coalencanth

Cheers for the thoughts! I know what you're getting at as well about kids and so on, seen some mates go through these dilemmas...

Something quite interesting, better not say too much as it's a bit of a small field really....... Fizzybangs, good luck on your return plans and I have to say i would probably always come back to the UK to retire no matter where i ended up!

I hope you are able to find a positive way back! I have to say what cuts me up is the state of towns even in this fairly prosperous area of england i live in, it's a real shame to see the UK in this state. Melbourne would do nicely, and yes the US is a strong possibility amongst others. I am single which is a big factor in why I quite liked expat-ing. I think one of the reasons I'm a bit frustrated is I've had my mind expanded by working internationally, and interestingly a lot of aussie mates who'd worked abroad felt this way on their return to 'Straylia!! Glad it was some food for thought! I think Aus is one of the only western economies alongside canada that is doing remotely 'well' atm. Totally agree about the low calibre of australian 'pollies', I had some dealings with them and was truly shocked, thought the british ones were bad. If Australia is decent place to live it's in spite of, not because of, them...

Thanks for your all your input, I'm interested in others experiences, cheers! I'm quite lucky that my quals are quite 'portable' internationally. No recertification or registration problems. I also have the knack with languages. Ive got various ex-colleagues in the middle east, france, singapore, brazil amongst others. I do actually agree with where you're going here, I had similar dilemmas, but we did have a large group of international expats (not just brits!) to fall back on. I think it can be very hard to penetrate into sydneysiders and melbournians social groups as they tend not to move too far outside their bubble, go to university there, still socialise with school mates and so on. I knew this might kick up a storm as the Australia-UK debate stirrs up strong emotions, so flak jacket firmly attached. I am a massive patriot and cheerleader for the UK, but nothing can escape the fact many of our large towns and cities are showing some shocking signs of decay. I was dragging my bags through a certain massive train interchange a few days ago to board an overcrowded train with unhelpful staff thinking I did X years study for this. I travel a lot internationally and the UK is noticeably in bad shape, and that shower in westminster seem to be on some mission to make life worse. That said, I got very worried in australia that they are making a lot of the same mistakes we have in britain. It's obvious the chinese are carving the country up, and i think unless something changes in their property market home ownership in syd and melb will be out of reach for many people. Australian workers are also too expensive with the way exchange rates are - the big international companies - they've noticed!

I've been an anonymous observer on these forums for the last couple of years and picked up a lot of useful information, but I've decided to finally dive in with some rambling thoughts I've been having. I arrived back in the UK from Sydney a few months back and basically, I am actually depressed and angry at the choice I've made. I post this maybe to encourage anyone to think carefully before they abandon what they have! I basically came back to the UK as I was offered a better job in my field, which, perhaps a bit unusually is actually in a worse state in Australia than it is elsewhere in the world. I know for a lot of expats it's the other way around! I was on a 457 visa on a fixed term with no sign of any longer term jobs on the horizon. I could have applied for PR myself but didn't really see the point in shelling out thousands of dollars myself hen most employers in my field would sponsor you for pr with a long term position. The thing is, I must say I actually enjoy my current brit job, for the first time in many years although I've found the promotion prospects aren't what what was promised (I expected that though). My field of work in Aus was filled with public sector deadbeats who led very sheltered lives and wouldn't have lasted five minutes in the UK or USA (and i include a lot of the brits working in these places in that). But I think I made a mistake, and chased career when maybe i should have chased lifestyle, which I admit I quite enjoyed in Sydney and Melbourne. I miss hazy weekends in cafe's, long walks, and so on. The pubs were rubbish but at least the staff were friendly. I really am struggling to see anything good about being back. I have great sympathy for those who leave as they miss family, but I never really felt this way, and I must say I arrived back to find that, frankly there's a lot less folk to see these days. I thought that I could stand the British winter but sitting freezing at the train and bus stops waiting for the public transport that never comes and is overcrowded is testing my patience. To top it all I was chatting to an Aussie bird from work who was boasting about how she claimed british citizenship by descent (parents) and has had the british taxpayer shell out very expensive professional training which she intends to take back home for the 'lifestyle'. This attitude really gets my dander up and cometh the day I am in control that little gravy train for the aussies and kiwis is coming to a halt!! This country is so dreary and miserable it's unbelievable. I do appreciate some people heading back go to these cute little villages and towns in rural england; the town i currently call home looks like something out of the okd eastern block. The only two of the major British cities that i would call good would be Edinburgh and Cardiff. But anyway, I've already decided that by this time next year I want to be making some concrete plans to get back out again. Not necessarily Australia! In my line of work there are other choices that combine lifestyle and appealing climate. Sorry for a whinge, but I just wanted to offer a few thoughts I've been having for some time. Any advice fire away!!