how long do you give Australia

[MARYROSE02]

...and that year cannot run quick enough for me, as I said before it only took me 8 weeks in Australia to realise where I wanted to be.

 

I still think you might become 'institutionalised'! I've read enough 'ping-pong Pom' threads to know there are others who change their minds.

 

I've just spent a few minutes daydreaming about what it would be like if I went back (again.) Put my stuff back into storage (some of it is there still there from 1997), rent my flat out here, give the tenant her notice in UK (or perhaps it would be better to move into a smaller place and have two lots of rent?)

 

I've got no family to go back to now but there are still a few friends/neighbours who might be pleased to see me. It's a pity about the job I quit to come out here. I don't think I'd get that back but who knows?

 

Start cycling again to replace the swimming I do each day here. Read The Times instead of The Aussie, listen to the BBC instead of the ABC, drink much the same lager in much the same pubs (unless I want real ale!) Subscribe again to Sky although I get more EPL live games on Fox here. Revel in the delights of Tesco & Primark!

 

Is that Heaven or Hell or somethng right in the middle, something very like what I've got right now!

[Guest Been there]

Staying forever, if not longer!

[Guest guest57588]

can't help agreeing with Quoll.

I made this mistake when we came here. We deliberately sold the house, cos I KNEW I'd struggle and therefore didn't want an easy get out clause. If only.............

It's only since I've stopped putting such finality on our life here that my depression has lifted

 

And since you hooked up with the Geelong Massive for legendary nights of excess! :wink:

[Guest Guest 47403]

oops sorry!

 

No your not lol

[stevenpasha]

I have this theory that for some, but not all migrants, at the same time as they are fighting their homesickness, Australia is imperceptibly 'growing' upon them. Unfortunately, it is only when they get back to England that they realize it.

 

I remember, decades ago, reading about this British family who emigrated to NZ and immediately HATED it. They then started saving their money to purchase their tickets home and by the time they were ready to go, they realized that they liked it in NZ. They had got used to things like the native wild and plantlife and had (re) planted roots in NZ. They wrote a book about their experiences.

 

So, even if you know, from the second you step off that plane, that you HATE Australia, I think it can grow on you. The same thing happens to some Aussies who go to UK for a holiday and end up staying for good.

 

Perhaps it's like a kind of 'reverse' marriage where the honeymoon comes at the end not the beginning?

that is exactly what has happened to us, went to oz for a reccy for 8 weeks didnt like where we were returned back to essex,3 months later went back to a different state rented our house out and gave it our best,my wife and kids loved it i absolutely hated it at first,missed the footie the pub my mates etc,after 7 months it got slightly better but i was still home sick so after 9 months gave our tenants their notice and moved back to the uk,when we got off the plane it was feb and bleak and cold but i didnt mind.....at first. it took me 3 weeks to realise oz was where we wanted to live that was 2 years ago we have been doing the process ever since all over again, sold our house now we hear if we can go back in the next week:arghh:

[MARYROSE02]

Probably a good idea to go back to UK in the autumn/winter rather than spring/summer. I didn't mind the winters to be honest but it's a shock to the system arriving at Heathrow to cold/dank/grey/gloom. But if you love it, it can only get better.

[Guest guest51333]

I knew I never wanted to retire in the UK, never wanted to raise my kids there and wanted a more outdoor lifestyle, it was never about financial issues.. I had never set foot in Australia, but my best friend of 29 yrs lived here.

 

I knew stepping of the plane, I was finally in the right place and so did my husband.

Both of us never loved the UK, infact we hated it, other than family being there, yet we are born and bred British. The more time went on, the more we wanted out.

 

I have never once wanted to return to the UK and quite happy to never fly there again other than to see family (would be quite happy and prefer it if they all came here instead )

I have never once felt pangs to go home, except last yr when I had kidney issues.

 

My kids love it here but took time to settle except DD who gets bored. They all said they dont really care if we had to go back to the UK but are quite happy here too.

 

So for me and my husband it was instant, the kids it took time and after 2.5 yrs they are settled but still miss the UK and family.

I think it depends on the individual, what they are looking for, their ties in the Uk and if they are able to overcome the emotional ties. (we all have a lot fo family in the UK, expecially my sister who I am incredibly close too)

 

Thanks Fairystar32 thats how we feel about the UK and cant wait to get out of here, glad to hear your loving it and settled xx:spinny:

[Guest guest51333]

maryrose2 sounds like Oz is much better from where im standing, Tescos has gone too expensive, Primark only ever has tiny sizes ie 4,6,8,10's, i wouldnt be coming back for those two shops thats for sure xx

[Guest guest22466]

maryrose2 sounds like Oz is much better from where im standing, Tescos has gone too expensive, Primark only ever has tiny sizes ie 4,6,8,10's, i wouldnt be coming back for those two shops thats for sure xx

 

Food is mega expensive in OZ too....i might be needing the size 4,6,8,10's soon as i cant afford to eat as much lol ok maybe not .....love me food...xx

[MARYROSE02]

I got a almost a complete set of clothes in Primark Oxford St for 20 quid - jeans, shirts, vests, pants - and ditched them before I got on the plane. No, I've still got the shirts come to think of it. I can NEVER throw away my links to 'home'.

[Guest Wooster]

I knew straight away. We have given three years, returned from a UK holiday in June and now we have finally made the decision to go home. We won't be able to come back, as we are not applying for PR and i believe that is the best option. We were never happy here, so if we ever get tempted to come back when things get tough we can't we and that will be a blessing Can't wait now, going stay a bit longer, just to save to allow us to go back home without any financial worries...home is where the heart is. I think you know is Oz is for you, pretty much straight away.

[l1sa]

Although, I'm not living in Oz yet, on the 2 occasions we have been (a month each time) in the strangest way, we have felt home. Now I do realise that there is a HUGE difference between being on holiday and living in a place. But in our defence, our holiday was not your classic holiday, we stayed with family (so no hotel) and whilst there we used to take them to work, and we'd do a lot of the household chores and go and pay their bills and do the shopping and I'd cook dinner for them for when they got home etc. etc. We also went house hunting whilst there, So in a wierd way, it did feel like we were living there for a while. And I did honestly feel...at home... But it wasn't all rose tinted specs, there were occasions when we'd sit down and panic at the area of a house we'd just looked at!! (scary!!!) :swoon:

 

I don't know how, but it felt right and one of the things that kind of made me feel that way was how my daughter reacted to going home, she sobbed in the airport and on the plane for about 5 hours!! She just wanted to stay forever!! And on arriving back in the UK, I felt almost bereft, like I'd been ripped away. And in a wierd way....I felt homesick! And again, I just thought I'd mention I do know that there is a huge difference between living temporarily and permanently!! This is just how I felt/feel.

 

But, even though I feel positive about the place, we are not rushing into things, we are taking our time and realise that to make things work, timing has to be right, and we are just going on instinct here. I think the 2 year strategy seems to be about right, even for something like a job, 2 years in you either feel at home or you quit!!

 

So here's hoping that after all our planning that seems to be taking FOREVER!! things will work out when we finally make the move!

 

And heres some well wishes and prayers for everyone, whether here or there, whether happy or not. Lets all enjoy and look for positives in our everyday lives (however small they may be!):hug:

 

Lisa XX

[Guest Bazinga]

I LOVE the UK. LOVE it. Esp love London which is where I'm from - Tottenham to be exact. However, I married an Australian and I always knew that he'd want to go back. So we are going next year and I've said I'll give it 2yrs and if I hate it I'm leaving. Having said that we visited for 2 months this year and I really did like it so I'm hoping it will all work out. We also have kids so leaving wouldn't be straight forward.

[paulswin]

We're going to give it as long as it takes!!! I'm going with the "this is a permanent move" but if things don't work out us and the kids will have been able to experience life in a different part of the world even though we will be broke after!!!!

[MARYROSE02]

I LOVE the UK. LOVE it. Esp love London which is where I'm from - Tottenham to be exact. However, I married an Australian and I always knew that he'd want to go back. So we are going next year and I've said I'll give it 2yrs and if I hate it I'm leaving. Having said that we visited for 2 months this year and I really did like it so I'm hoping it will all work out. We also have kids so leaving wouldn't be straight forward.

 

From Tottenham? Are you a Spurs fan? You will find plenty of us here!

 

PS check out www.ozspurs.com

[Guest guest51333]

I got a almost a complete set of clothes in Primark Oxford St for 20 quid - jeans, shirts, vests, pants - and ditched them before I got on the plane. No, I've still got the shirts come to think of it. I can NEVER throw away my links to 'home'.

 

Ha Ha what you like!!!!!:biglaugh:

[bunbury61]

I got a almost a complete set of clothes in Primark Oxford St for 20 quid - jeans, shirts, vests, pants - and ditched them before I got on the plane. No, I've still got the shirts come to think of it. I can NEVER throw away my links to 'home'.

 

You actually survived primark ..oxford st:biglaugh:

i was there the other week with my wife and daughter .

We have primark locally , but the one in oxford st is something else .

I should have been suspicious when i saw all the p...ssed off husbands and boyfriends sat out the front waiting for their other halves.

i had the worst hour and a half of my life ,following them round .

The women are like a plague of locusts :biglaugh:.

They destroy the place .

Blouses , bags , shoes all being tossed in the air .....its like a mass robbery

My wife come out with a few bags, she must have seen the look of despair on my face ...." how much did you spend luv " i said

 

" A TENNER " she said :biglaugh:

Well it kept her happy for a bit

[MARYROSE02]

Ha Ha what you like!!!!!:biglaugh:

 

I did put those two shirts in a charity bag but then I sneakily pulled them out again and returned them to the back of the cupboard. You can get away with these things without being under the constant supervision of a 'boss!'

 

I actually buy a lot of my clothes from charity & recycled clothes shops in Sydney but NOT anything with a label from Kmart/Target/Less than Best. One does have standards to maintain.

 

One of my proudest purchases is a Hugo Boss jacket for $44 from Vinnies in Rozelle.

[MARYROSE02]

You actually survived primark ..oxford st:biglaugh:

i was there the other week with my wife and daughter .

We have primark locally , but the one in oxford st is something else .

I should have been suspicious when i saw all the p...ssed off husbands and boyfriends sat out the front waiting for their other halves.

i had the worst hour and a half of my life ,following them round .

The women are like a plague of locusts :biglaugh:.

They destroy the place .

Blouses , bags , shoes all being tossed in the air .....its like a mass robbery

My wife come out with a few bags, she must have seen the look of despair on my face ...." how much did you spend luv " i said

 

" A TENNER " she said :biglaugh:

 

Well it kept her happy for a bit

 

Do Primark craftily locate their shops well away from 'watering holes'? I always remember my brother telling me he was talking to an Aussie bloke in a pub who told him (in a shocked voice) that his missus had been so long in the shop that he'd already drunk three schooners.

[Guest jade2030]

i had been in oz for 8 years i love it but felt an urge to go back to uk especially with having kids, i went back for 15 months and reterned last week back to oz, it takes a trip to live back in uk to realise how wonderfull it is out here, and uk is in a bad way and we found it very hard trying to start out again very expensive and not many jobs but good luck home is where the heart is x

[Guest Bazinga]

From Tottenham? Are you a Spurs fan? You will find plenty of us here!

 

PS check out www.ozspurs.com

 

 

I am a Spurs fan - yes! My husband is a Man U fan - bah humbug.

[MARYROSE02]

I am a Spurs fan - yes! My husband is a Man U fan - bah humbug.

 

Oh well, bring him to any game EXCEPT when we play Man U! It's a good and mixed crowd who turn up for the Spurs games in Sydney, not just Pommies either, plenty of Aussies too. It's a good way to socialize - always makes me feel good to be greeted by people who are pleased to see me. On Saturday night, I was greeted by a chant of 'Yiddo, Yiddo' for the first time! Where are you going to in Australia?

[Guest mozziebite]

I went with the intention of keeping an open mind, take it as it comes, see how it goes, and if it doesn't work we come back. It was well worth the experience, even coming back skint !

 

Kids get to experience life elsewhere and even though they didn't particularly like Aus it has opened their eyes - they had Aussie friends as well as friends from Korea, Italy, Vietnam, Japan, South Africa etc etc (we were in Sydney). Coming back to life in a North Eastern school where there is racism, theres no getting away from it, but they are the ones who will stick up for the other children in school who aren't white and that makes me extremely proud of them - guess I am trying to say to the person who said they "wouldn't uproot their kids twice" that you may have to for one reason or another and it won't be half as bad as you think it will be!

[Guest guest52672]

I am reading this with tears falling... I have been here 3 weeks and from the moment I stepped off the plane I wanted to go back home... what is wrong with me? I had been to Perth before and I have family here... but for some reason I instantly knew that I had made the biggest mistake of my life coming. I cry every day, I don't sleep, I am scared and my heart races 24/7. My OH is gobsmacked as he says I have not even tried, I am terrified that he will end up resenting me. I went to the school today to enrol my children and was highly dissapointed with it.. I believe staying here is not in their best interests and I have now mucked up their future. Please reply... I am scared and lonely.

[brightonbee]

This is all assuming that people who move to Australia have the intention of staying there permanently.

 

Personally I think it's a big wide world out there, with lots to see and experience. Who knows what their circumstances will be in five years time. Where and how to live isn't a decision that you should make once and stick to religiously, it's far too easy to coast along in life and end up in a situation that really suited you well five years ago, but actually if you think about it, your feelings and circumstances have changed and you'd actually like something different now.

 

At the moment, being in australia is good. I have no idea where I'm going to be in five or ten years time, it might be australia, it might be the UK, it might be somewhere new.

 

Very well said and so true. Gone are the days of the 10 pound POM, cheap housing, years between visits home etc.etc. Air Travel is relativley cheaper, the world according to SKYPE and Facebook is a much smaller place, there isn't any such thing as a job for life nowadays. We are all having to think about living more creatively as we live with so much uncertainty.