Moving to London from Brisbane

[rosie76]

HELP! Has anyone moved a young family from Australia (Brisbane) to London?

HI, 

We (my Australian husband and I) moved to Brisbane from London almost 8 years ago. I am originally from the UK but we have settled here in Brisbane. We have two small kids (in early primary). 

We have a lovely, easy life here with great friends but no family support (all of my husbands family are interstate). After a couple of my close relatives passed away last year, I have started to feel that perhaps we should move back to the UK/Europe as I am afraid that I will regret it if we do not make the move sooner rather than later. I also feel that I would love my kids to be closer to my parents and their aunts, uncles and cousins as those relationships were hugely important in my life. I also miss Europe, the family support that we would love with two small kids and of course, being able to travel easily around Europe. 

My husband has been offered a great job in the UK (with a possible base of London or Amsterdam) however he has a fantastic job here and would not be able to return to it should we decide to leave. 

As for me, I have taken a break from a successful career for the past 3 years and would like to return to work part time. This is proving a little difficult in Brisbane as there are few senior roles available on a part time basis. 

Our kids have a wonderful life here (as do we) and whilst I feel that moving is perhaps the best thing to do now, I really have no idea what might be best for all of us long term. 

The main issue I see is that if we did return to London, whilst we would be closer to my family, we would still be an hour away by plane from them and our day to day lives would be the same (except without the sunshine and Queensland lifestyle!). I am also concerned about the difference in quality of life for my family (particularly in a big city like London compared to Brisbane which is such an easy place to live). 

I wondered if any of you lovely people have found yourself in a similar situation and could offer any advice or wisdom. Pros and cons? Should we? Shouldn’t we? 

Any insight from your experiences would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you kindly

[Quoll]

If you give your kids a wonderful life in Qld then you will probably give them a wonderful life in London. Kids don't care as long as they have a happy mummy and daddy. My son and his family are currently in Kingston on Thames and they seem to have a pretty good life. Lots for the grandson to do, excellent school, usually easy access to the city where both parents work (SW trains permitting!!!) except when they wfh. Treat it as an adventure and if it works you win and if not you move on - assume you've got your citizenship, that's step 1 if you haven't bothered with it already.

[BacktoDemocracy]

On 17/6/2019 at 05:15, rosie76 said:

HELP! Has anyone moved a young family from Australia (Brisbane) to London?

HI, 

We (my Australian husband and I) moved to Brisbane from London almost 8 years ago. I am originally from the UK but we have settled here in Brisbane. We have two small kids (in early primary). 

We have a lovely, easy life here with great friends but no family support (all of my husbands family are interstate). After a couple of my close relatives passed away last year, I have started to feel that perhaps we should move back to the UK/Europe as I am afraid that I will regret it if we do not make the move sooner rather than later. I also feel that I would love my kids to be closer to my parents and their aunts, uncles and cousins as those relationships were hugely important in my life. I also miss Europe, the family support that we would love with two small kids and of course, being able to travel easily around Europe. 

My husband has been offered a great job in the UK (with a possible base of London or Amsterdam) however he has a fantastic job here and would not be able to return to it should we decide to leave. 

As for me, I have taken a break from a successful career for the past 3 years and would like to return to work part time. This is proving a little difficult in Brisbane as there are few senior roles available on a part time basis. 

Our kids have a wonderful life here (as do we) and whilst I feel that moving is perhaps the best thing to do now, I really have no idea what might be best for all of us long term. 

The main issue I see is that if we did return to London, whilst we would be closer to my family, we would still be an hour away by plane from them and our day to day lives would be the same (except without the sunshine and Queensland lifestyle!). I am also concerned about the difference in quality of life for my family (particularly in a big city like London compared to Brisbane which is such an easy place to live). 

I wondered if any of you lovely people have found yourself in a similar situation and could offer any advice or wisdom. Pros and cons? Should we? Shouldn’t we? 

Any insight from your experiences would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you kindly

 See thread, Go home to uk or build retirement in Melbourne? Lots of your queries answered in it.

I would suggest reading a few back copies of the Guardian and the Times to acquaint yourself of the issues of living in the UK and London especially.

If I was returning now 4.5 years later I might make a different decision but then we didn't return to good jobs and a lot older, money can iron out a lot of issues but just make sure you know what the issues are here.

 

[Marisawright]

I can understand your concerns about living in or near London.   My sister and my niece both live in the commuter belt (my sister in Binfield and my niece in Weybridge).    They are nice areas but their lifestyles are hectic due to the commuting and the traffic.   If you'll be an hour away from your family anyway, what about Amsterdam?    I've always found travelling through Schiphol far more pleasurable than any of the London airports, to the point where I always fly to Aberdeen or Edinburgh via Amsterdam instead of London when I go back to visit my folks in Scotland.

Amsterdam is a more compact,  more laid-back city and practically everyone speaks excellent English.  Being in early primary, your children would pick up the language without stress and learning a second language at that age has been shown to be beneficial, so it would be a good move for them (two of my nieces moved to Germany at that age and they thrived).   I don't know what your own chances of employment would be, though. 

I don't think you can use logic to decide whether to move back or not.  The question to ask yourself is, "If someone told me I had to stay in Australia till I die, how would I feel?"   If your heart sinks at the thought, there's your answer. Because you have children, delaying your return by more than a few years could well mean getting stuck in Australia.

Move your children now and though there's bound to be an initial upset over losing friends, they will adapt quickly, and will grow up thinking of the UK as home, just like you do.   Wait until your children are tweens or teens and have become ingrained in the Aussie way of life, with an established circle of friends,  and you're setting yourself up for a future where your kids are more likely to leave you and return to Australia when they're adults.   

It's true that whatever you do, your adult children may move away anyway -  but by giving them an Aussie childhood which will grow ever more rose-coloured in their memories as they grow older,  you're stacking the dice against them staying with you!

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by Marisawright

[Chortlepuss]

I must admit, I’d be tempted by Amsterdam over London - sounds like a fabulous opportunity to live in a thriving EU city with relatives a short flight away. I think London living is like Sydney - fine if you’re really loaded but who wants to commute? 

[Jon the Hat]

As someone who spends the best part of 3 hours a day commuting into / out of London, I can highly recommend only working in London if you can afford to live there or very close.

Also I am not sure it is that easy to find part time senior roles in London either, the ones I see tend to be people who are already established in a company.

[Vickie78]

On 24/06/2019 at 10:48, Marisawright said:

I can understand your concerns about living in or near London.   My sister and my niece both live in the commuter belt (my sister in Binfield and my niece in Weybridge).    They are nice areas but their lifestyles are hectic due to the commuting and the traffic.   If you'll be an hour away from your family anyway, what about Amsterdam?    I've always found travelling through Schiphol far more pleasurable than any of the London airports, to the point where I always fly to Aberdeen or Edinburgh via Amsterdam instead of London when I go back to visit my folks in Scotland.

Amsterdam is a more compact,  more laid-back city and practically everyone speaks excellent English.  Being in early primary, your children would pick up the language without stress and learning a second language at that age has been shown to be beneficial, so it would be a good move for them (two of my nieces moved to Germany at that age and they thrived).   I don't know what your own chances of employment would be, though. 

I don't think you can use logic to decide whether to move back or not.  The question to ask yourself is, "If someone told me I had to stay in Australia till I die, how would I feel?"   If your heart sinks at the thought, there's your answer. Because you have children, delaying your return by more than a few years could well mean getting stuck in Australia.

Move your children now and though there's bound to be an initial upset over losing friends, they will adapt quickly, and will grow up thinking of the UK as home, just like you do.   Wait until your children are tweens or teens and have become ingrained in the Aussie way of life, with an established circle of friends,  and you're setting yourself up for a future where your kids are more likely to leave you and return to Australia when they're adults.   

It's true that whatever you do, your adult children may move away anyway -  but by giving them an Aussie childhood which will grow ever more rose-coloured in their memories as they grow older,  you're stacking the dice against them staying with you!

 

So much this, see I don't have this problem with my kids, My eldest is HF ASD so only has 1 good friend, and my youngest is still trying to make friends (bad time at school, whole other story) which is why despite being tweens I in my situation don't have this an issue but my main point from my own experience is when Mum decided to Move to Australia I was that Teen (14) I had loads of friends, and was mighty upset/pissed off having to leave them and my home behind with zero choice (dad wasn't in the picture).  So yes if you are going to move, do it while they are young with minimal impact.  Kids are resilient and adapt easy, I got over it eventually, but I do have to wonder if that is what set me up for failure in Australia some what.