep a child entertained on a long haul journey, tips, anything at all really that may help us plan. Has anybody done the trip in one go or stopped overnight somewhere? Help!!

Hi Gadgetboy, I have been in Perth nearly 2 years now and still feel exactly the same way that you describe. I have 17 month old boy who was born just after we arrived and I think that was when the wheels fell off my emigration dream - hadn't factored in to my plan how being a mum would change my outlook on everything! Daft I know. My OH loves it here and my constant urge to move back to the UK has put a lot of strain on our relationship. However we have made a plan to move back to the UK in 6 months time (car finance pending too for us....) and have finally told our folks back in the UK. I have made lots of friends through mums groups, playgroups etc and do feel I have given trying to settle in here 100% I was devastated when the feelings of wanting to go back kicked in because like you we had been planning this for 3 years and never thought for a minute it would be an issue. However some things you just can't plan for.... Now that we have made the decision and 'confirmed it' by telling our folks, I am now going through a different stage - the 'oh no are we doing the right thing? Should we wait a bit longer? Will life really be any better back home?' We will be financially worse off when we get back and no doubt be struggling intially as we'll not have much saved up past what we've managed to save in this next 6 months and most of those savings will be to get us back. So, my advice to you would be to make your plan to go home but really look into the practicalities of your life when you get back and all the while you are doing that it might throw up some alternative strategies for dealing with your time here. You may find doing that makes you appreciate what you already have here. It also might just cement that moving back is the right thing for you. I would certainly take the advice of other posters and use this time to save if you can. I am NOR so if you want to get together pm me :-)

Hi Sunshine 2012 Having a baby means you would be in a great position to make a lot of new friends through mums groups and ante natal classes etc so you could build a support network through those new friends either here or in the UK so all is good there. Your feelings of being settled may not go away just because you have moved back to the UK, you'll still have a lot of 'settling in' to do there too. Do you think you'll be up to such a big move and another new start whilst being pregnant and planning for the baby's arrival? Why not wait it out, build up a short term plan until the baby is born and then see how you feel? At least you are familiar with your life at the moment and for the short term so you can concentrate on your new arrival fully. As another poster has said, you can always go back later on down the line if you feel it's the right move.

You'll be missed on this forum, I've enjoyed reading your posts :-) It's been lovely to meet you too and I do hope you stay in touch, bye for now x x

Thanks, will do :wink:

Thanks for your info on the suburbs DBC. Funnily enough we have been looking at Mentone because I've seen a job advertised there! We've also been checking out Glen Waverley and it's surrounding suburbs too. I'm glad to hear that you aren't finding difficulty getting out to classes for your 11 month old as I'll be looking to do that straight away if possible. You never know, we might end up just up the road from you!

I think you should give it a go. We're doing exactly the same. We've been in Perth 15 months but sadly I've never settled here although it is a beautiful place. We have visited Melbourne twice in the last few years and loved it there but my OH had better work opportunities in Perth and because I was pregnant when we left the UK, it made sense to start out here. I had my little boy here and it's been a great start for us but I always knew that's what Perth would be. We are both able to work now and so looking at jobs in Melbourne. It is definately worth a shot if the alternative is returning to the UK - you'll at least be able to say for sure if it's just Australia in general you're not happy with. Look at it as another part of your Australian adventure - you can still return to the UK in the future if you don't settle there either.

Thank you :biggrin:

Hi all, We are a family of 3 with a 10 month old boy looking to move from Perth to Melbourne in the next 6 weeks. My OH expects to be working in the CBD and would need to be able to travel to work by train. Can anyone recommend suburbs that would be suitable? And which are the suburbs to avoid? Any help would be gratefully appreciated :smile: Zephyr

Nice idea for a thread Cartertucker :-) We came here 14 months ago with the intention of staying for good. However, I don't think it will be forever anymore. I can't see a future here, even though it has a lot to offer us. Sadly my OH doesn't feel the same and to say it has put alot of strain on our relationship is an understatement. He has agreed to look at moving back to the UK in the future, but I know it will be very, very reluctantly and I'm not sure how that will pan out... The biggest disappointment of all is that I feel like this! Never in a million years did I expect it. I researched the move to within an inch of our lives and so was pretty much prepared for anything. Or so I thought..... I have made a concerted effort in every way to make friends (I had a baby last year which has helped heaps in that department!) to find 'it just isn't right' So, like Cartertucker and the other poster's on this thread, I intend to make the best of what Australia has to offer and get out there and live my life here - for now....

Hi Cartertucker I've sent you a PM Zephyr

The cost of living is also a contributing factor for some. You can do the homework from the UK and get an idea on costs but for some it isn't until they start earning and paying for things in dollars that they realise life is not actually any better financially and for some it is actually a lot harder.

You really need to weigh up what you will ALL gain from moving to Australia. Your husband says he doesn't mind working for someone else after having been his own boss - is he absolutely sure? What if he finds he does mind? You mention your main concern is for your children's future if you stay in the UK which is understandable. Are you sure their future will be any better here, it will certainly be different, but better? - who can really say for certain.... You sound like you have an enviable lifestyle in Cornwall at the moment, yes you've been presented with an 'opportunity' and should certainly investigate it further, but remember to look at all the positives you have NOW and make sure that moving to Perth far outweighs them. Zephyr

Hi paul1977, stay put for a while longer - you say you like it here in Perth, that to me says it all. Your feelings of longing for what used to be your home are part of the grieving process most of us go through when we move forward and leave something important to us behind. The past is gone, it made you who you are now and has given you the courage and strength to make such a big move. And it sounds like it has been a success! Allow yourself to feel like you do, hopefully with time those feelings will settle and cause you less worry. If further down the line you're still struggling with them think about acting on them then. Zephyr

Thank you all for your info, given me more food for thought.... Good luck with your move to QLD rainyc and best of luck to you ghost on your return to the UK. Zephyr

Hi Wendy, fellow Lancastrian here :-) I would agree with some of the other posters on here - you won't know if it's the right place for you to live until you get there and start living. We moved to Perth over a year ago and must admit at times had some concerns as to whether we came to the right place. I suspect though now that we'd have thought that about other cities in Australia - probably a knee jerk reaction to such a big move and a slow start to settling in. What I'd say is read through the negative post's as well as the positive and take all the info you can out of them, try and figure out how you would overcome some of the issue's other people come across - forewarned is forearmed!! If you should find later on down the line you have problems settling in, you'll get plenty of support from people on here....and just maybe, you'll love the place and wonder what all the fuss is about!!!! Do it, best of luck :-) Zephyr

Hi all, I would like to pick some brains.... I posted on here at the beginning of the year because after being in Perth for almost a year, I was feeling homesick. I'd just had a baby and adding those crazy post natal hormones into the mix just made the thought of staying in Australia unbearable. I had some fantastic advice from other people on here and have put some of the advice into action, as a result I am now more optimistic about our future in Australia. However, I've a sneaking suspicion some of the feelings of isolation I have been feeling are because we are based in Perth. I am north of the river in a well populated area and have made a real effort to get out there and make friends, joins mothers groups and so on. I still feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall though as I don't feel I'm growing a social circle at all. I'm a friendly person and without sounding pompous I don't think it's me???! I've also noticed too that there are alot of Brits here which in itself is great but on the other hand causes me great unease because a lot of those I've 'connected' with are on the move back to the UK!!! When me and my partner applied for our visa'a our first choice was Adelaide (lifestyle, lovely place, cheaper housing, less populated than other cities, nice climate etc) but because my partner had some friends who'd moved out to Perth six months before us - we agreed to start there. The job opportunities for him were better as well so it made sense. Ironically his friends went back to the UK for good after we'd been here six months as they didn't like it. We are now considering a move to Adelaide to see if I will feel more 'settled' there. My partner works in IT and although he likes his job and likes it here in Perth he would rather try Adelaide than go back to the UK.... I'd be interested to hear others opinions on Adelaide as a city to live in. Is there more going on there than in Perth? Are the suburbs well appointed in terms of shops and parks etc? I'm not slating Perth, it's a beautiful place and has lots going for it, I'm just not sure that it's the place for me. Zephyr

Do not miss having to sidestep globules of spit on the pavements - disgusting. Also don't miss the dried chewing gum on streets, especially in some of the town centres.

Reading everyone's comments has been a great help and comfort. I feel better for having got it 'off my chest' although the mist still hasn't cleared I feel better able to deal with these confusing feelings. Thanks to you all. And to those in a similar sitiuation - good luck with making your decision.

Thank you, best of luck to you too :-)

Alia p I have pm'd you.