Lemony

Hi everyone, Just wondering if any of you would be able to shed some light on what to do here.......... I got married in Melbourne to another Brit and we have our official certificate of marriage. We've just moved back to live in London after 2 years in Australia and want to register the marriage here so I can get my name changed etc. Any one know the process involved or what I'd need to do? Thanks!

I've been in Melbourne for a year and a half, my partner has dual UK/AU citizenship so he was able to sponsor me. The visa cost us a lot of money and took about a year to be granted offshore and while we have enjoyed Melbourne life we are planning to head back to the UK in December. I am a graphic designer for fashion and despite having 12 years solid experience I have struggled to find a job for the past 5 months, my partner on the other hand is finding it easy to get work in his industry,he's a soft wear developer. I have had 2 jobs since arriving in Melbourne, one was so far out the city and a 3hr commute daily and the other was in an absolute joke of a company where my skills/mental health were at risk of declining. We don't want to leave but feel we have no choice, since Feb I have applied for around 20 jobs and not even had an interview for one, these are jobs i'd almost certainly get some interest from back in London. Being at home all day alone is hard work and although I go to the gym and do my own design work to keep busy not having a social life is getting me down. I love the life quality that Melbourne has to offer and I am really worried about going back to London but on the bright side I just got my PR last week and so I guess the Aussie door isn;t going to fully close for a while on my way out.............

Do you remember at what point did you start to feel you wanted to go home? I've been in Melbourne 15 months and although it's still early days I cannot shake a feeling that i just actually want to go home, although i know it is beautiful here etc

Oh dear, really? Thats not great……I did the same thing on Mothers Day for my mum and send flowers,chocolates and a teddy bear.She didn't even call me to say they had come and it took me calling her to find out.She bought me up to always call or write to a person to say thanks as soon as you receive a gift but yet failed to do so herself, this has only begun since i moved to Aus. I think they are all punishing me or something.

Wow I think if no one had sent me a card after 6 months in hospital following an operation i'd be really upset, by the way I hope you recover and wish you well. :hug: I guess it's like I said before, they used to be the kind of family who would send a card or a gift when i was in the UK……every time without fail since birth really! If they were not the kind of family who bothered before I don't think it would be a problem, it feels like one now because they stopped abruptly. I am missing friends and family you are right and after seeing so many similar posts on here I know it's normal. It's just they don't think of it from my point of view, that now is the exact time i might need a little bit extra support.

Hey Pom Queen, thanks for the reply. It's hard not to feel a bit disappointed…….i've had 2 Birthdays and a Christmas here now and they still don;t seem to 'get' how long it takes for cards to arrive here in time even though i've told them. They get some really nice presents from me, all it takes it a bit of thought which is why i'm so upset to receive nothing in return, just no thought has been put aside for me. I send mum flowers for mothers day, she's had that twice now…….the internet is an amazing and helpful tool for sending things overseas these days…...

Thanks Snifter, glad in a way to see this isn't un common. I guess I am just very disappointed, a lot stress was put on me during the lead up to leaving the UK in terms of how much they would all miss me…..emotional stress while I was trying to be strong and not crumble when family member cried and acted very sad etc. It's just so strange to go from feeling 'important' to people just because you are in front of them to not being thought of much at all. I know I would't behave like that if one of my friends or family left the country I was in……but then i'm quite a thoughtful person. I think a Birthday and Christmas gift, no matter how small would be nice……I was in hospital this xmas after having my appendix removed as well and didn't get a single get well card. Hard not to feel crappy when it's tough enough being here and feeling lonely! Wow……lets get the violins out haha!!!!

Thanks for the reply! Noted you didn't point the comment about people assuming better or more job opportunities here than in the UK to me-I didn't expect it to be better here job wise, I just didn't think it would be as hard getting interviews when I had no trouble in London. I think it's bad timing maybe, when I left the UK I had been job hunting for ages for something decent but it was dead, came here and apparently it's all slowed down too only the UK industry seems to have picked up!Frustrating……... Moved here thinking I wasn't much of a career minded person but maybe I'm more that way than I realised. Will keep plugging away though, hope not for too many months though!

Just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this after they left the UK to come live in Australia……. I've always seen a lot of my family since i was born, they consist of my Aunty,Uncle and 5 cousins plus my Mum and Step Dad. Not the biggest English family but we have always had Christmas and Birthdays together plus a Sunday roast here and there or a summer BBQ when the weather was good. Anyway to cut a long story short since i have come to Melbourne, which was 15 months ago, they have stopped giving me Birthday or Xmas gifts! I get a card which is always way late but nothing else…..I have always had a small gift or something from them my whole life but its abruptly stopped. No warning or explanation either! It's not so much i am missing 'having a gift', it's more that i feel they have just forgotten about me.Not sending anything just because Australia is far away is so lazy i think, i've continued to make sure my mum and step dad get gifts on Birthdays,Xmas and mothers day etc Sometimes they don't even contact me to let me know they have received a gift from me! It's enough to make me never want to go back……...

Hey everyone, this is my first ever post on here and on any forum for that matter! I've been in Melbourne for 15 months and had a job for most of that but not a very good one at all….in fact it was so depressing i finally left it last month. Ever since i got that job i have been on the look out for another better suited job, i've applied for so many roles and either had no response or a 'thank you but no' reply. These are roles that i am more than qualified to do and had i applied to them in London I would at least have had an interview. I'm a graphic designer for fashion by the way, the industry is small in London but it seems smaller and more behind here. I'm feeling really useless and fed up plus I am starting to wonder if it's because I am not Australian? I have a defaco Visa and so do not require any sponsorship, I put this info on my cover letters plus it is on my CV. Starting to wish i'd stayed in my old job now even though it was soul destroying. What am I doing wrong eh?!