How Long before you realised that Australia was or was not the place that you wanted to spend the rest of your days ?

[Toots]

13 minutes ago, bug family said:

Does not mean that your views are wrong either

I am open minded on this.... some will think that Australia is the best thing ever and insist this and cannot understand how someone else cannot see and feel the same.....but if they had to live in someone else's shoes and feel what they feel then they may have a different point of view.

I personally accept that for some Australia is home and always will be....good for them, enjoy and have a lovely time

Equally I accept that for some Australia is a nightmare and they cannot wait to leave (that is if they can)

I'm one of the settled and happy people here but do sympathise with others who are miserably homesick.  The worst thing though must be that trapped feeling for whatever reasons.  Most people who are longing to leave do so but for others it's not so easy.  Therein must be a form of going mad.  Awful way to live.  

[bug family]

I think what this forum does highlight is that there is no 'one size fits all'  type of advice,  when someone posts a question we attempt to answer and give advice, but that advice will usually be somewhat biased, based upon our own experiences and thoughts on living a life in Australia, but also on what the person asking the question really wants from an answer to their question.

 Just because someone is told 'yes its great here you will love it ...come on over.....what are you waiting for' does not necessarily mean that that is how it will be for them and also how they may  find it for themselves, we are all different...... I hold myself up as an example of this, prior to setting foot in Australia I discovered this very site (PIO) and read peoples stories on here of an amazing life down under, way better than the boring dull and grey UK....I could not wait (even though I knew that I would return home one day) this new adventure in life seemed like a paradise, but for me at least, after I had arrived it lost its sparkle very quickly, once I got into the day to day living and going to work,  I think I was looking for what I had been 'promised'...a better life for me and the family........I personally never found it.......I never gave up looking though   

[Toots]

2 hours ago, bug family said:

I think what this forum does highlight is that there is no 'one size fits all'  type of advice,  when someone posts a question we attempt to answer and give advice, but that advice will usually be somewhat biased, based upon our own experiences and thoughts on living a life in Australia, but also on what the person asking the question really wants from an answer to their question.

 Just because someone is told 'yes its great here you will love it ...come on over.....what are you waiting for' does not necessarily mean that that is how it will be for them and also how they may  find it for themselves, we are all different...... I hold myself up as an example of this, prior to setting foot in Australia I discovered this very site (PIO) and read peoples stories on here of an amazing life down under, way better than the boring dull and grey UK....I could not wait (even though I knew that I would return home one day) this new adventure in life seemed like a paradise, but for me at least, after I had arrived it lost its sparkle very quickly, once I got into the day to day living and going to work,  I think I was looking for what I had been 'promised'...a better life for me and the family........I personally never found it.......I neveri gave up looking though   

I didn't know much at all about Australia before coming here.  Certainly nothing like PIO or any other stuff like Facebook existed in those days.  I came for 6 months on a WHV not long after we were married  ........  4 years before we came for good.  The 6 months were spent in Perth as my husband knew NSW and QLD (he's Australian) but had never been to WA.  I did casual bar work and we did a bit of travel.  We treated the 6 months as a bit of a holiday.  When we came for good we started out in Sydney, then Perth then back to Sydney. 

We said if things didn't work out we would go back to the UK but life just rolled along, babies, buying a house, work, holidays, made long term friends etc etc etc and before I knew it we had been here 40 years.  Of course there are always ups and downs but that will happen no matter where you live.

Looking forward to any news you have about your return to the UK.  

[bug family]

4 hours ago, Toots said:

Looking forward to any news you have about your return to the UK.  

Thanks Toots , I can reveal that I have a crucial interview to pass next month, pass that and I am on my way home

[ramot]

2 minutes ago, bug family said:

Thanks Toots , I can reveal that I have a crucial interview to pass next month, pass that and I am on my way home

Good luck xM

[steveshe]

I realised the day i landed this was home . Been here 22 years now and absolutely love it . Would never ever go back to UK . Been back couple of times  for a holiday and to see son and grandkids and  cannot wait to get on plane to come home . Think sometimes people look at UK through rose coloured specs , not all but some . 

[bug family]

49 minutes ago, steveshe said:

I realised the day i landed this was home . Been here 22 years now and absolutely love it . Would never ever go back to UK . Been back couple of times  for a holiday and to see son and grandkids and  cannot wait to get on plane to come home . Think sometimes people look at UK through rose coloured specs , not all but some . 

Hi steveshe, I am glad you have found your forever home, can I ask what part of the UK you lived in ?... I agree that it is human nature to sometimes see only the good and not the bad, I was slightly different in that before I came to Australia I knew I would come back home to the UK one day, I verbalised this at the time, I returned in 2019 for a holiday and loved it, it confirmed for me where I belong, I think for balance I will definitely say that I would not want to live in some areas back home, but equally there are some areas I wouldn't want to live in Australia......I know as I live in one

[simmo]

On 13/01/2022 at 12:01, steveshe said:

I realised the day i landed this was home . Been here 22 years now and absolutely love it . Would never ever go back to UK . Been back couple of times  for a holiday and to see son and grandkids and  cannot wait to get on plane to come home . Think sometimes people look at UK through rose coloured specs , not all but some . 

And visa versa of course.

[perthpom1]

It has been great reading peoples stories here - I came across the thread and can relate to a lot of people here. Been here for 10years and have my aussie passport, but can not wait to go back to the UK and set up there. We moved to Perth and built a house after about 16 months, but house prices fell and we just decided to stay and make the most of it. Luckily my partner and I had decent jobs and some good friends (mostly brits), so we decided to just crack on and make the most if it.  My partner settled quickly, but I have never loved the place. We lived in London previously and so do miss the culture, and family amongst many other things. The whole covid situation has made us realise that we both want to move home, and so are now putting the plans in place - we are both really excited and can't wait. How much as I do love Perth and the weather, we are a little bored of the place, miss family and the abilty to travel.  We have young kids and so we are just really looking forward to the next adventure and moving back to the UK. 

[Marisawright]

On 13/01/2022 at 23:01, steveshe said:

I realised the day i landed this was home . Been here 22 years now and absolutely love it .....Think sometimes people look at UK through rose coloured specs , not all but some . 

There are some people who do that, but there is a HUGE difference between people who are just nostalgic for a vanished youth, and people who have a deep attachment to their homeland.

I'm like you, I much prefer Australia to the UK and never had a moment's homesickness from the day I arrived.  For a long time, I dismissed people who hankered for "the old country" as looking with rose-coloured glasses, but I've learned otherwise.    There are some people who are deeply, deeply attached to the country of their birth, it's not based on logic and it's not based on memories, it's something they're born with and they're stuck with.  They will never feel truly happy living anywhere else.  Even if the UK was a complete dump and Australia was paved with gold, they'd be happier in the UK.  Strange, but true. 

 

[bug family]

5 hours ago, perthpom1 said:

It has been great reading peoples stories here - I came across the thread and can relate to a lot of people here. Been here for 10years and have my aussie passport, but can not wait to go back to the UK and set up there. We moved to Perth and built a house after about 16 months, but house prices fell and we just decided to stay and make the most of it. Luckily my partner and I had decent jobs and some good friends (mostly brits), so we decided to just crack on and make the most if it.  My partner settled quickly, but I have never loved the place. We lived in London previously and so do miss the culture, and family amongst many other things. The whole covid situation has made us realise that we both want to move home, and so are now putting the plans in place - we are both really excited and can't wait. How much as I do love Perth and the weather, we are a little bored of the place, miss family and the abilty to travel.  We have young kids and so we are just really looking forward to the next adventure and moving back to the UK. 

Hi perthpom1, coming from living in London the culture would be very different here, I to have lived here in Perth for 10 years and am returning home this year (hopefully), I find Perth personally a soulless place and mind numbing, as your children are young it would be the ideal time to move back, it is so much harder when they get older and start to develop a life here, where would you move back to if you do not mind me asking and will you find work easily?

[SRP026]

Been here nearly 12 years now and never regretted coming here,   I got my citizenship 2 years ago.   Always lived in various parts of QLD but now thinking of moving south to NSW.  My only regret is that I was unable to return to the UK for my sons wedding last year and I have never met my grandchildren.  I find Australia easy to live in and have no regrets about moving here. Like anywhere it is not one size fits all and people don't have to feel they have failed or guilty if they don't like it here, just decide what you want and go for it. If that means going back to your home country then just look at your time in Australia as an experience.  I have not been on this site for a few years but its good to see it is still running and people are still helping each other.  

[perthpom1]

46 minutes ago, bug family said:

Hi perthpom1, coming from living in London the culture would be very different here, I to have lived here in Perth for 10 years and am returning home this year (hopefully), I find Perth personally a soulless place and mind numbing, as your children are young it would be the ideal time to move back, it is so much harder when they get older and start to develop a life here, where would you move back to if you do not mind me asking and will you find work easily?

Good points- we are from Leicestershire and Essex, but after uni had moved to London- spent ten years there. I loved it, but we wanted a change for a couple of years (turned into 9). Possibly looking at Leicestershire or Essex. We are in a fortunate position as we have our own company (operates globally),  so we can move it anywhere. The last two years have made us want to go home even more. It’s not just seeing family, I’ve found it really divisive as to peoples attitudes toward the borders opening etc. I feel like the reasons we left /came are no longer there and we are just drifting along in life and in all honesty, are a little bored of Perth . Looking forward to new challenges, being able to travel again, shows, the countryside, the humour. 

[MARYROSE02]

6 hours ago, SRP026 said:

Been here nearly 12 years now and never regretted coming here,   I got my citizenship 2 years ago.   Always lived in various parts of QLD but now thinking of moving south to NSW.  My only regret is that I was unable to return to the UK for my sons wedding last year and I have never met my grandchildren.  I find Australia easy to live in and have no regrets about moving here. Like anywhere it is not one size fits all and people don't have to feel they have failed or guilty if they don't like it here, just decide what you want and go for it. If that means going back to your home country then just look at your time in Australia as an experience.  I have not been on this site for a few years but its good to see it is still running and people are still helping each other.  

I'm thinking of moving north from NSW to QLD. Actually, I'm already in QLD - the heart of Surfers Paradise but I'm not sure if it's a holiday or more permanent,  or an extended holiday. 

I like Surfers Paradise though I know some people hate it. I like the convenience of having everything I want within a five minute walk,  and if it's more than five minutes,  there's the excellent tram service. I don't like driving here - like Sydney - all day peak hour. Some of the towns I went through on the way up were like that too - Coffs Harbour,  Grafton, Lismore.

One of my brothers lives here and a friend from Sydney plus I know a few people from the previous time I was here in 20/21 so I can begin the process of transforming from "tourist" to "local."

I wonder if it's the inability to make friends here that makes some people want to go "home?" Surfers could be described as "boring" - no history, nothing over 60 years old,  a sea of tower blocks, but whether it's 60 years old or 600, it's the people that make the place home, whether in Surfers, Sydney or Southampton. 

[Parley]

10 hours ago, bug family said:

Hi perthpom1, coming from living in London the culture would be very different here, I to have lived here in Perth for 10 years and am returning home this year (hopefully), I find Perth personally a soulless place and mind numbing, as your children are young it would be the ideal time to move back, it is so much harder when they get older and start to develop a life here, where would you move back to if you do not mind me asking and will you find work easily?

It is weird how so many poms moved to Perth. I had no idea until I joined this forum. I still have no idea why it is other than people acting like lemmings and doing it because everyone else does.

Bit late now buy you may have enjoyed other cities like Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane much more.

[perthpom1]

23 minutes ago, Parley said:

It is weird how so many poms moved to Perth. I had no idea until I joined this forum. I still have no idea why it is other than people acting like lemmings and doing it because everyone else does.

Bit late now buy you may have enjoyed other cities like Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane much more.

Yeah - we had no idea there were a lot of brits here before we moved. We wanted to live abroad for a year, chose Aus and then explored job options - both got offers pretty quickly here.  My wife had previously lived in Sydney for a number of years, so we wanted to try a new place. We also chose Perth as, after living in London, we wanted to avoid another large city. Don't get me wrong, Perth is a nice place, but after 10 years, we want other things in life. 

[calNgary]

12 hours ago, Parley said:

It is weird how so many poms moved to Perth. I had no idea until I joined this forum. I still have no idea why it is other than people acting like lemmings and doing it because everyone else does.

Bit late now buy you may have enjoyed other cities like Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane much more.

Perth was our second choice if things didnt work out in QLD. Nothing to do with being lemmings for us, hubby had visited years ago and said it was his next fav place after QLD and also we wanted sun and heat so weather wise QLD and WA were our choice on that front.

 15 years here and not got to Perth yet,lol. too much to see and do in QLD

 Cal x

[Rallyman]

2 minutes ago, calNgary said:

Perth was our second choice if things didnt work out in QLD. Nothing to do with being lemmings for us, hubby had visited years ago and said it was his next fav place after QLD and also we wanted sun and heat so weather wise QLD and WA were our choice on that front.

 15 years here and not got to Perth yet,lol. too much to see and do in QLD

 Cal x

Doubtful it will be any time soon 

[calNgary]

1 minute ago, Rallyman said:

Doubtful it will be any time soon 

Well its not going anywhere and i have (hopefully) a fair few years in me yet,lol

  Cal x

   

[ali]

25 minutes ago, calNgary said:

 

 15 years here and not got to Perth yet,lol. too much to see and do in QLD

 Cal x

Well I think we're long overdue a catch up seeing as the last time we saw each other was 2009

[MARYROSE02]

14 hours ago, Parley said:

It is weird how so many poms moved to Perth. I had no idea until I joined this forum. I still have no idea why it is other than people acting like lemmings and doing it because everyone else does.

Bit late now buy you may have enjoyed other cities like Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane much more.

Maybe Perth is "better" than Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane?! I loved Perth from the moment I arrived but I couldn't get a job so I moved east, and ended up in Sydney. I fancy people who are homesick will feel that way regardless of where they live in Australia. 

[Parley]

4 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Maybe Perth is "better" than Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane?!

Australians don't move to Perth in their droves like Poms do, so I don't think that is it.

[bug family]

On 02/02/2022 at 07:02, Parley said:

you may have enjoyed other cities like Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane much more

Yes I have thought about this before, maybe if we had tried another state it may have been a happier ten years here, but I always wanted to go home and nothing has shaken that feeling going to another area of Australia may have made it more bearable but it would not have changed my mind  about where my home is,  I accepted that Australia isn't my home and never will be within the first few years of being here, that's the funny thing with life sometimes you do roll the dice and take a chance 

[MARYROSE02]

9 hours ago, Parley said:

Australians don't move to Perth in their droves like Poms do, so I don't think that is it.

Is there "correlation" there? Maybe Aussies from the "Land of the Walking Dead" ie "The Eastern States" think "We are not going to Perth. It's the most isolated city on Earth." Whilst "New Chums" are thinking,  "If we are going to the ends of the Earth we'd rather be 17 hours' flight from "Home" than 24 hours?!"

My original intention was to go to Queensland,  to Townsville of all places, and I've still not been there.  Then a good deal came up involving a flight from Gatwick to Singapore followed by a week's cruise to Freemantle for 320 quid instead of 370 to fly to Queensland. 

I liked Perth but I couldn't get a job and I decided to travel east, first to Adelaide and then to Sydney where I finally got a job nearly 3 months after I arrived in Oz.

Looking back,  I could have just stayed in Perth. A job would have come up eventually  but that's with hindsight. Now I'm back in Surfers Paradise wondering if this is where I'll settle.  I like it here. I liked Perth. I liked Sydney (though sometimes I think I "endured" it, never having experienced living in a big city before.)

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Maybe Aussies from the "Land of the Walking Dead" ie "The Eastern States"....

?