Anyother Ping Pong Poms :)

[Guest Cupcakes]

Hi, hope I am posting in the right section.

 

Just wondered if there were any others on here that have gone back and forth.

 

Are you glad you went back?

 

I am very excited about going back but also very scared so would be lovely to here some stories to help put my mind at rest.

 

Thanks Lauren x

[Guest Squareman]

Can't imagine choosing the UK over Adelaide. What can the UK possibly offer? Jaffa cakes?

[Guest Guest75]

We have some very good friends who are ping pongers.

We did not know them on their first "attempt" at Adelaide ( funny as we lived 2 miles away from each other in the UK).

 

On the first time things just went plain wrong at every step.

I won't elaborate but just say that research and planning are the key.

 

They went back to the UK disillusioned but within weeks realised they had made an awful mistake..

 

Now they are here and very happy, they just had to go through that return.

They love Adelaide and are so settled now , bless em:cute:

[csobrien1966]

Oh no dont end up like me

 

over 20 times!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Stay in 1 place and put the money away lol

[Guest Candiceno1]

We have some very good friends who are ping pongers.

We did not know them on their first "attempt" at Adelaide ( funny as we lived 2 miles away from each other in the UK).

 

On the first time things just went plain wrong at every step.

I won't elaborate but just say that research and planning are the key.

 

They went back to the UK disillusioned but within weeks realised they had made an awful mistake..

 

Now they are here and very happy, they just had to go through that return.

They love Adelaide and are so settled now , bless em:cute:

 

 

Reckon they are the same friends of ours too, from the same place we are from!!! Nearly needed a passport to get out of there to get back here!!! so glad they came back though!

[Guest Guest75]

Reckon they are the same friends of ours too, from the same place we are from!!! Nearly needed a passport to get out of there to get back here!!! so glad they came back though!

 

Aye.Appen'

 

He has the same name as your fella

 

Small world innit???

[Guest Candiceno1]

Aye.Appen'

 

He has the same name as your fella

 

Small world innit???

 

yup same ones!!! very small world, she told me they had been out on the boat a while back with you guys. still trying to get together so busy with organising stuff poor thing i keep trying to fit her in and we keep clashing!!!! oh well thank god for mobiles and emails!!!

[Guest Guest75]

yup same ones!!! very small world, she told me they had been out on the boat a while back with you guys. still trying to get together so busy with organising stuff poor thing i keep trying to fit her in and we keep clashing!!!! oh well thank god for mobiles and emails!!!

 

We'll catch up some time then

 

Organising a night at the Casino next month hopefully so I'll give ya a shout if it happens (aforementioned friend have never been)

[Guest Candiceno1]

We'll catch up some time then

 

Organising a night at the Casino next month hopefully so I'll give ya a shout if it happens (aforementioned friend have never been)

 

NO WAY cant believe they have never been!!! Sounds great though let me know!!!

[Guest Guest75]

NO WAY cant believe they have never been!!! Sounds great though let me know!!!

 

I was surprised as well,Daz is up for it.

 

It's not as glitzy as some expect but a good night with the right company

[Guest Candiceno1]

I was surprised as well,Daz is up for it.

 

It's not as glitzy as some expect but a good night with the right company

 

Yeah I agree and if its band night then its even better too!!!

[Guest Shaggy]

Can't imagine choosing the UK over Adelaide. What can the UK possibly offer? Jaffa cakes?

 

 

What a fuggin PLUM you must be ...PAL.

[Guest Guest75]

What a fuggin PLUM you must be ...PAL.

 

Hey, there speaks a ping ponger :cute:

[Leyland CJ]

There was another article on this in yesterday's Sunday Mail (and PIA got a mention). I am probably going to get flamed for this, but I came under very different circumstances - migrating as an international student. I didn't have a car or a house in the UK to sell, and so when I left, I said "I'm leaving for good" and arrived here with next to nothing in terms of 'stuff' or money.

 

Some people back home - before they come here - have rose coloured glasses about this being some sort of paradise (just like West Side Story...everything's free in Australia ) or that it's the 'trendy' thing to do because they know someone who has done it, or that somehow, it is like Neighbours or Home and Away. Despite good financial backing, they can't hack it for whatever reason. I didn't necessarily have that and everyone needs to ask themselves why they came here before they do and while they are here.

 

I had to laugh because I heard some fellow Brits moaning that they only got "200,000 pounds for their home" and "oh, we had to sell our Peugeout GTI" - yeah, POOR YOU ! Having to sell everything and get all that money, they don't know just how far ahead of other migrants they already are (like the African guys that I am friends with).

 

Someone once told me "you only go back to the UK to remind yourself of why you left".

 

Some of my family and friends are jealous that I am here in Australia, but I don't rub it in about all the things they want to think about - nice food, BBQs, "cheap" housing (sic), everyone surfs every morning before work etc. Again, some people come to Australia with an unrealistic view of what to expect, that it will somehow be easy, "because everyone speaks English anyway".

 

They think it is easy, but it is not easy. It is extremely hard work a lot of the time, like if you have a problem with your PPOR (home) and you don't know who to call to fix it to get a fair price, don't have any experience or tradie mates etc. Something like that can get you down. Having Christmas by yourself (done that as an expat in another country), it is little things that get to you.

 

They don't know what it is like to deal with things like that, having to find everything out all by yourselves, because that's been the reality for me for many years. It makes you stronger and more resilient, but in the beginning, you have to be able to take it and BE strong, and not throw in the towel.

[kildorragh]

I was out with a few friends at the weekend and this subject came up. The six poms that were present had been here 5 - 18 years. As the beer flowed, we all got a bit deep and meaningful. It turned out that everyone admitted that none of us ever really feel settled - all felt on the outside to various degrees.

 

The bonds and friendships you had in the UK can never, ever be repeated over here. It is just a fact of life. Close friendships are made out of many years of highs/lows and starting again in a different country means you are totally behind the eight ball when it comes to forming new relationships. Don't get me wrong, we, as a group, enjoy each others company (not just poms in the group) but none of has the necessary history required to form close bonds. We are just friends, simple as that. During the conversation, we actually questioned whether we would be friends in the UK - lots of nodding, looking at the floor. Tough subject matter always comes out after a few beers.

 

Despite the above, we all are all dads and all of the kids in the group are thriving over here. They are not affected by the feelings experienced by mum and dad. They are living their lives with a smile on their face, starting out in life just like we all did in the UK. We moved here for the kids. The kids are thriving.

End of subject really.

 

Would I ever return to the UK? Can't say never but it's all dependant on the kids when they get older. Can't see them ever leaving this country so it looks like Oz will have to put up with the grumpy old man for a while.

 

Good luck.

[Guest Squareman]

Hey Shaggy, does your mum know you're on the internet?

[Diane]

I think Kildorragh may have hit the nail on the head - most people that come out here as adults never make the same sort of friends they had in the country they left, but sometimes it's a sacrifice you make for your kids' future. Or even for their present - and they can sort the future out for themselves! As parents we make hundreds of sacrifices for our kids, and to me, missing a few friends and my close family are just another one!

 

As it was, when we lived in the UK we both had to work such long hours, as did our friends, that actually having quality time together wasn't all that common... and even living just 30 minutes drive from my parents, we didn't spend as much full-on time with them then as we do now, when they are able to come visit and stay with us for several weeks.

[Guest Squareman]

There is nothing stopping anyone from forming solid, lasting friendships in Australia. If you have lived here for donkey's years and you haven't got mates that you can turn to, then you have no-one to blame but yourself. There is absolutely nothing in Aussie culture or in the lifestyle that would prevent you from forming friendships.

[Diane]

There is nothing stopping anyone from forming solid, lasting friendships in Australia. If you have lived here for donkey's years and you haven't got mates that you can turn to, then you have no-one to blame but yourself. There is absolutely nothing in Aussie culture or in the lifestyle that would prevent you from forming friendships.

 

Not saying you can't have great friends here, but it's just different from a friend that you've grown up with, been to school with, been with at the birth of your and their kids and that kind of thing. But also, just because you don't live in the same country as a particular friend, doesn't mean you're not still best mates! I think female friends are also a little different from male friends, just because of the things that bond you together... men tend to have friends with similar hobbies, whereas with women you might have totally different hobbies and tastes and still be soulmates! Neither is "better", just different.