Thinking of going back - would you?
Discussion
Due to a family issue very important to me i am probably going to go back to the UK mid 2010. I have my dearest family over there so it makes sense. I also like both equally, but in different ways.
I'm fearful i've forgotten whats great about living here and forgotten whats crap about living in the UK. So anyone want to help me out with a little balanced reminder (family apart) of the grass is greener arguement?!
I have a lovely house here, great job (secure with good income) and a fairly easy lifestyle. Leaving those will be a negative.
On the plus side, if i moved back, i'd be cashed up, 6 months off work and planning on either a Elise S2, M3, 147 GTA or 330D Sport. Then a little euro road trip via the alps down to italy and a little supercar spotting round modena. Sounds blummin perfect!!
Your opinions welcomed!
I'm fearful i've forgotten whats great about living here and forgotten whats crap about living in the UK. So anyone want to help me out with a little balanced reminder (family apart) of the grass is greener arguement?!
I have a lovely house here, great job (secure with good income) and a fairly easy lifestyle. Leaving those will be a negative.
On the plus side, if i moved back, i'd be cashed up, 6 months off work and planning on either a Elise S2, M3, 147 GTA or 330D Sport. Then a little euro road trip via the alps down to italy and a little supercar spotting round modena. Sounds blummin perfect!!
Your opinions welcomed!
Pommygranite said:
Due to a family issue very important to me i am probably going to go back to the UK mid 2010. I have my dearest family over there so it makes sense. I also like both equally, but in different ways.
I'm fearful i've forgotten whats great about living here and forgotten whats crap about living in the UK. So anyone want to help me out with a little balanced reminder (family apart) of the grass is greener arguement?!
I have a lovely house here, great job (secure with good income) and a fairly easy lifestyle. Leaving those will be a negative.
On the plus side, if i moved back, i'd be cashed up, 6 months off work and planning on either a Elise S2, M3, 147 GTA or 330D Sport. Then a little euro road trip via the alps down to italy and a little supercar spotting round modena. Sounds blummin perfect!!
Your opinions welcomed!
I hope you sort out your family issues.I'm fearful i've forgotten whats great about living here and forgotten whats crap about living in the UK. So anyone want to help me out with a little balanced reminder (family apart) of the grass is greener arguement?!
I have a lovely house here, great job (secure with good income) and a fairly easy lifestyle. Leaving those will be a negative.
On the plus side, if i moved back, i'd be cashed up, 6 months off work and planning on either a Elise S2, M3, 147 GTA or 330D Sport. Then a little euro road trip via the alps down to italy and a little supercar spotting round modena. Sounds blummin perfect!!
Your opinions welcomed!
The positives you list here are all long term sustainable factors.
The positives you list for going back are all ephemeral. They will fade almost as quickly as your sun tan.
Well as someone looking to head out, a few points:
Economic turmoil is far worse than Aus, depends on where you are in the economic cycle (single, kids at school or uni, retired etc etc) on how high national debt could possibly affect you
The weather is shocking - the Sydney winter is currently hotter than the London Summer! When I returned last from Sydney it felt like the world had changed from bright blue to dark grey in 24 hours, very depressing.
Beaches are cold and rubbish here as well
The general outdoor life is one attraction to Aus - whereabouts are you
UK just seems much worse value for money, even if cars are much cheaper the access to the best bits is better in Aus
Public transport in the UK is just vile if you have to commute into London, although I suppose the architecture is better!
Economic turmoil is far worse than Aus, depends on where you are in the economic cycle (single, kids at school or uni, retired etc etc) on how high national debt could possibly affect you
The weather is shocking - the Sydney winter is currently hotter than the London Summer! When I returned last from Sydney it felt like the world had changed from bright blue to dark grey in 24 hours, very depressing.
Beaches are cold and rubbish here as well
The general outdoor life is one attraction to Aus - whereabouts are you
UK just seems much worse value for money, even if cars are much cheaper the access to the best bits is better in Aus
Public transport in the UK is just vile if you have to commute into London, although I suppose the architecture is better!
We've been through almost the same decision recently, and after a lot of soul-searching we've taken the decision to go back for now. The scenario we're operating under is different than yours PG, but still relevant. I work in Product Mgmt/Strategy with one of the world's biggest SW companies, and have been running Asia-Pacific strategy for 3.5 years now (I commuted from London for meetings before that). Recently, we bought a company and they need someone to head up a new emerging business unit, and be based in Europe/UK. With the role comes a significant increase in several areas, and a strong career promotion commitment/path that is too good to look away from. So for us, we're going to take a break from Oz for the next several years and go after the "Gold Ring" in Europe, for a role it's well known I'll do a fabulous job in. This is the same employer I worked for when I got transfered to Sydney, and will work for when I go back as I have almost 7 years with them.
What we found when we were back to the UK in mid-May -> end of June was that folks' moods generally improved, and less B.S. the further you got away from London which should be a strong clue. As my employer is on the west side of Reading, we're looking SW of Reading for a small 3BR home, and then will get a 1BR flat on the Solent (for sailing, natch!) and still be money ahead.
Yes we're leaving behind some GREAT friends, and we're leaving behind some great things to do, but at the end of the day I've got to make the bacon, and this is too good a position to ignore. We're very clear that we'll be boomerang poms and back in the next 4-5 years, so we're keeping our Super, and some other investments here in Oz in preparation for our return.
Not an easy decision PG, but I can assure you there's as many going UK-way as there are coming here, according to the removalist that was here yesterday at our house surveying our stuff. We are not going to sell our Caterham, in fact, it's going back with us
as we'd hate to depart from her after 7 years driving her all over the world...
Feel free to PM if you want to chat....
What we found when we were back to the UK in mid-May -> end of June was that folks' moods generally improved, and less B.S. the further you got away from London which should be a strong clue. As my employer is on the west side of Reading, we're looking SW of Reading for a small 3BR home, and then will get a 1BR flat on the Solent (for sailing, natch!) and still be money ahead.
Yes we're leaving behind some GREAT friends, and we're leaving behind some great things to do, but at the end of the day I've got to make the bacon, and this is too good a position to ignore. We're very clear that we'll be boomerang poms and back in the next 4-5 years, so we're keeping our Super, and some other investments here in Oz in preparation for our return.
Not an easy decision PG, but I can assure you there's as many going UK-way as there are coming here, according to the removalist that was here yesterday at our house surveying our stuff. We are not going to sell our Caterham, in fact, it's going back with us
as we'd hate to depart from her after 7 years driving her all over the world...Feel free to PM if you want to chat....
Don't go back permanently unless you really, really have to.
We spent a year living in Melbourne in 2004 with work and had the opportunity to stay but went back to the UK for a couple of years. TBH, the worst decision I have ever made.
Within 24hrs of being back we were desperate to return to Aus and as hard as we tried the feeling would not go away.
Think very very carefully about the decision to go back to the UK - try for a couple of weeks or so on a vacation. Should put you right.
We spent a year living in Melbourne in 2004 with work and had the opportunity to stay but went back to the UK for a couple of years. TBH, the worst decision I have ever made.
Within 24hrs of being back we were desperate to return to Aus and as hard as we tried the feeling would not go away.
Think very very carefully about the decision to go back to the UK - try for a couple of weeks or so on a vacation. Should put you right.
Pommygranite said:
So anyone want to help me out with a little balanced reminder (family apart) of the grass is greener arguement?!
I was 1 year in West London, 3 years in Berkshire and then 4 years in Belgium and Austria. My 2 pence worth…Against UK
1. Always being aware once or twice a month you will have to surrender 3 or 4 hours of your life sitting stationary on a motorway (Often with a bladder full of coffee)
2. Waiting till 10pm to finding an empty road.
3. Traffic on a Sunday afternoon after 3pm
4. Trips home at 1am from Stanstead or Luton and spending 90 minutes stuck for motorway road works
5. Black ice
6. Big costs like accommodation and transport (petrol, busses etc) are much more expensive
7. Brand snobbery / looked down on unless you’re driving a current model car
8. Pessimistic “can’t do or it’s too hard” attitude.
For UK
1. Cheaper and more interesting cars
2. Bitter
I think if you just go back for a 2 or 3 week holiday you’ll see it through rose coloured glasses, once you get back into the grind of day to day living and commuting it will all come flooding back.
I miss the UK, haven't been back in 10 years, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would very quickly remember why I left in the first place. Like an old flame, its best to remember the good times and not the reality of it being a grim crime ridden police state.
The thought of actually living back in the UK for longer than a few months kills me, the weather, the general malaise, the attitudes. How, in so few years, has it gotten so bad?
The thought of actually living back in the UK for longer than a few months kills me, the weather, the general malaise, the attitudes. How, in so few years, has it gotten so bad?
We spent the latter half of May and all of June in the UK this year. Yes we definitely recalled some of the things that led to our decision to leave, then we also ran into a number of things that were semi-calling us back.
FWIW, since I left the Americas in 1992/3 I've lived in 8 countries: UK, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia )(now 2nd time) and the UK. Each has a series of positives and negatives, if you only dwell on the negatives then frankly it's game over for your sanity.
Sure, I don't doubt we're going to miss some things here, absolutely agree and that's part of why we're clear that we'll be Boomerang Poms. It's not the "IF" it's more then "WHEN" will we be back, for now given the carp global company scene, I'd durn sure rather be employed than not which I think no one on here would disagree with.
Are we making the right decision for the wrong reasons, or visa-versa, who knows. Only time will tell on that.....I'll still be on t PH either way
FWIW, since I left the Americas in 1992/3 I've lived in 8 countries: UK, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia )(now 2nd time) and the UK. Each has a series of positives and negatives, if you only dwell on the negatives then frankly it's game over for your sanity.
Sure, I don't doubt we're going to miss some things here, absolutely agree and that's part of why we're clear that we'll be Boomerang Poms. It's not the "IF" it's more then "WHEN" will we be back, for now given the carp global company scene, I'd durn sure rather be employed than not which I think no one on here would disagree with.
Are we making the right decision for the wrong reasons, or visa-versa, who knows. Only time will tell on that.....I'll still be on t PH either way
Hmmm I have been dwelling on how to answer since I read this thread yesterday morning.
At first my answer would be yes, tomorrow if I could.
But this year will mark the 5th year of my being here, sometimes I miss home so much I feel like I am going mad and other times I don't really think about it. 5 years is a long time so I don't even know if I miss something that still exists!
I guess it depends on what you miss...In the OP's case I would not hesitate to go. I think he knows the joy he will get with that little person and I think he knows how much that little person will need him in his life. Sure it was hard work moving here and setting up a new life but it pales in to comparison when it comes to family and looking after them.
Family would be one of the biggest draws to getting me back to the UK. I have only seen my parents 3 times in the last 5 years and my sister once, my dear old grandma died aged 99 a couple of years a go. I feel so f
king sick inside when I think about how I missed being there for her and being able to bury her, I really ran off the rails for a while after that. My parents 'aint getting any younger either....I don't want to think about how it would feel if something happened to them while I am here.
My closest friend is getting married in October, he really wants me to be his best man but there is no way I could get back to do that for him. Again I really feel st and really miss home when I think about that.
Notice how I keep calling the UK home? I think I can honestly say in the 5 years I have been here I have never really settled enough to call Aus home...to me it just feels like somewhere I live that I'm not that fussed on. Yeah yeah love it or leave it I know
I think one of the problems I have is that I came out here when I was only just 22. In the years since then as I have matured I have found the interests / passions / dreams I have for the rest of my life are in cases almost unachievable here.
I do often think I would be much much happier living in the Eastern states...I have only been to Vic on holiday but I instantly feel more like at home over there. I feel a lot less isolated there. Maybe I should think about giving an interstate move a go before looking to to moving to the UK.
In comparing the good V bad...It subjective I guess. Personally I hate the weather, the roads, the cost of living, the politics and lately I have found it hard to get along with the laid back attitudes here, to me it just reads as "I dont care as long as I'm okay". I guess this is just the world now though. When I look at these things it often makes me think that moving here has not changed my life for the better at all, I just traded one set of problems / gripes for another.
Bleh...I dunno...I'm just headfked I think 
At first my answer would be yes, tomorrow if I could.
But this year will mark the 5th year of my being here, sometimes I miss home so much I feel like I am going mad and other times I don't really think about it. 5 years is a long time so I don't even know if I miss something that still exists!
I guess it depends on what you miss...In the OP's case I would not hesitate to go. I think he knows the joy he will get with that little person and I think he knows how much that little person will need him in his life. Sure it was hard work moving here and setting up a new life but it pales in to comparison when it comes to family and looking after them.
Family would be one of the biggest draws to getting me back to the UK. I have only seen my parents 3 times in the last 5 years and my sister once, my dear old grandma died aged 99 a couple of years a go. I feel so f
king sick inside when I think about how I missed being there for her and being able to bury her, I really ran off the rails for a while after that. My parents 'aint getting any younger either....I don't want to think about how it would feel if something happened to them while I am here.My closest friend is getting married in October, he really wants me to be his best man but there is no way I could get back to do that for him. Again I really feel s
t and really miss home when I think about that.Notice how I keep calling the UK home? I think I can honestly say in the 5 years I have been here I have never really settled enough to call Aus home...to me it just feels like somewhere I live that I'm not that fussed on. Yeah yeah love it or leave it I know
I think one of the problems I have is that I came out here when I was only just 22. In the years since then as I have matured I have found the interests / passions / dreams I have for the rest of my life are in cases almost unachievable here.
I do often think I would be much much happier living in the Eastern states...I have only been to Vic on holiday but I instantly feel more like at home over there. I feel a lot less isolated there. Maybe I should think about giving an interstate move a go before looking to to moving to the UK.
In comparing the good V bad...It subjective I guess. Personally I hate the weather, the roads, the cost of living, the politics and lately I have found it hard to get along with the laid back attitudes here, to me it just reads as "I dont care as long as I'm okay". I guess this is just the world now though. When I look at these things it often makes me think that moving here has not changed my life for the better at all, I just traded one set of problems / gripes for another.
Bleh...I dunno...I'm just headf
ked I think Some good points there James lad. When I first came to Oz in '99 I thought I had made the biggest mistake in my life. I was sent to Canberra with the consultancy I was working for, I honestly thought WTF is this place it was like going back in time 20 years, I thought about throwing in the towel after about 3 months, I couldn't get my head round the daily malaise the average aussie lives with. Luckily I was transferred to Sydney and that presented itself with new problems, in so much as living amongst a bunch of utter try hard tossers with no class, yobbo's in off the peg suits thinking they are something special. And the backstabbing? worse than women IMHO. I met my mrs who was from Melbourne and after 3 months, moved to Melbourne. That was 9 years ago, nearly 10 in January. Melbourne is without a doubt the best city to live in within Australia. I couldn't live in Perth, I'd feel like I was back in Tuggerenong in the ACT all over again.
I don't think I will ever call Australia "home" even though I will probably live here longer than I did in England, for me the England I loved in my childhood and teens has gone, the country has lost its way and to me its like being an astronaut looking back to earth as its consumed by the sun from the edge of the solar system.
I don't think I will ever call Australia "home" even though I will probably live here longer than I did in England, for me the England I loved in my childhood and teens has gone, the country has lost its way and to me its like being an astronaut looking back to earth as its consumed by the sun from the edge of the solar system.
Hmm, like Deviant i am not sure how to answer.
Firstly i would say that if you have only lived in one city then try others before you go home to the UK. Every city has a different feel, and one may suit more than the one your in.
I feel torn 50/50 on this topic.
I personally am not settling well here, a can't find decent (actually ANY work) work, cant find decent friends and just don't "get" the Australians i meet. I can't see myself ever being able to afford a place of my own, let alone a place i would like to live in, and with my skills vs Australian ones i just can't compete. Thanks to red tape i need a job before i can do the courses i need to get on par with other guys. Chicken and Egg.
Sure the weather is better, but so what. Sure there is lots to see here, but in the UK you have Europe on your doorstep which quite frankly knocks Aus into a cocked hat for the things i like (heritage and scenery).
I still find Australia the most racist place i have ever visited, and they are not afraid to be open about it. I find the work ethic non existant, and the cost of living higher on average then when i lived in the midlands (based on similar wage).
The UK tho has no industry for me to get back into, ste weather which would depress me very quickly, and not a beach or vinyard in sight of where i would live!
As soon as my citizenship has been approved i think i am going back though. After 18 months of the hardest sttest times of my life (not Australias fault in general tho) i am ready to go back and have a family back and real friends. These two things have become the most important thing to me now.
I haven't lived the dream.
Firstly i would say that if you have only lived in one city then try others before you go home to the UK. Every city has a different feel, and one may suit more than the one your in.
I feel torn 50/50 on this topic.
I personally am not settling well here, a can't find decent (actually ANY work) work, cant find decent friends and just don't "get" the Australians i meet. I can't see myself ever being able to afford a place of my own, let alone a place i would like to live in, and with my skills vs Australian ones i just can't compete. Thanks to red tape i need a job before i can do the courses i need to get on par with other guys. Chicken and Egg.
Sure the weather is better, but so what. Sure there is lots to see here, but in the UK you have Europe on your doorstep which quite frankly knocks Aus into a cocked hat for the things i like (heritage and scenery).
I still find Australia the most racist place i have ever visited, and they are not afraid to be open about it. I find the work ethic non existant, and the cost of living higher on average then when i lived in the midlands (based on similar wage).
The UK tho has no industry for me to get back into, s
te weather which would depress me very quickly, and not a beach or vinyard in sight of where i would live!As soon as my citizenship has been approved i think i am going back though. After 18 months of the hardest s
ttest times of my life (not Australias fault in general tho) i am ready to go back and have a family back and real friends. These two things have become the most important thing to me now. I haven't lived the dream.
have to agree with you Adam, theres only so many times you can look at a google earth view of Snowdonia and not cry. Me and SWMBO are going back at Christmas for a month, hopefully sans rose tinted specs. I have some investments and property and hopefully these should fund a dual lifestyle in a few years, where i can live in both the UK and Australia and have the best of both worlds. failing that, i don't want to spend my life here and "miss out" any more.
I've been pondering this question as I've been lucky enough to spend 2 prolonged periods living in Sydney in recent years and now find myself back in the UK. The desire to leave and return to Oz is great, all the time!
Of course I have family here and lots of good friends and things like the recent Silverstone Classic and hooning trip round the beautiful Alps wouldn't be possible in New South Wales and I wouldn't have my current car as I couldn't afford the AU$ prices!
However I miss the near permanent good weather (cycled to work in pouring rain again today in 'summer'!) and lack of a real winter. I've also got loads of mates and find the general atmosphere more friendly and in some ways more stunning than the UK.
One day I'll be back and I'd certainly advise that it isn't a decision to take lightly
Of course I have family here and lots of good friends and things like the recent Silverstone Classic and hooning trip round the beautiful Alps wouldn't be possible in New South Wales and I wouldn't have my current car as I couldn't afford the AU$ prices!
However I miss the near permanent good weather (cycled to work in pouring rain again today in 'summer'!) and lack of a real winter. I've also got loads of mates and find the general atmosphere more friendly and in some ways more stunning than the UK.
One day I'll be back and I'd certainly advise that it isn't a decision to take lightly
I must say, I'm rather surprised by some of the replies in this thread.
Many of the comments echo my own feelings though.
I'm 32, married with 2 kids and we came to Perth from Teesside 3 years ago. We still have the house in the UK and we're into our last year of our 457 visa here. We're going to have to make the decision soon. Do we sell up and stay here or do we return 'home'?
The kids love it here. Swimming pool in the garden, lovely clean beaches which are warm enough to use for most of the year, they are settled into school.
My wife wants to stay as well. She is a nurse and finds working in a private hospital over here a hell of a lot better than it was working for the NHS back home. She has made some good friends through other parents at the kid's school and seems quite happy.
I like it here. I especially like the weather. It makes for a healthy outdoor family life. I did find it very hard to settle in though. I've worked in the same office since I got here and it took ages to be accepted into the click in the office. In Teesside you are made welcome straight away - whether you are new to the local pub, new in the office whatever. I found that change hard to deal with. I also miss my friends. I have a big group of mates that I grew up with back home and I miss the social life we had (although most of them are knocking the kids out and settling down now so I think that scene has died off quite a bit now).
Making friends is the biggest part of feeling welcome here.
Perfect world - move all my friends and family over here and we'll all work hard and play hard like we're used to.
In reality - not sure. I'll decide that next year when I have to.
Good luck with your decision.
Many of the comments echo my own feelings though.
I'm 32, married with 2 kids and we came to Perth from Teesside 3 years ago. We still have the house in the UK and we're into our last year of our 457 visa here. We're going to have to make the decision soon. Do we sell up and stay here or do we return 'home'?
The kids love it here. Swimming pool in the garden, lovely clean beaches which are warm enough to use for most of the year, they are settled into school.
My wife wants to stay as well. She is a nurse and finds working in a private hospital over here a hell of a lot better than it was working for the NHS back home. She has made some good friends through other parents at the kid's school and seems quite happy.
I like it here. I especially like the weather. It makes for a healthy outdoor family life. I did find it very hard to settle in though. I've worked in the same office since I got here and it took ages to be accepted into the click in the office. In Teesside you are made welcome straight away - whether you are new to the local pub, new in the office whatever. I found that change hard to deal with. I also miss my friends. I have a big group of mates that I grew up with back home and I miss the social life we had (although most of them are knocking the kids out and settling down now so I think that scene has died off quite a bit now).
Making friends is the biggest part of feeling welcome here.
Perfect world - move all my friends and family over here and we'll all work hard and play hard like we're used to.
In reality - not sure. I'll decide that next year when I have to.
Good luck with your decision.
ajg31 said:
I still find Australia the most racist place i have ever visited, and they are not afraid to be open about it.
Without trying to go in to an opinionated diatribe it makes me absolutely furious when I here the usual "f
king coons, they are all s and need to go back to the desert and die, we won they lost"Okay there are some serious issues in the Aboriginal population but it seems the gummymint are scared to even mention the 'A' word for fear of losing popularity in the voting booth and it seems the average Aussie's answer is to just keep pushing them outside of the community...while wearing a flag around their shoulders and drinking until they puke on Australia day and yelling about how awesome it is to be Aussie.
Sorry if it offends any of our Australian members but I simply refuse to be friends with a racist and I just can not have any respect for a system that ignores a race of people that really need some help and I cant respect a community of proud Australians that doesnt care for its indigenous population and 200 years on is still viewing them as sub-human.
SkinnyBoy said:
have to agree with you Adam, theres only so many times you can look at a google earth view of Snowdonia and not cry. Me and SWMBO are going back at Christmas for a month, hopefully sans rose tinted specs. I have some investments and property and hopefully these should fund a dual lifestyle in a few years, where i can live in both the UK and Australia and have the best of both worlds. failing that, i don't want to spend my life here and "miss out" any more.
I often get that "missing out" feeling. I cant help but look at the photos people post on PH of things like Goodwood, LeMan, weekends away at the 'Ring, Airshows, museums, summer music festivals, driving trips to Europe and a particular interest of mine the trips people have done around Europe following WW2 history....I think WTF am I doing here?!?! I know this is all a bit rose tinted and you can't do these things every weekend but even going to the 'Ring once a year gives you some serious motivation to get up and go to work!! Interesting you should mention the dual lifestyle.
My partners dad is of Irish decent and his side of the family decided to begin tracing the pre-immigration side of the family. Turns out there are a lot of distant relatives still in Ireland.
Last summer they all got together and came out here for one mahoosive family get together, absolutely lovely people.
Anyway as I got talking to them it turned out quite a few of them had tried to do the big move but just could not settle here at all and were really unhappy. They went back home and set out a better life plan that now enables them to spend 4-6 months of the year here and the rest at home and they found this is the perfect way of 'doing' Australia.
Funny that what you're laying out is exactly the conversation we had today. How to do that if you've just been here on a 457 is what we need to figure out before we go. I know you can come back on a tourist visa w/ no worries, but one wonders which property market would the equivalent £/$'s do better in?
SkinnyBoy said:
I have some investments and property and hopefully these should fund a dual lifestyle in a few years, where i can live in both the UK and Australia and have the best of both worlds.
Everyone left the UK for a reason so this shouldn't be played down. If it was a big enough reason to leave, it won't have gone away.
I have met a few "bouncers" since being here and that is the worst trap to fall into. Every few years pining (spelling) for the greener grass and leaving x for y. The leaving y for x and so on. I feel i would easily fall into this trap myself.
If i had a good job and a significant other i think my views may be different on some of the aspects of staying here. If i had a family i would not be so keen to go back, as i think Aus offers alot for familys and a healthy outdoor lifestyle (if your wage allows for it).
I have met a few "bouncers" since being here and that is the worst trap to fall into. Every few years pining (spelling) for the greener grass and leaving x for y. The leaving y for x and so on. I feel i would easily fall into this trap myself.
If i had a good job and a significant other i think my views may be different on some of the aspects of staying here. If i had a family i would not be so keen to go back, as i think Aus offers alot for familys and a healthy outdoor lifestyle (if your wage allows for it).
Deviant
No concerns here re the racist thing. I agree. I've had negative run ins with the Aboriginals, but I have had more negative run ins with South Africans, so really, it is meaningless. I lived for a couple of years in Redfern and never once had an issue. The big issue is a system that encourages welfare dependance, and that is in no way race defined. I went to a 100% white school and about 95% are full time dole bludgers. But I digress.
I'm one of the few Australian born members on here, I can see the good and the bad sides. Sometimes I would love to live in the UK, I think it is amazing, friendly and a joy to be in. But then I can also get home from work, crack a beer and sit back on my deck, look out over the gum trees and down towards the beach. It's give and take. And there is no right or wrong for everyone. There is only individual decisions you can make.
Good luck with it everyone.
No concerns here re the racist thing. I agree. I've had negative run ins with the Aboriginals, but I have had more negative run ins with South Africans, so really, it is meaningless. I lived for a couple of years in Redfern and never once had an issue. The big issue is a system that encourages welfare dependance, and that is in no way race defined. I went to a 100% white school and about 95% are full time dole bludgers. But I digress.
I'm one of the few Australian born members on here, I can see the good and the bad sides. Sometimes I would love to live in the UK, I think it is amazing, friendly and a joy to be in. But then I can also get home from work, crack a beer and sit back on my deck, look out over the gum trees and down towards the beach. It's give and take. And there is no right or wrong for everyone. There is only individual decisions you can make.
Good luck with it everyone.
Wow, some amazing, heart-on-sleeve answers. Thanks for the support and wisdom. Must admit I expected a little bit of pisstaking, but thankfully us aussie-poms are more refined than others on PH!
As Deviant outlined, my situation is that my little boy (4yrs old) who came with me to oz when he was 2 has now gone back to the UK with my (now) ex. As you can imagine all the bbq’s, sun, beach and ‘lifestyle’ promises arent worth jack to me at the moment as what I hold dear isnt here.
So I will be going back no arguments. What I will try and do is get some balance over what I am leaving and what I will gain.
I have found it a tough ride but also immensely successful (in my eyes) in that I got a great job, learnt a lot professionally that will assist me when I return, built a lovely house, met some fantastic friends and achieved my ultimate goal (of getting my aussie passport – final stages pending).
When I came out it was never a why go, but a why not. I always loved the UK, could look beyond the negativity and founds parts fantastic as well as equally crap. I have never fallen for Oz but like the UK there are things I love and things I hate. So for me its not a total shame to go back but more a glass half full – I’m lucky to have both.
Regardless of my little boy, for me personally I do miss things I took as interests but now realise they were a major part of me – Cars and a general enjoyment thereof, Football (round ball version) in that I miss the banter, something I’m familiar with but I’m not a die-hard and also politics and general life. I miss being world-centric as you are in the UK and actually having an interest in the rest of the world.
I will miss the weather (only October to early December and mid Feb through to early May though!), the easy going nature, the space, the ability to feel like you can make it if you try, the food , the feeling of ease and living somewhere very attractive on the surface, the potential and the ‘enjoy life’ attitude.
I wont miss the void that is a vacuum for having an interest in cars, the sheer lack of intelligence I see so much in people and kids, the god awful driving, the horrific road rules, the high taxation, the sparseness and lack of character, the lack of soul and history, the ‘she’ll be right’ view and the way aussies never question why they do things the way they do (and the ‘because that’s the way they’re done’ response), crap sports such as AFL and anything Aussie-sport related, the overtly patriotic behaviour mentioned by others (but strangely appealing compared to the run-the-uk-down attitude in the UK), the racism, the sheer neanderthal aggression and violence and the feeling of surely there is more to life than this.
And to finish on cars…. I came here expecting to love driving a V8 or something flash. To be honest having a fast car here is like going out with a supermodel who can sing but has no vagina. Looks and sounds gorgeous, everyone else wishes they had it but in reality you never get to enjoy the main event that she was built for.
I cant wait to go back to the UK for motorsports events like i’ve never done before such as Goodwood, driving quickly in a great car that cost a pittance to buy, driving through Europe, lane discipline and a high standard of driving, the feeling of pressing on without then encountering massive road rage and a chance to reliven a passion I never knew I had so badly but knew when it got smothered.
So roll on April 2010 and hello RWD, 2dr and under 10k…….
As Deviant outlined, my situation is that my little boy (4yrs old) who came with me to oz when he was 2 has now gone back to the UK with my (now) ex. As you can imagine all the bbq’s, sun, beach and ‘lifestyle’ promises arent worth jack to me at the moment as what I hold dear isnt here.
So I will be going back no arguments. What I will try and do is get some balance over what I am leaving and what I will gain.
I have found it a tough ride but also immensely successful (in my eyes) in that I got a great job, learnt a lot professionally that will assist me when I return, built a lovely house, met some fantastic friends and achieved my ultimate goal (of getting my aussie passport – final stages pending).
When I came out it was never a why go, but a why not. I always loved the UK, could look beyond the negativity and founds parts fantastic as well as equally crap. I have never fallen for Oz but like the UK there are things I love and things I hate. So for me its not a total shame to go back but more a glass half full – I’m lucky to have both.
Regardless of my little boy, for me personally I do miss things I took as interests but now realise they were a major part of me – Cars and a general enjoyment thereof, Football (round ball version) in that I miss the banter, something I’m familiar with but I’m not a die-hard and also politics and general life. I miss being world-centric as you are in the UK and actually having an interest in the rest of the world.
I will miss the weather (only October to early December and mid Feb through to early May though!), the easy going nature, the space, the ability to feel like you can make it if you try, the food , the feeling of ease and living somewhere very attractive on the surface, the potential and the ‘enjoy life’ attitude.
I wont miss the void that is a vacuum for having an interest in cars, the sheer lack of intelligence I see so much in people and kids, the god awful driving, the horrific road rules, the high taxation, the sparseness and lack of character, the lack of soul and history, the ‘she’ll be right’ view and the way aussies never question why they do things the way they do (and the ‘because that’s the way they’re done’ response), crap sports such as AFL and anything Aussie-sport related, the overtly patriotic behaviour mentioned by others (but strangely appealing compared to the run-the-uk-down attitude in the UK), the racism, the sheer neanderthal aggression and violence and the feeling of surely there is more to life than this.
And to finish on cars…. I came here expecting to love driving a V8 or something flash. To be honest having a fast car here is like going out with a supermodel who can sing but has no vagina. Looks and sounds gorgeous, everyone else wishes they had it but in reality you never get to enjoy the main event that she was built for.
I cant wait to go back to the UK for motorsports events like i’ve never done before such as Goodwood, driving quickly in a great car that cost a pittance to buy, driving through Europe, lane discipline and a high standard of driving, the feeling of pressing on without then encountering massive road rage and a chance to reliven a passion I never knew I had so badly but knew when it got smothered.
So roll on April 2010 and hello RWD, 2dr and under 10k…….
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