BackToAdelaide Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I know this forum is really about Poms moving to and from Aus but I wondered if there are any Aussies on here who have lived in the UK and then moved back to Australia (especially Adelaide)? I've been in Blighty for 7 years now and my English boyfriend is currently awaiting his partner visa so we can make the big move to Adelaide. I know that I can't expect things to be just as they were when I left (or maybe they will be, even scarier!) but any tips on making the move back would be appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sk1ppy Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I know this forum is really about Poms moving to and from Aus but I wondered if there are any Aussies on here who have lived in the UK and then moved back to Australia (especially Adelaide)? I've been in Blighty for 7 years now and my English boyfriend is currently awaiting his partner visa so we can make the big move to Adelaide. I know that I can't expect things to be just as they were when I left (or maybe they will be, even scarier!) but any tips on making the move back would be appreciated. Thanks Hi, I'm aussie and have been here for seven years. I can't wait to get bak, my partners visa is due to be granted in six weeks then we're making the move in jan. I'm from perth but am moving to Adelaide so hopefully it'll all go well. I've been bak to oz heaps of times for a holiday and its still pretty much the same I reckon its just more expensive. Good luck wiv ur move and hopefully you'll have alot of savings cos its not cheap startin again! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brummie39 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Hiya, Im brummies wife, and Im an aussie who lived in the u.k for over 10 years. We moved back last oct.. Hubby has PR visa, and our english son has dual passports. To tell you the truth, we are struggling to settle here, and finances have taken a big nose dive. Everything and I mean everything.. rent, food, clothing, going out etc.. is so expensive. I find myself comparing it all to what I can get it for in the u.k. Me as the aussie have struggled to feel "home". Its not the same for me, and that great aussie dream is no longer there for us. So we are moving back to u.k, as we had better quality of life there. Just be prepared for changes, 7 years is a long time to be away. Be prepared for up's and downs. Friends and family will soon tire of the welcome home party's and move into there comfortable lives again. I wish you and boyfriend all the best for move, and hope you enjoy being "home". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dracona Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Hi Aussie wife of Englishman who lived in UK for 2 yrs and been back in Oz (waiting for hubby) since April due to family ill health. I also found food prices in particular to be massive but financially am better off as in UK I kept getting further into debt. Food examples are bakery bread $4.50, meat $14-20/kg altho if you go to fruit n veg stores and butchers it'll be cheaper. Markets also. Woolies n Coles has milk $2/2litres which is still good. Eggs tho have gone up to $3/dozen. Just to give examples. Oh and leeks are $2 each! lol that one slays me. Rents have also gone up. Most of these increases have been in the last 3-4yrs due to drought and the floods/cyclones and the fact the price gougers don't lower them again. Apart from that, as brummie said, you'll have to settle into life. I do feel the 'aussie dream' is here and zomg how much more positive the energy of the place is!! Where I was in UK was so grey and depressing with no hope. Here it's sunshine, people smile more, and you can go out and do things so much more. I feel more hope here. Maybe that's just us. Make the time to visit and reconnect with family and friends. That will take a while as there will be distance (emotionally) between you. This is normal and unavoidable but prob my most unpleasant find on my return. It just takes time to go out together, have meals together. It'll be ok. So just be aware prices are insane, and see how you go. Don't make any snap decisions, give it a year at least! And you may find like many on here that it's the best choice you ever made PS OH on the plus side... when I left, internet prices were insane (we paid $80/mth for 120gig) and have now lowered and you can get unlimited again on ADSL+2 for about $50 so that's a plus (yes more than UK but half what it was 2 yrs ago) PPS Brummie.... you better get a job before going back to the UK. Finding work there is incredibly difficult... much harder than here in Oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I know this forum is really about Poms moving to and from Aus but I wondered if there are any Aussies on here who have lived in the UK and then moved back to Australia (especially Adelaide)? I've been in Blighty for 7 years now and my English boyfriend is currently awaiting his partner visa so we can make the big move to Adelaide. I know that I can't expect things to be just as they were when I left (or maybe they will be, even scarier!) but any tips on making the move back would be appreciated. Thanks take a look at our sister site for members in that area. http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/ You will find that the members on there should be able to offer more detailed responses:biggrin:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misplaced Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Well I am an Aussie who has been living in the UK for 34 years and we have (that's my OH and 2 sons) decided to make the move to Oz and back to my home city of Adelaide. My sons both have Oz citizenship and passports and we are going to send my wife's partner visa application off in August and then hopefully move out in July. From what has been said on the PomsinAdelaide site things are more expensive but most of them find that this is balanced out by the lifestyle. One of the main tips they say is not to convert money back to UK Pounds and that way you get more used to the Dollar and how far it does or doesn't go! I am also on the PomsinAdelaide site - the guys and gals are really helpful and truthful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 using the current exchange rate to equate costs in each country is a pointless exercise, when you get to oz you will be earning aus dollars and average skilled wages are at least 35% better paid and it equates to the cost of living being similar in each country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackToAdelaide Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Thanks for all the replies so far. We're in a pretty good position as I already own my house in Adelaide so we'll be moving back into that which means affording rent won't be an issue for us. In terms of family, my parents have been hoping all along I'd move back so I expect we'll see quite a bit of them - just hopefully not too much! Quite a few of my friends have moved away though so I'll have to build a friend base up again, but I'm thinking that might be a good thing so that my OH doesn't feel like he has to just inherit all of my friends. It's so exciting to think about moving back and I know it won't be all smooth sailing but hopefully it works for us! Any tips for helping my OH settle in? I'm conscious of the fact that I'm returning home whereas he's moving halfway round the world to a place he's visited only once before briefly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sk1ppy Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Thanks for all the replies so far. We're in a pretty good position as I already own my house in Adelaide so we'll be moving back into that which means affording rent won't be an issue for us. In terms of family, my parents have been hoping all along I'd move back so I expect we'll see quite a bit of them - just hopefully not too much! Quite a few of my friends have moved away though so I'll have to build a friend base up again, but I'm thinking that might be a good thing so that my OH doesn't feel like he has to just inherit all of my friends. It's so exciting to think about moving back and I know it won't be all smooth sailing but hopefully it works for us! Any tips for helping my OH settle in? I'm conscious of the fact that I'm returning home whereas he's moving halfway round the world to a place he's visited only once before briefly. When are ya movin bak to oz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackToAdelaide Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 We're still waiting for my boyfriend's partner visa to be approved but expect that to happen in September so hopefully we'll be moving back by the end of October. Will be great to have Christmas with the family! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sk1ppy Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 We're still waiting for my boyfriend's partner visa to be approved but expect that to happen in September so hopefully we'll be moving back by the end of October. Will be great to have Christmas with the family! Hey ur so lucky, we're movin in jan but won't be in adelaide til 01 feb, don't know anyone yet lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackToAdelaide Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Just curious, what made you decide to go to Adelaide if you're from Perth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sk1ppy Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Just curious, what made you decide to go to Adelaide if you're from Perth? Can I PM ya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackToAdelaide Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drizzy Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Not quite in the same boat yet, but sort of - I'm a Tasmanian (from Hobart) who's been in London for 4 years and just trying to get a handle on what would be required to move back to Australia (prossibly for just a couple of years) with my English girlfriend. There's no way I'd purposely inflict Tasmania on anyone so we'd be going to Melbourne I reckon. Current plan is to apply for her partner visa early to mid next year with a view to activating it at Christmas 2012, which would then give us the freedom to go whenever we felt like in the following 5 years (? as long as I have understood AU visa rules correctly!). Gives us peace of mind too should the UK Home Office suddenly decide to be even bigger knobs than they already are. Wouldn't be for a few years yet though - I want to get my ILR in the UK first which won't happen till 2013 (as long as they don't change the bloody rules..!) Would be very interested to hear how you find it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I moved back to Australia at the end of last year with my partner after spending nearly 12 years living in the UK and US. The move to the UK had never been a permanent one for me, it was more of a chance to travel and experience different cultures and the sight, sounds and smells of the UK and Europe. But at the beginning of last year we decided that it was time to come to Australia and settle down here in Brisbane. We knew from research that it was going to be expensive, we knew that our money saved in the UK would not go very far over here and that it would be hard to get ourselves set up again but for us it was important to come back and give it a go. And the verdict 8 months in is that we did exactly the right thing. For us we have a lot more disposable income (even though our income is only 1.6 x what we were earning in the UK), we are eating better food, we are exercising more and we are making more friends over here than we did in the UK. The thing is that we didn't move to anywhere near family - my parents live in remote Queensland and it is a 90 minute flight and 2 hour drive to their place and my sister lives a 9 hour drive away (no flights), so we have had to start from scratch with friends and contacts like many of the members on PIO. I guess (apart from rambling) what I am getting at is that the need to research the cost of living over here is important and also what your job prospects are going to be like. Try to imagine what it will be like not to be able to jump on a plane and head over to Europe for a weekend, is that something you are happy not to do, or like me is it time to once again explore the beauty and wonder that is Australia. Are you happy to deal with the massive distances within Australia again and the car centric travel culture? As I said previously, for us it was the best thing we could have done and everyday I wake up and am thankful that I am here in Brisbane - I love it and my partner is also very happy and settled over here, even stating that she never wants to live anywhere else but in Australia as she loves it so much. For others it isn't such a successful return and there are potentially many reasons for that but we are all different and if we weren't it would be a very boring world. Good luck with the visa process and the move back to Adelaide. :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Great post Michelle, sounds like your sorted, best of luck for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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