chilliboy Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Moving abroad is a huge decision which nobody would take lightly!Moving to the other side of the world is a decision of biblical proportions! I didn't consider myself stupid and planned our move to Oz in great detail,however after only one week we knew we had made the wrong decision and will leave and return to Blighty after seven months.Given the enormity of such decisions, either moving from Oz to UK or vice versa I am interested to know if anyone left their new country after a month,a week,a day! or even returned without leaving the destination airport or didn't even leave their airport of origin.Has anyone sold everything I.e houses,cars,left good jobs,paid deposits on rental properties,got new jobs and not even left their original country? I am interested in this from a psychological perspective,how do people feel about it? Relieved,embarrassed,stupid,loss of belief in their judgement etc or simply laugh about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I know someone who's friend arrived one day and left the next! :chatterbox: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I know someone who's friend arrived one day and left the next! :chatterbox: :laugh: What an idiot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Helped set up one PIO member in a unit, loaning her many items. She said that her hubby was following her out in a month's time. After 3 weeks she stopped answering my calls as to how she was doing. Called round to the unit and she was gone..........so was my possessions! Another tenant said that she had gone back a week earlier because her hubby had refused to come out here...............so I guess that 3 weeks was her lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Helped set up one PIO member in a unit, loaning her many items. She said that her hubby was following her out in a month's time. After 3 weeks she stopped answering my calls as to how she was doing. Called round to the unit and she was gone..........so was my possessions! Another tenant said that she had gone back a week earlier because her hubby had refused to come out here...............so I guess that 3 weeks was her lot Probably to embarrassed to let you know what was happening. Not much of an excuse though :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilliboy Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 Wow that's all pretty quick, it amuses me that such important decisions that could be planned meticulously can be overturned in a matter of moments because of a feeling or eureka moment which says wtf did I do! I worked in the Channel Islands with a guy that had planned for 18 months to come over to work and take a break from his family in New Zealand to earn better money and do a unique course (huge amount of money spent) .He started work,completed his first morning and had a lunch break with me,during his sandwich he got on his mobile phone and booked his return flight that night!He wished me all the best and that was that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Wow that's all pretty quick, it amuses me that such important decisions that could be planned meticulously can be overturned in a matter of moments because of a feeling or eureka moment which says wtf did I do! I worked in the Channel Islands with a guy that had planned for 18 months to come over to work and take a break from his family in New Zealand to earn better money and do a unique course (huge amount of money spent) .He started work,completed his first morning and had a lunch break with me,during his sandwich he got on his mobile phone and booked his return flight that night!He wished me all the best and that was that! Good grief! :shocked: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 We had a member of another forum who arrived in Adelaide and didn't get as far as their accomodation. Turned around half way and went back to the airport and flew home! When we arrived in Sydney in 2008, the trip from the airport went through some pretty grotty areas and we nearly did the same thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 We had a member of another forum who arrived in Adelaide and didn't get as far as their accomodation. Turned around half way and went back to the airport and flew home! When we arrived in Sydney in 2008, the trip from the airport went through some pretty grotty areas and we nearly did the same thing Yes, that trip from the airport is pretty unimpressive - it used to be a helluva lot worse though. The new road out to the airport (put in before the Olympics) is a big improvement on the previous way into the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainR Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Well, thats expats for you. When we lived in the Middle East we saw a few that didn't survive the first month (although many companies had a 3 month probation so at least people could try it out). I guess they couldn't find their Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers, Tetley Tea, Fish n Chips or some such crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Well, thats expats for you. When we lived in the Middle East we saw a few that didn't survive the first month (although many companies had a 3 month probation so at least people could try it out). I guess they couldn't find their Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers, Tetley Tea, Fish n Chips or some such crap. Some people take living in a different country in their stride. Others just can't hack it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Yes, that trip from the airport is pretty unimpressive - it used to be a helluva lot worse though. The new road out to the airport (put in before the Olympics) is a big improvement on the previous way into the city. Always thought Perth airport was quite nice to arrive at, as it Gatwick. I have come into Heathrow several times though and found it depressing and wanted to leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix16 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Moving abroad is a huge decision which nobody would take lightly!Moving to the other side of the world is a decision of biblical proportions! I didn't consider myself stupid and planned our move to Oz in great detail,however after only one week we knew we had made the wrong decision and will leave and return to Blighty after seven months.Given the enormity of such decisions, either moving from Oz to UK or vice versa I am interested to know if anyone left their new country after a month,a week,a day! or even returned without leaving the destination airport or didn't even leave their airport of origin.Has anyone sold everything I.e houses,cars,left good jobs,paid deposits on rental properties,got new jobs and not even left their original country? I am interested in this from a psychological perspective,how do people feel about it? Relieved,embarrassed,stupid,loss of belief in their judgement etc or simply laugh about it? Fair play to you! I soppose if you just know straight away there is simply no point in prolonging the pain. I would be interested to hear what it was that just made you realise it was wrong, you say you didn't take emigration lightly and I'm sure you didn't so is there anything you think you could have done before the move that would have indicated it wasn't right for you? There are so many people who feel the way to do and go back, some would argue you haven't given it a real shot, but for me personally if you realised so quickly then nothing was going to change that! An expensive learning curvebut at least when you return you won't have to wonder 'what if...' !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) Well, thats expats for you. When we lived in the Middle East we saw a few that didn't survive the first month (although many companies had a 3 month probation so at least people could try it out). I guess they couldn't find their Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers, Tetley Tea, Fish n Chips or some such crap. 24 hr turn around was the shortest time for 1 pilot in Brunei, didn't like the smells in Bandar the capital. Mind you it could be a bit pongy sometimes, I found it a bit hard to begin with, life in general not the smell. Ended up staying 10 years and still miss it a bit to be honest, amazing what you get used to and learn to enjoy. Edited February 20, 2016 by ramot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunbury61 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Always thought Perth airport was quite nice to arrive at, as it Gatwick. I have come into Heathrow several times though and found it depressing and wanted to leave. TBH newjez that's one of the pluses of living where I live ....brum airport and the n.e.c are actually in Solihull ....land at the airport ...2 minutes and iam in a semi rural environment ...another 10 minutes in solihull town centre ,and its a great introduction to being back home . You don't get any sinking feeling after you have been away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Personally, I think about 3 weeks for one family I met but there is the (probably urban myth) family who never made it into Melbourne CBD but turned around and departed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Tilley Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I was pretty quick to return. I knew I'd made a mistake in going to Oz in the first week or two and returned home after 19 weeks. For me, it wasn't Australia I didn't like, it was the person I went there with! I'm pretty sure if I'd have gone with someone loving and supportive the outcome would have been different. I should imagine that many people who are unhappy in Australia are actually unhappy because they are missing the people they love, not the landscape or buildings that they left behind. The company you are with makes so much difference to what sort of time you have somewhere, therefore, my unhappiness was also associated with Australia as a country but it was not Australia that made me unhappy - I was unhappy in Australia. My life in England would not be as good if I didn't have my family and friends around me. If they all moved elsewhere then I'd be lonely here too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I know someone who's friend arrived one day and left the next! :chatterbox: That's quick ! That said, within a few days of arriving, we had made a pretty fair assessment of what we may be letting ourselves in for...and we were bang on. We did 8 years of groundhog day ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bound4Tassie Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Personally, I think about 3 weeks for one family I met but there is the (probably urban myth) family who never made it into Melbourne CBD but turned around and departed. Surely , if that's true about not even getting to the cbd,they must really have already made their mind up that it was a mistake on the aeroplane....or before!! They can't have been all smiles then stepped outside to the skybus and thought no I hate it here! I'm intrigued by those who decided within a week or 2 that it wasn't for them. What was it that made you think that? Can understand if it was the finality of those goodbyes that made you realise but if it wasn't that ,did you just realise it was a bit too hot or you couldn't put up with the accent?? A week isn't really long enough to miss everything about home....or how would you ever go on holiday? Then again some people do miss home on a weeks holiday ....but I cant imagine they would've considered emigrating....hmm. ...intrigued, as I say..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambethlad Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Some people should not be allowed out of the UK for their own good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Surely , if that's true about not even getting to the cbd,they must really have already made their mind up that it was a mistake on the aeroplane....or before!! They can't have been all smiles then stepped outside to the skybus and thought no I hate it here! I'm intrigued by those who decided within a week or 2 that it wasn't for them. What was it that made you think that? Can understand if it was the finality of those goodbyes that made you realise but if it wasn't that ,did you just realise it was a bit too hot or you couldn't put up with the accent?? A week isn't really long enough to miss everything about home....or how would you ever go on holiday? Then again some people do miss home on a weeks holiday ....but I cant imagine they would've considered emigrating....hmm. ...intrigued, as I say..... Maybe if you had second thoughts beforehand but had made a big song and dance about moving to Australia to family and friends, you might go through with it even if you weren't 100%, to save the embarrassment of admitting that you had made a mistake? I would imagine it would be easier to some people to turn around within a short space of time and blame Australia's shortcomings rather than admit that they had made a mistake in going in the first place. Perhaps the goodbyes might tip people over the edge if they aren't absolutely sure? I also wonder if people put too much pressure on themselves for it all to be perfect and are disappointed when it isn't? We always viewed our move as a temporary four year one (on a 457) which could become permanent if we wanted it too (we since gained PR and citizenship). We put no pressure on ourselves for things to be perfect from the start and just went with the flow, knowing that it would probably be extremely hard work. We had said that we would stick it out for four years regardless because OH had had to sell his UK business to move to the Australian one (kind of a franchise/joint partnership set-up with the same parent company), and we wanted to be in the same position in his career if we moved back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I can totally understand homesickness and arriving here without a job then being unemployed for months on end making you want to return asap. Also depends which part of Australia you live in. Personally I couldn't stand the NT or the outback or even a country town. Funnily enough though I am now living in what could be classed as a country town and I love it because you are not far from anything here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shak Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Im shocked at the ones that left before they even reached their accommodation lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I can believe that some people feel they have made a mistake the moment they land. I loved the place the moment we left the terminal building, the trees the parrots and the smell, and yes the heat at 5pm on the 1st of July ! :laugh: So the flip side of that must surely be dislike for the first encounter. Such a shame to have got so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I can believe that some people feel they have made a mistake the moment they land. I loved the place the moment we left the terminal building, the trees the parrots and the smell, and yes the heat at 5pm on the 1st of July ! :laugh: So the flip side of that must surely be dislike for the first encounter. Such a shame to have got so far There's no doubt it all does seem a bit strange when you first arrive but what do people expect? I thought the other different countries I lived in were a bit strange too especially the ones where they spoke a different language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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