Hi All,
Phew sorry for the long one..
I was wondering if anyone else has been having the same issues. I lived in Sydney for the past 6.5 years. Once I had obtained citizenship I was desperate to move back to the UK to be closer to friends and family. I was so homesick for them all, parts of British culture and being in a familiar place again.
Issue is - I now feel homesick for Australia. I feel like I can't settle in the UK because I don't feel English enough but I also can't settle in Australia because I don't feel Australian enough. I feel like I will always have a pull for both countries and have a sense of homesickness. I almost sometimes have regret for even going there in the first place as I'd never be in this situation. Mostly all of my friends I made in Sydney over the years have returned to the UK and don't have any interest in returning.
I think all of the above combined with the fact is the quality of life in the UK vs Aus is staggeringly different. Aus is just better in terms of cost of living/wages ratio. I know there are lots of amazing places in the UK but you can't fault Aussie nature. I just worry I made a mistake in returning on a more perm basis. I came to the UK for 10 weeks last year and I was heart broken to leave. I returned to Sydney with an action plan with my husband for us to get our citizenship and return to the UK. We have done just that, we have returned, we have moved a few hours from home as that is where we obtained jobs and its all starting again I suppose. I've recently found out I am pregnant and this bit is the weirdest for me - I'd always said I can't have a family in Aus as all our family and friends are in the UK but now I am pregnant I feel like the UK isn't a great place to bring up children and I feel like I am taking the chance away from our future children to grow up in Aus. I know I shouldn't make any decisions while pregnant .
I know we can't make any decisions on going back in the next year as I will be pregnant and then freshly postpartum. But how long do you sit on these feelings for? How realistic would it be to have the best of both? 6 months here /6 months there? That's fine if its just you but not fair on children.
I think I just needed to sound board on a community of people who most likely have gone through all the same emotions over the years.
Being an expat creates a beautiful life with amazing experiences, but it comes with some hard decisions on the back of it.
Thanks all if you read this far!
