MattJ1960

Some interesting comments here. In (very) brief, we have returned to the UK (18 months) after 4 years in Victoria. For me, the most important thing is to be amongst people with whom you have sense of belonging. Australia never presented those feelings to us. We thought about lower wages, grey weather (lived in Melbourne-not entirely sure about that one), different schools for our girls, having to start all over again.... But....it was the best decision ever. Amongst friends, neighbours who talk to each other, access to family, exciting sport, great pubs, cheaper shopping bills, real beer, cheap theatre tickets, trips to Wembley with the children, hearing the singing at Twickenham, Summer music festivals, Europe on your doorstep, kids coming home from school happy, I could go on and on.... Just do it. You will find work, you won't earn as much, sure, but you won't be fleeced as in Oz. Life is different here, but my wife, who is a Kiwi, would not go back to live in Oz. Great experience? Yes. Utopia? No. Good luck.

We moved back last June. Best thing for us. Schools etc can be a pain to organise....but it will all fit into place. I reckon June, July is a good tome to return as it gives you time to visit and choose the schools for your children. Don't wait till October or November. We deliberated about coming home for a while, but both my wife and I are much happier here. Neighbours who talk to you, cheap food in the supermarkets, theatre tickets that don't cost $120 each, real sport, non-superficial conversations (you know what I mean!), Europe on the doorstep, seasons, great radio and TV, beer, pub grub, smiling people, trains without graffiti, music festivals, the smell of freshly cut fields, etc etc etc.

We completed our remortgage two days ago. We've been home 7 months. When I approached our lender directly, they fobbed me off. If you use a broker (I used London and Country mortgages), you are likely to have more luck. There are some amazing deals to be had with very low interest rates. I was originallky told it would be 12 months before I could change it. It's not true. Lenders have started to lend again. The days of the GFC have virtually gone.:smile:

I share your pain. I had it, too, though not as bad, up until last year. Now back in UK. Understand, everything in life is an experience. Positive or negative, it's an experience. I lived in Mornington, Victoria for 4 years. I enjoyed the first year or so, but the myths about life in Oz started to rear themselves (climate? friendly? welcoming? neighbours inviting you to bbq's? great place to bring up kids? They must be kidding!). ( One word to sum up the experience? Isolating! However, use this experience in Oz as a positive one, however difficult. I returned to the UK (Oxfordshire) and I must say it has been the most positive experience of my life! Four years in Melbourne made me appreciate how beautiful and friendly England is. Don't misunderstand me, parts of Oz are also beautiful, too. England has many magnets.....scenery, people, history, architecture, interesting conversations with friends, great Radio and TV, real sport (sorry AFL, you have to be kidding!) friendly neighbours (as opposed to neighbours who made no attempt to communicate with each other). I moved back after many discussions with my lovely wife. She told me she wnted to go 'home' back to UK. So did I. My wife was brought up in New Zealand, but she regards UK as 'home'. I wonder how your hubby feels? He surely knows how unhappy you must be. Talk to him. Sell the car. Come home. That's my advice. Don't stick around expecting things to get much better. They probably won't.

I returned to the UK last year having spent 4 years in the Melbourne area. A word of advice if you are considering doing the same and you are currently a Telstra customer. Last June I arranged for the termination of my 'package' which included Foxtel, phone, and internet. A decent, if very expensive package. I decided to record my online chat on their chat page, where you exchange messages online to resolve any issues. I was assured that after the final bill was paid, my account was fully settled and that there would no longer be any account. It would be cancelled by Telstra. (A lie, but more about that later). I ensured that my responsibilities regarding any return of stuff, ie foxtel box, the small telephone box (can't recall its name) etc.I was assured that nothing needed to be returned-they were now my property. Useless in the UK, I gave them away to friends in Australia. All sorted then. Except it wasn't. In August, THREE MONTHS AFTER DEPARTING AUSTRALIA, I saw a deduction from Telstra for $300 from my Australian bank account! I was somewhat surprised and emailed Telstra from the UK to enquire why this had occurred. They suggested it was because the Foxtel box had not been returned! I explained that I had been on the 'chat' forum to ensure that I had complied with the conditions of the contract termination but they said that unless I could give my Telstra account details, they could not assist. I gave them the transaction number from the bank transaction-which turned out to be my Telstra account number. Still they couldn't (wouldn't) help. As I could not locate the record of the forum 'chat', I was stuffed. That was, until I located the 'chat' record and emailed it to their 'resolutions' team. They stated they would 'investigate it'. (A 30 second read would be all that was required to do this). They eventually agreed to pay me my $300 back into my account that was unlawfully taken from me. 'Stolen', I call it. I brought the matter to their attention in August, a few days after the deduction from my bank. That $300, converted into UK pounds at that time would have been worth alot more than $300 converted today. I asked that the amount they owe me be increased to the amount that it would have been worth in August. They have agreed to repay me. They have acknowlewdged their mistake (the evidence was overwhelming). I have provided all my contact numbers but they have not contacted me to arrange payment. Nine months after my initial complaint, my $300 has still not been repaid. I email them frequently with no replies. The morale of the story? If you are coming home, ensure you take the Telstra stuff back to where it came from-even though you may not need to. Ensure your account is settled. Close your bank account! Or.......don't use Foxtel as your provider!