Guest Guest 47403 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 We've heard from those that are happy they decided to move back in simmo's thread. Anyone one out there wish they'd given things a bit more time and stuck it out, or even now find themselves planning on returning to Oz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Yup Don't regret moving back to the UK though, as the timing wasn't right for us before. I guess we could have stuck it out but we didn't. We are applying for a new visa and hopefully will be back in SA next year. Still got that itch to scratch!! I never wanted to leave the UK because I didn't like it/thought it was going downhill/had nothing to offer. I love where I live in the UK and appreciate why so many people want to move to live here (including Aussies!). It is a great country with Europe on the doorstep and there is a lot I will miss. Oz is different - not better - but we really want to give it another go before we get too old. Ready for a new challenge. Good job we were planning to downsize a bit though anyway! Hopefully the dollar will continue to slide against the pound (from our point of view at least) and we will get more bucks for our pounds. It aint cheap out there that is for sure - we were shocked when we went back recently for a visit at how much things had gone up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Yup Don't regret moving back to the UK though, as the timing wasn't right for us before. I guess we could have stuck it out but we didn't. We are applying for a new visa and hopefully will be back in SA next year. Still got that itch to scratch!! I never wanted to leave the UK because I didn't like it/thought it was going downhill/had nothing to offer. I love where I live in the UK and appreciate why so many people want to move to live here (including Aussies!). It is a great country with Europe on the doorstep and there is a lot I will miss. Oz is different - not better - but we really want to give it another go before we get too old. Ready for a new challenge. Good job we were planning to downsize a bit though anyway! Hopefully the dollar will continue to slide against the pound (from our point of view at least) and we will get more bucks for our pounds. It aint cheap out there that is for sure - we were shocked when we went back recently for a visit at how much things had gone up. Best of luck with your move. I think we are all hoping the $ continues to weaken, even most Aussies! As you've been before It won't hold any hidden surprises for you, I think the days of people going out just because they have seen a couple of episodes of wanted down under are long gone, most people have realistic views of what to expect these days and have done there research, everyone knows it is generally a bit more expensive that the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Over the years I have seen countless posts from members who have said they wished they had stayed longer, or not returned at all. I have also seen posts saying they wish they hadn't emigrated at all, but the majority of posts are from people who are happy, really happy or deriliously happy they have emigrated. Some people return to the UK and appreciate what it has to offer after giving it a go in Australia, there's no real answer to it all, we are all different, some will love it, some won't there's no reasoning to it, I think it's an individual thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 We wish we had stayed in Oz. But you have to go on a journey to get somewhere, even to a frame of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 A lot if People look back and think their life was better in the other country...a lot of people have to ping pong a few times till they settle in whatever country they they like the best but these same type of peope always think the other place was best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovingtoTasmania Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 A lot if People look back and think their life was better in the other country...a lot of people have to ping pong a few times till they settle in whatever country they they like the best but these same type of peope always think the other place was best. Have to agree with this. I think the medical term for this is thegrassisgreeneritis and it's not yet known if this is contagious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Yup Don't regret moving back to the UK though, as the timing wasn't right for us before. I guess we could have stuck it out but we didn't. We are applying for a new visa and hopefully will be back in SA next year. Still got that itch to scratch!! I never wanted to leave the UK because I didn't like it/thought it was going downhill/had nothing to offer. I love where I live in the UK and appreciate why so many people want to move to live here (including Aussies!). It is a great country with Europe on the doorstep and there is a lot I will miss. Oz is different - not better - but we really want to give it another go before we get too old. Ready for a new challenge. Good job we were planning to downsize a bit though anyway! Hopefully the dollar will continue to slide against the pound (from our point of view at least) and we will get more bucks for our pounds. It aint cheap out there that is for sure - we were shocked when we went back recently for a visit at how much things had gone up. With your attitude I reckon you'll make a very successful migrant. IMO you have the perfect mind set. Good luck x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen85 Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 A lot if People look back and think their life was better in the other country...a lot of people have to ping pong a few times till they settle in whatever country they they like the best but these same type of peope always think the other place was best. Totally agree when your one place you wish you were at the other! Hard when you have lives two in different countries, makes settling in either that bit harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cki2011 Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Over the years I have seen countless posts from members who have said they wished they had stayed longer, or not returned at all. I have also seen posts saying they wish they hadn't emigrated at all, but the majority of posts are from people who are happy, really happy or deriliously happy they have emigrated. Some people return to the UK and appreciate what it has to offer after giving it a go in Australia, there's no real answer to it all, we are all different, some will love it, some won't there's no reasoning to it, I think it's an individual thing. When we first joined the forum I read a post on moving back to the UK and thought people were crazy to come back once they got out.... After our validation trip in Feb I really do understand both sides of the argument and I can finally see the UK for what it is. (A really great country where people are very well looked after compared to most countries) but personally I can't wait to move to Perth.... If it works out then great if not then great at least we have given it a go and I for one can go on the rest of my life knowing we tried it.... I wish i had gone in the late eighties when i was all set to move out there to my uncle but i never did it.... Life isn't a rehearsal we only get one shot and it is only now I am starting to see that.... I already look back at some things and think if I had done it differently.... It isn't all about the big house and money we have that and it hast made us any happier it is about lifestyles and enjoying it which is why we are giving it a go.... And if in the future we are back on here posting we are moving back to the UK I don't really care.... like I said we will have given it our best shot.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tayloal Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 I'm also of the opinion that the UK isn't done and dusted, finished, going to the dogs, I think like most developed countries we are going through a transition with mass migration around the world. The English are a resilient bunch but I do think we now accept far too much and have been a bit brow beaten by our recent governments and no longer exercise our rights to complain/demostrate as much as we used too. I never wanted to come home from Oz 12 years ago after backpacking, I have been back 4 times since and every time I get on that plane to come back to the UK I always feel like I just haven't quite gotten rid of that itch, my answer is to go an try the life that is different to the one I have here, knowing that I am giving up a lot, it's a gamble, but then so is life. If I return to the UK after trying Oz then so be it, but it will have to be if things go drastically wrong. I will have to learn to live with the winters, stop being a skin flint and buy a bigger, warmer, coat ! :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SussexBear Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Yep we wish we hadn't now...we came back for a variety of reasons and it hasn't worked out how we thought, so now we are heading back!!! At least this time we will be better equipped and there shouldn't be any big surprises!!:cute: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I guess both countries are moveable feasts, so to speak. Everything changes except our memories of how things were. So some return to find what they went back for just isn't there anymore- and vice versa. Australia has certainly changed a lot over the nearly 40 odd years we've been here- and I am absolutely sure the UK has changed a lot too. It reminds me of the Greek and Italians who remain as they were when they came out here and find that when they go back to their country of origin everyone thinks they are locked in the past- their former countrymen have moved on but they haven't realised it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 its like "the grass is always greener" some people ping pong several times....you move to oz dont like it and return to uk....you think of the best bits of oz and go back...you realise you forgot the bad bits about oz and move back,,,the story continues, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 Not a mistake returning to the UK (not thought that for a single moment) but a mistake not going home and trying a new place here (Cornwall) after 2 years in Australia we just don't have the energy to start again somewhere new... Mind you, I don't regard any of it as "mistakes"....with hindsight yes, of course, but we would never have known if we had not tried it and it will be good when we finally go HOME next month (I hope!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
can1983 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 according to wikipedia - the grass isnt always greener on the other side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 It would be unusual to get a totally black and white view of either country. Mainly because, as others have said, they are quite different . They both have their strong points and their weak points- I suppose it depends which suit your particular way of life and values. With some I have found they are quite happy in one country for many years and then suddenly a yearning comes on and bang- off they go back to their previous country. We have close friends like this, it is quite hard to understand but you have to respect their feelings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 No regrets whatsoever coming back and no regrets in going in the first place, Australia was not for us and we know where we want to live for the rest of our lives now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen85 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 its like "the grass is always greener" some people ping pong several times....you move to oz dont like it and return to uk....you think of the best bits of oz and go back...you realise you forgot the bad bits about oz and move back,,,the story continues, So very true and after your broke because of the constant moving to start to analyze things more to ascertain what is the most important thing! When your there you wanna be here and vice versa, it will never change you just have to accept it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vidtek Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 When we first joined the forum I read a post on moving back to the UK and thought people were crazy to come back once they got out.... After our validation trip in Feb I really do understand both sides of the argument and I can finally see the UK for what it is. (A really great country where people are very well looked after compared to most countries) but personally I can't wait to move to Perth.... If it works out then great if not then great at least we have given it a go and I for one can go on the rest of my life knowing we tried it.... I wish i had gone in the late eighties when i was all set to move out there to my uncle but i never did it.... Life isn't a rehearsal we only get one shot and it is only now I am starting to see that.... I already look back at some things and think if I had done it differently.... It isn't all about the big house and money we have that and it hast made us any happier it is about lifestyles and enjoying it which is why we are giving it a go.... And if in the future we are back on here posting we are moving back to the UK I don't really care.... like I said we will have given it our best shot.... We are going back after over 30 years in Perth. We moved moved here in 1982, Perth and Australia was a very different place then. I have always loved both places, having also lived in Bournemouth for 30 years. My wife has always been homesick for the UK. Now my son has grown up and we have a 7-month old granddaughter, he came to us and told us he wanted to move back to Bournemouth. He has been here since he was 5 and is now a high school English teacher. His reasons are many and varied: 1) He has suffered from melanoma and is frightened to go outside in Perth. He doesn't want our granddaughter to be exposed to this risk. 2) The attitude and outlook of the general populace in Perth has had a major cultural shift. With the mining boom has come a 2-speed local economy and people have become shallower and just interested in money and social status. 3) Australia and Perth in particular has become a suffocating nanny state, from backyard pool, cat and dog to ridiculous bicycle helmet legislation. 4) Perth drivers are units. The roads are beautifully maintained surface-wise when compared with almost any other city (Sydney is a disgrace), but the actual design of the roads and the ubiquitous use of traffic lights instead of give-way intersections or roundabouts slows traffic unnecessarily. After having a couple of family holidays in the UK and France last year and this year (just got back July 16th) the contrast with european roads and driving habits is stark. Drivers give way, are courteous and the camber on the roads is designed to keep you on the road, not to make you come off it. Through France and the UK there are minimal traffic lights, and where there are lights, they are synchronized with all the rest so if you go through one at the speed limit, you don't get stopped at all by subsequent ones. The traffic density is far higher, but driving is a pleasure. (rant over.) My daughter-in-law (chinese Malaysian) is not 100% behind the move but is prepared to give it her best. Her family are here in Perth and she doesn't want to leave her job. We will keep our house here as a bolt-hole for her if it all goes belly-up. Personally, I don't really care where I live, as long as I have my family and some sort of shed/garage to potter about in I could be happy in Timbuktu. I must admit, living in Bournemouth does have some advantages, I can hop on the ferry and be in Bordeaux (a place I really love) the next day on the high-speed train. That's something you can't do in Perth. Everywhere is so far away from here, and once you've done the South-West and North-West there is nowhere to go for a change of scenery/life style, I've never been much of one for Asia, although I do like Kota-Kinabalu. My point is everyone is different and will pick out the particular things they like/don't like from each place. Cheers, Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Pitstop Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) We are going back after over 30 years in Perth. We moved moved here in 1982, Perth and Australia was a very different place then. I have always loved both places, having also lived in Bournemouth for 30 years. My wife has always been homesick for the UK. Now my son has grown up and we have a 7-month old granddaughter, he came to us and told us he wanted to move back to Bournemouth. He has been here since he was 5 and is now a high school English teacher. His reasons are many and varied: 1) He has suffered from melanoma and is frightened to go outside in Perth. He doesn't want our granddaughter to be exposed to this risk. 2) The attitude and outlook of the general populace in Perth has had a major cultural shift. With the mining boom has come a 2-speed local economy and people have become shallower and just interested in money and social status. 3) Australia and Perth in particular has become a suffocating nanny state, from backyard pool, cat and dog to ridiculous bicycle helmet legislation. 4) Perth drivers are units. The roads are beautifully maintained surface-wise when compared with almost any other city (Sydney is a disgrace), but the actual design of the roads and the ubiquitous use of traffic lights instead of give-way intersections or roundabouts slows traffic unnecessarily. After having a couple of family holidays in the UK and France last year and this year (just got back July 16th) the contrast with european roads and driving habits is stark. Drivers give way, are courteous and the camber on the roads is designed to keep you on the road, not to make you come off it. Through France and the UK there are minimal traffic lights, and where there are lights, they are synchronized with all the rest so if you go through one at the speed limit, you don't get stopped at all by subsequent ones. The traffic density is far higher, but driving is a pleasure. (rant over.) My daughter-in-law (chinese Malaysian) is not 100% behind the move but is prepared to give it her best. Her family are here in Perth and she doesn't want to leave her job. We will keep our house here as a bolt-hole for her if it all goes belly-up. Personally, I don't really care where I live, as long as I have my family and some sort of shed/garage to potter about in I could be happy in Timbuktu. I must admit, living in Bournemouth does have some advantages, I can hop on the ferry and be in Bordeaux (a place I really love) the next day on the high-speed train. That's something you can't do in Perth. Everywhere is so far away from here, and once you've done the South-West and North-West there is nowhere to go for a change of scenery/life style, I've never been much of one for Asia, although I do like Kota-Kinabalu. My point is everyone is different and will pick out the particular things they like/don't like from each place. Cheers, Tony. I couldn't agree more with your analysis of Australian roads. We got back from a holiday to England 2 weeks ago and driving was such a pleasure! I have found the regimented slowness of driving around Adelaide from one traffic light to another really hard to get back used to - I feel it is dulling my mind and my wits, no wonder Adelaide drivers are so bad, they know nothing better. Edited August 1, 2013 by Penelope Pitstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 There is a lot of revenue raising going on in Australia over speeding etc. Even on totally empty roads you can get done for being 5kph over. Ridiculous- but that is why people drive so slowly- we have all learnt the hard way and are sick of fines and demerit points. At the same time, tailgaters go scot free, no one pulls them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 There is a lot of revenue raising going on in Australia over speeding etc. Even on totally empty roads you can get done for being 5kph over. Ridiculous- but that is why people drive so slowly- we have all learnt the hard way and are sick of fines and demerit points. At the same time, tailgaters go scot free, no one pulls them up. 5km. I wish. I was done for doing 103 in a 100 on an empty freeway at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbs75 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I couldn't agree more with your analysis of Australian roads. We got back from a holiday to England 2 weeks ago and driving was such a pleasure! I have found the regimented slowness of driving around Adelaide from one traffic light to another really hard to get back used to - I feel it is dulling my mind and my wits, no wonder Adelaide drivers are so bad, they know nothing better. I have to disagree with the traffic. I regularly drive across Europe and drove in Sydney and drive in the UK every day. UK traffic is worst compare to the others. That's my experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 5km. I wish. I was done for doing 103 in a 100 on an empty freeway at night. I have heard that- didn't want to say it in case I was wrong. As they say, they should be out chasing criminals or getting some of the graffiti artists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.