I am stuck in a rut and looking for others’ opinions. I left the UK in 1998 (in my mid 20s) and have lived in both New Zealand (11 years) and Sydney (9 years & currently). After 3.5 years in NZ I met my kiwi ex-husband and we got married 2 years later. Over the years we grew apart and became very different people and we separated 18 months ago after 15.5 years together (currently divorcing).
I have no regrets about leaving the marriage but am now finding it terribly difficult being stuck overseas on my own. My husband and I had no kids and hung out extensively either on our own or with our couples. All my immediate family, which is fairly large, are based in Scotland and since separating I have gone back every 6 months to visit. I am still in touch with a couple of old, good friends in the UK and New Zealand. I do have a few friends in Sydney but they are mainly coupled and not really very close friends (I only came to Sydney in late 30s).
I bought a unit in Sydney 3 months ago with my equity (relatively low home loan) which I thought would help me move on, but as time goes on I feel more alone & isolated with no solid support system. My UK based family and old friends have been very supportive & understanding, and I’m going over for a couple of weeks shortly, but I can’t help feeling more & more homesick and isolated as time goes on. I had a health scare 6 years ago and was very sick, and whilst on amicable terms with my ex-hubs who is currently also still in Sydney, am not sure what would I would do on my own in this circumstance.
I’m in a fortunate position in that I have both Australian, NZ and British citizenship, have no ties really and am a qualified accountant with a fairly senior role. I could rent my unit out and would only need to contribute around $7,000 a year to cover strata fees & insurance or could refinance to make it fully cashflow positive.
So my interest is really to hear from others’ who have perhaps been in this situation. I am seriously thinking of returning home to the UK as either way I have to start over & build a new life for myself. However I am very aware that I have no UK work experience for the last 20+ years and am 46 now - the whole getting a decent job piece, is probably what scares me the most. Also credit ratings and the like sounds problematic.
However with both my parents in their early 70s and as they get older unable to travel as much, it feels like this would be the right time to do it as I truly feel at a crossroads in my life and am increasingly feeling that I no longer really know my UK family and 4 nieces & nephews who have been born since I left.
(I should also add that I had been feeling quite isolated from my family for a number of years, even before leaving my husband)