gwen80

My Mum has Aus citizenship too. It's just the leap into the unknown and leaving behind very, very good friends.

I'm in Hertfordshire. I have looked into doing stuff outside of work, but I spend a lot of weekends going back and forth to see my Mum. I feel hugely guilty that I'm not nearby. I've met some nice people down here and I have friends down here, but there seems to be a habit at work of 'blanking' people. I understand I won't be best mates with everyone, but being completely blanked I find slightly soul destroying. I don't see myself having children, but I adore my nephews. I can imagine as I get older I will want to be near the little family I have.

My Mum will pretty much go wherever I go. She's talking about moving down South if I stay down there. This puts the pressure on as I desperately want to make the right decision for both of us. I understand I could migrate when I'm older, but I think it would get harder as I'd be more settled in the UK, possibly have a partner who may or may not want to go. You're right, there is some discontent in general at the moment - not really knowing where to be for the best.

I wouldn't expect my Mum to come, but if I tried to go without her she'd be on the plane before you knew it. I'm very, very close to my Mum. I agree I expect I would find the move very difficult. However my Dad lives in Melbourne, my brother and his family in Adelaide. So I actually have more family in Aus than the UK. I just don't have the familiarity or friends out there. This is where the dilemma lies...

Thanks Londongal. I know that's what most would say. Are you planning on moving out Londongal? Where are you heading? My Mum could move as well, in fact, I wouldn't leave her and she could move to Adelaide or possibly Melbourne. She has very longstanding friends in Adelaide, who to quote them, regard her as part of their family. She tends to get chatting to people out and about and I'm sure she could and would make friends wherever she went. My concerns are that I could lose my friends here and if I don't settle in Aus, end up with none! Mum would probably rent her house in the UK out for the time being. She's made it very nice and I'm concerned tenants may not look after it. Mum has lived in Aus for 7 years in the past so I think she may be eligible for a means tested pension after 3 further years out there. I think I could earn around 75k out there and I have no idea if that's enough for a single person who would want to live not too far out and be able to go out and do a few things. I enjoy walking, skiing, I'd love to learn to sail, good food and drink, theatre, galleries etc. However, my concerns for staying in the UK are that it would only get more difficult for me to move out at some point in the future and/or I may not be able to afford to.

Hi there I'm looking for any advice/thoughts anybody might have. I'm 33, single, female and live in the UK. I have Australian citizenship and family in both Adelaide and Melbourne. I keep going round and round in circles pondering whether to try life in Aus or not. I lived in the North West for ten years until last summer, when I was made redundant. Most jobs in my field are in the South East, so I moved down South. I found the move really stressful and I'm still not particularly happy down there. I don't hate it, but the people I work with aren't the friendliest. I have met some nice people - my landlady is a sweetheart and a cup of tea and a chat in her kitchen can make my week, but I'm not loving life down South. I could try somewhere different down South, but there are jobs in my field in Melbourne and I could stay with my Dad until I got myself sorted. Given how stressful I found the move down South though and it exacerbated some health problems, I'm not sure if emigrating might finish me off! I have some great friends in the UK and my Mum is here. Argh, what would you do? G

I've done this once in Adelaide. Not before and never since, but I'd arrived via Singapore and had got Salmonella as it turned out. I also laid down in the waiting room, I've never felt so ill.

Best of luck Mark! The nerves are understandable. It's an adventure though. Keep us updated with how you're getting on. Have you got accomodation sorted for when you arrive? I'm contemplating the move myself. I've got citizenship and have just took redundancy from my job. I just need to get rid of my house in the UK, find a job out there (ironically there were quite a lot in my field advertised whilst I was still working - now nothing!) and most importantly get over my apprehension and go for it - my Mum or a friend will probably have to push me on the plane though! Might see you out there at some point. Good luck! ​Gwenx

Thanks starlight. I'm reasonably outgoing once I feel comfortable. However, upping sticks and moving to the other side of the world, I can imagine I might not feel comfortable right away! I have quite wide ranging interests, but I'd really like to do some sailing out there. I really enjoy live music, eating out, theatre, walking, climbing, but I could turn my hand to team sports as well. I was thinking of joining JCI as well.

Newer friends vs friends from school and Uni are actually about even and I have all sorts of different friends. Some older than me, some younger, friends with children, single friends. I'm very open to meeting people and making new friends - I always have been. I don't think you can have too many friends and I try and make the effort with people. What I'm saying is that I see differences between myself and my friendships and my brother/sister-in-law and their friendships. That's just my opinion. My group is open and friends come into the group, contact with some might drop off at times, then pick up again, but my friendship door is always open. My sister-in-law seems to have the same small group of friends from school and seems slightly closed to new people. They recently met a family they got on well with, my brother wanted to invite them round for dinner, but my sister-in-law wouldn't have them round.

Hi I've posted before about my situation so forgive me. I'm 32 and applied for Australian citizenship by descent last year and got it. I recently left my job with a package and now seems as good a time as any to give things a go out there, but I'm hesitating. My Dad lives in Melbourne, my brother lives in Adelaide with his wife and two sons. My Mum is here, but has lived in Adelaide in the past and still has friends there. We're considering moving over - Mum to Adelaide, me to Melbourne preferably or possibly Sydney. The move is largely driven by spending more time with my nephews for my Mum. For me, it would be the same, but also the opportunity to try something new, the weather, perhaps more opportunity to do more outdoors things. My main concern I guess is making friends. My brother moved out over twenty years ago now and has maybe made two friends? My sister-in-law has a set of friends from school and a few others. Maybe I'm being unfair, but she seems slightly closed off to making new friends. I don't have tonnes of friends in the UK, but I have my best friend from school, some lovely friends from Uni and various friends I've picked up at different stages of work. The friends I do have, I seem to have a strong bond with them (I suspect having half my family in Aus means I've made my friends my family) and I feel I have a good support network here in the UK that I could build on further if I stayed. I guess my concern is my brother's situation. Is it that difficult to make new friends? Are the Aussies quite closed to meeting new people? Others in my sister-in-laws family are incredibly warm, welcoming and friendly, so is it just different people? Thank you ​Gwenx

Hi I'm in the UK, otherwise I'd love to join you for a coffee. Keep posting though or write a blog, I love your posts! ​Gwenx

Hi MaryRose02 I don't often log in and post, but I read the forum a lot and I really enjoy your posts! Your life in Sydney sounds lovely. ​Gwenx

I'm so sorry moirclan :-( I can't believe they said that! Your poor Mum. I don't know whether you'd say my Mum has access to good services here. I've fought for years to get her help over here. After every episode, they'd discharge her. When I finally got ongoing support for her, I found out she'd told the CPN that she didn't want her - argh! She has a lovely psychiatrist she sees every 3 months or so and he keeps me informed (with her consent) of how he thinks she's doing and is available for me to call if I have any concerns. She can go months and months without an episode then she'll start acting strangely and she usually thinks one of her neighbours has her house bugged and the police are watching her. As quickly as it starts it can go again. I think she's pretty low suicide risk and isn't a danger to others, she can be a danger to herself though when she's desperate to get away from the things she thinks are happening. She's meant to be on medication all the time, but she's always stopped taking it after a while, then she has another episode, has to start again and the cycle continues. Do they have crisis teams and home treatment teams over there? Gwenx

Hi I am thinking of emigrating with my Mum who has some mental health problems. My Mum is already a citizen so she should still be able to get over there (I think! Someone please correct me if I am wrong!), but I was wondering what care was like over there and what kind of support would be available should she need it. She's well at the moment, but she's had episodes for 10 years now so realistically she may need some help in the future. Thanks! Gwenx