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