Katie22

Certainly can be harder uprooting them when they're teenagers but if it's what you all want then go for it. When I first started posting on this site I'd only just made the decision and was to be honest having doubts and feeling really insecure. But months have passed now and I've become more and more certain it's what I want and it feels right too. I've now got rid of the "what ifs" running around in my head and if anyone tells me the grass isn't greener etc I just laugh to myself! All of us are different and value different things . Other than family, friends and sunshine there's really nothing else I will miss about Oz (and to be honest each year I like the heat less!), as for England I've missed family, friends and so much more that replace the sunshine and beaches a hundred times over. What if I decide I don't like it anymore? What if! Who cares! If that's the case I'll deal with it but not going to miss out on doing something my heart wants me to do just because I "might" not like it. Big step with a young family but could be an exciting adventure too. Keep thinking positive. So many opportunities for your kids over there when they're growing up. I remember the yearly trips to Europe with my family , regret not being able to do the same with mine. Good luck!

Yes! I'm going back and can't wait. Had 12 years (so you can't say I didn't try!) and that's the end of that chapter and new one about to begin. I'm older, want different things, sun and beaches no longer do it for me. Don't hate it here just don't want to live the rest of my life here. Got half family in England, half here so I'll be back for a holiday but thankfully not to stay!:wink:

But not everyone goes back because they hate Australia, they just don't want to live there anymore - plain and simple. The difference between Adelaide and the New Forest is that it's a bit easier and cheaper to escape the New Forest when you want a change of scenery.

But I want to move back and I am sure - 110% sure

To me it's just like a big country town and yes in a time warp, everybody knows everybody, and miles away from anywhere! Will admit I hated it to start with because of all that but have mellowed over the years and developed a bit of affection for it now. I reckon it's a not such a bad place to live when you have a young family but my kids are growing up now and want a bit more excitement and to be somewhere a bit different and to be honest .......so do I! Maybe you should try Melbourne?

I think of course you need to be sensible and think of the financial aspects when moving back but also have to be careful too that by doing so you don't end up on missed opportunities. Life can be unpredictable, happy one day then who knows what tomorrow brings. A good friend of mine was very financially astute and stopped herself visiting her family overseas as she'd do it when she "retired" or "had more time", she also stayed in a job she hated because of the long service leave and sick leave she'd accumulated. She became ill unexpectedly and died last Christmas years before her retirement or achieving those things she so dearly wanted to. I know I'm rambling but what I'm trying to say is we only have one life to live and don't get the chance to come back and have another go at it, be sensible but not so much that you end up being unfulfilled and unhappy.

I think the Scottish Unis charge high fees for the English but not other Europeans! And they are very very cheap for the Scots. Not sure what might happen if they get independence though. I did read an article saying that they then might not legally be able to charge higher fees to English students. All very confusing!

But they're being written in the Moving back to UK forum so sometimes I don't get why would be migrants or the migrants who are really happy here want to read these posts as they're obviously not going to agree with them? The people who want to move back, me included, are in a minority and that's why it can be really helpful hearing each other's point of views and giving each other support. And I reckon all of us acknowledge the fact that Australia can be a fantastic place to live - for the majority but not for everybody.

So presuming that living in England for that required amount of time would fit that criteria too. Could be a plan!

My daughter would really love to go to uni in France but they have a law there that teaching must be done in French so you've obviously got to be fairly fluent to survive but they are starting to do a few postgraduate English taught courses - realizing that they can attract some disillusioned Brits who don't want to pay the high fees english universities charge. However, she's now discovered that the Netherlands have lots of uni degrees taught in English, most Dutch are bilingual so you can survive initially arriving there without speaking a word of Dutch and they have lots of international students to integrate with. Am sure there are a few other European countries where the courses are free but I suppose you obviously need to look at the reality of living in that country, isolation, language etc but massive life experience and once you've lived in Australia, Europe is a small place! She's just really adamant that she doesn't want to go to uni here so we're both determined to try every avenue we can!

Ali - I'm going through this dilemma myself. My daughter finishes school next year and I'm planning on moving back then. There is the rule that you have to have been resident for 3 years before the course commences even if you're a British citizen and born in Britain too. However, I made an enquiry to the British Council and they answered back saying the university has the ultimate decision when they do a fee assessment but are obviously guided by government legislation. My daughter's now looking into the possibility of going to university in Europe. In the Netherlands they actually teach a lot of courses in English and their fees are a lot cheaper. However, I'm not sure if the same thing applies to having been resident in Europe for 3 years to be eligible for European national fees. But saying that, their international fees are a lot more affordable. i remember we went on to one english university website and it actually converted the schooling qualifications giving you an idea of what ATAR you need for each course. It is a frustrating rule and that is the biggest hurdle we face with returning back to live in England.

It seems as if you've had some pretty big life events in a short space of time, losing your mum, emigrating and now a baby on its way so must have so many emotions running riot that it's no wonder you're feeling like you do! Sticking it out for citizenship is a good idea and often with time it can get easier but at the end of the day you need to be happy. I remember when I came out here I had 2 sisters who were well and truly settled and I felt like an outsider and as if something was wrong with me as I never embraced the Australian way of life in the way they did - trouble is I still don't!

I just saw on the news this morning some pictures of the conditions these detainees have been living in - it was on the ABC so may very well be propaganda?! - and if that was genuine Australia should be ashamed of itself. Just because some refugees may not be genuine or may just (?!) be escaping a pretty **** life, surely it does't justify imprisoning them in squalid conditions and not being able to access immediate medical care. There does seem to be such anger and resentment towards these people - what are we scared of? Of course none of us want terrorists to come in and spread havoc but are they seriously the majority of the asylum seekers? Of course people need to be investigated etc. but at least have the human decency to keep them in decent accommodation with proper health care in the meantime. I would have thought the terrorists we should be most scared of probably already live here and possess Australian passports.

Get your citizenship, get your Australian passport, pack your bags and get on that plane - it'll all work out!

A good piece of advice to people who've not been here long to think about sticking it out a little longer to see if things get better. Really happy for the OP that it's worked out. Homesickness is horrible and heartbreaking at times. Funny though when I reflect on my life I realize that I've been stuck more in a rut here in Australia than I have anywhere else so it does happen both ways and I reckon that's more of an individual outlook than dependent upon which country you live in.

That is so true! Might be bit naive but not heard of Pommie lane - that's even worse!

I think it's the occasional idiot that has probably moulded my opinion! But you're right majority of time it's never said with malice and though it's always been one of my pet hates - started over 20 yrs ago on working holiday - l can handle it!

Crikey, I've been here 12 yrs & it still really grates - like fingernails down a blackboard. Can cope with the usual jokes and can cope with having the mickey taken out of my accent, in fact I laugh along with that as they can be quite funny but that word Pommy just really bugs me. However, worse thing to be called I suppose....!

I really hate being called a pommie or am I just ultra sensitive?

It's interesting reading posts on this forum and realising that people seem to want to return at certain stages of their lives. The desire to come over seems very strong when you're young and when also when you've got a young family, then the desire to return seems strong when pregnancy looms and the same with retirement too. I suppose they are the major life changing events in our lives. Even though my parents have both died I still have lots of family over there, half there and half here and I will be honest I still have my real valued friends over there too. But as the years go by you just feel torn between those two lives. At first migrating is such an exciting adventure for most but at the end of the day nearly all of us move away from families and initially the excitement blots all that out but in years to come it can end up being a very painful lesson learnt. I regret not being there for big family occasions and being there for times when my English family have gone through hard times but if I was over there I would feel the same about my Australian family too. The New Forest is a beautiful place. A good friend of mine lives in Ringwood and I left Bournemouth to come here so not too far away. Not such a bad place to retire I think but then again Sydney aint too bad either!

I don't think I regard myself as a migrant anymore really, been here too long now. Often only times I do is when people hear my accent and then as me where I come from! You sound like a successful migrant MaryRose! Even though I stayed here for my partner and never really wanted to I didn't want to constantly be miserable about it so have got on with life here as in the scheme of things my life is bloody good compared to other people (just turn on the news and see millions in refugees camps) and believe we need to appreciate what we have rather than don't have. Up until my marriage ending I never believed the opportunity of returning would happen so resigned myself to that fact. There are times when I worry that I've been here too long now and will miss the familiarity and will arrive in England feeling like a complete stranger. But I suppose the successful migrant wouldn't even contemplate moving back to where they came from!

I reckon you've got a point there. I've got one daughter who's thrived here but one son who completely went off the rails. When kids are young the warmer weather and sunny days certainly makes it easier to keep them occupied but when they become teenagers there's still the issues of alcohol, drugs, social media etc to deal with as in any other place in the world and I would think it's certainly no less here.

Not quite sure why I used the word "love", I think I meant "like" - I'm stuck at home with the flu so I reckon my brain's mush at the moment!

You're right for some it is easier being round ex-pats as when the initial excitement dies down you can often feel like a square peg in a round hole and other migrants can help you through that. I'm afraid my circumstances were slightly different compared to most as I really didn't want to move here but was persuaded (yes I was a fool!) and just tried to convince myself it would only be for a few years. I think I thought that being around other Brits would just remind me of where I came from and where I wanted to be so which was hard so I just wanted to shut it out. But as the years went by I resigned myself to the fact that moving back wouldn't happen, my ex partner didn't want to and I didn't want to disrupt my kids lives or take them away from him so I accepted it and have made a good life here but Australia never ticked the boxes for me. I don't know about other cities but there are areas in Adelaide where new British migrants veer towards more, mainly to the north and the south of the city , I suppose that's just a natural thing. In fact the suburb I live in evidently the majority of residents are born in India, and the neighboring one is China I think. It's just like little countries in one city. We all tend to want to stick to our own.

I seriously do not meet that many Brits other than clients at work. My workmates are Aussies, my kids friends parents are Aussies, my sisters have married Aussies. So it's certainly not a question of limiting social contact, the only time I limited myself was avoiding the areas most migrants head towards - is that wrong do you think? I also don't think that's the reason I've never settled, I think I'm just one of the few who loves Australia but it's just not for me.