Hi

My name is Janet and we have recently moved from Manchester, England to the Central Coast, Australia. (My husband is from Ayreshire, Scotland) Lived here about 2 years ago for 20 months on the Northern Beaches. Went home as we had our first baby and were really home sick and wanted the members of the families who aren't well enough to travel this far to see the baby. Decided to move back here in October last year. Just one question, where's the sunshine?

We are pretty homesick at the minute and are thinking of moving back to England.

Would love to hear from people feeling the same who have moved abroad.

We have 2 children, Oliver is 3 and Elijah is 1.

Everyone say's don't go back to Britain but where do you go? We moved here to give the children a better life style.

It often seems to be a big factor in people moving to Australia & NZ, the fact that they feel totally cut off from family.
We moved to Spain basically because we knew we could be back hop in hours if needs be ..... different when you're on the other side of the world.

Not helpful I know, but all I can say is at first we were going back every two months or so, and now its far less .... time will help

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I doubt any of us who have been overseas haven't been hit by one or more bouts of acute homesickness, especially in the early months and years. I've even read books on living abroad that claim there is a three-month cycle of ups and downs when you first move.

First of all, make sure you take advantage of all the spiffy new technology that allows you to keep in touch with friends and family back home: VOIP phones and Internet services like Skype (though you still have the time difference to deal with), e-mail, subscribe to one "favorite" magazine or newspaper from back home, or try and find an expat club with fellow Brits somewhere in the area.

Then, decide to stick things out for a set period of time - say, two years. If you're still unhappy at that point, you can always pick up and go back home. Having a set end (or at least an "escape hatch") in sight can really help. But, while you do that, start making plans for a visit back home about half way through your set period, say at the end of one year in Oz. Just for a couple of weeks - no more than three weeks. It will definitely give you something to look forward to, and it can make it seem less like you're completely isolated. (Also give you a chance to save up for the cost of the trip - though round trip air fares are considerably cheaper than one-way.) You also need a chance to "visit" your old home as a tourist, with a fresh perspective based on your life in Oz.

What I have found is that, in making a short visit back, you'll find enough changes in what you left back there to realize that your "home" is now Australia (or wherever you are). Even now (nearly 15 years on) I really enjoy making a "visit" back to the US - but by the end of my two weeks there, I'm looking forward to coming home again to France, to get back to my "real life" again.
Cheers,
Bev

Hi Janet,

We moved out here (South Australia) from the UK in July 2007.

February this year hasn't been very good weather wise but since there is a drought down here we need the rain. This time last year we were here visiting and it was sooooo hot it was almost unbearable.
Think of why you moved out here and why you left the UK. Are those reasons still valid? How are the children settling in since I know that you are thinking about them too?

Bev is right that people go through phases and although I haven't missed the UK I have missed family and friends. I call my parents and friends using Skype and we have webcams so that we can actually see each other. One friend from the UK is on holiday in Canada and she contacted me through Skype yesterday!

I found that I had to make a real effort to go out and meet people, especially having a home based business. I went online (or the library usually has a list) and found all the clubs locally that I would be interested in and started visiting each one. It can be a little daunting at first going to clubs on my own (my husband was working) and driving through the bush at night (okay not quite the bush but it still has wildlife). But now after several months of mixing I'm getting to make new friends. That makes a huge difference. I'm a member of a local skilled migrant group and it makes a difference being able to talk to people who have been through what you are going through (no matter what country they are from).

That has to be your choice and no-one elses. Why did you decide to move back to Oz in October? What would your life be like in the UK?

One thing we did was to stop calling the UK 'home'. We actually corrected each other when we said that. We had made the move and now Australia is our home. We are staying for at least 2 years and getting citizenship. You must be close to getting to that too or do you have to take it at all since you were here before all that?

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Regards,
Karen

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Hi Janet, I suppose I am very very lucky. My family, including three teenagers, settled so well and there has been no homesickness whatsoever. Saying that, we do miss family and friends and have made a huge effort to socialise and now, after 15 months, we have some really nice friends.

On another forum that I subscribe to, there is a thread all about homesickness. What I found quite common is that the people who eventually go home quite often regret it and start making plans to return. This is a very important factor. If you return and then find out you really don't want to stay in the UK, could you afford to relocate a second time?

I read an article in the Daily Mail online lat week and I thought it might give you some help in your decision.

High taxes and soaring crime force 700 Britons to flee the country every day | the Daily Mail

Best of luck

Michelle

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A wonderful place to live

Hi Janet i kinda know what you mean we moved to OZ in october 2007 with a 10 week old baby its hard to belive she has lived longer her than the UK ! Some days i feel settle other days i feel lonely (my hubby works while i stay at home with the baby). We made the move for a better life and to be honest wild horses wouldn't drag me back - crime, education, health all sub standard to the honest tax payer (don't get me started!!!) Home is where ur heart is they say - some of my heart is in Northern Ireland where i am from- some is in London where my daughter was born and some of it is in Australia- I have enough heart to share and home is always in your heart not the land u live in. Thats just my thoughts anyway.

Caroline

I don't think Australia has the sparkle like everybody says. I have lived here all my life.

The taxes are the same here as in the UK. High rent, unaffordable housing for low - medium income earners.

If you come here with a lot of cash it would be ok. If you are a mid income earner with one household income - look elsewhere.

It is a safe place to live but you feel this discomfort of being controlled by the government. Everything you do 'big brother' is watching.

I will be moving away similar to UK people are from their homeland. Just not 100% sure where to yet.

Quality of life in Oz may be a touch better than some places but it also comes down to how you want to live out your life. Affordability here prevents mid income earners to gain investment properties so you can enjoy retirement. High taxes and government control in high tech parts of the world are programmed to minimise our profits. There is poor and rich, middle ground is phasing out.

People praise the sunshine but we have the highest death rate of melanoma skin cancer in the world. It's just not cool to sunbake anymore.

Your dollar can buy lot's of real estate and bank interest in certain parts of the world. Australia and the UK are not one of them.

Sometimes people don't appreciate what they have when they've had it all the time We left the UK but loads of people are trying to get into what we left behind.

I agree but there are less stealth taxes than the UK and there are legal ways to minimise your tax.

I guess it depends on what you call a lot of cash. The exchange rate isn't what it was but it's still not bad from UK GBP to Australian A$. Moving here got us out of the rat race since we didn't move to a big, high priced city.

It is a safe place and the 'Big brother' is much less than the UK since we never knew from one year to another (sometimes less than that) what we could and couldn't do with our business.

The quality of life here is sooooo much better than the UK! People are still buying investment properties - just look at the investment forums and you'll see that's true. Sometimes you have to be a little creative and you have more legal ways of being creative here than you do in the UK. Yes I am an investor with property here in Australia as well as the UK.

Yes you're right there. However it's still fantastic not to feel cold all the time and to have those miserable dark cloudy days that go on for weeks in the UK.
You don't have to be out in the sun all the time to appreciate it.

Yes they are if you know where to look. As you said it really depends on the sort of lifestyle people want. Unless they have loads of money they won't be buying in some of the big CBD's here but there are some other beautiful places to buy real estate, and I love the coasts properties here too.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on some things

Hope you find what you are looking for.

Regards,
Karen

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Hi Caroline,

I know this may seem obvious but have you tried going out to local clubs even with your baby? I felt cut off for a while since my husband was out at work and I have a home based business. No don't get me wrong I love working from home but it's not a good idea when you've moved country. I found out a list of clubs from the local library and started going to them.

Now I know it's not as easy with a young baby, but last night a Rotary one of the member brought a young baby along and she's been along to several meetings. She's cried a bit at feeding time but otherwise she's been fine.

Regards,
Karen

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