Am I mad to want to return to the UK?

[grizzly111]

Was born and raised happily in the UK for the first 15 years of my life when my parents decided to migrate to Oz. Never wanted to leave UK but had no say in the matter of course. Did year 12 in Oz, went to uni, graduated. Worked for 10 years in well paid jobs. Just been made redundant from a position I held for 7 years which has made me reflect on my current life etc. Other half here has just started a business.

 

I have discovered that in Australia:

 

1. Things are overpriced.

2. People are generally rude, self-centred although pretend to be friendly.

3. They don't like foreigners, although they pretend they do.

4. Service is some of the poorest in the world.

5. Lack of culture and history.

7. Small town mentality & tall poppy syndrome is rife here!

6. Scenery is dull.

 

I miss the greenery of the UK - the parks and countryside. Over here all you see are eucalyptus trees and various other scraggly native flora. Was thinking of returning and living in a larger country town in the South of England.

 

BUT

 

I have heard the UK has changed dramatically - lots of dodgy immigrants, no jobs, poor economy etc. Am I mad to want to return? My other half doesn't mind even though she has a business here as she can see that I am not happy in my self living in Australia.

[oz bound pom]

where would you return to in the UK? if you miss green, an't you move somewhere greener in Oz? We may have had a nice (albeit brief summer) here but there aint nothing green about some of the grey wet dismal winters we've been having. I can safely say the points listed in your OP are not the sole reserve of Australia. You just have to find a place that makes you happy.

[Perthbum]

It has been a great summer which just goes on and on, started end of march and it is still warm and sunny, forget the scare stories the UK is still a beautiful green country you remember and the last few winters have been really good with very cold days but frosty and sunny.....the economy is picking up and the cities are buzzing with life, most people are happy as far as I can tell and the pubs and restaurants are always rammed where I live.

, I promise you that you will not regret returning to the UK which IMO is the best place to live in the world bar none.

[Quoll]

Go for it! Choose your place wisely (some places have better employment rates than others) and the world is your oyster! Sounds like you are young enough to enjoy the adventure! For some of us the lifestyle is amazing and far better than anything Aus has to offer - hope you're one of them!

[Guest]

I'd go for it. Nothing ventured and all that.

 

UK is a good place to live. As said above, pick your location carefully as this can make all the difference. Work might not be easy to come by depending on where you choose to live or depending on what you do, but once you are here you can figure out if you need to make changes.

 

I know people often say go where the work is, but tbh in the UK, I don't think there is such a worry as distances are smaller. OK commute times go up but if you want to live out in the sticks a bit and commute to the nearest large town, it is doable depending on the area.

[Guest]

FWIW we live in a lovely part of the UK. Not far from Bristol, over the bridge to Wales and all that is there and easy access to the south west down the M5. Sure there are problems around and about, but same as anywhere isn't it. Nowhere is perfect.

[WinniethePoo]

As an Aussie who has lived in the UK for years go for it. It's a great country with so many more options than Australia. And it's far more interesting!!

[Gbye grey sky]

Though I am heading the other way I am almost 53. As others have said, choose carefully where you go but many places in the UK are vibrant for young people if you have a decent income. I don't think the long cold grey damp winters are so much of an issue when you are young, they weren't for me anyway. Perthbum does have rose-tinted glasses on though when it comes to the UK. Our heating stayed on until middle of June and came back on beginning of September though we are having a mild spell at the moment so it is off again (and we are in the south east).

 

All of Europe is on your doorstep and you can always return at any time in the future. I think you should go for it.

[Perthbum]

Though I am heading the other way I am almost 53. As others have said, choose carefully where you go but many places in the UK are vibrant for young people if you have a decent income. I don't think the long cold grey damp winters are so much of an issue when you are young, they weren't for me anyway. Perthbum does have rose-tinted glasses on though when it comes to the UK. Our heating stayed on until middle of June and came back on beginning of September though we are having a mild spell at the moment so it is off again (and we are in the south east).

 

All of Europe is on your doorstep and you can always return at any time in the future. I think you should go for it.

Middle of June...:biglaugh:...the weeks even before Wimbledon were glorious and if you have had your heating on since then you must be living in a cave, I know no one who has had their heating on up till now.

[newjez]

What do you do? I would give it a go. Sometimes you have to move away to give yourself perspective.

[Perthbum]

You can always go back if you don't like it, life is to short for what ifs.

[Chortlepuss]

Just back from 5 months in the UK. Offered a job on my hols so extended my stay. Yes we had a great summer, and yes I'm from a lovely place in SE UK, but there seemed to be lots of work opportunities and I was out every day enjoying the countryside. I'm back with my family for another year here and then hopefully heading back. Reasons - work opportunities, social opportunities, travel (including cheap breaks to escape inevitable grey Feb/March). Aus is fine for some, but I can't afford to live here and it doesn't have enough of the things I like. I wouldn't have come back to Brisbane if I wasn't obliged to - weather turning as I left, lovely cool breezes, change of season with excitement of bonfire night and run up to Christmas. Different world and for me much better.

[Rupert]

Was born and raised happily in the UK for the first 15 years of my life when my parents decided to migrate to Oz. Never wanted to leave UK but had no say in the matter of course. Did year 12 in Oz, went to uni, graduated. Worked for 10 years in well paid jobs. Just been made redundant from a position I held for 7 years which has made me reflect on my current life etc. Other half here has just started a business.

 

I have discovered that in Australia:

 

1. Things are overpriced.

2. People are generally rude, self-centred although pretend to be friendly.

3. They don't like foreigners, although they pretend they do.

4. Service is some of the poorest in the world.

5. Lack of culture and history.

7. Small town mentality & tall poppy syndrome is rife here!

6. Scenery is dull.

 

I miss the greenery of the UK - the parks and countryside. Over here all you see are eucalyptus trees and various other scraggly native flora. Was thinking of returning and living in a larger country town in the South of England.

 

BUT

 

I have heard the UK has changed dramatically - lots of dodgy immigrants, no jobs, poor economy etc. Am I mad to want to return? My other half doesn't mind even though she has a business here as she can see that I am not happy in my self living in Australia.

 

Well we all see things differently and I don't see what you see in australia, but if this is how you feel well then give something else a go. You are fortunate to have the opportunity to choose where you live so make the most of it. Everyone I know has a good life in the UK, we left three years ago and had a good life and no discernible differences to ten years earlier, other than everything changes slowly over time.

[Eng32]

Have you been back to the UK recently? I agree that it has changed so much over the last 10 years, and our town was overrun by immigrants in a short space of time.. . But there are lots of lovely places to choose from all the same. Be open minded about what to expect. Is there any chance you could go on a working holiday (year out) back to the uk to see if it's a place you'd like to live?

Hubby and I were talking the other day about if we ever went back we could never move back to the same place we left, couldn't stand it, but lots of other areas we would so...

 

Best of luck

[ali]

I'd go for it, although you may find some of the attributes listed on your Aus list may be on your UK list too. As Quoll says you may need to choose your area wisely. If you've not been back for several years, i'd suggest visiting and seeing how the land lies.

[Guest]

Was born and raised happily in the UK for the first 15 years of my life when my parents decided to migrate to Oz. Never wanted to leave UK but had no say in the matter of course. Did year 12 in Oz, went to uni, graduated. Worked for 10 years in well paid jobs. Just been made redundant from a position I held for 7 years which has made me reflect on my current life etc. Other half here has just started a business.

 

I have discovered that in Australia:

 

1. Things are overpriced.

2. People are generally rude, self-centred although pretend to be friendly.

3. They don't like foreigners, although they pretend they do.

4. Service is some of the poorest in the world.

5. Lack of culture and history.

7. Small town mentality & tall poppy syndrome is rife here!

6. Scenery is dull.

 

I miss the greenery of the UK - the parks and countryside. Over here all you see are eucalyptus trees and various other scraggly native flora. Was thinking of returning and living in a larger country town in the South of England.

 

BUT

 

I have heard the UK has changed dramatically - lots of dodgy immigrants, no jobs, poor economy etc. Am I mad to want to return? My other half doesn't mind even though she has a business here as she can see that I am not happy in my self living in Australia.

 

 

I haven't read the other replies and I'm sure they will be mixed but as someone who has just returned to the UK after 5 years in Oz (for some of the same reasons as you quote) I can assure you where I am (a fairly poor area of Scotland) things are pretty much as I left them despite people on here (& elsewhere) telling me I wouldn't recognise it).

 

It took me a couple of weeks to get a better paid job than I had in Perth, yes I'm skilled but it sounds like you are too and things are probably better in the South of England than Scotland. There are quite a lot of migrants from India in my work place but so what - I'm not sure what 'dodgy immigrant' means, most migrants are exactly the same as those that go to Australia - they come to the UK for a better life for themselves and their family and they work hard to achieve that. There is a lot of crap spouted in the right wing press about EU migrants claiming benefits etc. but it speaks volumes that during the economic turn down the number one destination for people migrating from the UK was Poland i.e. when the work dried up people went home.

 

What I would say is YOU have changed a lot since you were 15 - I don't know how much you have been back but you may be viewing the UK through rose-tinted glasses. My son was taken to Australia against his will and his romanticisation of Scotland was extreme (& I know if was simply romanticisation as he was only 5 when we moved, he'd look at photo's of our old house and he didn't even recognise it).

 

It sounds like with redundancy it's a good time to make a move though - I am assuming you don't have children so really there is nothing to stop you. if you own a place I wouldn't sell it yet though, have a 'working holiday' in the UK and then decide where suits you both best.

[grizzly111]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I've been in Oz now for about 15 years. When I first came I naturally didn't like it as I had left my mates, family etc behind. However I adapted quickly to Aussie life being in my early teens. Learnt to drive, made friends etc. I even remember telling my parents at the time that I was a true Aussie now! My parents, however, had a hard time adapting - their qualifications were not recognised in Oz for starters. And they found people very different. They had been on reconnaissance trips beforehand so I'm not sure how this all happened. I know that they wanted to escape the downturn/recession of the 90's in the UK. But they carried on in true Brit fashion and it has only been recently that they have admitted that perhaps they made a mistake coming to Oz. Now that I have worked here as a health professional I can understand exactly how they feel.

 

Life is not bad in Oz by any means. I've certainly made the most of it. However I just feel that somehow, even after so many years, I don't belong. It's a very strange feeling.

 

I'm looking at southern England to live. Not London though which is where I'm from. I haven't been back since I left but I intend to make a trip back to see if England is right for us in late spring/early summer.

[Guest]

Is there a particular reason why you are looking to the South of England? As a health professional you probably could work anywhere and there are far prettier, less populated places that are much cheaper to live elsewhere in the UK.

 

We moved 12 years ago from London to Scotland for exactly that reason. If you are committed to Southern England then look at areas more than two hours from London - South West maybe? Anywhere that is commutable distance is very overpriced. (or rather priced for city salaries which as a health professional you probably won't be getting!)

 

Just a thought

[dmjg]

You can always go back if you don't like it, life is to short for what ifs.

 

Having been reading your customary dribble for a year now.

 

that is one of your top 3 useful and informative posts.

 

congratulations and here's hoping there will be a continued change for the better.

[grizzly111]

Yes I wouldn't mind the southwest from memory. But I would be taking a pay cut vs what I'd get in Oz. I don't mind that at all. But worried that jobs may be limited in a small town?

 

Also I think you are correct that I may be viewing the UK through rose-tinted glasses - I think you are right that It's best to take a working holiday of sorts. I have a base in Oz that I can always return to. I was originally from SW London so the south of England is what I am most familiar with. But I know that I wouldn't want to live in London again.

[Guest]

Was born and raised happily in the UK for the first 15 years of my life when my parents decided to migrate to Oz. Never wanted to leave UK but had no say in the matter of course. Did year 12 in Oz, went to uni, graduated. Worked for 10 years in well paid jobs. Just been made redundant from a position I held for 7 years which has made me reflect on my current life etc. Other half here has just started a business.

 

I have discovered that in Australia:

 

1. Things are overpriced.

2. People are generally rude, self-centred although pretend to be friendly.

3. They don't like foreigners, although they pretend they do.

4. Service is some of the poorest in the world.

5. Lack of culture and history.

7. Small town mentality & tall poppy syndrome is rife here!

6. Scenery is dull.

 

I miss the greenery of the UK - the parks and countryside. Over here all you see are eucalyptus trees and various other scraggly native flora. Was thinking of returning and living in a larger country town in the South of England.

 

BUT

 

I have heard the UK has changed dramatically - lots of dodgy immigrants, no jobs, poor economy etc. Am I mad to want to return? My other half doesn't mind even though she has a business here as she can see that I am not happy in my self living in Australia.

 

Thanks for the laugh

[Petals]

Due to the age you left and moved countries you may feel the same wherever you are. I moved from Africa to NZ at 15 and I have always felt out of the loop in a way but put that down to migration in general, first gen migrants are always torn and between places however my parents your parents and many other people before have done it so that their children do not feel like that and settle and are happy in a new country like mine are.

[calNgary]

Book your flights and get back for a holiday to check it all out and look around at areas. It will also give you chance to check out the work front and see whats available ,where before you pack everything up and move for good.

 

Good Luck with everything

 

Cal x

[Que Sera Sera]

I'd say go for it. Why stay somewhere you are that miserable.

[surfndirt]

Mate,

 

I'd also agree with everyone here and say go for it dude! Think of it as going back to Europe, thats what my mindset will be after Texas. It's just awsome to be in a position to book short trips to any number of countries and jet off for a while.

 

Honestly, the only thing I have a gripe with the UK about is London (hate the joint) and the price of petrol / fuel! Nothing else really.

 

London is just a manky expensive hole filled with scruffy people from all over the developing world. Stay away from there and you're laughing. Some of my picks;

 

- Bournemouth / Poole

- Brighton

- Cardiff

- Swansea

- Leeds

- Newcastle

- Dunedin (think about it.......:-))

 

Our Mam lives in the lake district which is basically a holiday everytime I go back!

 

One of the big differences between here (Aus) and there (UK) is that in the UK you can have the run of regional cities. The issues you point out are primarily due to there being 5 cities in the whole country - hence people are packed into em. It's like the opposite of the Aussie dream really for many. That's why people are complete w**nkers on the road, snobs, stuck up, unfriendly etc. Cos you're in a big (only) city. Go to Newcastle, York, Brighton and it's still a city with the trappings of such but less of the agro.... Thats my take anyway. Same with the States, so many cities that the agro is spread-around a bit here in Aus the agro is concentrated.