Reasons for moving back to UK?

[Suziedoll]

With the exception of missing family and friends, what are your reasons for moving back to the UK?

I went out on a reccie in September as we have our visa already and was quite surprised at how underwhelmed I was. I spent a year in Oz 15 years ago and have yearned for it ever since. Then came home feeling rather deflated.

Visited QLD, NSW and Adelaide.

We don't have any family support whatsoever in UK so I know for a fact I wouldn't miss them if we made the move.

Just wondering if anyone of you will give a reason that resonates with me and sums up why I Australia failed to capture my heart this time round.

Thanks

 

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[JockinTas]

With the exception of missing family and friends, what are your reasons for moving back to the UK?

I went out on a reccie in September as we have our visa already and was quite surprised at how underwhelmed I was. I spent a year in Oz 15 years ago and have yearned for it ever since. Then came home feeling rather deflated.

Visited QLD, NSW and Adelaide.

We don't have any family support whatsoever in UK so I know for a fact I wouldn't miss them if we made the move.

Just wondering if anyone of you will give a reason that resonates with me and sums up why I Australia failed to capture my heart this time round.

Thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

I should think what you felt is often felt by other people. You either like the feel of the place or you don't. Good to find out on a reccie. Saves a lot of grief. Another reason for going back is losing your job and failing to find another. Without a job, life is VERY hard. Some people have to borrow from family in the UK to get back.

[doubter]

I felt a little bit like that on my reccie but still went back.My wife often reminds me when I mention about going back how I wasnt that keen and preferred NZ.I returned to the UK because I thought I was homesick for the place and what I was used to rather than people.

Someone said to me recently who has a daughter in OZ you can do everything in the UK you can do in Australia but with more clothes on. For me the main reason for going was the weather and more opporutnity to do more outdoors and a better lifestyle albeit with less clothes on and persinally that would be why I wish I had stayed and would go back.

[Suziedoll]

I felt a little bit like that on my reccie but still went back.My wife often reminds me when I mention about going back how I wasnt that keen and preferred NZ.I returned to the UK because I thought I was homesick for the place and what I was used to rather than people.

Someone said to me recently who has a daughter in OZ you can do everything in the UK you can do in Australia but with more clothes on. For me the main reason for going was the weather and more opporutnity to do more outdoors and a better lifestyle albeit with less clothes on and persinally that would be why I wish I had stayed and would go back.

So did you return to the UK and now wish you hadn't?

 

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[LKC]

We haven't 100% decided to move back to the UK, but we are certainly seriously thinking about it so I'll give our reasons. Firstly, I would like to say that we have been very happy here in Sydney. We've been here for almost eight years, and came when our girls were 1 and 2 and easily transplantable. They hadn't formed any friendships or particular connections with family members because they were little, and so it was easy to bring them here. Australia has been good to us in the main. OH loves his job, the kids are in a fantastic school, and I am happy that they have had such a great primary education, with emphasis on producing well-rounded individuals, rather than on creating kids who are under stress from taking so many tests and things. We've travelled a little bit around NSW (the south coast and Blue Mountain areas mainly, which are beautiful), and also to Tasmania which is absolutely breathtaking. We live in a lovely area, and I have a couple of close friends who I will be heartbroken to leave. Having said that, I would also like to tell you that we had a great life in the UK. We lived in the countryside, OH loved his job, and we certainly weren't pushed from the UK by being discontented with our lives. We just had the opportunity to give it a go, and decided that we'd be stupid to turn the offer down, particularly since the kids were easily moved. We've both always craved something 'different' in our lives, and couldn't imagine a life living in the next street to our parents. Our relocation to Australia gave us something 'different' and we've enjoyed the experience.

 

Our reasons for thinking about relocating back to the UK are many, but of course the pull of family and friends is the main one. My mil had a breast cancer scare earlier this year which I think brought it home that we are all getting older. It made us feel that we would like to spend more time with family and also, rather morbidly, made us think about what would happen if one of us were to die and leave the other over here to cope with two kids on their own. Having said that, we like our independence, and probably wouldn't consider moving to the areas where our family are (I doubt we could afford to since they are in the south-east), but even if we were in the wilds of Scotland, it would be easier to see people than it is from here. And less expensive, which brings me on to my second point.

 

For us, as a family of four to go back to visit family, it costs $8000 on flights alone. We then have to factor in car hire, holiday accommodation when we visit those relatives who can't put us up, and all the other incidental costs of an expensive overseas holiday. Our holiday in September (we spent a month in the UK) pretty much knocked out our savings account, just as our last visit did three years ago. As a consequence, we don't have the time or the funds to be able to explore Australia as we thought we would be able to. Add to this the increasing cost of living here (it has risen dramatically in the eight years we've been in Sydney), and it just isn't sustainable long-term. I also worry about the future for our kids. If we were to move back the the UK, specifically Scotland, we could afford to purchase a home to live in outright and also one or two small investment properties (with a small mortgage perhaps) as a nest-egg for the kids. We could never afford to do that here.

 

Other reasons include the fact that neither OH or I can see ourselves living here full time in our old age. I don't want to live here for another five years and find that the UK ship has sailed for us, because by that time our eldest will be in the throes of HSC and university choices. She is year five now, and is due to start high school in Aus in 2018, or in the UK next summer. I feel that that is a deadline somehow, that we should aim to get her settled into high school and not move her until she is done - she is autistic, which complicates things somewhat. Additionally, I've not felt settled here for about three years. In fact the more time that passes, the less I feel like I belong, which is opposite to how you would think it should be. I have a couple of very close friends (both of whom are immigrants themselves, although not from the UK), but aside from that I've found it very difficult to find friends who I have any connection with. I don't have a deep connection with anyone else, even if I've known them for the whole time I've been here, it all feels so shallow and superficial somehow. I had lots of friends in the UK, but I just can't seem to get my foot in the door here, other than with other migrants. OH finds the same, and hasn't really made any friends at all. The people at work work for him, so he doesn't have work colleagues as such, and the couple of Aussie blokes who he has got to know he just doesn't connect with somehow. There is just too much of a cultural difference for him. Again, in the UK he had lots of friends who he'd just pop to the pub for a pint with, but he just hasn't been able to find that kind of friendhip here.

 

I think as I'm getting older my tolerance of the things that irritate me here is waning. I can't stand the heat and humidity of the summer here. Some days I feel like I am suffocating. One of the posters above said that they want to do more with less clothes on, but there are only so many clothes you can remove! I would far rather put on a coat, hat and gloves to go for a hike (which I love to do) than strip off to shorts and t-shirt and still feel like I am dying of heat stroke. I am sick of sunscreen and insect repellent. I react really badly to insect bites, so my legs and arms are covered in scars. I've already had a pre-cancerous lesion removed, and I worry about my kids who both have very fair skin. Of course these things were a consideration before we came over, but I think I'm just tired of it all.

 

I feel like a square peg in a round hole. I think it was Quoll who said this first, but this is how I feel - like at first the round hole was big enough to accommodate me and my square edges, just with the occasional bump. However, as time goes on I feel like the hole is getting smaller and smaller, and I feel like I am really struggling to fit. My corners feel battered and bruised, and I don't know if I could live like this indefinitely. My OH feels the same way luckily, so we have given ourselves a couple of months to think about things before we make any sort of decision. Having said that I think we will end up relocating back to the UK, having had a wonderful adventure and with great memories of Australia, but with something new to look forwards to.

 

Sorry that was so long, and please understand that this is MY personal opinion and I wouldn't want people to think I was anti-Australia in any way, because we really have been happy here. It is just time to move on.

Edited November 8, 2016 by LKC

[doubter]

Yes back in 2010.Will never know if I would have still been there 6 years later but wish I never went in the first place because I constantly compare everything to Australia nowThe last 6 years have been a bit of a personal obsession about going back and I only felt settled back in UK for about 1 year. I do realise both have positive and negative to offer and maybe I only remember the positive.Thats the problem I want the best of both countries but cant afford to like someone I know who flys a few times a year back to the UK.

[newjez]

With the exception of missing family and friends, what are your reasons for moving back to the UK?

I went out on a reccie in September as we have our visa already and was quite surprised at how underwhelmed I was. I spent a year in Oz 15 years ago and have yearned for it ever since. Then came home feeling rather deflated.

Visited QLD, NSW and Adelaide.

We don't have any family support whatsoever in UK so I know for a fact I wouldn't miss them if we made the move.

Just wondering if anyone of you will give a reason that resonates with me and sums up why I Australia failed to capture my heart this time round.

Thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

have you ever spent a week in Vegas? Two days is fine. Any longer the gloss starts to fade. Unless there is something there for you in Australia, it's just bloody hot. Edited November 8, 2016 by newjez

[Quoll]

I just don't "belong" in Australia! 32 years there and though my head was logical and sensible and said "this is home" my heart just didn't get with the plan. I always was and always will be an alien. I don't like the landscape, I don't relate well to the superficiality and self absorbedness of the Aussies I was acquainted with. I dislike the weather, the constant sunshine, intermittent droughts. I find the experiences samey and just relish the variety that can be found with a few miles of Britain, the ever changing countryside, weather that doesn't cripple me. Added to that, 5 years back my parents were 87 and the wheels were obviously falling off their wagon and as an only child the guilt was becoming overwhelming but that was just the icing on the cake of alienation.

 

5 years on, I have enjoyed every minute here in UK and my parents are careering towards 93. I have promised to return when they depart because my DH has been nothing short of amazing in all this and, pragmatic to the core, we would be better off financially in Australia and have more contact with 2/3 of our grandkids, the other 1/3 might be a tad nomadic in the foreseeable future so being in UK doesn't guarantee we would see too much of him. After 5 years of relief I can view Australia more as an adventure again which is what sustained me through the first 3 decades (minus the last 5 of those years which were more like a prison sentence).

 

If my DH pops his clogs before me and I am able I would sell up and move back in a heartbeat. I don't believe in regrets, they're a waste of time but if I had been blessed with foresight I would have made different decisions at various points and would have moved back before the kids hit HS. That way, I think our family probably wouldn't be on opposite sides of the world (though you never can tell) and one son wouldn't have taken the less than functional pathway he had taken.

 

If it didn't float your boat then don't set sail!

[Petals]

I read all of what people say about moving back but they being the adults at the lucky ones they get to make a decision. Us children of migrants are the real round pegs in a square hole. We hear our parents expounding about how great the UK is and wish they had never come, my mum and she is 97 now. My brother and I are happy living here in Aus. He was actually born in Zimbabwe, yes the wunderlust parents. However never fit in. We love being in Australia but its our children who fit in not us, we are the inbetween, we do not fit in the UK our families are distant and not really in our lives, we do not fit here because we have been brought up to think that all things UK are wonderful and we are just putting up with the countries we have lived in, they do not really meet the criteria.

 

Of course this is rubbish that our parents foster on us. I would not live anywhere else but Aus now, however I do fit the criteria of not fitting in that I hear the parents moaning about all the time. Only its worse for the children. So think on when you speak about that lovely UK countryside, how the culture is wonderful, little people are listening and their lives are being shaped by what their parents deliver.

 

Migrate and get on with it and love it even if you hate it for your children. Do not leave them the legacy we have had of round pegs in square holes and being able to do nothing about it. Neither wanted here nor there

[Pixie77]

We haven't 100% decided to move back to the UK, but we are certainly seriously thinking about it so I'll give our reasons. Firstly, I would like to say that we have been very happy here in Sydney. We've been here for almost eight years, and came when our girls were 1 and 2 and easily transplantable. They hadn't formed any friendships or particular connections with family members because they were little, and so it was easy to bring them here. Australia has been good to us in the main. OH loves his job, the kids are in a fantastic school, and I am happy that they have had such a great primary education, with emphasis on producing well-rounded individuals, rather than on creating kids who are under stress from taking so many tests and things. We've travelled a little bit around NSW (the south coast and Blue Mountain areas mainly, which are beautiful), and also to Tasmania which is absolutely breathtaking. We live in a lovely area, and I have a couple of close friends who I will be heartbroken to leave. Having said that, I would also like to tell you that we had a great life in the UK. We lived in the countryside, OH loved his job, and we certainly weren't pushed from the UK by being discontented with our lives. We just had the opportunity to give it a go, and decided that we'd be stupid to turn the offer down, particularly since the kids were easily moved. We've both always craved something 'different' in our lives, and couldn't imagine a life living in the next street to our parents. Our relocation to Australia gave us something 'different' and we've enjoyed the experience.

 

Our reasons for thinking about relocating back to the UK are many, but of course the pull of family and friends is the main one. My mil had a breast cancer scare earlier this year which I think brought it home that we are all getting older. It made us feel that we would like to spend more time with family and also, rather morbidly, made us think about what would happen if one of us were to die and leave the other over here to cope with two kids on their own. Having said that, we like our independence, and probably wouldn't consider moving to the areas where our family are (I doubt we could afford to since they are in the south-east), but even if we were in the wilds of Scotland, it would be easier to see people than it is from here. And less expensive, which brings me on to my second point.

 

For us, as a family of four to go back to visit family, it costs $8000 on flights alone. We then have to factor in car hire, holiday accommodation when we visit those relatives who can't put us up, and all the other incidental costs of an expensive overseas holiday. Our holiday in September (we spent a month in the UK) pretty much knocked out our savings account, just as our last visit did three years ago. As a consequence, we don't have the time or the funds to be able to explore Australia as we thought we would be able to. Add to this the increasing cost of living here (it has risen dramatically in the eight years we've been in Sydney), and it just isn't sustainable long-term. I also worry about the future for our kids. If we were to move back the the UK, specifically Scotland, we could afford to purchase a home to live in outright and also one or two small investment properties (with a small mortgage perhaps) as a nest-egg for the kids. We could never afford to do that here.

 

Other reasons include the fact that neither OH or I can see ourselves living here full time in our old age. I don't want to live here for another five years and find that the UK ship has sailed for us, because by that time our eldest will be in the throes of HSC and university choices. She is year five now, and is due to start high school in Aus in 2018, or in the UK next summer. I feel that that is a deadline somehow, that we should aim to get her settled into high school and not move her until she is done - she is autistic, which complicates things somewhat. Additionally, I've not felt settled here for about three years. In fact the more time that passes, the less I feel like I belong, which is opposite to how you would think it should be. I have a couple of very close friends (both of whom are immigrants themselves, although not from the UK), but aside from that I've found it very difficult to find friends who I have any connection with. I don't have a deep connection with anyone else, even if I've known them for the whole time I've been here, it all feels so shallow and superficial somehow. I had lots of friends in the UK, but I just can't seem to get my foot in the door here, other than with other migrants. OH finds the same, and hasn't really made any friends at all. The people at work work for him, so he doesn't have work colleagues as such, and the couple of Aussie blokes who he has got to know he just doesn't connect with somehow. There is just too much of a cultural difference for him. Again, in the UK he had lots of friends who he'd just pop to the pub for a pint with, but he just hasn't been able to find that kind of friendhip here.

 

I think as I'm getting older my tolerance of the things that irritate me here is waning. I can't stand the heat and humidity of the summer here. Some days I feel like I am suffocating. One of the posters above said that they want to do more with less clothes on, but there are only so many clothes you can remove! I would far rather put on a coat, hat and gloves to go for a hike (which I love to do) than strip off to shorts and t-shirt and still feel like I am dying of heat stroke. I am sick of sunscreen and insect repellent. I react really badly to insect bites, so my legs and arms are covered in scars. I've already had a pre-cancerous lesion removed, and I worry about my kids who both have very fair skin. Of course these things were a consideration before we came over, but I think I'm just tired of it all.

 

I feel like a square peg in a round hole. I think it was Quoll who said this first, but this is how I feel - like at first the round hole was big enough to accommodate me and my square edges, just with the occasional bump. However, as time goes on I feel like the hole is getting smaller and smaller, and I feel like I am really struggling to fit. My corners feel battered and bruised, and I don't know if I could live like this indefinitely. My OH feels the same way luckily, so we have given ourselves a couple of months to think about things before we make any sort of decision. Having said that I think we will end up relocating back to the UK, having had a wonderful adventure and with great memories of Australia, but with something new to look forwards to.

 

Sorry that was so long, and please understand that this is MY personal opinion and I wouldn't want people to think I was anti-Australia in any way, because we really have been happy here. It is just time to move on.

 

This exactly sums our reasons up- in fact I could have written this!

[wattsy1982]

Not stating the obvious of family and friends HUGELY reduces the length of my post.

 

As others have said, I just dont feel i belong here, just feel like im on holiday, living someone elses life, watching from the outside if you like.

 

For me there just isnt enough variation in life here, weather, activities, clothing, food....bit like ground hog day. Beach or creek..OR creek or beach? Shorts and flip flops or Flip flops and shorts......

 

A friend of ours (here in Aus) moved to Madrid in June and after about a month he said he didnt realise how cut off from the 'real world' he was here...being in Europe made him feel like he was part of something that mattered, something that actually had an affect on the world, instead of being out of sight out of mind in brisbane.

 

Im not a massive beach lover (its ok to go but i rarely suggest it, normally my wife) the sunshine is nice but nearly everyday, its becomes boring!

 

We also had a good life in the UK, no need to leave, just thought why not. Rather regret doing it than not.

 

Do I regret doing it.....kind of, weve done well here, both have good jobs (as we did have back home) weve built a nice house here and will make some good money when we sell but on the flip side its put a strain on our marriage at times, my wife was the driving force to come here, i didnt come under protest but had she pulled the plug at any time i'd have been happy to stay back home.

 

We are able to apply for citizenship in July and will do that then decide the next step.

 

For me I want to move home where i feel settled, content, sense of belonging and back to things that make me who i am. Culture, seasons, pubs, variety, football, fishing, the optimism that spring brings, the 'markers' throughout the year, start of spring, summer, autumn, sharp frosts, proper xmas etc....

 

Australia has made me...or should i say, since being here I have become very materialistic, shallow and lost sight of what really matters in life, things that cost nothing but at the same time are priceless. I know the price of everything but sometimes the value of nothing...and I dont like this, I want to go back to appreciating the important/simple things in life!

 

after moving here Ive realised nowhere is perfect, and on paper both countries tick about the same number of boxes but its what those boxes are/contain that make me want to return HOME.

Edited November 9, 2016 by wattsy1982

[Martinbjulieb]

This exactly sums our reasons up- in fact I could have written this!

 

Me too!!

 

 

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[VERYSTORMY]

For us, it was almost entirely economic. I couldn't get work after over 8 years in Oz, we found the last 18 months we couldn't get anything. Well, my wife managed to get 4 hours a week casual cleaning in a hotel, but we couldn't live off that.

 

The rest was just a bonus.

[george70]

My wish to go back is mainly fuelled by missing family and friends although the ‘belonging’ that has been mentioned is also a factor as is the sense that we have seen all that Perth & WA has to offer.

Regards that last point, as a migrant, there can be a tendency to create a ‘to-do’ list more so than you would as a local inhabitant of wherever in the UK you come from. We have done everything we probably would want to in Perth & WA and that leaves a certain emptiness. However, I never set these life targets when I lived in the UK for 37 years. If I had, for the town and surrounds that I come from, I’d have probably ticked those boxes by the time I was 5. So, I’m not sure if I’m being overly critical and not accepting that this is my life now and not just a long (8 year) holiday. Regardless, it plays on the mind. You tend to accept a certain monotony in your original home environment because it is what it is; when you’re a migrant, you interpret that as a limitation of the place you’ve moved to. That comparison probably isn’t fair.

Since I joined this site as a potential UK returnee, my wife has expressed doubts about moving back and I’m happy to let her call the shots to be honest, I’m not really that desperate to leap into action. Like others have mentioned in this thread, we were happy in the UK, we are happy here, we would be happy back in the UK; which kind of doesn’t help really.

[bencrom81]

We haven't 100% decided to move back to the UK, but we are certainly seriously thinking about it so I'll give our reasons. Firstly, I would like to say that we have been very happy here in Sydney. We've been here for almost eight years, and came when our girls were 1 and 2 and easily transplantable. They hadn't formed any friendships or particular connections with family members because they were little, and so it was easy to bring them here. Australia has been good to us in the main. OH loves his job, the kids are in a fantastic school, and I am happy that they have had such a great primary education, with emphasis on producing well-rounded individuals, rather than on creating kids who are under stress from taking so many tests and things. We've travelled a little bit around NSW (the south coast and Blue Mountain areas mainly, which are beautiful), and also to Tasmania which is absolutely breathtaking. We live in a lovely area, and I have a couple of close friends who I will be heartbroken to leave. Having said that, I would also like to tell you that we had a great life in the UK. We lived in the countryside, OH loved his job, and we certainly weren't pushed from the UK by being discontented with our lives. We just had the opportunity to give it a go, and decided that we'd be stupid to turn the offer down, particularly since the kids were easily moved. We've both always craved something 'different' in our lives, and couldn't imagine a life living in the next street to our parents. Our relocation to Australia gave us something 'different' and we've enjoyed the experience.

 

Our reasons for thinking about relocating back to the UK are many, but of course the pull of family and friends is the main one. My mil had a breast cancer scare earlier this year which I think brought it home that we are all getting older. It made us feel that we would like to spend more time with family and also, rather morbidly, made us think about what would happen if one of us were to die and leave the other over here to cope with two kids on their own. Having said that, we like our independence, and probably wouldn't consider moving to the areas where our family are (I doubt we could afford to since they are in the south-east), but even if we were in the wilds of Scotland, it would be easier to see people than it is from here. And less expensive, which brings me on to my second point.

 

For us, as a family of four to go back to visit family, it costs $8000 on flights alone. We then have to factor in car hire, holiday accommodation when we visit those relatives who can't put us up, and all the other incidental costs of an expensive overseas holiday. Our holiday in September (we spent a month in the UK) pretty much knocked out our savings account, just as our last visit did three years ago. As a consequence, we don't have the time or the funds to be able to explore Australia as we thought we would be able to. Add to this the increasing cost of living here (it has risen dramatically in the eight years we've been in Sydney), and it just isn't sustainable long-term. I also worry about the future for our kids. If we were to move back the the UK, specifically Scotland, we could afford to purchase a home to live in outright and also one or two small investment properties (with a small mortgage perhaps) as a nest-egg for the kids. We could never afford to do that here.

 

Other reasons include the fact that neither OH or I can see ourselves living here full time in our old age. I don't want to live here for another five years and find that the UK ship has sailed for us, because by that time our eldest will be in the throes of HSC and university choices. She is year five now, and is due to start high school in Aus in 2018, or in the UK next summer. I feel that that is a deadline somehow, that we should aim to get her settled into high school and not move her until she is done - she is autistic, which complicates things somewhat. Additionally, I've not felt settled here for about three years. In fact the more time that passes, the less I feel like I belong, which is opposite to how you would think it should be. I have a couple of very close friends (both of whom are immigrants themselves, although not from the UK), but aside from that I've found it very difficult to find friends who I have any connection with. I don't have a deep connection with anyone else, even if I've known them for the whole time I've been here, it all feels so shallow and superficial somehow. I had lots of friends in the UK, but I just can't seem to get my foot in the door here, other than with other migrants. OH finds the same, and hasn't really made any friends at all. The people at work work for him, so he doesn't have work colleagues as such, and the couple of Aussie blokes who he has got to know he just doesn't connect with somehow. There is just too much of a cultural difference for him. Again, in the UK he had lots of friends who he'd just pop to the pub for a pint with, but he just hasn't been able to find that kind of friendhip here.

 

I think as I'm getting older my tolerance of the things that irritate me here is waning. I can't stand the heat and humidity of the summer here. Some days I feel like I am suffocating. One of the posters above said that they want to do more with less clothes on, but there are only so many clothes you can remove! I would far rather put on a coat, hat and gloves to go for a hike (which I love to do) than strip off to shorts and t-shirt and still feel like I am dying of heat stroke. I am sick of sunscreen and insect repellent. I react really badly to insect bites, so my legs and arms are covered in scars. I've already had a pre-cancerous lesion removed, and I worry about my kids who both have very fair skin. Of course these things were a consideration before we came over, but I think I'm just tired of it all.

 

I feel like a square peg in a round hole. I think it was Quoll who said this first, but this is how I feel - like at first the round hole was big enough to accommodate me and my square edges, just with the occasional bump. However, as time goes on I feel like the hole is getting smaller and smaller, and I feel like I am really struggling to fit. My corners feel battered and bruised, and I don't know if I could live like this indefinitely. My OH feels the same way luckily, so we have given ourselves a couple of months to think about things before we make any sort of decision. Having said that I think we will end up relocating back to the UK, having had a wonderful adventure and with great memories of Australia, but with something new to look forwards to.

 

Sorry that was so long, and please understand that this is MY personal opinion and I wouldn't want people to think I was anti-Australia in any way, because we really have been happy here. It is just time to move on.

 

I understand all this reasoning as recently moved back to the UK after 7.5 years in Sydney. I, like you, would have lived those years in Sydney as it broadened my horizons a touch and gave me a taste of a different country.

once I got past the honeymoon phase of 3-4 years, you do take stock, look around and wonder if the place is for you, especially with mates and family all back at home.

Few things that wore me down to finally deciding to leave were:

 

- stifling heat of the summer - I hate summer. I had a permanent film of perspiration on my body, found it draining and drowsy, getting on trains like saunas and taking 2 hours at my desk to cool down after the commute is not missed. some people love it. ive decided I like getting rugged up and into the cold. appreciate im in the tiny minority here!

 

- I'd done what I wanted to do - like george70, I'd felt id done Sydney. id been to all the beaches, eaten at all the cafes, drank at all the pubs.. done weekends in southern highlands, jervis bay, palm beach, blue mountains.. my breaks were starting to get repetitive, which is fine as these are wonderful places. but repetition isn't an adventure and it signalled mine was over really. almost embarrassed to say I was growing bored of the place.

 

not a lot around Sydney - Melbourne/Brisbane are just average cities to be honest. Adelaide I wouldn't recommend. whitsundays beautiful, Tasmania very nice to visit.. NZ and Fiji and bali all nice.. can these places compare to their European equivalents? no.

 

- variety - the harbour is wonderful, circular quay and the opera house areas are touristy but I never grew tired of them. around the harbour, its just a normal city..the inner/west is to be avoided.

 

culture - admittedly, I found Australians (in Sydney) to be cliquey and lacking a similar sense of humour and personality that English have. I could never get over not saying hello to people in lifts/corridors until 5 years in. as ive said before, I found bondi/eastern subs to have a false sense of optimism and positivity that I dare say wasn't entirely true..

 

cost - housing, cars, living - all very expensive, too much for my average wage of 130k. in my thirties now and would have to be settling away from eastern subs and the north/central.. which isn't really Sydney anyway, so that decision was made.

 

overrated - aussies, which could be seen as an admirable trait, view their country as the best and are extremely patriotic. therefore they see their city/country as the 'best'. Australians think their country is better than is actually is, brits see theirs as worse than it is. all comes down to sense of humour in a way!

 

content - I feel content now ive 'done' my stint in oz. I never expected it to be easy, therefore when it went wrong at times, I hung in there and knew things would work out. too many people think its an easy relocate, it isn't, but it has its rewards.

[bristolman]

Unlike most our reasons for moving back had little to do with family as most of my family is still in Australia. For us it was more to do with just feeling more at home here. I grew up in Australia, from 18 months of age so to all intents and purposes I am more Australian than English. As a younger bloke I thought Australia was the best thing since sliced bread but after a few stints of living in the UK it became obvious that really I am much more English.

I don't like the way a lot of things are done in Australia, I don't like that it has become so expensive, I don't like the overregulation and excessive red tape, I dont like the parochial, insular nature of the country. . I have come to dislike long hot sweaty summers. I don't like the feeling of isolation.

All this is not to say I dislike Australia overall because I really dont, I love the wildlife for example.

[Guest]

I would really heed those warning signs - we went on a reccie to Perth in 2008, we were definitely underwhelmed but my husband was offered two jobs whilst we were over on our reccie and we were too afraid to regret not going so went ahead anyway.

 

I recall driving back from Mandurah seeing the soulless suburbs and graffiti, all of us in silence and I broke it saying 'I think we've passed the point of no return' and that's how it felt - we didn't like what we saw of Perth but it was too hard to turn our back on the opportunity.

 

I am a glass half full kind of person and was genuinely enthusiastic and excited about the move, the only place we had warmed to was Fremantle so we based ourselves there and the first 6-9 months were a fabulous honeymoon period.

 

We stayed almost 5 years - the last year to get our financial affairs in order and get citizenship and for most of it I was happy enough - making the most of it. The reasons we moved back are multiple and each one on it's own probably wasn't enough but in no particular order - we were financially worse off, we knew we would be moving out but kind of thought 'money isn't important, lifestyle matters more' but in reality the lifestyle was pretty much the same, and that's point two - the lifestyle was pretty much the same but without the friends and family to share it with, and that's point 3 - friends, I really, truly don't understand it as I am a serial nomad and have made good friends wherever I have been - except Perth - I had friends in the sense as a family we were invited to dinner, BBQ's, parties, camping etc. but I made no close emotional connections - I went through some pretty awful times and no came around and sat with me in my PJ's and cried the way they did wherever else I've been and that leads to point 4 - I became seriously ill and travel was a problem, my last trip back to the UK resulted in me being hospitalised and with my parents in the UK too inform to travel I felt an imperative to visit but that was putting my own health at risk. Point 5 is simply 'Britishness' I never felt British before but I missed everything about British culture and I ached for the landscape - as a Mountain Biker and Snowboarder Australia just left me bored (if I'd been younger and not a mum I think I could have embraced other sports but I was too time poor - & broke to start again with something new), I missed the UK music scene and that was a big part of my life - a few local bands and a few stadium bands just doesn't cut it compared to the Glasgow/Edinburgh/London scene.

 

Basically I found no lifestyle benefit whatsoever, some things I didn't like and a general lack of 'contentedness' with the place and people add to that my son being very categorical that he would be going back to Scotland as soon as he could, my own health and ageing parents the penny suddenly dropped (& it really was very sudden!) that maybe we were better off moving back.

 

The best decision we ever made!

 

Feel free to read the blog I wrote on our reccie http://www.globenotes.com/travel-blog-entry/Australia/Perth/15998/Run-to-the-hills/

 

With hindsight no way should we have moved, it stands out a mile reading this, but we got caught up in a 'better to regret something you did than something you didn't do' mindset - now I think much more carefully and if it ain't broke don't fix it!

 

I would say migration (either direction) is going to cause 2-3 years stress so there really has to be tangible benefits. To be honest after the first year in Perth I felt if I'd know what it would be like I'd not have bothered but there was no point in moving back as it's be 2-3 years of stress all over gain but as time went on the benefits of moving back increased.

 

What I would add is Australia is huge and in QLD didn't float your boat keep looking - perhaps work out what you are looking for and see where the best match would be - I think now we may have been better in Melbourne or even Tasmania.

[grizzly111]

When I first came to Australia in the late 90's I remember being very excited. Came at the start of year 12 which wasn't easy. It was a whole new experience, sunshine, big open spaces, new friends to make. Purchasing power was good, things were cheap, even housing. I said I never wanted to go back to the UK. Fast forward to now and having made a recent trip back to the UK to 'see how far I've come', I've in fact realised how much I have lost! Australia cannot be compared to the UK. I went back of course thinking the worst about my own country. Worried that it had changed. But I discovered it was actually better than I had ever remembered it (and I had a great childhood there).

I've lived from the bottom to the top of Australia and can say it's pretty much all the same. Just different climates and slight variances here and there. I've resided in metropolitan, regional and rural areas. For the poster above that said they are bored in Sydney - ha! I'm guess you never lived in regional/rural Australia where its 7 hours to the nearest major city. And that's the thing - Australia is a new country - it lacks sophistication in so many areas. One of which is proper road/rail networks.

 

Have found it hard to find friends here to be honest - just can seem to find common ground. I'm not the outdoorsy type too, in fact I try to avoid it as much as possible in the summer because....

 

Yes, the sun can kill you here. I've seen many examples of the devastating effects. And yes, blood suckers tend to love pommy blood. Why?

 

As mentioned above people in Australia are superficial and materialistic. This has resonated greatly with me. But WHY? Is it due to the lack of culture here or the adoption of American values?

 

I really want to leave but the money keeps me in Australia (have a business) - plus properties. If I go back then I won't have work to go to and I've heard that renting out your property in Australia is a hassle if you go back to the UK - have to ask my accountant about this. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

My options: 1. Stay, keep making money, live the materialistic life. Take yearly trips to the UK. Then retire to the UK (but may be too old by then)

 

2. Leave to the UK, take as much cash with us, rent until find an area to settle, try to find some sort of employment. Enjoy what UK has to offer. Lead a much simpler life. Maybe start a family. Still in our 30's.

[VERYSTORMY]

When I first came to Australia in the late 90's I remember being very excited. Came at the start of year 12 which wasn't easy. It was a whole new experience, sunshine, big open spaces, new friends to make. Purchasing power was good, things were cheap, even housing. I said I never wanted to go back to the UK. Fast forward to now and having made a recent trip back to the UK to 'see how far I've come', I've in fact realised how much I have lost! Australia cannot be compared to the UK. I went back of course thinking the worst about my own country. Worried that it had changed. But I discovered it was actually better than I had ever remembered it (and I had a great childhood there).

I've lived from the bottom to the top of Australia and can say it's pretty much all the same. Just different climates and slight variances here and there. I've resided in metropolitan, regional and rural areas. For the poster above that said they are bored in Sydney - ha! I'm guess you never lived in regional/rural Australia where its 7 hours to the nearest major city. And that's the thing - Australia is a new country - it lacks sophistication in so many areas. One of which is proper road/rail networks.

 

Have found it hard to find friends here to be honest - just can seem to find common ground. I'm not the outdoorsy type too, in fact I try to avoid it as much as possible in the summer because....

 

Yes, the sun can kill you here. I've seen many examples of the devastating effects. And yes, blood suckers tend to love pommy blood. Why?

 

As mentioned above people in Australia are superficial and materialistic. This has resonated greatly with me. But WHY? Is it due to the lack of culture here or the adoption of American values?

 

I really want to leave but the money keeps me in Australia (have a business) - plus properties. If I go back then I won't have work to go to and I've heard that renting out your property in Australia is a hassle if you go back to the UK - have to ask my accountant about this. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

My options: 1. Stay, keep making money, live the materialistic life. Take yearly trips to the UK. Then retire to the UK (but may be too old by then)

 

2. Leave to the UK, take as much cash with us, rent until find an area to settle, try to find some sort of employment. Enjoy what UK has to offer. Lead a much simpler life. Maybe start a family. Still in our 30's.

 

How about:

 

3. Migrate the business / redo the business in the UK? Get a short term rental, sell the Oz house and as long as it isn't in a very cheap rural area of Oz and you aren't moving to London, then you could be a cash buyer.

[grizzly111]

Was thinking about redoing the business in the UK - would be a bit of a dream really - would take time & experience. Selling the property now would not be a good time as the market is very mild at present. London, definitely no. Prices there (I'm from the SW) are truly heady from what I saw in June. Want to live in the countryside.

[VERYSTORMY]

Was thinking about redoing the business in the UK - would be a bit of a dream really - would take time & experience. Selling the property now would not be a good time as the market is very mild at present. London, definitely no. Prices there (I'm from the SW) are truly heady from what I saw in June. Want to live in the countryside.

 

Wouldn't take any more to set up here than it would in Oz. Start up is always stressful but if it works there it should here.

 

I am guessing you are in Perth if your property market is very mild? We have just sold and completed last week on our oz house, so know what it is like. But, it depends on how much equity you have in it. For us, we didn't not make a single penny. But, hey ho. That's life. If you have equity, then it is a different matter.

 

The only thing with living in the country is how much budget you have for a a place as in many parts, many people have had the same idea and prices have gone high. One of the reasons we liked the idea of the move to Scotland was that this is somewhere that this hasn't happened too much to yet and we could find a real country village in commuter distance to Glasgow and Edinburgh cheaply. A lot of the SW has become second home land for the London set which means prices have climbed.

[Bristol Chris]

With the exception of missing family and friends, what are your reasons for moving back to the UK?

I went out on a reccie in September as we have our visa already and was quite surprised at how underwhelmed I was. I spent a year in Oz 15 years ago and have yearned for it ever since. Then came home feeling rather deflated.

Visited QLD, NSW and Adelaide.

We don't have any family support whatsoever in UK so I know for a fact I wouldn't miss them if we made the move.

Just wondering if anyone of you will give a reason that resonates with me and sums up why I Australia failed to capture my heart this time round.

Thanks

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

Sometimes high or inflated expectations get in the way of good feelings. Not saying you had this, but if Oz delighted you last time perhaps you were hoping for an equally amazing time. Not that I would blame you for that. If you have an amazing time at a restaurant, of course you'll want that on a return visit.

 

What were you hoping for and what let you down? Pretty much everyone grows and is different in big or small ways over 15 years. Could it be what delighted you last time doesn't stack up today for the older more experienced 'you' ?

 

It just comes down to what you are looking for / what you want out of life

Edited November 9, 2016 by Bristol Chris

[tea4too]

I can’t give you reasons for MBTTUK @Suziedoll as we haven’t done that, but I can empathise with how you are feeling. Visiting family in Aus for the first time we expected to be caught up in their enthusiasm but it didn’t happen, and to an extent we started to feel as though everyone else was party to a secret that we just didn’t get. I understood the beauty of the landscape, the warmth of the sunshine and the difference in lifestyle, but could say that for a fair few countries around the world. And while happy to visit, I don’t necessarily want to live in any of them either.

 

I guess much depends on what you are looking for, but for us the important things are here in the UK and the less important things aren’t deal breakers. T x

[Quoll]

My son flies back to Australia tomorrow - he's been here a month and he quite surprised me by saying that if he didn't have his girls (his relationship bit the dust last year and he shares the girls) or things changed so that he had them all the time himself then he would live in UK like a shot - he prefers the weather, the land fertility, the sense of community, potential friendships etc. He would quite like to live in Yorkshire learning dry stone walling or up on a Scottish Island somewhere. Now that really surprised me because he is my Aussie born and bred one and on his "move to England" trip when he was very young, he lasted 7 months then returned saying he was never going back to UK. He is effectively on his own there now as we and his brother are all in UK and he has enjoyed being with "his" family again. He's had a very rocky 5 years since we left him and he has survived a bush fire which destroyed the home he built single handedly and all their belongings, a torn pectoral muscle requiring major (almost too late) surgery and lastly the relationship breakdown - it's sure as heck matured him and he sees life differently now. Too late though! So, even a born and bred Aussie can see the light in the UK

[Beaty]

@Suziedoll I think the kernal of this thread is clear. If you were underwhelmed by your reccie you will probably regret the migration.

 

For every 'X' amount of people who travel 'Y' will not settle and return. That's fine, and you must allow for it.

 

On our recent reccie, most everything was positive and we're viewing it as a 5 year plan...to Citizenship...and then see what we want to do. But we also have a 1 year backup plan should we not like where it's going we come home. We also have financially allowed for trips home every 12-18 months - and we'll stick to that.

 

Our house will be rented and career breaks can be resumed (in my wife's case) - I'm self employed. We'll see it as an experience for all of us.

 

You should, at least be impressed at the reccie stage. I would not entertain knowingly moving with (in our case) 3 young dependants into a scenario that was not at least on par (if not better).

 

B