OzzHammer Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Thanks for all the replies. We went for lunch today and calmly said to the kids we have something to tell you......after an Oscar winning type pause...we said we are going back to England. My daughter instantly burst into tears of joy and my son was speachless....said it all for us. We have read so many posts on here about people moving back to the U.K and then find themselves coming back to Oz, but for us the reasons are very clear..family and friends. If I have to work two jobs, to be honest I don't care..as long as my family are happy that's all I care about. Once I hand in my notice, I'm going to have a chat with our Managing Director as he's English and has just come back from a three week holiday back to the homeland. For those of you that have been here 18 months or so, personally I would say you have to try and give it at least three or four years, but also when buying a house take your time and try to find a forever house, this may have been where we went wrong to begin with as we have lived in four different homes in six and a half years: two rented and two built...:wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Thanks for all the replies. We went for lunch today and calmly said to the kids we have something to tell you......after an Oscar winning type pause...we said we are going back to England. My daughter instantly burst into tears of joy and my son was speachless....said it all for us. We have read so many posts on here about people moving back to the U.K and then find themselves coming back to Oz, but for us the reasons are very clear..family and friends. If I have to work two jobs, to be honest I don't care..as long as my family are happy that's all I care about. Once I hand in my notice, I'm going to have a chat with our Managing Director as he's English and has just come back from a three week holiday back to the homeland. For those of you that have been here 18 months or so, personally I would say you have to try and give it at least three or four years, but also when buying a house take your time and try to find a forever house, this may have been where we went wrong to begin with as we have lived in four different homes in six and a half years: two rented and two built...:wacko: I feel the same way as you feel when I am in UK cannot wait to get back to Aus. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzHammer Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi All, Mr OzzHammer here, Quick update, the house has been on the market since September but the a*** seems to have dropped out of the market in South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne and we are facing a $100k drop in the value of our house in less than a year !!!!! This along with listening to the ABC and hearing all about the IMF boss saying the eurozone is in deep sh*t with Greece about to default yet again is really beginning to but doubts in our mind if going back to the UK is going to be the best thing to do for at least the forseeable future. Tonight driving home an economy specialist stated that Australia along with maybe two or three other countries will be best placed to get through another slow down or even a full on depression....although the depression WOULD affect Oz in some ways. So, here we are back in that indecision zone again - what to do....... Any advice from posters that have been back in the UK for the last few months would greatly be appreciated, we were looking to move back to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, so if anyone has moved back to that area we would like to get some feedback on what the current financial status/feel is like. Thanks again Oz (Mr) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SussexBear Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi All, Mr OzzHammer here, Quick update, the house has been on the market since September but the a*** seems to have dropped out of the market in South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne and we are facing a $100k drop in the value of our house in less than a year !!!!! This along with listening to the ABC and hearing all about the IMF boss saying the eurozone is in deep sh*t with Greece about to default yet again is really beginning to but doubts in our mind if going back to the UK is going to be the best thing to do for at least the forseeable future. Tonight driving home an economy specialist stated that Australia along with maybe two or three other countries will be best placed to get through another slow down or even a full on depression....although the depression WOULD affect Oz in some ways. So, here we are back in that indecision zone again - what to do....... Any advice from posters that have been back in the UK for the last few months would greatly be appreciated, we were looking to move back to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, so if anyone has moved back to that area we would like to get some feedback on what the current financial status/feel is like. Thanks again Oz (Mr) Hi We arrived back in August, like you we went back and forth in our thinking. Yes the economy is not good, I have been lucky to get straight back into the NHS but at a much lower salary than in Oz(worked in health there also). OH is having difficultiy finding work and yes the cost of living has gone up since we left in 2007...BUT so much happier despite all of that, we live in a lovely area of West Sussex, slipped right back in to the lifestyle, family come and visit(that didn't happen with my Oz family). At the end of the day we may not be financially richer but feel happy more relaxed and just happy to be home ewhere our hearts are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 HI, Sorry to hear about the problems you are having it must be a right nightmare trying to decide what is best. Do you have any friends in the UK that could check out the chances of you getting work and a realistic idea of the situation there. I have always had the impression that Hertfordshire was one of the better areas for people returning but as I am not in the UK its hard to give a real opinion. Good luck I hope it all works out for you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scmercer Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi All, Mr OzzHammer here, Quick update, the house has been on the market since September but the a*** seems to have dropped out of the market in South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne and we are facing a $100k drop in the value of our house in less than a year !!!!! This along with listening to the ABC and hearing all about the IMF boss saying the eurozone is in deep sh*t with Greece about to default yet again is really beginning to but doubts in our mind if going back to the UK is going to be the best thing to do for at least the forseeable future. Tonight driving home an economy specialist stated that Australia along with maybe two or three other countries will be best placed to get through another slow down or even a full on depression....although the depression WOULD affect Oz in some ways. So, here we are back in that indecision zone again - what to do....... Any advice from posters that have been back in the UK for the last few months would greatly be appreciated, we were looking to move back to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, so if anyone has moved back to that area we would like to get some feedback on what the current financial status/feel is like. Thanks again Oz (Mr) Hi We moved back to the North West from Adelaide in August for similar reasons to you, we just wanted the kids to grow up and know their grandparents whilst they were young. I knew the UK was in a mess when we left, but we were positive about jobs etc and made the move anyway. We also took a hit on the sale of our house in Oz, but we knew the exchange rate was in our favour so sold it for less than we wanted. It all went downhill though when we arrived to back. Upon return to the UK the job offer my husband originally had fell through, we couldn't get our son in decent state school so we are now paying for private school, there is hardly any work about and the jobs that are there( in my husband's area anyway) have really dropped salary wise, I have found it impossible to find part time work and I am working voluntarily in the hope I can return to uni at some point to study, however the fees for studying now are ridiculous. We have also not been able to find a house, it is meant to be a buyer's market but after numerous offers on houses which have been on the market for ages we are still renting and paying a fortune as the rent has risen since the property market has dropped. It is not a great situation here, our funds are running down quickly and it doesn't look like the situation is going to get any better. I know there are other positive aspects to returning such as having family around but when you have given up a perfectly decent life in Oz to return to a dismal UK you start to wonder if you have done the right thing. I don't want to sound all doom and gloom but I know how hard this whole moving back process is both financially and emotionally, especially when you have your heart set on it, you don't want anything to put you off. I know you are returning to a different area and I cant comment on how things are there, I can only really say how our experience has been. I hope things work out as you want and good luck with your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WatfordNick82 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hello, Being a fellow Hammer and from Herts thought I'd try and help! (I'm going the other way in March - Off to Melbourne on a working holiday visa!) Well jobs seem to be fine around here, some of my bricklayer mates are struggling but every other area seems to be fine. My carpenter mate works in london and is absolutely flying at the moment. I work in an office and no one has got a wage increase for years....Until this year (Only slight but still an improvement) House prices - Well in Watford they haven't increased much over the last few years but I wouldnt say that they have dropped either. So I'm guessing you will be able to get the same or a better home than you had before if Australia has gone up over the last few years and this area has stayed similar to wehat it was. To be honest I cant see how the house prices can go up round here.......People can barely afford them anyway. You have probably used it already but Rightmove.co.uk is the best website out there for looking and also you'll have the advantage of knowing what area is nice and whats not. Well I had originally planned to go to Australia to run away from 'real' life here in the UK. I pictured this amazing experience over there but over the last few months I've realised I would have been miserable and exactly the same over there with that attitude. I believe you can be happy wherever you are if you have your priorities right. Obviously your priorities are your family and so I think you'll be happy back here. I'm going over there to see if that Monday morning feeling is exactly the same over there!! I will miss the West Ham though.......Going to my last game next Saturday (Millwall!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l1sa Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 The UK despite all its so called failings, is still a great place to live. I have never been out of work, nor has my husband and he's a self employed carpenter, even in this latest downturn, we've been lucky and have skirted most of the problems. So it can be done. We're not that far from your old stomping ground and my advice would be, don't read the newspapers or listen to the news!! Far too depressing and in general, wrong. None of my friends are out of work, or their husbands. I don't know if this is luck or if in this area things are just not that bad. Follow your heart. Good luck Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 hi all great story, hope all works out great in great britain ive been here in perth aus for 6 months now and have family pulling me back to carlisle, although i know i shud give it another 6 months its sooo difficult to keep your mind focused on your desire to give aus a go while having the pull of family and friends in the uk, which they probably havnt moved on in their lives but you you seam to need to be part of their lives again, not sure i can last another 6 monthe but it dosent matter, at least i and many in my situation have tried their goal, thousands either dont have a goal in life or dont try for a goal again all the best in GREAT BRITAIN:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I'm not going to try and change your minds about going back to England because I went back for twelve years myself. It's just that if you have been in Australia for a few years, going back to England to live and work, not just on holiday, is like emigrating for a second time and you have to go through all the same problems. Some of your friends, and even family, may have 'moved on' as it where. Even if they are all overjoyed to see you, after the initial 'rush', you might find yourself thinking that Australia wasn't so bad after all. Without realizing it, you may have started to think like an Aussie. All I'm trying to say, like one or two others, is to get your Aussie citizenship, as 'insurance' if you like, which you may never have to use! It's funny but as I'm typing this, I can just see read the post above this about the pleasures of going round Europe and I'm thinking 'why didn't I do it a few times?' In my twelve years back I had three holidays to Spain. To be fair, I did have loads of holidays staying in England and I was never one for weekends away, preferring to spend them cycling on The New Forest where I lived. Anyway, I hope it all works out for you. I would have stayed in England but after my parents passed away I wanted to be close to my brother. I'm an Aussie citizen so there was no problems returning to Australia, apart from emigrating for a THIRD time! PS for some people, living in Australia might not actually be the problem, maybe a symptom, perhaps. But, as they used to say about the Northern Territory, 'you'll never never know if you never never go!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoman Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I think it was said when people question better quality of life, to some its not beaches and sunshine, one persons idea of a better quality of life is far different from anothers, op was open and honest and to the point jgt, that post did nothing to add quality to the thread, hope you feel better for posting that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsindecision Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 coming back is like starting again and agree with earlier posts that you have to treat it as a new stage - one friend of mine is treating it like another ex-pat posting. I do love England and the humour etc. It is true you don't always fit back in friends have moved on and also don't realise just how lost you are feeling. So you need to re-calibrate your thinking and approach it with new eyes. I personally wouldn't have come back if one of us didn't have a job and have good funds to set us back up again - important to get this in order. South East Pretty good from where I am sitting - I am so busy with work it's crazy but I am in the right trade at the right time. House prices still high and we are fussy - so still haven't found a home to call our own, having said that renting a lovely house so all good. I have had to face empty nest as well coming back as older kids off to uni so where my life was full of cooking and teenage dramas I am now a bit lost in the evenings - can feel an evening class coming on. At least we have choice here. Good luck xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzHammer Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hello, Being a fellow Hammer and from Herts thought I'd try and help! (I'm going the other way in March - Off to Melbourne on a working holiday visa!) Well jobs seem to be fine around here, some of my bricklayer mates are struggling but every other area seems to be fine. My carpenter mate works in london and is absolutely flying at the moment. I work in an office and no one has got a wage increase for years....Until this year (Only slight but still an improvement) House prices - Well in Watford they haven't increased much over the last few years but I wouldnt say that they have dropped either. So I'm guessing you will be able to get the same or a better home than you had before if Australia has gone up over the last few years and this area has stayed similar to wehat it was. To be honest I cant see how the house prices can go up round here.......People can barely afford them anyway. You have probably used it already but Rightmove.co.uk is the best website out there for looking and also you'll have the advantage of knowing what area is nice and whats not. Well I had originally planned to go to Australia to run away from 'real' life here in the UK. I pictured this amazing experience over there but over the last few months I've realised I would have been miserable and exactly the same over there with that attitude. I believe you can be happy wherever you are if you have your priorities right. Obviously your priorities are your family and so I think you'll be happy back here. I'm going over there to see if that Monday morning feeling is exactly the same over there!! I will miss the West Ham though.......Going to my last game next Saturday (Millwall!!) - Hey WN, Your'e not Nick Price by any chance are you and a friend of Nick Prevost ?? Anyways, you'll be fine down here to watch the Hammers. Even in the npower they have been on at least eight or nine times and have been the main game on the hoghlights show a fair few times. I think me and my boy saw them maybe 20 - 25 times last year.......back in the Prem. Thanks for all the posts guys, some may think we are completely bonkers, but to be honest if we can sell our house we will go back to the UK even if I dont have a job as we have decided the U.K is most definitely home. I also feel that it would give me a better chance of finding a job being in the U.K rather than having email 'chats' and skype interviews....people would see what they are getting. Anyhow, thanks again all, and come on you ironz. !!! Good luck Watford Nick !! Ozz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WatfordNick82 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 No I'm not him mate. Good luck with it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davethebear Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hi, Good luck to you on your return to the UK. I have now been back in Old Blighty for the last 6 months after 4 years away in Oz and I have enjoyed my return. If your heart tells you to return then go with it. I have no regrets, and one thing is for sure nobody else will understand your reasons unless they have experienced it for themselves. All the best to you and your family.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothnet Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Hallo all. Never thought I'd be posting in this section of the site, but as a fellow ex-Berkhamsteadian (though I haven't lived there for about 10 years now) who's been here in Aus a couple of years, I've come to much the same conclusion - it's time to go home. I absolutely *love* Australia. It's beautiful, it's vast, and it's amazing. That said, all my friends and family are back in the UK, and I've been terribly homesick ever since I went back to visit in August last year. So good luck to you OzzHammer, maybe I'll see you in the Boat sometime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzHammer Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Well, it took a bit more than six to nine months, but we are off !!!! Got the fantastic news on Friday that I have been accepted for a position down in Chichester and I start second week of June. A lot to do in a very short space of time, my last day of work being 30th May, our house isn't sold yet and we also have a car to sell and two iphone contracts to sort out before we go.....:eek: . The only thing we'll need help with once back in the UK is finding a nice house rent along with some rental furniture until ours arrives. We'll keep our Ozzie bank account for a couple of months until all outstanding bills and credit cards have been paid, if anyone else can think of anything else or advice, you are welcome to post up. Can't wait...........:biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoman Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Well, it took a bit more than six to nine months, but we are off !!!! Got the fantastic news on Friday that I have been accepted for a position down in Chichester and I start second week of June. A lot to do in a very short space of time, my last day of work being 30th May, our house isn't sold yet and we also have a car to sell and two iphone contracts to sort out before we go.....:eek: . The only thing we'll need help with once back in the UK is finding a nice house rent along with some rental furniture until ours arrives. We'll keep our Ozzie bank account for a couple of months until all outstanding bills and credit cards have been paid, if anyone else can think of anything else or advice, you are welcome to post up. Can't wait...........:biggrin: Chichester lovely part of west sussex, be sure to visit the pubs in Bosham on the foreshore, and others along the old a27 on way to Portsmouth, and the roman palace in fishbourne. stunning this time of year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Great news OzzH, - very nice part of the world indeed, and you are so lucky to have picked up a job before you arrive! Hope it all goes brilliantly for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine111 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 How exciting for you. Brilliant time to be coming home & West Sussex is a beautiful part of the country. Welcome home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alandeej Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 After six months going home at start of May and can't wait, we put everything into Oz but it's not for us. I would say nice place to visit but not to live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Julz Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Well done OzzHammer, I hope the house sells quickly and the move goes smoothly!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 After six months going home at start of May and can't wait, we put everything into Oz but it's not for us. I would say nice place to visit but not to live! hjey alandeej i think exactly the same at the moment, i also put everything into oz and its an awesome place to holiday/travel but i also think its not to live, i fly out at the end of may to the uk after 10 months in oz and im really looking forward to getting back to fam friends etc and getting back into a routine that i like:biggrin::cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzHammer Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Hi All, Well, the flights are booked for 1st June, so now we are looking at areas to live around Chichester, Goodwood. I found this thread on another forum (sorry for posting): http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=394817 albeit six years old, and I'm not quite sure if a lot of what has been said is true by today's standards. If there's anyone on here from around that area or has moved away in the last year or so, I would love to hear your thoughts on where to live, our budget is around the 250k - 275k mark. Many Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbk Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hi, Like you I've been in Perth, well Secret Harbour, since January this year and as much as I've tried to like it, I don't! It just doesn't 'feel' like home and I'm not sure it ever will either. Already thinking about returning to the UK, although with no house or job to go back to, not sure how easy this will be!! Good luck with whatever you decide to do :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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