Search the Community

Has anyone ever regretted moving to Australia for reasons other than missing family and friends? Maybe money, jobs, weather, location, insects, health, something?! Me and my husband are due to move to Sydney from the UK in June, we have never been to oz before and if we dont like it we can just come back. We dont have any family or friends that we feel we will miss so thats not an issue for us. The only thing i hope is that i love my new job as much as i love my current one. Just looking for some negatives to level out all the positives i keep hearing...or are there no negatives?! Thanks

Been awhile since i have posted so bear with me, wanted to tell our story and also to know what other people have done in our situation. We left the u.k for the sunshine coast in Spring, myself, partner and three children. The usual massive trauma and effort made including selling house,shipping everything we owned, selling stuff, farewell parties etc. Any person who says it is easy is lying,I think we were a little, naive,unprepared in many ways but we got on with it and slowly made a go of it all, my partner getting a good job, kids settling and my eldest daughter in particular embraced the sporty healthy life style and was so happy. After just a year the call came, my father seriously ill I came home within a few days, he was so ill I thought maybe even wouldn't make it. I have a sibling but my parents were struggling.I did all i could in three weeks then returned. When I look back now I have no idea why we did it, guilt, feeling we had no choice, i don't know but we made the decision to come back to support the family. Being so expensive the other way we borrowed alot of money, sold just about everything and returned this summer. I think we thought we had no choice but should have listened to our gut.All we did for the last month was cry, our eldest daughter devastated. To this day I don't know why we didn't look at other options, but we didn't and arrived, knowing almost immediately that we had made the biggest mistake of our lives. My father now home was and is well cared for, will never be the same but safe and warm and well supported. My family , on the other hand have been through hell. My partner could not find work,because we had been away we were unable to access any support and had to live in a friends caravan.Everywhere we went they were asking us to prove our right of residence despite being british and only away 14 months. We were desperate and nobody, including my parents seemed to have any idea what we had given up.Then you could say why would they, nobody asked us to come back although I think an expectation was there. We had nowhere to live, in three months going from employed in a nice rental and comfortable to homeless with no income, we had just had to present as home less when thank goodness my o.h got a job and we were able to secure a rental. Six months later we are miserable,bordering on depressed and my daughter skypes her friends in Australia every week.We have a wonderful relationship of near;y eighteen years but at times I have feared for it. We feel totally let down by friends, family, u.k everything. And it s all our fault !! Sorry for the rant but now the hard bit....my parents obviously think it for good and to be honest already take us for granted. I am torn between my family and their needs.I feel torn, a terrible daughter if i return to Australia but a terrible wife and mum if I deny my family a life they loved so much . It isa condition of our visa that we must return by 2016 or my partner would lose the right to enter Australia. There is no easy answer,we have to go back and want to like a physical pain but obviously have no money,now owe alot to a family member and have to leave aging parents who will be devastated!! What a mess!! My first regret is that we did it at all....we lost so much and will never be the same...we were quite content before we left.My far bigger regret however is coming back and sacrificing my family to be a 'good daughter'. Thanks for reading this, know there are no easy answers but would love to hear any input or if anyone has had a similar experience. xxx

Hi Just wanted to ask, does anyone have any regrets on moving from OZ back to the UK? How did the kids go on the move? Did they settle back ok? Is the UK as bad as the doom and gloom you hear of on the news? Thanks :wacko:

Seeing as everyone is getting personal on PiO, I thought i'd bring up another one of those subjects. Regrets. Do you have any? A lot of people say they don't....but really? Is there that one thing you could change or wish you had/hadn't done? I sometimes wish in the past I had taken more chances....and said yes to more opportunities ....I'm in a fairly good place now but I do sometimes wonder 'what if'.....do you?

Hi,was woundering if anybody could help ,we lived in qld for 2yrs on a 495 temp visa (hubbys),i wanted to come back (homesickness) oh & son loved it there,our temp visa is now no longer of use,does anyone know if theres a way of us reapplying for a new visa ,we so want to get back there . Not sure if ive made any sence all advice would be welcome debs x

Just wondering if people who have gone home regret it,we`ve been here for 10weeks and we`re thinking of going home mainly because of the work situation ,i can`t get any and i have a job back home.Really want this to work out for us here as i`v said before it`s the right place to be just the wrong time.

I get asked this question ALL the time as I am sure other Poms in Ozzer`s do. What regrets do you have leaving the UK? I`ll start! The main regret I always say is family! I think that will be a lot of peoples replies. However a wise couple (Mum and Dad!!!- CazBeckham - u reading this?!?!?!?) said that I have to live my life for me and no-one else! I dont miss UK as a place, I have a better quality of life here but I do miss the people that I have left behind. Only natural really. Anyone want to follow this? :cool:

Hi Considering moving to vic. Trying to get a skilled visa as my occupation is on the demands list so expect to pass. After reading many of the threads i can't find anyone with any regrets. So I am asking the question does anybody who emigrated to oz especially victoria melbourne had any regrets and is selling up to move back to old blighty. From blighty it does seem like the grass is greener in oz than dudley west midlands england. And the weather here on april 12th is a high of 8c central heating still on and not been of hardly since october, and forecast more rain tommorow. Also if i stay in england paying 1200 council tax petrol 94p a litre, pensions in crisis, retirement age will be lifted to 70, homes too expensive for starters, brother in law paying 130,000 for two bed flat so not much hope of kids getting a house. Taxes keep going up, tax freedom day is in june now, (what is it in oz) tax freedom day is when you calculate how much of your annual salary is tax. Plus made redundant 2nd time in 12 months and wages crap. Really hate britain now. Also schools are poor. NHS is shutting hospitals as they are all over budget by millions, very few NHS dentists so everyone needs to go private. And britain is getting worse. Is Oz better than this?

Hi every one, My friend just moved to Brisbane from Birmingham ,spoke to her a few times now and eveytime she tells me she wants to come home. She tells me the place is beautiful but she just misses her friends and family. Now im worried dont want to go through all the forms , get there and want to come home. Has anyone got any regrets about leaving England and there familys or is Australia worth it. If some one can let me know there views on this subject. Thank you :?: