Shayman Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Hi everyone, I regularly view this forum to read about different peoples thoughts and emotions regarding the big move to (and return from) Australia. I am a 27 year old male who spent a year in Australia after graduating from university in 2010 (on the working holiday visa). To cut a long story short, I had a remarkable year out travelling and working in both Cairns and on one of the Whitsunday Islands, forming some close friendships along the way. The big downside of all this however, was the misery and longing to return (for good) almost immediately after returning to the UK, but knowing that this would be impossible until I had a professional skill and experience. I decided therefore to go down the Chartered Accountant trainee route. The 3-4 office and college years that followed mean that I am now qualified and have achieved the goal of being eligible to apply for an Australian skilled worker visa. I would describe the above period to be the most miserable of my life, with regular mood swings and feelings of sadness. I would put this down to combinations of exam-stresses and feeling my life was slipping away under the 9-5 slog (while at the same time visualising myself enjoying so much more if I returned down under). I would say these feelings led me to form a level of OCD about my time in Australia, to the point where I would reflect upon my year-out experiences daily, and feel irritable about being 'stuck' in the UK. I became unable to concentrate well on my work, and lacked motivation because all I could think of was getting my exams passed and then returning down-under ASAP, thereby thinking "what's the point" about achieving many things other than passing my accountancy exams. Fast-forward a few months however, and since becoming qualified and moving to a much friendlier place of work, I have been much more like my normal, happy self (and my opinions of life in the UK have become far more positive as a result). To coincide with this, in October I returned to Australia for a 3 week holiday and, aside from having a great time and returning to old friends and places, this helped me greatly to exorcise the obsessions I have had over the past few years in returning permanently. This remains something I would like to do, but I'm no longer desperate to, as there were very few places visited that upon further rational reflection I would want to live in permanently, and I also realised the friends I made over there have moved on and gone through their own difficulties, as we all do in life! I would be interested to hear if anyone has gone through similar feelings. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 good honest post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinker78 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 good honest post. Yes, been there and done that, and now very long in the tooth. It's the human condition to idealise something/someone/somewhere else when the chips are down. I am brave enough to admit that I placed all my energies into thinking Australia was some sort of golden nectar, fit to cure all of life's ills. Of course, it is lovely but I can tell you, almost 10 years on, it isn't the cure I had created in my head. It is lovely, and all of those things, but we continue to be human and live life wherever that is; we all hurt, we all struggle, we have moments of joy and everything in between. It's very easy to think migrating will somehow be the solution- sometimes it is, sometimes it's what you need at the time, and sometimes we change. It's great you have realised where you are at mentally before moving back..... I was that returning backpacker, full of happy memories and detesting the UK and everything in it, down the track, what i have learned; very hard to be lonely in paradise. The best thing is to live to the full wherever you are at any given moment, as we have all learned this week especially, none of us know what's around the corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Also so much is luck- who you meet, whether you find a decent job, where you get accommodation etc. I'm just thinking of our first day in Bali recently- husband and grandson both lost a fair bit of money to pickpockets and I just felt as though I wanted to get on a plane and go back to Australia straight away. However, things got better, as they do, and also I took charge of the cash ( not the 2 hopeless men haha) If someone had arrived here and similar happened with rental or whatever and they were ripped off- they would, understandably want to return quicksmart. Luck of the draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacaranda Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Be happy,where ever you are.Life is too short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrutineer Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Shayman "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans" John Lennon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shayman Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Thank you for your comments. I agree it is much down to luck, for I pretty much landed a dream job in the barrier reef mostly by chance. Had this not happened my experiences would probably have been far more ordinary (and I wouldn't have ended up having so many nostalgia trips over the last few years...) As it stands my now girlfriend of 2 years works for one of the worlds biggest financial firms which encourages its employees to do secondments in one of their offices out there for up to 4 years. I would be able to come with her and this seems like the ideal option as we could both experience ordinary life there for a more sustained period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jac2011 Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I started with plans to migrate 7 years ago when I met my husband.... Times were tough, I was recently separated from my ex who had moved in with another woman. I was left in a half renovated house with two children to support, I was unable to work as I worked nights and with no husband at home I could no longer work. Australia was an amazing dream and it appeared to answer everything. I had grown up in a deprived area and was surrounded by people who were depressed and unhappy... The 5 year plan came into play and I trained as a nurse... Along this journey my new husband and I relocated so I could study and somehow... By the end of the journey we realised that we were happy, that the UK does have a lot to offer, that life is wonderful at times and life is what you make it. Australia was not the answer to all our problems anymore and we do occasionally go through a stage where we question such an expensive move... However, we had a plan and we would regret our choices if we didn't at least experience life in Australia. We have 3 children in total now and we want to show them that life is an adventure and that the world is a small place in which they can travel if they wish when they are older. Australia is not just the only answer any more, it is a choice, a stage of our life and something that we will enjoy at this stage of our life. Who knows where we may end up in another 5 years time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakeboard1980 Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Thank you for your comments. I agree it is much down to luck, for I pretty much landed a dream job in the barrier reef mostly by chance. Had this not happened my experiences would probably have been far more ordinary (and I wouldn't have ended up having so many nostalgia trips over the last few years...) As it stands my now girlfriend of 2 years works for one of the worlds biggest financial firms which encourages its employees to do secondments in one of their offices out there for up to 4 years. I would be able to come with her and this seems like the ideal option as we could both experience ordinary life there for a more sustained period of time. That would be a good opportunity. You can then at least always come home if you decide it's no longer for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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