Stay or Go??

[AussieGeordie]

Returned to the UK at the end of October 2012 and we've (wife & myself) been here in Edinburgh since mid November. We spent 12 years in Oz, Sydney, Perth and Gold Coast and basically enjoyed our time out there. Since returning we've been very much up & down and currently thinking a return to Oz is on the cards in the near future. My main concern is wondering if we'll ever settle anywhere on this planet??!! Would be interesting to hear from other returnees and how they felt after only a short time back in the UK??

[Guest Andy]

Returned to the UK at the end of October 2012 and we've (wife & myself) been here in Edinburgh since mid November. We spent 12 years in Oz, Sydney, Perth and Gold Coast and basically enjoyed our time out there. Since returning we've been very much up & down and currently thinking a return to Oz is on the cards in the near future. My main concern is wondering if we'll ever settle anywhere on this planet??!! Would be interesting to hear from other returnees and how they felt after only a short time back in the UK??

Hi and welcome

 

i am not a returnee but if I were to offer any advice it would be this,

 

I would go back if I were you as it seems you were happier there and at the end of the day life is to short not to do what you want.

[Guest]

Was there a specific reason you returned to the UK? Had you become unhappy with living in Aus?

 

You could give it a bit longer to see if you settle and adjust to living back in the UK. This time of year is drab, grey and not great so perhaps not the best time to see Edinburgh at its best. However, if you already have serious doubts you may well find you don't want to hang around too long.

 

Personally I'd not worry about settling in one place forever. Life is fluid, changing, go with it and enjoy.

[Perthbum]

If you enjoyed it so much why did you return.

[Incata]

Hi

 

I can't answer your post in relation to Australia but I can in relation to living in Canada.

 

I lived in Canada for 2 years as a permanent resident. I then met my husband (a Brit in the Royal Navy). I moved back to the UK, we started dating, got married, had kids etc etc. I've been back in the UK for nearly 10 years, waiting for my husband to finish his time in the Navy.

 

I missed Canada every minute of every day. I missed my freedom, the space, the openess to life, the willingness to try, the willingness to give it a go, even if it seemed tough or beyond reach. I came back to the UK and felt trapped by the narrow minded attitude to life, by the lack of space and my lack of freedom. I knew I had made a mistake in coming back but I traded it in for a loving relationship and now a happy marriage.

 

However we did have an agreement that when my husband's time in the Forces came to an end, we would emigrate again, so I could be free and we could bring our children up having a better quality of life, with a better education and more opportunities than they would have here. In the end we chose Australia over Canada but I do feel that, having spent my life as a rolling stone, now is the time, and Australia is the place, to settle.

 

In short, when you come back and it feels wrong, don't suffer it for the sake of it, unless there is something worthwhile in it for you. I gave it 6 months from the point of return to the UK to be dating my husband, and if it had not happened I would have been straight back on a plane to Canada. I knew as soon as I walked out of the airport that the UK was not, and could never be home, and it hasn't been. Ten years later I can see the blue skies again and (while I am dreading the flight), I cannot wait to be in Australia.

 

Hope this helps a little.

[Red Hot Chili Pipers]

AussieGeordie - I am in the same boat as you although only spent around 18 months in Perth before returning in September last year.

 

I (me and family) loved every minute of it but Perth got too hot and my wife became ill with the constant heat through last summer. Not having PR has some major downfalls when you have a young family.

 

In my opinion the UK has its plus points but given a choice I would head down under everytime. Thankfully I am lucky and have an easily transferrable job which should not be a barrier to the move. After three months back I am now all set to start the process of getting PR and will head back to Melbourne with a hopeful landing date of Easter 2014. I am hoping the experiences of the previous trip will help us through.

 

I am also hoping to settle down sometime soon having spent the last 2.5 years in Newcastle, Leeds, Perth, Newcastle (wife, me fly in fly out), Perth and Aberdeen!