Reasons for moving back to UK?

[Martinbjulieb]

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.

 

If you are not happy here now you never will be. We have been here 9 years, my husband is 51 and I am 49, our kids are 13 and 11 and we are moving back. Yes, it will be a struggle starting over at our age but we are determined to do it. Our reasons are the same as everyone else's on here, Australia is just not home and never will be. Yes, your move sounds complicated with the business etc but it is possible. Good luck.

 

 

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[flag of convenience]

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

 

Interesting to read your son's take on UK. Life in the bush is hardly ever easy. It looks like he's been through the mill though. Goes to show though there's a definite time in life to do things and not to leave those things too late. Certainly reminds me of someone I know.

[JockinTas]

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

 

Dry stone dyking was my Dad's hobby. All the walls/dykes on the farm were dry stone and in his spare time he was mending old ones or building new ones. Last time I was back, I took a good look at them and thought 'my Dad touched every one of those stones'. It was hard to find a good dry stone dyker a few years back but it seems to have made a bit of a revival.

[wattsy1982]

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!

 

This has summed up my outlook on our whole experience..I dont necessarily regret it, maybe i do, maybe i regret missing out on the time we have/will have spent here when it could have been spent in the UK, our kids ("the grand kids") will have aged 5 years by the time we make it home, but on the whole, if it aint broke dont fix it is perfect!

[wattsy1982]

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/

 

Great blog, interesting reading!

[bristolman]

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

 

I have said before that our 2 Aussie born and bred sons love it here and express no desire to return to Australia, just the opposite in fact.

[Guest]

I have said before that our 2 Aussie born and bred sons love it here and express no desire to return to Australia, just the opposite in fact.

 

Wouldn't be worth the earache :tongue:

[bristolman]

I have no idea what that means.

[Guest]

This has summed up my outlook on our whole experience..I dont necessarily regret it, maybe i do, maybe i regret missing out on the time we have/will have spent here when it could have been spent in the UK, our kids ("the grand kids") will have aged 5 years by the time we make it home, but on the whole, if it aint broke dont fix it is perfect!

I don't regret going, I do regret not going with a more open mind about returning but I really thought after a few years there my son would be a true blue Aussie and it would be wrong to bring him back - I was wrong!

 

Funny just this morning I was asking my son about how he was settling into high school, he just started in September this year and he said it was easier for him because he had moved schools before and in Australia he fit in easily because he had a Scottish accent and here he fit in easily because he has an Australian accent. I do feel that he has benefited in terms of his resilience and of course he has an Australian passport which opens up future opportunities for him.

[Guest]

Great blog, interesting reading!

 

Thank you- I find it a bit cringy now and what started as a great idea to blog our round the world trip was scuppered by technology issues, no smart phones back then!!

 

I think my initial impressions were pretty accurate though (the good - King's Park picnic's/Freo and the bad - suburban hell!) and reading that 8 years on there is really no surprise we moved back.

[Suziedoll]

Thank you all so so much for replying. Really appreciate all your views and stories and hope to reply to each of you in next few days. Have 2 little ones and am pregnant so hardly get a minute to myself.

I fear I will never be able to make a decision.

We will most certainly be a lot worse off financially in Oz. I know money isn't everything but it sure does make for an easier life. Not that we are loaded or anything but we are comfortable.

Suppose my next question to you all would be would you have made the move knowing you would be worse off financially? Like considerably worse off?

Wondering if staying in UK and buying a small holiday home in Spain might be a better solution. But I so hate the bitter cold lol

 

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[Quoll]

Thank you all so so much for replying. Really appreciate all your views and stories and hope to reply to each of you in next few days. Have 2 little ones and am pregnant so hardly get a minute to myself.

I fear I will never be able to make a decision.

We will most certainly be a lot worse off financially in Oz. I know money isn't everything but it sure does make for an easier life. Not that we are loaded or anything but we are comfortable.

Suppose my next question to you all would be would you have made the move knowing you would be worse off financially? Like considerably worse off?

Wondering if staying in UK and buying a small holiday home in Spain might be a better solution. But I so hate the bitter cold lol

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

Simply, no. We wouldn't have moved if we hadn't had a better offer than we had in UK. I most definitely wouldn't be taking a punt on something which you are a tad blah about anyway, knowing that you would suffer financially - nothing feeds depression quite like poverty. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

[Quoll]

I have said before that our 2 Aussie born and bred sons love it here and express no desire to return to Australia, just the opposite in fact.

 

My other son, born in UK, raised in Aus from 6 months won't be returning to Aus - as he said "why would I?" He hadn't intended to stay, this was his post Uni gap year 14 years ago!

[Disney]

"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."

 

You have just put into words exactly how I feel! It's like you could read my mind.

 

We currently live in Melbourne and will be returning to the UK next year, we won't be returning to the same area as our families. If I'm honest we aren't that close to our families so that is not part of the reason we are moving back to the UK. We don't have any children either.

We have been here over 4 years and have lived in Adelaide and Melbourne, prefer Melbourne over Adelaide but still not for us. Plus the economy in Adelaide at the moment is great and with Holden closing next year isn't going to help.

[JockinTas]

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

 

Would your Aussie born son consider moving to Tasmania @Quoll? He would be closer to his girls and the weather might suit him better - pretty similar in a lot of ways to the UK weatherwise though longer summers and milder winters. The north coast in particular has fertile soil and good farms.

[JockinTas]

Thank you all so so much for replying. Really appreciate all your views and stories and hope to reply to each of you in next few days. Have 2 little ones and am pregnant so hardly get a minute to myself.

I fear I will never be able to make a decision.

We will most certainly be a lot worse off financially in Oz. I know money isn't everything but it sure does make for an easier life. Not that we are loaded or anything but we are comfortable.

Suppose my next question to you all would be would you have made the move knowing you would be worse off financially? Like considerably worse off?

Wondering if staying in UK and buying a small holiday home in Spain might be a better solution. But I so hate the bitter cold lol

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

I married an Australian 40 years ago Suziedoll. When we moved here (with no children) 35 years ago life was pretty easy. Plenty of jobs - houses were a reasonable price. That doesn't apply anymore. I think if you are comfortable in the UK and if you can buy a house in Spain, life would be a lot less stress free than moving to the other side of the world.

 

If I hadn't married an Australian I would never have thought of coming here to live. Luckily for us life has been good here and I wouldn't go back to the UK to live now. Many migrants are miserable though for one reason or another and can't wait to return to the UK. Australia is no longer the so called 'lucky country'.

[Disney]

Thank you all so so much for replying. Really appreciate all your views and stories and hope to reply to each of you in next few days. Have 2 little ones and am pregnant so hardly get a minute to myself.

I fear I will never be able to make a decision.

We will most certainly be a lot worse off financially in Oz. I know money isn't everything but it sure does make for an easier life. Not that we are loaded or anything but we are comfortable.

Suppose my next question to you all would be would you have made the move knowing you would be worse off financially? Like considerably worse off?

Wondering if staying in UK and buying a small holiday home in Spain might be a better solution. But I so hate the bitter cold lol

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

I wouldn't move due to the weather, it gets cold here too. Granted not as cold as the UK but the houses aren't insulated and there is no central heating, we do have forced air heating but it really dries out my skin! First world problems. Not all houses have this in every room. When it is anything over 35 I hate it, I'm sure I am getting worse as I get older. I remember one week in South Australia it was over 40 everyday it was horrendous, you can't dress for that! My poor husbands a mechanic so he really suffered even though they had evaporative air conditioning. We did not have AC in the bedrooms in our house so ended up sleeping on the sofa to get some sleep! My point is I don't think not liking the cold should be a reason to move to the other side of the world.

 

Also I do not know what you or your husband do for work? Finding work can be difficult so make sure you research where you are moving to and make sure there is plenty of work in your husbands area, or he has a job offer. I have only lived in Melbourne and Adelaide and the Melbourne job market is much better.

 

I think given you are pregnant and have young children and are not sure you want to move and are comfortable where you are I would stay put for now! Money isn't everything but if you can't afford to do what you want and are struggling you will be very unhappy here no matter how warm it is.

 

I knew within 4 weeks of moving it wasn't for me, it took my husband longer to get to this point. 4 years and 2 states later I still feel the same way. Trust your gut!

[flag of convenience]

I moved back and forwards a couple of times when in my twenties but both times found Australia simply dull. But the life was certainly easier, but that wasn't my concern. Nor especially was the weather. I just wanted a more interesting life, surrounded by more interesting people, that I knew existed else where in far more sufficient numbers. Not necessary very high up the agenda of reasons for a lot that come here, that sought a purely better material life with more income and a suburban existence.

[bunbury61]

Thank you all so so much for replying. Really appreciate all your views and stories and hope to reply to each of you in next few days. Have 2 little ones and am pregnant so hardly get a minute to myself.

I fear I will never be able to make a decision.

We will most certainly be a lot worse off financially in Oz. I know money isn't everything but it sure does make for an easier life. Not that we are loaded or anything but we are comfortable.

Suppose my next question to you all would be would you have made the move knowing you would be worse off financially? Like considerably worse off?

Wondering if staying in UK and buying a small holiday home in Spain might be a better solution. But I so hate the bitter cold lol

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

Don't want to enter the uk v oz debate ( love them both ) ,but if like me ,you hate the winter ,then a little place in Spain or Portugal may be the solution .

My mate has a place and he will pick up a cheap flight to suit ...£35 sometimes .

If you have a good life with a few quid ,in the UK ,its a no brainer .

 

I actually met a family from Canada ,living in the u.k ,yesterday .

They wouldn't live anywhere else BUT the u.k .

Ease of shopping ,travel etc .....she loves Canada ,but puts all the bad things about the u.k aside ,and said that overall ,the u.k is the better place to live .

She has just come back from canada ,and that reinforced her view .

[evets]

Don't want to enter the uk v oz debate ( love them both ) ,but if like me ,you hate the winter ,then a little place in Spain or Portugal may be the solution .

My mate has a place and he will pick up a cheap flight to suit ...£35 sometimes .

If you have a good life with a few quid ,in the UK ,its a no brainer .

 

I actually met a family from Canada ,living in the u.k ,yesterday .

They wouldn't live anywhere else BUT the u.k .

Ease of shopping ,travel etc .....she loves Canada ,but puts all the bad things about the u.k aside ,and said that overall ,the u.k is the better place to live .

She has just come back from canada ,and that reinforced her view .

 

The Spain or Portugal thing may change in the near future due to Brexti. BUT then again who knows what will actually happen.

 

You second point scares me as I am relocating to Canada, originally from the UK to AU.

[VERYSTORMY]

Thank you all so so much for replying. Really appreciate all your views and stories and hope to reply to each of you in next few days. Have 2 little ones and am pregnant so hardly get a minute to myself.

I fear I will never be able to make a decision.

We will most certainly be a lot worse off financially in Oz. I know money isn't everything but it sure does make for an easier life. Not that we are loaded or anything but we are comfortable.

Suppose my next question to you all would be would you have made the move knowing you would be worse off financially? Like considerably worse off?

Wondering if staying in UK and buying a small holiday home in Spain might be a better solution. But I so hate the bitter cold lol

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

We were not worse off when we made the move due to the stage in my career I was at. However, we would have been financially better off had we not made the move later on and by the end, probably a LOT better off. At the time we had a tiny mortgage which would have long being paid off. Now, we have returned 8 years later and face saving for a deposit and starting again aged 46.

 

I certainly would not not move for the weather. We lived in Perth, famous for its sun, but winter can get damned cold and houses usually are not built to cope with it - no central heating, no fire, no double glazing, poor insulation and a tin roof. As a result, it wasn't unusual in winter to find my wife sat watching tv in a coat, hat and gloves! Then the summer can be as bad in reverse. The heat can be oppressive. The first year or so it was nice as it was a novelty. Heading to the beach on Christmas Day and things. But, the novelty quickly worse off and I came to dread summer more and more as it was just too oppressive.

 

We had never had a big dream to move to Oz, in fact it had never crossed my mind. Even visiting wasn't something I had ever thought about, but a job offer came up and it all seemed a big adventure. While I am glad we did it as we had some great experiences, if I had a time machine I would not have done it.

[Quoll]

Would your Aussie born son consider moving to Tasmania @Quoll? He would be closer to his girls and the weather might suit him better - pretty similar in a lot of ways to the UK weatherwise though longer summers and milder winters. The north coast in particular has fertile soil and good farms.

He likes Tasmania but hhe has the girls several days a week and he is better served in Canberra, his ex wouldn't move to Tasmania and he would have to have something better to go to which wouldn't be possible in Tasmania. He's getting his life back on track fortunately. He was down in East Gippy which wasn't the best where he was and, quite frankly, I think the thought of fires will always scare him now - he was quite blase about them before and thought he had used all the fire protection tricks in the book.

[jonnyraceway]

We were not worse off when we made the move due to the stage in my career I was at. However, we would have been financially better off had we not made the move later on and by the end, probably a LOT better off. At the time we had a tiny mortgage which would have long being paid off. Now, we have returned 8 years later and face saving for a deposit and starting again aged 46.

 

I certainly would not not move for the weather. We lived in Perth, famous for its sun, but winter can get damned cold and houses usually are not built to cope with it - no central heating, no fire, no double glazing, poor insulation and a tin roof. As a result, it wasn't unusual in winter to find my wife sat watching tv in a coat, hat and gloves! Then the summer can be as bad in reverse. The heat can be oppressive. The first year or so it was nice as it was a novelty. Heading to the beach on Christmas Day and things. But, the novelty quickly worse off and I came to dread summer more and more as it was just too oppressive.

 

We had never had a big dream to move to Oz, in fact it had never crossed my mind. Even visiting wasn't something I had ever thought about, but a job offer came up and it all seemed a big adventure. While I am glad we did it as we had some great experiences, if I had a time machine I would not have done it.

 

 

I let most of the anti-Perth rhetoric fly over my head but I really take issue with the weather comments as they are usually grossly exaggerated.

 

Save for a couple of hot months in summer, the weather is pretty darn good. The 35C+ days are not very pleasant but we are only average 15 of those a year. Even then, one would normally enjoy the cooler mornings and late afternoons and simply avoid the middle of the day. No big deal for most.

 

Those complaining of 'freezing' houses in winter...really? Reverse cycle AC and gas / oil heaters are pretty good to keep off any chill experienced. Hats and gloves indoors are certainly not the norm!!

[starlight7]

If I was thinking of emigrating to Oz and read these comments I would go and drown myself. Please realise that this particular part of the forum is mainly for those who haven't really settled - there are far more of us who have and are leading very happy lives and wouldn't dream of going back,ever.

[flag of convenience]

It's no mean effort to get people to consider carefully the value of a move to Australia during these times. In fact a number of Aussies are increasingly considering moving out to more favourable pastures as well.

Think carefully and read both sides of the migration saga. Remember mishaps further down the line can be incredibly expensive.