handsomewill

congratulations MB.. I can imagine it was slightly anti-climatic - and even though I'm eager to get my ceremony in the diary, it must feel like the journey is grinding to a halt and the realisation is hitting that youll be leaving soon? that said, not a bad time to go back at the start of UK spring. are you counting down the days until you get on the plane or now pondering the things you'll miss? I can imagine i'll be having as many coffees, morning swims down at bondi, drinks at opera bar etc as I can squeeze in as soon as my flights are booked!

Bit of a long shot but someone may know. Passed my citizenship test and got my approval letter in early January but I'm with Waverley Council which is notorious for long ceremony waiting times. I got told it'd be four months, as a girl I know with the same council went through those timeframes late last year however have a mate/his mrs who were approved last September and still have no news - maybe the wait is longer if you ask to attend the same ceremony as another applicant? What my question actually is, can you request to change council venues to a larger venue, i.e. Sydney City.. I'm guessing not and if you could, the application would start at square one? think I've answered my own question there but don't want to be waiting for 9 months! ah well, plenty to do til then.

really well worded thinker. I think a lot of people on here are chasing a place where everything is in place, when reality is so different. there is no right answer, only your own opinion and ultimate action as to where you go. someone said on here that we idealise and make Australia seem better than it is and portray the UK to be so much worse. I think this is often the case with people stuck in oz justifying their lot. the reality is a lot more balanced. I love Australia, had 6 years here. its a great place but also has its downsides, lots of them. its the same with home. I'm in the camp where Ive started to place value on quality of friendships and also family time. my parents are in good health, I enjoy spending time with my family, so its logical i'd head home after I get my passport. I enjoy the sunshine and walking on the beach in my shorts and partying on Sydney harbour on a boat, I also love walking the dog in the snow wrapped up and heading to the local with my dad. wow that was waffle! ha!

theres no right answer laura, its a hard decision! I'm in a similar boat to you in that ive been here 6 years - although I'm not overly hung up on searing sunshine or beaches, ive had my fill of those. sand in the bed is overrated. I'm actually longing for home now and something different. I never used to miss family all that much as I was too busy 'proving myself' in Sydney. now I'm a bit older, I know parents are getting noticeably older everytime I return, I know id feel guilty if I didn't go back soon. i am waiting on my citizenship ceremony at the moment and i guess now the bad parts of Sydney have started to outweigh the good. yes, sun, beaches, great coffee and the feeling of adventure are being cloaked by resentment at the price (of everything), the isolation, transiency (a lot of mates have left Sydney in my case) and living an almost 'student' lifestyle (small flat, little room) in the east of Sydney despite being on $120k+. I'm craving something i cant get here - connection, family, feeling at home, mates - sounds as though you are still in a place where youre enjoying it. get your citizenship first, then plan your next step. that has been my plan all along and the timing should coincide with me ready to leave a great adventure and memories before i get truly fed up!

I have similar feelings myself. amongst the ex pat community, especially in Sydney, is a sense of bewilderment and disbelief that you don't want to sit on sand all day and burn your skin in uncomfortable heat on packed beaches drinking $7 bottles of water. I much prefer Sydney in winter time, the climate is refreshing rather than stifling. I think the novelty of oz can wear off rather quickly and leaves you wondering 'is this it?'. having said that, I would never advise uk friends against Australia. with Sydney, it is a wonderful city, the food is amazing and theres plenty to explore within the city, every district has its own charm. but the adventure and novelty has worn off for me but this seems to be a cyclical thing..

congratulations MB, I know you are in a similar mindset to me and many others, hanging on for the passport when your heart is really wanting to leave as the novelty has long gone. Are you going to go for a 24 hour turnaround on the passport then jump on the next plane? 3 months seems quick, I'm looking at 6-7 months at Waverley unfortunately.

agreed, all entirely dependent on your circumstances in Oz and the UK. Why would you leave a nice life in Oz to return to a grim town with little employment opportunities, with no mates and no family and vice versa. I myself sit in the middle of the spectrum, as in I have treated my six years here as an adventure whilst placing very little pressure on myself to commit.. if it all went boobies up tomorrow and work let me go and the mrs ran off with chris Hemsworth, I would happily fly home to my family, friends and everything my home has to offer. if I'm brutally honest (in my opinion), Australia, outside of the world class cities, Sydney & Melbourne, consists of dusty butlins campsites or places you could imagine Steven Avery's family living. There is very little here except beaches and if you're a person who's mental wellbeing is heavily reliant on sunshine, then of course, stay in Australia! I'll be off this year once I get my passport, but feel a sense of relief that I'm 100% I want to leave, however I'm under no illusions ill encounter moments on the motorway in the north wondering why I moved back. but that doesn't mean ill be panicking and making plans on moving back, ill just accept that these feelings will come and go. i'll be enjoying the feeling of being home and surrounded by family and friends.

someone has been at the rose and then stuck the rose tinted glasses on here. London is a grey, crowded dump. if you get your buzz out of fighting your way through swarms of tourists, squeezing into congested tubes to start your two hour commute and sat in traffic then good luck to you, everyone is different. I could think of nothing worse than living there! even after a few days I'm ready to leave. give me paris, Barcelona, Sydney, Tokyo, NYC ahead of London anyday, but that's just my view.

ah! brilliant! thanks for your answer. yep, anticipating a 6 month wait, although something to look forward to this winter!

OK daft question time. I passed my citizenship test last week, which was nice, but wondering in what form the 'approval' of application comes in. i.e. do I just sit and wait for the letter to pop in the letterbox inviting me to ceremony? the whole test process was a bit of an unorganised mess - people waiting in a small room with no idea what to do, no signs up saying 'get a ticket, sit down, we check your documents, then you go sit your test'. I passed the test and walked out with no clue as to what I was to do next. all the people working there were checking documents of applicants getting ready to sit the test. anyone have a clue as to what the process is once the test is passed? thankyou

Just thought I'd add in a couple of earlier steps to assist people in the PR process as it feels like one long journey with many big (and small) steps: 1. PR applied for - July 2014 2. PR approval issued - 3/12/2014 3. Citizenship application submitted online - 3/12/2015 4. City/Council area - Sydney, Waverley Council 5. Online application 6. Received application confirmation email - 4/12/2015 7. Date of Citizenship Test - 8/1/15 Will have to make sure I get some revision done over the Christmas holidays. Amazing adventure here for me and knowing the passport is in touching distance and a change of scenery and family time at home is making my time here and now enjoyable. Cold xmas next year!

nope, not one bit. I tell lies all the time babe. told an ex girlfriend once she didn't look fat in a dress when indeed she looked like a kilo of jelly in an asda bag. so declaring false intentions will just get my juices flowing, ill be pickpocketing an entire nation! ill be handsome with dual citizenship. that doesn't bother me at all. :yes:

so I can have the option of coming back. need a change of scenery for the time being. things change.

Got my citizenship application in online today. not many rungs to climb up now before I can start planning my exit. if you apply online, do you get your exam notification via email or in the post? I only ask as our postie takes the postbox as a 'rough guide' rather than a must hit.

Thanks snifter. Yeah had a mate had back to Liverpool a couple weeks ago, known him the entire time ive been here. offered to organise a leaving do, he just wanted a few beers in the city and to sneak out the back door with no fuss. ive always enjoyed my time here as ive never seen it as permanent, always viewed it as an adventure, even in the really crap times, of which there have been a few! that way, ive always appreciated stuff - the sand in between my toes, a swim down bondi to clear up the hangover, best coffee in the world and sometimes getting the ferry to meetings (the ferry past the opera house into CQ never ceases to amaze me) and even the slightly disappointing yellowy tinge to the opera house close-up. i know ill miss loads of things when i leave, but i also know im very lucky to have had my time here and also that you cant have everything - which is what a lot of posters on here actually think! safe. will.

not got a date set in stone just yet but heading back UK Summer next year which will hopefully tie in with my citizenship which I can start the application for in a couple of weeks. Been here exactly 6 years, got here with a backpack on my shoulders and had some cracking times. i'd never put Australia down or the UK for that matter as theres plusses and negatives for both and both feel like home now. I just feel the adventure has come to a slow halt now and would like change of scenery from the craziness of sydneys eastern suburbs. got a decent circle of mates here, mainly expats but many have also left, which is par for the course here I guess. I'm just not sure whether I will tell many people before I leave. I don't want to burn bridges, but I cant be dealing with people blabbing on about how great Australia is and wondering why I'm leaving, ive seen it before with others and its painful! good luck to all trying to weigh it up.

yeah same. I can apply around xmas time, and not expecting anything prior to june so will be keeping busy until then. ha yes my sharp decline - the loss of LAFHA, a sudden loss of contract with work and a split with the ex sent me spiraling a tad out of control - was tough at the time as no family here to lean on but all part of the adventure. things have levelled out for me again. despite many mates leaving, but you become accustomed to this. such is life and the transient nature of this place. its been a rollercoaster here for me (6 yrs+) but one now im looking forward to getting off and living a more settled life back home. no right or wrong rules for people, only for the individual and associated circumstances.

@movingback which council are you with mate? ive heard City council is way quicker than other eastern councils, Waverley, Woollahra etc.. am I right in thinking as soon as your 12 month PR is done, you can pull the trigger on the online application straight away? I have my docs ready and my outlook calendar notification in there so I can do it the very morning I got my PR, 12 months on.. actually cannot wait to get the application in and start the process as sad as it sounds.. been through so many ups (earning $130k and living in a penthouse overlooking the harbour) to labouring on a building site on $60k and sleeping on a mates sofa, where I was sometimes tempted to walk off site on lunch and pack my bags and leave Sydney behind. now Im almost there, I actually feel pretty proud ive stuck with it. anyway, went off track there, mustve been the extra shot in my coffee this morning.

I know totty very well! Lots of my family live in hawkshaw..yeah I'm under no illusions it will be a shock to the system.. I'm fully bracing myself for rain, rubbish coffee and a distinct lack of avocado.

i will watch neighbours with a Tim tam every evening, that ok for you sweetie? cant wait for that passport, man it'll feel so good breaking section 50 clean in half!

Yes you have earned that right. I like it here too. I just want a change. I feel zero guilt, I've pumped six years of tax into the coffers, I deserve a little reward. Hope your process is quick!

Good on you. Yes I'm happy here for the time being too but priorities have shifted for me now so back home is the plan for the near future. Ha yes maybe it isn't cricket but what is these days? Best of luck to you in getting your offensive and unethical, yet fully legal citizenship too :laugh:

you sound like a barrel of laughs. i guess you could compare this to wedding vows. In sickness and in health til death do us part etc. which carries a 50% divorce rate. what I'm saying is I am eligible and things change. Chill out.

exactly. Reasons for me attaining citizenship are no different to anyone else. I'd like the door to be open in the future if the Lancashire rain doesn't have the same gloomy appeal as it once did. im from bury so I am thinking a country town like ramsbottom.. A nice stone cottage will do me fine plus my dads health has been slowly deteriorating. Such is life. Weird typing this as I lie on Bondi in 30 degree heat but I'm actually looking forward to the change! tganks for the normal response and support for Lancashire.. Just wanted advice on citizenship procedures, not details on the intricate council spy networks, threats of suicide or rupert murdochs private life.