What was the main reason for moving back to UK?

[bristolman]

For us it wasn't the pull of family as most of mine is in Australia and my wife has little family here. It was a feeling of not quite belonging in Australia despite being there for more than 30 years. I didnt like the way a lot of things were done, the 'better' weather wore off, beaches had little appeal and the pull was strong. Best thing we ever did.

[The Smith Clan]

Yep I agree with a lot of this.

 

We are currently packing to move back to UK after 8 years in Australia.

With no family here and very little family there I haven't got those kind of ties however my family is on the East coast USA and travel for them is much easier and cheaper to UK than here.

In the 8 years here my Mum has visited once (2years after we arrived) OH's Mum visited once (also 2 years after we arrived)...... and that's it.

Until about a month ago when my cousin and her family dropped in for the day we have seen no-one. None of the friends who made endless promises of holidays to the sun have ever visited. The odd school friend gets in touch to say they're heading down-under for a holiday and want to catch up, have us show them around, go mysteriously silent until after their trip.

 

I totally get the "Feelings of displacement" - that was a big one for us. What we thought would feel familiar feels very alien.

Also the weather - we have discovered we hate the sun. When our back yard hit 49.6'C a few years back we could not believe we had willing signed up for that! Looking forward to some cold weather.

Strangely one thing we both missed very quickly was proper lush green grass. The kinda grass you can take your shoes off and walk around on without fear of sharp stabby blades of grass or bites from poisonous tiny creatures or random blood-sucking leeches.

And, like you @thinker78, we are not beach people. I get sick of sand very quickly and neither hubby nor I will ever, ever go in the sea here. Ever!

 

One other thing I've found, since getting here unfortunately my health took a turn for the worse within 18 months and has never recovered. Yes Australia has Medicare but we were not aware you have to pay. Weird system of pay everything upfront then Medicare will pay you back but not all of it, just a percentage... so being sick became very expensive, very quickly. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it come to the past 8 years.

 

I am truly happy for those it works out for... Just a shame I wasn't one of them!

 

As I read this I recall all the times on holiday when ive wished it to rain and the heat has been unbearable

The medical side is a concern and something I have not looked at yet.

[Gbye grey sky]

As I read this I recall all the times on holiday when ive wished it to rain and the heat has been unbearable

The medical side is a concern and something I have not looked at yet.

 

Seriously, if you are on holiday hoping for rain I would say that you should stay put in the UK. We have been wishing for rain these past weeks, not because the heat is unbearable (we like it hot) but our poor garden!!! Lol.

 

There has been rain around but it keeps missing our area entirely. I suspect when it finally comes it will be floods too.

[chilliboy]

Came over to Oz in November heading back to the UK in July! Main reasons for leaving: The heat! My one year old son cries and cuddles me when we have to go out in it,came here for good weather but need to stay in between 10 am and 2 pm! Poor services: waited 3 months for centrelink to register out kids immunisations to enable us to get them into nursery,waited 6 weeks for wheely bins from council (no fun with stinking nappies in stinking heat!),will have waited 3 months to get a landline and internet by the time we eventually get it!We find the quality of the nursery/daycare for our kids is nowhere near that in the UK,the tv is terrible! do not come here if you intend to watch tv.We looked forward to an open plan house but find it is impractical with small kids,very echoey and noisy,no character.Australian grass is horrible!!its rough and most of our lawn has burnt grass and a big patches of dry mud!I do not like the in your face commercialism either.

I recommend you look at positive reports of Oz,negative ones and in between ones and then make your decision.Australia does have wonderful beaches,the standard of food in restaurants/pubs is I think excellent aswell.Nobody can tell you if it is for you! Australia has helped me realise that there was nothing wrong with what I had other than me not appreciating it! Ultimately there is nothing wrong with Australia other than me not being happy here! Some of the problems I have listed seem trivial and can be overcome, but the heat,feeling as though I am on a holiday I don't want to be on and feeling I am missing out on the life that is familiar to me means its not for me.

[Bound4Tassie]

Nobody should be surprised by 40+ temperatures in Aus. It's not like that all the time or in all parts ( Tasmania, anyone??!) but It's no secret either.

[VERYSTORMY]

As I read this I recall all the times on holiday when ive wished it to rain and the heat has been unbearable

The medical side is a concern and something I have not looked at yet.

 

Then be VERY careful where you move to. The heat can be oppressive in many parts of Australia and it is probably the biggest thing I dislike. My wife is originally from a hot country - Peru - and she find summer oppressive.

[MelbourneTractor]

I've got to say the heat in Melbourne has never really been unbearable, perhaps I'm lucky to work in a nicely A/C'd office.

 

I find the sun to be more oppressive - Hat, SPF50, etc....

[Bound4Tassie]

http://www.bom.gov.au/calendar/annual/climate.shtml

 

This might be useful for people trying to decide where to live. As well as average temps and rainfall it shows how many days in a given month are likely to be over 35C. Don't live in Alice Springs or Port Hedland! Lol! Unless you want to fry! I think I could only hack it in Melbourne or Tassie!

[Croft]

Nobody should be surprised by 40+ temperatures in Aus. It's not like that all the time or in all parts ( Tasmania, anyone??!) but It's no secret either.

 

The Brisbane area rarely reaches 40 (and by rarely I mean not every summer) and if it does it only lasts a day or two. We don't have the blast furnace winds from the centre like the southern cities do.

 

For those looking to come over, be aware that with Medicare there are GPs who charge a gap payment (pay the lot up front, get some back on medicare), but you can also find some who 'bulk bill' (especially for children) so you don't get charged anything. The thing with Medicare is that the government set a rate that they say the medical profession can deliver a service at, and the medical profession say no, and charge you the excess.

 

Up side is that you can get a doctors appointment within an hour or two any day of the week (you can go to any GP or Practise). Even stuff like CT scans and MRIs can often be done the same day (and these are generally bulk billed). I've been to the doctor in the morning and had an MRI at lunch time, all bulk billed.

 

As we got gold plated medical insurance, which we have needed to use, a few months after we got here I can't comment on how Medicare operates in secondary and tertiary care.

 

I have got to say that the NHS is one of the big things that the UK does well, despite all its detractors. It's not until you live abroad that you realise how lucky we were to get cradle to grave care, free at point of delivery, irrespective of income.

[handsomewill]

I have similar feelings myself. amongst the ex pat community, especially in Sydney, is a sense of bewilderment and disbelief that you don't want to sit on sand all day and burn your skin in uncomfortable heat on packed beaches drinking $7 bottles of water.

I much prefer Sydney in winter time, the climate is refreshing rather than stifling. I think the novelty of oz can wear off rather quickly and leaves you wondering 'is this it?'.

having said that, I would never advise uk friends against Australia. with Sydney, it is a wonderful city, the food is amazing and theres plenty to explore within the city, every district has its own charm. but the adventure and novelty has worn off for me but this seems to be a cyclical thing..

[Croft]

 

I have similar feelings myself. amongst the ex pat community, especially in Sydney, is a sense of bewilderment and disbelief that you don't want to sit on sand all day and burn your skin in uncomfortable heat on packed beaches drinking $7 bottles of water.I much prefer Sydney in winter time, the climate is refreshing rather than stifling. I think the novelty of oz can wear off rather quickly and leaves you wondering 'is this it?'.having said that, I would never advise uk friends against Australia. with Sydney, it is a wonderful city, the food is amazing and theres plenty to explore within the city, every district has its own charm. but the adventure and novelty has worn off for me but this seems to be a cyclical thing..

I guess gherkin lies the difference with Brisbane, which has no beaches in it's immediate vicinity. Everyone therefore spreads north up to and including the Sunshine Coast or down to the Gold Coast. The traffic can be horrible on the Gold Coast around Surfers Paradise but the beaches are wonderful and I've personally never seen them particularly busy. Same with Noosa. Traffic bad and busy (but not packed) around the flags on the beach, but the rest of the beach was virtually empty.We prefer going up to Bribie Island on the calmer land facing side where we can take our now 5 year old swimming and launch our canoe. No problems parking or on the beach. We did meet some recent expats there once but she could only keep her teenage kids there for half an hour before they wanted to go back to their house and play video games. Sad.

[Marisawright]

As I read this I recall all the times on holiday when ive wished it to rain and the heat has been unbearable

The medical side is a concern and something I have not looked at yet.

 

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the medical side. Yes, you do pay upfront then claim it back for some services - but the point is, you DO claim it back (in some cases all of it, in other cases part). So although it can be a drain on the purse at first, it's just a case of managing the cash flow.

 

Where were you on holiday when you found the heat unbearable? People react differently to heat. My sister loves it, it can't get hot enough for her, and she's dragging out her winter duvet at the first hint of cooler weather - whereas I have sweat dripping off the end of my nose when the thermometer hits 30 degrees - and feel positively ill by the time it gets to 35, which is very limiting when you live in a hot country!

[BacktoDemocracy]

The Brisbane area rarely reaches 40 (and by rarely I mean not every summer) and if it does it only lasts a day or two. We don't have the blast furnace winds from the centre like the southern cities do.

 

For those looking to come over, be aware that with Medicare there are GPs who charge a gap payment (pay the lot up front, get some back on medicare), but you can also find some who 'bulk bill' (especially for children) so you don't get charged anything. The thing with Medicare is that the government set a rate that they say the medical profession can deliver a service at, and the medical profession say no, and charge you the excess.

 

Up side is that you can get a doctors appointment within an hour or two any day of the week (you can go to any GP or Practise). Even stuff like CT scans and MRIs can often be done the same day (and these are generally bulk billed). I've been to the doctor in the morning and had an MRI at lunch time, all bulk billed.

 

As we got gold plated medical insurance, which we have needed to use, a few months after we got here I can't comment on how Medicare operates in secondary and tertiary care.

 

I have got to say that the NHS is one of the big things that the UK does well, despite all its detractors. It's not until you live abroad that you realise how lucky we were to get cradle to grave care, free at point of delivery, irrespective of income.

I agree everything you say, I was on Warfarin for a long time which requires regular blood tests, in the UK it was time consuming and inconvenient in the extreme, in Aus i went to a local clinic , done and dusted in 10 mins and no charge, had a heart op on the public system that in the uk they were reluctant to do, excellent outcome, no charge and only a 4 month wait.

Private health insurance gives you treatment when you want it but there are still lots of payments which you have to foot so it's a bit of a lottery as i found out with a knee replacement done thro insurers.

Edited February 3, 2016 by BacktoDemocracy

[BacktoDemocracy]

We are at the stage of deciding if we should commit to applying for our visas? This site has been great for information but also has highlighted things we need to consider seriously, the initial thought of moving to Oz seems to trigger excitement and the thought of a warmer climate but we also need to be realistic.

 

 

What made you decide to move back to the UK?

 

Appreciate any response?

Where we ended up after almost 10 years was feeling the following, we were in Brisbane by the way, I'll just tell them as I think of them.

Moving from the uk late in careers it was difficult to get work anywhere near a similar level even tho we both had readily transferable skills and it was pure luck that got my OH a management job as much as her CV and that was after almost 4 years.

We found that people were very resistant to change and different experiences despite being very well travelled.

We found the mood of the country very parochial and that difference was not embraced in a positive way.

I found that it was a very conservative country in every possible way.

There are rules and regulations about pretty well everything that you might want to do and this extends into who can do what job and what qualifications are required for a whole range of jobs and how they have to be Aus qualifications.

There are only a limited number of places where you can go on holiday if you don't want a beach holiday.

Somewhere to go and have drink out at which did not feel like a cross between a working mens club and an amusement arcade

I personally didn't have a problem with the heat, nor my OH, and that is one of the things we both desperately miss back here, that and blue skies , the bird life and the wild life

Edited February 3, 2016 by BacktoDemocracy

[Johnny]

That's a good point you make there about moving to Australia late in your career.

 

If you have an established stable career in UK, it's a lot to throw away just to satisfy an itch for "beaches and a nice house".

 

If you are over 40 it becomes a much bigger risk.

 

Do proper research or make a special groundwork trip to Aus on a tourist visa, just to find out what work you can get first and what your chances really are.

 

Not fully assessing all the cost/risks involved and hoping that it will just "all work out in the end" is a very stupid thing to do.

 

Last thing you want to do is move somewhere with a shrinking economy and tightening job market to be facing the real risk of unemployment and losing chunks of your savings which you will never get back.

 

We had many months of unemployment when we arrived, and we paid dearly for it.

[The Smith Clan]

Came over to Oz in November heading back to the UK in July! Main reasons for leaving: The heat! My one year old son cries and cuddles me when we have to go out in it,came here for good weather but need to stay in between 10 am and 2 pm! Poor services: waited 3 months for centrelink to register out kids immunisations to enable us to get them into nursery,waited 6 weeks for wheely bins from council (no fun with stinking nappies in stinking heat!),will have waited 3 months to get a landline and internet by the time we eventually get it!We find the quality of the nursery/daycare for our kids is nowhere near that in the UK,the tv is terrible! do not come here if you intend to watch tv.We looked forward to an open plan house but find it is impractical with small kids,very echoey and noisy,no character.Australian grass is horrible!!its rough and most of our lawn has burnt grass and a big patches of dry mud!I do not like the in your face commercialism either.

I recommend you look at positive reports of Oz,negative ones and in between ones and then make your decision.Australia does have wonderful beaches,the standard of food in restaurants/pubs is I think excellent aswell.Nobody can tell you if it is for you! Australia has helped me realise that there was nothing wrong with what I had other than me not appreciating it! Ultimately there is nothing wrong with Australia other than me not being happy here! Some of the problems I have listed seem trivial and can be overcome, but the heat,feeling as though I am on a holiday I don't want to be on and feeling I am missing out on the life that is familiar to me means its not for me.

 

Yes the more I read about the heat he more I wonder and for the children and pets. Thank you for your post.

[The Smith Clan]

That's a good point you make there about moving to Australia late in your career.

 

If you have an established stable career in UK, it's a lot to throw away just to satisfy an itch for "beaches and a nice house".

 

If you are over 40 it becomes a much bigger risk.

 

Do proper research or make a special groundwork trip to Aus on a tourist visa, just to find out what work you can get first and what your chances really are.

 

Not fully assessing all the cost/risks involved and hoping that it will just "all work out in the end" is a very stupid thing to do.

 

Last thing you want to do is move somewhere with a shrinking economy and tightening job market to be facing the real risk of unemployment and losing chunks of your savings which you will never get back.

 

We had many months of unemployment when we arrived, and we paid dearly for it.

 

Yes that's the concern. I have a good job in that it enables me to work pt financially, dream home for us from where we were and what we planned for 10 years ago. DH qualifies shortly as gas fitter and will have work with no concerns. The children are settled at school and area is lovely for trips out, by holiday villages and semi rural location.

 

 

I guess your think so what are we on here for?

 

I was the dream 10 years ago and now we have achieved the home ect there is that part of me that says what if? and our last chance I guess due to me turning 40 next year (losing out on points) and hubby will be 47.

 

As you say and rightly so its a lot to throw away!

 

We will take the time but I thank everyone for your responses as with research as well and your experiences we are more aware of risks, concerns and also good points, sadly less of the latter.

 

Thanks

[Quoll]

You can't live on dreams! Be pragmatic in life - unless you have something better on the table to move straight to then think long and hard about how much you want to gamble. I'm firmly in the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" camp and if you do decide on the gamble then take a belt and braces approach - take a career break, rent out your house etc until you know that you can get a decent life going. Nothing magic about Australia at the end of the day, just another first world country in the other side of the world.

[Gbye grey sky]

Yes that's the concern. I have a good job in that it enables me to work pt financially, dream home for us from where we were and what we planned for 10 years ago. DH qualifies shortly as gas fitter and will have work with no concerns. The children are settled at school and area is lovely for trips out, by holiday villages and semi rural location.

 

 

I guess your think so what are we on here for?

 

I was the dream 10 years ago and now we have achieved the home ect there is that part of me that says what if? and our last chance I guess due to me turning 40 next year (losing out on points) and hubby will be 47.

 

As you say and rightly so its a lot to throw away!

 

We will take the time but I thank everyone for your responses as with research as well and your experiences we are more aware of risks, concerns and also good points, sadly less of the latter.

 

Thanks

 

I suspect that you will find that the answer to your question is that you stay put and enjoy the life you have made for yourselves. One day, when the kids have grown up and you are no longer working you will be able to travel extensively in retirement perhaps.

 

I would think carefully too about spending thousands on a recce trip here in August. It is not the best time of year here even if you thinking of it now as a holiday and that much money would be better spent elsewhere. It is also a very long flight with children. Jet lag takes several days to get over and you return to the UK tired too.

 

We gave up the well paid jobs but are financially secure in our 50s so although worse off financially the actual risk was minimised to a great extent. We were also 100% committed to the move and that is really important to as it creates a positive mindset.

 

Good luck whatever you decide.

[Bound4Tassie]

If you've got everything you dreamed of and you enjoy your current life the I can't really see the point in the move.....unless you just want the adventure.

[BacktoDemocracy]

Yes that's the concern. I have a good job in that it enables me to work pt financially, dream home for us from where we were and what we planned for 10 years ago. DH qualifies shortly as gas fitter and will have work with no concerns. The children are settled at school and area is lovely for trips out, by holiday villages and semi rural location.

 

 

I guess your think so what are we on here for?

 

I was the dream 10 years ago and now we have achieved the home ect there is that part of me that says what if? and our last chance I guess due to me turning 40 next year (losing out on points) and hubby will be 47.

 

As you say and rightly so its a lot to throw away!

 

We will take the time but I thank everyone for your responses as with research as well and your experiences we are more aware of risks, concerns and also good points, sadly less of the latter.

 

Thanks

Really, really think carefully before doing it, look really carefully at qualifications, unless you are in a profession which will welcome you like medicine, and even then there is a lot of prejudices against outsiders, Aus citizens spend years getting to be senior and do not let newcomers in.

We came back because of real ageism and the difficulty of getting part time work at a senior level, consultancy is very restricted, I gave up looking for work at 59 after getting knocked back for work i was doing at 25.

we came back with me at 64 and a qualified chartered surveyor and my wife at 49 as a chief executive of a medical research charity and we could not find a way for her to get part time work at her level or do something like consultancy with any degree of confidence, she was employing locals as part time consultants and their lives were always precarious and a colleague at a similar level but older was made redundant and virtually never worked properly again. .

We did not have children and made the move knowing it was only us that we had to make it work for .

Edited February 3, 2016 by BacktoDemocracy

[Johnny]

Yes that's the concern. I have a good job in that it enables me to work pt financially, dream home for us from where we were and what we planned for 10 years ago. DH qualifies shortly as gas fitter and will have work with no concerns. The children are settled at school and area is lovely for trips out, by holiday villages and semi rural location.

 

 

I guess your think so what are we on here for?

 

I was the dream 10 years ago and now we have achieved the home ect there is that part of me that says what if? and our last chance I guess due to me turning 40 next year (losing out on points) and hubby will be 47.

 

As you say and rightly so its a lot to throw away!

 

We will take the time but I thank everyone for your responses as with research as well and your experiences we are more aware of risks, concerns and also good points, sadly less of the latter.

 

Thanks

 

A lot to weigh up there and a ton of research to do !

 

If your husband is only newly qualified in the game at 47, he also has a lot of research and emailing to do and possibly retake his exams in Australia. Some trades have to re-qualify.

 

How do the kids feel about the move ?

Edited February 3, 2016 by johngdownunder

[Croft]

Sorry, just thought I'd pick out a couple of point from your post as you appear to have had a really bad experience.

 

Poor services: waited 3 months for centrelink to register out kids immunisations to enable us to get them into nursery,

 

Wow - though I didn't even think Centrelink did this. We went to a local GP and they did it within a few days, all free of charge. I think some Kindys also operate a policy that if your child is not immunised against something and there is an outbreak in the Kindy they have to be taken out immediately - it is not an automatic bar from attending.

 

waited 6 weeks for wheely bins from council (no fun with stinking nappies in stinking heat!),

 

Top of ours was damaged when we first arrived. Phoned Brisbane City Council who said leave it outside and 3 days later it was repaired.

 

will have waited 3 months to get a landline and internet by the time we eventually get it!

 

Again, a few days for that but when they came they just connected it up and then didn't tell us even though we were in waiting for them!

 

We find the quality of the nursery/daycare for our kids is nowhere near that in the UK,

 

We were surprised at how poor the staff/child ratio was, from 1:4 to 1:20 I think it was, or something equally horrific. Our 3 year old took a long while to settle, I think mainly because of the lack of personal attention but we wanted him to stay in there to get integrated. A couple of months later though he moved class and got on a lot better with his new teacher. We completely underestimated how much he would miss his friends and his old kindy at such a young age. Also, here in QLD they seem to prefer bare feet and it took ages for my son to accept this having been in the UK with shoes or closed toe sandals! Quality seems to vary incredibly between different places too.

 

the tv is terrible!

 

Hmm, I was pleasantly surprised how much quality programming there is on here.

 

We looked forward to an open plan house but find it is impractical with small kids,very echoey and noisy,no character.

 

Some of the unimproved older housing has more traditional layouts. Is that the same in other states?

 

 

 

Where were you so I can avoid it?!

[Croft]

The children are settled at school and area is lovely for trips out, by holiday villages and semi rural location.

 

Another thing to do your research carefully on. Depending the time of year your children were born you may find that your children would go into a different school year as the cut-off not only varies from the UK but even nowadays from State to State. For instance in the UK my son would have started school in Sep 14. Here he just started last month (school years run the same calendar years here if you are not aware).

[JockinTas]

Came over to Oz in November heading back to the UK in July! Main reasons for leaving: The heat! My one year old son cries and cuddles me when we have to go out in it,came here for good weather but need to stay in between 10 am and 2 pm! Poor services: waited 3 months for centrelink to register out kids immunisations to enable us to get them into nursery,waited 6 weeks for wheely bins from council (no fun with stinking nappies in stinking heat!),will have waited 3 months to get a landline and internet by the time we eventually get it!We find the quality of the nursery/daycare for our kids is nowhere near that in the UK,the tv is terrible! do not come here if you intend to watch tv.We looked forward to an open plan house but find it is impractical with small kids,very echoey and noisy,no character.Australian grass is horrible!!its rough and most of our lawn has burnt grass and a big patches of dry mud!I do not like the in your face commercialism either.

I recommend you look at positive reports of Oz,negative ones and in between ones and then make your decision.Australia does have wonderful beaches,the standard of food in restaurants/pubs is I think excellent aswell.Nobody can tell you if it is for you! Australia has helped me realise that there was nothing wrong with what I had other than me not appreciating it! Ultimately there is nothing wrong with Australia other than me not being happy here! Some of the problems I have listed seem trivial and can be overcome, but the heat,feeling as though I am on a holiday I don't want to be on and feeling I am missing out on the life that is familiar to me means its not for me.

 

You could have bought a bin! Here in Devonport Tas, the bins are not supplied by the council. You buy them from the local hardware store.