is aus all that it is cracked up to be

[flag of convenience]

Hi Clark, Depends on where you are & your situation. Do you have kids or are you just on your own/in a couple? If the later, I would say get out & explore the rest of the country. It is a wonderful place for an adventure. When hubby & I backpacked 10 yrs or more a go, we lurved it. Were on a holiday works visa. Worked in Sydney & travelled all around Oz on a mccafferty bus. Met great people & saw some amazing landscapes. Out of all the places I have lived, Perth is in actual fact my least favourite. It is like a country of itself, is so isolated & far removed from the rest of Oz, that after living 5 yrs there I found it very insular & attitudes alot to be desired. When we were leaving a couple of different people said to me it didnt used to be like that, that the mining boom had caused a great deal of greed. Not sure how true that is... cost of living never used to be that high & cost of buying a house used to one of the cheaper cities. Part of the reason we moved there. We arrived & had our kids there & to be honest got bored of the place after about 2-3yrs. Novelty wore off & with nothing keeping us there, re family connections was time to move on.... So long as you aren't commiting the rest of your life to the place & have a plan for what you want to achieve & places you want to see when you are there, you'll be fine. Met so many people that got stuck (for want of a better word) in Perth, either been there for a long time e.g 3-40yrs & time ran away with them & quite bitter or had kids, who had made friends etc.....

 

Pretty much agree with your post. It took me a few years perhaps to arrive at the conclusion that we had overstayed here in Perth and by then the comfort of owning one's own house and being debt free in a sense gave a degree of comphensation perhaps to a lack of éxcitment',if that is the correct term.

 

I fully agree it is rather easy in Perth to be lulled into a sense security and acceptance of the more mundane side of life which in my view is all too obvious here.

 

Saying that financially we have done very well,mostly through luck of being here well before the so called'boom' and only a little to do with anything else on our part.

 

We have a little way to go then hopefully a early retirement. Just where that will be is the ten million dollar question. Europe and Asia all come into the equation.

But we do intend to keep our house in Perth,regardless of where we move.

In once sense it is liberating having options but on the other hand a concern getting it wrong.

[landv]

Hi Clark, Depends on where you are & your situation. Do you have kids or are you just on your own/in a couple? If the later, I would say get out & explore the rest of the country. It is a wonderful place for an adventure. When hubby & I backpacked 10 yrs or more a go, we lurved it. Were on a holiday works visa. Worked in Sydney & travelled all around Oz on a mccafferty bus. Met great people & saw some amazing landscapes. Out of all the places I have lived, Perth is in actual fact my least favourite. It is like a country of itself, is so isolated & far removed from the rest of Oz, that after living 5 yrs there I found it very insular & attitudes alot to be desired. When we were leaving a couple of different people said to me it didnt used to be like that, that the mining boom had caused a great deal of greed. Not sure how true that is... cost of living never used to be that high & cost of buying a house used to one of the cheaper cities. Part of the reason we moved there. We arrived & had our kids there & to be honest got bored of the place after about 2-3yrs. Novelty wore off & with nothing keeping us there, re family connections was time to move on.... So long as you aren't commiting the rest of your life to the place & have a plan for what you want to achieve & places you want to see when you are there, you'll be fine. Met so many people that got stuck (for want of a better word) in Perth, either been there for a long time e.g 3-40yrs & time ran away with them & quite bitter or had kids, who had made friends etc.....

 

 

What I highlighted is so true, I work with a lot of English "older school" generation (late forties-early fifties or close to retirement) we had many-many heart to hearts discussions about moving out here, living here etc..., and all say that, they wished they moved back (to the UK) when they had the chance, now it's too late, with children settled here, even grandchildren etc.

And some do admit that they feel resentful about it all (being stuck here).

[Petals]

I find it a little confusing that people think they can move 12000 km away and not miss their family if they have been a close family popping around to see one another every couple of days etc. Also that after many years here people think that returning to the Uk is going to be so good. Returning anywhere after residing somewhere else has its own problems. In the numerous years we spend away, our families and friends have got on with their lives, built new friendships, maybe moved to other towns. They are very very happy to see us but for most I believe they then just get on with their lives and we are not always included as we do not know the new people in their lives. They invite us to family dos and with their friends but no guarantee we are going to slot in with them like we did before. We can't we have changed and despite the desire to go home, we are used to different things. Maybe being in a new country is blamed for our lack of being willing to accept difference. I can understand a very old person returning to the UK to die and be buried there, or a family that has not resided here very long, but for those of us who have been away for a long long time, its not always possible to be successful on return either. Hence the term ping pong pom and my husband worked with quite a few of those over the years.

 

My Mum is 93 and she yearns to UK and always has but when her and Dad retired they headed off to see the family and spend three months with them and in UK, they had finished all that in three weeks and came back, that is not to say that mums memory has now been dimmed and she would do it again if she could and probably with the same result.

 

We have down times in our lives and we wish for greener fields but they are not always greener.

 

Me I live from one year to the next when my daughter gets her MRI for the brain cancer she will never be in remission for, she had it last week and thank goodness she is ok and its clear again, eight years now. Where I live has no bearing on what happens to how I feel and if it was in the UK I would be just as worried every year.

[Sunshine111]

hi pamela 123 like your post agree very much, and nice to cee you gave it a shot , i feel very simular to you after 6 months also, boy its 38c today, its cruel to be working outside as i have been today, very hot week, like someone left the oven door open or got the hairdryer constantly in your face. thanks clark

 

ooo remember that heat, one of the reasons for returning! When we decided to return home, poor hubby worked outside for 3 months renovating our house for sale in it. We swore we will never do a Perth summer, even if we got to give our house away! What you are feeling now, we didnt feel until further down the track, partly for the novelty factor - perhaps it took a little longer to wear off for us! but I can tell you that once we reached the decision to return, you've never seen a family of x4 move so fast!

 

Nobody has or is walking in your shoes, if you are ready to go home & you have done what you set out to do, go home. Dont prolong it, life is too short & dont feel you got to justify yourself either. We went on an emotional rollercoaster, of shall we/shan't we we go home, probably the hardest part, but once you've decided it gets easier & takes you out of limbo mode... Go with your gut feeling. It is most usually right. good luck.

[Sunshine111]

Pretty much agree with your post. It took me a few years perhaps to arrive at the conclusion that we had overstayed here in Perth and by then the comfort of owning one's own house and being debt free in a sense gave a degree of comphensation perhaps to a lack of éxcitment',if that is the correct term.

 

I fully agree it is rather easy in Perth to be lulled into a sense security and acceptance of the more mundane side of life which in my view is all too obvious here.

 

Saying that financially we have done very well,mostly through luck of being here well before the so called'boom' and only a little to do with anything else on our part.

 

We have a little way to go then hopefully a early retirement. Just where that will be is the ten million dollar question. Europe and Asia all come into the equation.

But we do intend to keep our house in Perth,regardless of where we move.

In once sense it is liberating having options but on the other hand a concern getting it wrong.

 

Its great to have options & how exciting for you re your next chapter!

 

I think if we'd been mortgage free, would have been a difficult decision re returning & also think that if we had older kids, wld have been tricky too.

 

We seem to catch a small wave or a window of opportunity on "timing being right to return home" & just went with it. I look back now & think there were a couple of other opportunites to return or "timing being right" but we either didnt see them or werent ready. Completely agree on your post, remember the mundane-ness & being out with dog & thinking, ahh but life is easy should we stay...... although also knowing there would always have been that little niggle, which the longer we stayed just got bigger!

[Sunshine111]

[/b]

 

 

What I highlighted is so true, I work with a lot of English "older school" generation (late forties-early fifties or close to retirement) we had many-many heart to hearts discussions about moving out here, living here etc..., and all say that, they wished they moved back (to the UK) when they had the chance, now it's too late, with children settled here, even grandchildren etc.

And some do admit that they feel resentful about it all (being stuck here).

 

Maybe it's the distance rather than a reflection of Oz for some? Wonder if for alot of people, if they could just pop back everynow & again & touchbase with their roots, that would put some of it to bed, so to speak... though, I met one lady who said she left Essex in the 1970's wanting a better life for her boys, more space etc.. now in retirement age she goes back to UK once a year & said she lurves it & wondered why she had left, cause it was all there, she just needed to have moved a bit further out of Essex!

[Sunshine111]

I find it a little confusing that people think they can move 12000 km away and not miss their family if they have been a close family popping around to see one another every couple of days etc. Also that after many years here people think that returning to the Uk is going to be so good. Returning anywhere after residing somewhere else has its own problems. In the numerous years we spend away, our families and friends have got on with their lives, built new friendships, maybe moved to other towns. They are very very happy to see us but for most I believe they then just get on with their lives and we are not always included as we do not know the new people in their lives. They invite us to family dos and with their friends but no guarantee we are going to slot in with them like we did before. We can't we have changed and despite the desire to go home, we are used to different things. Maybe being in a new country is blamed for our lack of being willing to accept difference. I can understand a very old person returning to the UK to die and be buried there, or a family that has not resided here very long, but for those of us who have been away for a long long time, its not always possible to be successful on return either. Hence the term ping pong pom and my husband worked with quite a few of those over the years.

 

My Mum is 93 and she yearns to UK and always has but when her and Dad retired they headed off to see the family and spend three months with them and in UK, they had finished all that in three weeks and came back, that is not to say that mums memory has now been dimmed and she would do it again if she could and probably with the same result.

 

We have down times in our lives and we wish for greener fields but they are not always greener.

 

Me I live from one year to the next when my daughter gets her MRI for the brain cancer she will never be in remission for, she had it last week and thank goodness she is ok and its clear again, eight years now. Where I live has no bearing on what happens to how I feel and if it was in the UK I would be just as worried every year.

 

You are right, moving back to the UK doesnt bring any guarantees & its definately not an easy thing to do. Possibly, the longer you are away, the bigger the detachment of your root system to the UK. (so to speak, sounds like a plant I know! but maybe in someways similar) the harder you have to work, to get it back (if at all, for some)

 

Depends on so many things, including; how good the life you left behind in Oz was and what you are returning to in the Uk. When I look back, I think it would have been far easier to have returned within 5 yrs, rather than our 10 yrs, we are a little out of sink since our return, but we are getting there,slowly building our root system!

 

I think that when you leave for a "better life" (rather than an adventure) you naturally create a detachment, that becomes more of a challenge to re-connect if you do decide to return. Mainly because you have changed so much as a person & the old life/people left behind havent changed much if at all.

 

Hence the reason to consider moving somewhere new in the UK to return to & a place that you are excited about - whether that be job opportunities or pursing a hobby etc. Effectively you need to create a new life for yourself.

 

Like I say, think it depends what life you have in Oz, determining a return to the UK. We were pretty miserable in Perth & all our family was in Uk although not the kind of family that pops in for tea, from round the corner (they are at least 1 hr up road) but still, we wanted access to them, especially parents who are getting older...

 

Just out of interest, is most of your family in Australia? are you 2nd generation? If your Mum/Dad & children are in Australia, wld make you feel very differently to someone who had one or the other in different countries, I am sure. It is true to say, perhaps it doesnt matter where you are in the world, so long as you have your family all together. For those that don't, that is where the problem comes in.

 

There are no right or wrongs, every individual is different, views the world differently, has different expectations & wants different things from life and at different times in their lives... completely understand why you would just do year by year, is good to hear your daughter is clear, wishing you all the very best. Makes you realise how precious life is... x

[Bobj]

Isn't it what you make of it that counts?

[h=1]is aus all that it is cracked up to be[/h]

Cheers, Bobj.

[Quoll]

[/b]

 

 

What I highlighted is so true, I work with a lot of English "older school" generation (late forties-early fifties or close to retirement) we had many-many heart to hearts discussions about moving out here, living here etc..., and all say that, they wished they moved back (to the UK) when they had the chance, now it's too late, with children settled here, even grandchildren etc.

And some do admit that they feel resentful about it all (being stuck here).

 

That is absolutely true - since I "came out" I have met many, mainly around my age, people who wish they could move on to UK (notice I dont say "back" I think it is a huge mistake to think you can go back to what you had, you cant - you and it have changed with the years!). Most of us have done well in Australia - mortgage free, kids grown (and gone, in many cases) but when you get to a certain age it gets harder to spend the energy chasing what you want out of life and taking the risk when you dont have age on your side in the workplace can be incredibly stressful. When you are young you have time to recoup your losses but when you are knocking on, the opportunities are just not there. Then, all of a sudden you realize "this is it" - for financial and emotional reasons you are stuck there and if you arent happy where you are then being trapped is not a very nice feeling at all and it is so easy for resentment to bubble to the surface.

 

My husband has known for the past decade or more that if anything were to happen to him I would sell up and leave and head back to UK, in the same way I know that if anything were to happen to me he would sell up and move to a bush block miles away from anywhere (silly man!!!). However circumstances intervene (as they tend to do) and I now find myself back where I belong albeit in far from ideal circumstances and it is the best feeling in the world!!!

[Conniebygaslight]

What's the big deal with not having people "out and about"? Do you say "Hiya" to every one of them and stop for a nice cosy chat or do you just walk on by?

 

There were plenty of people "out and about" where I lived in the UK and most of them were just looking for empty houses to burgle. The peace I've gained from the streets being empty here is immeasurable....................I don't have to jump up and look out the window every time I hear a noise outside my front or back fence.

 

Just because there's nobody "out and about" doesn't mean that my life is less tolerable................just the opposite..................I can sit out with friends in the garden and not have to dread some yobbos passing by and taking the plss.

 

I love seeing people out and about and yes where we are we do pass the time of day with people. Everyone speaks it is a proper English village with a heart and a community. I don't ever think about yobbos passing by....

[Conniebygaslight]

From memory didn't you live beyond the black stump out in the country somewhere Connie...surprised you even had cars on the road out where you lived :wink:

 

You do pay a price for low density housing. In general the street are quieter and for some this can be a hard adjustment. In saying that though you do generally have a choice. If quiet isn't for you move to a more active suburb. I didn't like it so I moved to a suburb in Brisbane where there are shoppers on the streets, people out jogging, prams, playing etc. For others they prefer the quiet suburbs. I think immigrants should think long and hard about what would suit them...or rent a while and try it out. It is people making ill fitting town/city/suburb/location choices that sometimes makes more difference than the country.

Ha ha...we lived in Toowoomba which is Australia's largest inland city...my point that I make over and over is that I don't want to live in a major city Aus or UK but I do want somesort of community....there were houses everywhere but no people it was very bizarre. With the UK you can live somewhere in the sticks and commute to several different places for work or pleasure very easily. Villages in England have hearts and communities and that's why we're home.

[Guest Pamela123]

Hiya Clark,

 

No don't think odd for thinking Aus may not be for you....I knew it wasn't for me....I had a gut feeling that I just knew this place wouldn't be 'forever' and we were 5 years in the planning of the move.... we were not embarrassed about coming back...after the tearful goodbyes and then we were back 6 months later....everyone has been really nice since we have came back and are so happy to see us...as will your family be when or if you decide to come back....you could always go back just for a holiday first if you are still unsure, but after reading your post again I think you already know the Uk is where you are going to be its just a case of when???we also lived in Joondalup, near the arena, I heard David Guetta were playing last week is that the concert you were at? Sxx

[Bobj]

Ha ha...we lived in Toowoomba which is Australia's largest inland city...my point that I make over and over is that I don't want to live in a major city Aus or UK but I do want somesort of community....there were houses everywhere but no people it was very bizarre. With the UK you can live somewhere in the sticks and commute to several different places for work or pleasure very easily. Villages in England have hearts and communities and that's why we're home.

 

Implying that Australian villages don't??? Hmmm??

 

My little village doesn't have a shop, pub, post office, church, or any thing like that, except for a school bus shelter and a public phone, yet the people are really big hearted, When I spent going on for 3 years in and out of hospital, my neighbours took turns to mow our lawn, take Jo shopping 50 km away, help water the garden in summer, etc.

One of my neighbours spent 2 years in hospital and we took turns looking after his house, mowing the lawns, looking after his bee hives etc. That's community spirit as well.:yes:

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Guest Pamela123]

I love seeing people out and about and yes where we are we do pass the time of day with people. Everyone speaks it is a proper English village with a heart and a community. I don't ever think about yobbos passing by....

 

It's lovely being back home in the UK, where you can actually talk to and see people walking by, talking and living....jogging, pushing prams, doing the garden etc I stayed in Joondalup and it was like living in Disneyland, very clean and sterile, who wants to live in a place like that? Joondalup had no heart or any people....the only time you saw any people was in Lakeside Shopping Centre....but there was no sense of community, just lots of immigrants/strangers walking around, no one seemed to know anyone else...I don't see or hear yobbos passing by either where I live either, that's why its a shame people like JohnDoe have to move to Australia to feel they have to escape yobbos, there are plenty of lovely places in the UK where you don't see that sort of behaviour...I actually feel safer living in the UK than in Perth esp after we were violently burgled...

[jamjar]

It's lovely being back home in the UK, where you can actually talk to and see people walking by, talking and living....jogging, pushing prams, doing the garden etc I stayed in Joondalup and it was like living in Disneyland, very clean and sterile, who wants to live in a place like that? Joondalup had no heart or any people....the only time you saw any people was in Lakeside Shopping Centre....but there was no sense of community, just lots of immigrants/strangers walking around, no one seemed to know anyone else...I don't see or hear yobbos passing by either where I live either, that's why its a shame people like JohnDoe have to move to Australia to feel they have to escape yobbos, there are plenty of lovely places in the UK where you don't see that sort of behaviour...I actually feel safer living in the UK than in Perth esp after we were violently burgled...

 

I am glad you are happy being back but a lot areas in the UK also have immigrants/strangers walking around - especially the larger cities where most of the jobs are. I see people walking/jogging/pushing prams etc around all the time - doesnt mean I want to talk to them or get to know them.

 

I am sorry that you were violently burgled, I didnt realise from your earlier posts that you or your family were assaulted during the incident - that must have been truely awful.

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Over the last few years theres been 4 or 5 murders near to where we live here in Dewsbury, every day almost theres a murder reported on the national news, or local news, violent crime, like Robberies and Rapes never get mentioned on the national news and rarely get a mention on the local news, but i don't feel unsafe here, crimes everywhere and here in the UK where almost everyone lives on top of each other, its hard to avoid it, its definately a growth industry, when i joined the prison service in 1988 there was about 45,000 prisoners in jail, today its almost 85,000. I never leave my door unlocked.

[pintpot]

its definately a growth industry, when i joined the prison service in 1988 there was about 45,000 prisoners in jail, today its almost 85,000. I never leave my door unlocked.

 

It isn't. Crime peaked in the early/mid 90s by whichever way you measure it and has fallen significantly since then. And no, not just because people don't report it, because the BCS shows exactly the same trend. The reason more people are in prison is because sentences have got stiffer - another thing the man in the street thinks has actually gone the other way

[Bobj]

It's lovely being back home in the UK, where you can actually talk to and see people walking by, talking and living....jogging, pushing prams, doing the garden etc I stayed in Joondalup and it was like living in Disneyland, very clean and sterile, who wants to live in a place like that? Joondalup had no heart or any people....the only time you saw any people was in Lakeside Shopping Centre....but there was no sense of community, just lots of immigrants/strangers walking around, no one seemed to know anyone else...I don't see or hear yobbos passing by either where I live either, that's why its a shame people like JohnDoe have to move to Australia to feel they have to escape yobbos, there are plenty of lovely places in the UK where you don't see that sort of behaviour...I actually feel safer living in the UK than in Perth esp after we were violently burgled...

 

Err, isn't that where the poms go to live??:wink:

 

Cheers, Bobj.

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Its partly because they have banged them up, i don't believe these massaged figures anyway, crimes are still running in the millions, its similar in each country, the only difference is we live on a 700 x 180 square miles of land and its never far away, whereas its spread over thousands of kilometers in Australia and apparently the majority of migrants say they feel safer, as i have said i don't feel unsafe at all here in the UK.

[Petals]

Err, isn't that where the poms go to live??:wink:

 

Cheers, Bobj.

 

I think so Bob or so my Aussie friend in Brissie tellse me lol

[Bobj]

I think so Bob or so my Aussie friend in Brissie tellse me lol

 

http://www.livingin-australia.com/perth-real-estate/

 

An extract:

 

Many British migrants have chosen to settle in the northern suburbs around half an hour north of the city centre.

In suburbs such as Beldon, Connolly, Edgewater, Heathridge, Joondalup, Mullaloo and Ocean Reef, British immigrants make up around one quarter of the population.

Cheers, Bobj.

[MACDONALDO67]

hi all just wondering if anyone thought aus was all it cracked up to be or would you rtn to uk if poss.

ive been here in perth for 6 months and you guessed it, same @#$% different country, i came out with hopes that id love the wall to wall sun, easier work enviroment, im a chippy so outside work in the frazzeling sun, thought id love the beach life, but only been handful of times and not that up on the beach and surfing anyway, obviously prices of everything are extashonet, but cant help that as the wages are more which in turn makes all else expensive. politics are worse than in the uk, the constant back stabbing of each other a lot worse, didnt think that would be the case, public transport is fantastic in perth, and perth cbd is great and kings park is amazing, great walks along the coast and in along the river, and country, great golf courses and bike paths, :confused:so its not all doom and gloom, yes ive been very very homesick since xmas, but i think im over that, but i do think what if i stay or rtn, does anyone else feel the sameor offer any advice, cheers clark

 

 

Great write up. Sounds like home sweet home. Think I'm going to love it :biglaugh:

 

 

If people are under the illusion of Utopia in Oz and the grass is greener over the other side (In Perth it's scorched from the pictures I've seen), then you will be heading back to the UK. You cannot up sticks and bugger off just because you are not happy in the UK thinking that hell does not exist in Oz then you are in for a shock.

 

My reasons for wanting to go is a better climate, better outdoor lifestyle and opportunity for the kids. We are up to three million unemployed in the UK and the austerity measures haven't even kicked in yet. I think it's going to get worse. I need a new challenge in my job, something new, to learn again and get a new drive, a new goal.

 

I'm expecting some things to be worse than the UK but some things to be better. Either way you cannot escape death, taxes and naughty politicians. If you like the sun and heat like I do then you'll be OK, you'll manage. If you don't then that is going to hit you hard.

 

Give it a go but have an open mind and don't expect it to be like Blighty with a bit of sun.

 

G'day

[MACDONALDO67]

http://www.livingin-australia.com/perth-real-estate/

 

An extract:

 

Many British migrants have chosen to settle in the northern suburbs around half an hour north of the city centre.

In suburbs such as Beldon, Connolly, Edgewater, Heathridge, Joondalup, Mullaloo and Ocean Reef, British immigrants make up around one quarter of the population.

Cheers, Bobj.

 

Known as Pomsville :laugh:

[Petals]

I am a first gen migrant and fortunately by the time I got to Aus I no longer lived at home with my parents. I left them in NZ and then they went to Perth and I went to Sydney. My Mum was happy when we lived in Africa but after Dad took us to NZ it all fell apart and Mum was a pain to live with nothing was right, always moaning, always telling how wonderful it was in the UK and how terrible it was in NZ. My brother had to put up with more than me as he is 13 years younger. It drove us to distraction, hence we really could not have cared where they lived. Anyway I moved to Aus, got married and moved back to the UK for a few years, never intending to stay there as my oh did not want to stay there either. All our family were in UK apart from my Mum Dad and brother. My parents did not live near me and I did not really see much of them until they retired and moved to Melbourne.

 

Mum went back and forwards to UK for a year here and a year there and always came back. Dad was not returning under any circumstance.

 

Its hard on kids when parents have itchy feet and then cannot make their mind up, always negative. Its really not fair.

 

I always said I would never do to my kids what happened to us and I have not. They only went to two primary schools and one secondary and we have moved only once since they were born and only 20 minutes away.

 

Most migrants settle and never whinge, get on with their lives and bring up their children starting their own dynasty. Others never settle and return and still are unhappy as its us that have to make the world turn.

 

Where I live we hear British accents all the time as a high percentage of the people in the area are first gen migrants from UK and a lot of the younger people who may seem alien to new migrants from UK are children of UK migrants themselves but aussified. This brings another problem as I read on the forum a lot of Brits who have returned with their children find that the children who are born here or have spent a good amount of time here in Aus end up wanting to return as adults to live. So once you start the ball rolling it may not always stop where you think it will. Returned Brits may in fact find themselves in Britain and their children in Aus, NZ, USA where they have childhood memories.

[Sunshine111]

I am a first gen migrant and fortunately by the time I got to Aus I no longer lived at home with my parents. I left them in NZ and then they went to Perth and I went to Sydney. My Mum was happy when we lived in Africa but after Dad took us to NZ it all fell apart and Mum was a pain to live with nothing was right, always moaning, always telling how wonderful it was in the UK and how terrible it was in NZ. My brother had to put up with more than me as he is 13 years younger. It drove us to distraction, hence we really could not have cared where they lived. Anyway I moved to Aus, got married and moved back to the UK for a few years, never intending to stay there as my oh did not want to stay there either. All our family were in UK apart from my Mum Dad and brother. My parents did not live near me and I did not really see much of them until they retired and moved to Melbourne.

 

Mum went back and forwards to UK for a year here and a year there and always came back. Dad was not returning under any circumstance.

 

Its hard on kids when parents have itchy feet and then cannot make their mind up, always negative. Its really not fair.

 

I always said I would never do to my kids what happened to us and I have not. They only went to two primary schools and one secondary and we have moved only once since they were born and only 20 minutes away.

 

Most migrants settle and never whinge, get on with their lives and bring up their children starting their own dynasty. Others never settle and return and still are unhappy as its us that have to make the world turn.

 

Where I live we hear British accents all the time as a high percentage of the people in the area are first gen migrants from UK and a lot of the younger people who may seem alien to new migrants from UK are children of UK migrants themselves but aussified. This brings another problem as I read on the forum a lot of Brits who have returned with their children find that the children who are born here or have spent a good amount of time here in Aus end up wanting to return as adults to live. So once you start the ball rolling it may not always stop where you think it will. Returned Brits may in fact find themselves in Britain and their children in Aus, NZ, USA where they have childhood memories.

 

Firstly Petal, can I just say I really like your profile pic. Is that your garden? looks fabulous! Children not only need wings but roots too & your upbringing sounds very unsettling. Not good for kids at at all, with parents with itchy feet, wonder where you would feel you belong....? I have also heard so many stories of the other way around, with people who have emmigrated older kids to Australia only to find that they return to the UK. Can I think, become so messy.

 

It depends on so much & probably most importantly the age of the kids. Something to consider when moving either way. What is plan b, if one of your kids desperately wants to return to their country of origin?

 

We were fortunate in that our kids were under 5 yrs when we returned to the Uk. Bit like you, I want our kids to have security & be in a place we could commit to for the long term, but that was not Oz or Nz but the UK.

 

We really did not like Perth, perhaps we could have re-located to Sydney, (tho' has changes so much, since we lived there as backpackers 10 yrs ago & become so costly) but was all a bit risky . Kids came first & to be honest, probably would have solved only 1/2 our issues. Funny enough, I want for them what I had as a child. I grew up in a village with a wonderful community, had parents divorce in the mix & no family apart from my Mum in the area but was never lonely. Have very fond memories of that time and have returned & fortunately found something very similar for our kids.

 

Great community,fantastic early childhood system, lots of facilities for kids, open space, access to extended family during Christmas/family gathering & along with opportunities for them further down the track.

 

One thing that concerned me about Perth, was how many when they got older, left it for Sydney & Melbourne or Uk. Not sure there is enough there to keep them & actually alot do the O.E & head to the bright lights of London. (which bemused me intially, because having lived with it on my doorstep I could not understand the attraction! tho' having been away from it, I can now!) Some actually not returning.... I just didnt want my family spread all over the country because they had to due to lack of opportunity in their field. Not like UK, where at least if you want to see someone you just jump in the car!

 

Depending on what you do for work in Perth (construction/mining/government industries) outside of that & you got to up sticks. Opportunity is everywhere not just specific to one country. Depends really what you are after. For alot I think it is an adventure. There are those that recognise that & those that maybe dress it up as wanting a "better life" No place can guarantee that, it is very much down to you the individual, one thing I can say is, for us, Australia was a fabulous adventure but there is no place like home....