Going back .. should we do it?

[Guest HALT]

Most temp visas are not entitled to medicare even when you pay tax in Oz. Believe me i have looked into it very carefully. The reciprocal agreement is only for emergency treatment. I personally don't fancy pitching up to A+E when i need antibiotics or a routine test like a smear. We have spent over $2000 dollar on my son on medical costs as the school thinks he has ADD or Aspergers. Still don't have a diagnosis and the bills keep on coming. I have worked in healthcare in 3 different countries and believe me there is no way legally to get medicare on our visa.

[Guest thebaddeleys]

I believe food is more expensive, running a car is more expensive (taking away the price of petrol) but then bearing in mind probably doing alot more mileage. Clothing is more expensive and its crap! I think education is not as high as in the UK, again various areas probably vary. I have heard horror stories about the health service from nurses who have come over from the UK. Outside living is good if you wear a body net ! :-) Ummm not alot of positives there. Have met some lovely people. Now can return to UK having lived year in Sydney, year in Perth, year in Adelaide, visited Queensland for 2 holidays, had the experience, miss my family and realise that blue skies and sea is not all there is to life, drugs is a problem here and in contrast to the violence in UK, there is so many deaths for young people on the roads here you have to ask yourself about that too when considering comparisons.

It is very unlikely that we will be here into the future is the answer to your question.

Good luck with your decision though.

Jacqui

 

Has the move impacted on your daughter or does she take it all in her stride? I worry if we stayed her for 4 years (so we could get citizenship if we ever wanted to come back) that my son would have started school here and then if we went backt ot he UK he would have to start school again and try and make news friends etc and the kids would have already made their friends in year one so he would be a bit of an outcast as kids can be cruel sometimes x x x

[Guest caoimhe]

Most temp visas are not entitled to medicare even when you pay tax in Oz. Believe me i have looked into it very carefully. The reciprocal agreement is only for emergency treatment. I personally don't fancy pitching up to A+E when i need antibiotics or a routine test like a smear. We have spent over $2000 dollar on my son on medical costs as the school thinks he has ADD or Aspergers. Still don't have a diagnosis and the bills keep on coming. I have worked in healthcare in 3 different countries and believe me there is no way legally to get medicare on our visa.

 

Sorry I just knew we had medicare cards and presumed we were a cover as anyone else.

 

Sorry to hijack your thread, personally I feel you need to stick it out a while longer but I have only been here 6 weeks so i may feel different after a few months

Good luck in you choice

[Guest Weez]

HI, know one tells you how bloody hard it can be do they???? people talk about missin family and friends (which we don't!!) but they don't mention the day to day struggle, not being able to do simple things because you don't have the history in this country, we have been here since mid september and my OH has struggled with work, once they found out he was a 'greenie' he was treated no better than a dog:sad: he has been told his work is no good and has been threatened with extreme violence as well as not being paid full amounts or on time, and now after xmas he is lookin for work again!!! i haven't been able to find work straight away, and with a mess up with police checks i am still waiting to start my job, looks like another month away at least, we are lucky to have family here (that we haven't seen for 25 years!!) but still would like to find a reliable babysitter as we have asked them for soooo much help already.......................despite all this we love it here, yes it's more expensive compared to wages than the uk, yes it still has some pretty weird and horrble characters, but we love it!!! we can see a future here for us and our kids, the violence is lower, the skies are bluer!!! and we never want to go back!!

 

give it some time, it's early days yet and it's always a bit hard around xmas (so i have been told!)

good luck:) X

[Guest Guzzler&Sas]

wow, don't come on here for a week or so and this is the first thread I see ...

 

I am really sad to hear that some are not enjoying living here in Australia and finding the cost of living higher than expected.

 

If you have preschool children, have you got involved with a playgroup yet - very cost effective and a great way to meet people who may in time, babysit for you. I joined a local playgroup within 2 weeks of getting here and 2.5 years on, they are many of my best friends. I rate the health service here and the education system - my children have thrived since being here.

 

With regard to working here, it does take time to establish yourself in a new country regardless of what you were doing in the UK. I work in recruitment and can say with hand of heart, don't do your sums about your salary expectations by converting your UK salary to dollars - it is different. If your husband worked from home in the UK, in time he may work from home here too - Australians are great believers in work life balance - but it takes time to prove yourself.

 

The best way to shop here is go to a butchers for your meat, a greengrocers for your fruit and veg and look around for specials - don't think you can do it all in one place and get a good price.

 

Going to the beach and parks is a great way to spend time with kids and it is free, but novelties can wear off - but what do your kids think about it?

 

Some clothes might not be as a high standard as the UK but if you shop around, you can find fantastic clothes. But who cares, what you put the kids in? You can always shop in the op shops too - plenty of bargains to be had.

 

Good luck - you have opened a hornets nest - we love it here and always have but then are not bothered either if people don't like it ... don't mean to sound heartless with that comment!

 

Well done for being so honest ...

 

Sas

[foxychick]

The replies sofar have most things covered, so just to repeat really -

 

It can be hard when you first arrive, much harder than anticipated, and it can take ages to 'settle'. I would have to say, I was ok after a few months, but didn't feel that settled until about 11 months in! I am tons better now, with only the odd day of real homesickness, but we have now been here 17 months and my husband is still really unsettled which is hard for us all.

 

It is a hard decision to go or stay, and it should get easier for you the longer you stay HOWEVER, sometimes I do wonder you are one of those who is very unsettled if it is easier to go back sooner rather than later, as the longer to stay and start to settle a bit more, the more torn you are in your decision.

 

I would want a 'reverse reccie' before moving back, but realise financially that may not always be possible.

 

Reading your post though, your reason for return seems to be more financial than the fact that you havn't settled, and that is unlikely to change in the near future. However, I don't know the true state of living in the UK at present, even though we have been away only a realatively short time, but all our friends there are still ok at the moment.

 

Best of luck in your decsion.

[Guest thebaddeleys]

wow, don't come on here for a week or so and this is the first thread I see ...

 

I am really sad to hear that some are not enjoying living here in Australia and finding the cost of living higher than expected.

 

If you have preschool children, have you got involved with a playgroup yet - very cost effective and a great way to meet people who may in time, babysit for you. I joined a local playgroup within 2 weeks of getting here and 2.5 years on, they are many of my best friends. I rate the health service here and the education system - my children have thrived since being here.

 

With regard to working here, it does take time to establish yourself in a new country regardless of what you were doing in the UK. I work in recruitment and can say with hand of heart, don't do your sums about your salary expectations by converting your UK salary to dollars - it is different. If your husband worked from home in the UK, in time he may work from home here too - Australians are great believers in work life balance - but it takes time to prove yourself.

 

The best way to shop here is go to a butchers for your meat, a greengrocers for your fruit and veg and look around for specials - don't think you can do it all in one place and get a good price.

 

Going to the beach and parks is a great way to spend time with kids and it is free, but novelties can wear off - but what do your kids think about it?

 

Some clothes might not be as a high standard as the UK but if you shop around, you can find fantastic clothes. But who cares, what you put the kids in? You can always shop in the op shops too - plenty of bargains to be had.

 

Good luck - you have opened a hornets nest - we love it here and always have but then are not bothered either if people don't like it ... don't mean to sound heartless with that comment!

 

Well done for being so honest ...

 

Sas

 

Hi Sas,

 

I haven't yet joined any playgroups because all the ones I have found are in the late morning and my daughter has a sleep at that time! But I am still on the look out for one that is in the afternoon?

 

I think when you come from the UK it can take some time to adjust to things... for instance you talk about people not being bothered what clothes your kids are in... in the UK people are bothered and so we became bothered too (hope that doesn't sound terrible) and we need to get out of that frame of mind I know.

 

The kids love the beach and they love being outdoors, but it won't be like that in the winter will it? And I have the dilemma of family and grandparents in the UK, would our children prefer to go to the beach or go and see there grandma... how tough is that question!

 

I think we should all be more honest, as someone stated above this isn't paradise and maybe if some people knew this before they hauled theirs families over here it could save alot of time and money- thats not a dig at anyone who says it is fantastic out here, because in some peoples eyes it is fantastic but you should tell the good, the bad and the ugly!

 

Kerry x

[Guest thebaddeleys]

The replies sofar have most things covered, so just to repeat really -

 

It can be hard when you first arrive, much harder than anticipated, and it can take ages to 'settle'. I would have to say, I was ok after a few months, but didn't feel that settled until about 11 months in! I am tons better now, with only the odd day of real homesickness, but we have now been here 17 months and my husband is still really unsettled which is hard for us all.

 

It is a hard decision to go or stay, and it should get easier for you the longer you stay HOWEVER, sometimes I do wonder you are one of those who is very unsettled if it is easier to go back sooner rather than later, as the longer to stay and start to settle a bit more, the more torn you are in your decision.

 

I would want a 'reverse reccie' before moving back, but realise financially that may not always be possible.

 

Reading your post though, your reason for return seems to be more financial than the fact that you havn't settled, and that is unlikely to change in the near future. However, I don't know the true state of living in the UK at present, even though we have been away only a realatively short time, but all our friends there are still ok at the moment.

 

Best of luck in your decsion.

 

That is a very good point about going back sooner as it could get even harder to make the decision as time goes on!

 

I too think a reverse reccie would be a great idea if the finances allowed it, maybe we will save up to do that. Its hard though because my husband said last night "do you think we still would have come if we had done a reccie here first?" and my answer was yes! Simply because when we got here we couldn't beleive we had even thought about not coming, we saw the beach, we felt the sun, saw the clear blue skies, saw the marina and the lovely restaurants here in Glenelg, saw all the kids playing outdoors, saw all the free tennis courts, and saw some lovely houses. And we thought oh my god imagine of we hadn't come here, look at what we have on our doorstep we are so lucky!

 

That was 3 months ago and the novelty has worn off, and the finances are tight, we miss our family, the children miss their grandparents, and if i'm honest and we put money aside we can't really put our finger on it we just don't see our family growing up here.

 

Kerry x

[Guest massive]

Hi all,

I did post on this earlier and have been watching it all day , Kerry I know where you are coming from we got here in Sept my hubby had a job to go to (full time and perminant) so we are very lucky .

 

Kids clothes are either cheap and rubbish wash out of shape etc or expensive and books are such a rip off so anyone waiting to come who loves reading get to that asda and fill a case as they are about $20 dollars per paper back here , yes people will say go the library but I never did in the uk so don't want to start here.

 

Food shopping is best done the way suggested going to the butcher veg shop etc I find this not to be cheaper just better quality. We hadn't done a reccie and I have said this many times and get the strangest looks If we had we wouldn't have come and to make it even worse we think it might just be Adelaide (sorry to offend you all that love it ) but this its better i don't get it at all . Yes the sun shines and in the uk on a sunny day we felt better .

 

I don't want to upset people on here but when we looked at poms from the uk I often wondered why people didn't talk of bad things now I am here its hard to post you are unsure when everyone else is pleased about the move

[Guest thebaddeleys]

Hi all,

I did post on this earlier and have been watching it all day , Kerry I know where you are coming from we got here in Sept my hubby had a job to go to (full time and perminant) so we are very lucky .

 

Kids clothes are either cheap and rubbish wash out of shape etc or expensive and books are such a rip off so anyone waiting to come who loves reading get to that asda and fill a case as they are about $20 dollars per paper back here , yes people will say go the library but I never did in the uk so don't want to start here.

 

Food shopping is best done the way suggested going to the butcher veg shop etc I find this not to be cheaper just better quality. We hadn't done a reccie and I have said this many times and get the strangest looks If we had we wouldn't have come and to make it even worse we think it might just be Adelaide (sorry to offend you all that love it ) but this its better i don't get it at all . Yes the sun shines and in the uk on a sunny day we felt better .

 

I don't want to upset people on here but when we looked at poms from the uk I often wondered why people didn't talk of bad things now I am here its hard to post you are unsure when everyone else is pleased about the move

 

I think with a reccie, its not long enough unless you can afford to come for a few months, but if you just came for two weeks you would have seen lots of good things and only a few bad things, I feel its only now we are seeing the bad!

 

I think this post shows that not everyone is happy here, it is the people who aren't happy that should post on here as they need all the support they can get, the happy people are happy so are in less need of support... i'm not saying the happy people shouldn't post but they shouldn't make people who aren't happy feel bad for feeling that way. Each to their own!

 

I agree, stock up with books at tesco and asda, then go to NEXT and buy all your children's clothes for this year and the next.. god knows they will need them!

 

I've also heard that people rarely travel outside of Australia for holidays because its so expensive... this doesn't sound good to me, there is a whole world beyond Australia and I want to see some of it!

 

Kerry x x

[sue2oz]

hi kerry i just want to say that when we landed here for the first few weeks i could have easily got on the plane back home, we was in a holiday shack and thats what it was a shack i hated it mozzies and insects everywhere getting bitting alive everynight and i thought what the hell have i done!!! it was the worst 4/5 weeks of my life i had to get the bus the school with 4 kids as carnt drive and they came every 2 hours! ok the beach was 1 mintue walk away but i just felt so hard and sort of lonely at the time.Then the kids school was not what i expected and that was a worry coz thats our reason for being here, then one day i had a breakdown in coles(wont go into detail)

but from that moment on i thought right thats it its only me who can sort this bloody mess out!!!

we sorted a fab rental out, changed schools for when the kids go back and things have falling into place SLOWLY but surely.

we live in a lovely house with lovely nieghbours and my boys have friends who they play out with they love it.we have meet really nice friends which has made a hell of a differance and we enjoying it so far,you read all stuff people write about but untill u land here and live here you get to understand how diffecult it is

give it time hun and see how things go good luck with your decision making and if you want to meet up with the kids that would be lovely

 

suexxx

 

p.s that was my 8 week update too!!!

[Guest Nick11]

I don't want to upset people on here but when we looked at poms from the uk I often wondered why people didn't talk of bad things now I am here its hard to post you are unsure when everyone else is pleased about the move

 

Don't be fooled - we've all had our wobbly moments and seconds thoughts.

You wouldn't be human if you didn't.

And if you haven't had a wobble yet........ it's only a matter of time.

Feel free to wobble - we're here to support you .

[Guest Guzzler&Sas]

Hi Sas,

 

I haven't yet joined any playgroups because all the ones I have found are in the late morning and my daughter has a sleep at that time! But I am still on the look out for one that is in the afternoon?

 

I think when you come from the UK it can take some time to adjust to things... for instance you talk about people not being bothered what clothes your kids are in... in the UK people are bothered and so we became bothered too (hope that doesn't sound terrible) and we need to get out of that frame of mind I know.

 

The kids love the beach and they love being outdoors, but it won't be like that in the winter will it? And I have the dilemma of family and grandparents in the UK, would our children prefer to go to the beach or go and see there grandma... how tough is that question!

 

I think we should all be more honest, as someone stated above this isn't paradise and maybe if some people knew this before they hauled theirs families over here it could save alot of time and money- thats not a dig at anyone who says it is fantastic out here, because in some peoples eyes it is fantastic but you should tell the good, the bad and the ugly!

 

Kerry x

 

Kerry

Have a look on the Playgroup SA website - I used to go to a playgroup which had playgroups on all day from 9am to 4pm for an hour and a half each time. Simply google Playgroup SA and you will get linked to their site.

 

Of course beach trips and parks are no substitute for grandparents and I hope I never implied that in my reply. It is very hard for some people if they have come from seeing family very regularly to not seeing them at all - I used to see my parents about 4 times per year - they lived a long way from me - my in-laws lived a few miles away.

 

I have never had a wabble, but that is me and my circumstances. It is very difficult for us to advise others in the UK about what it is like for us here - we all have different levels of what we accept in our lives and what is good housing in a good area, could be someone elses paradise, or someone elses hell ....

 

We can provide cost analysis but that will only be based on whether it is any good depending on what you earn. For example, I never did any food shopping in M&S or Waitrose - we used Tesco, Asda but then some people only shop in certain places.

 

There are frequently debates on clothes here and in the UK and you know what? who cares? Because once you have been here for a while, you don't (well we don't!). There are beautiful places to buy anything here but some people don't look for them and just moan about what is on offer.

 

I will always give an honest opinion, but others may not agree with it and you don't know me, so why take my word for it. If people want to immigrate, they will - I don't know of many people who have decided not to do it because they listen to what is said on here. And the same the other way around - only you can decide what is right for you, your partner and your family.

 

I do believe I have found my paradise (or what is right for me) - I have a great family who are enriched by living here, a lovely house, a comfortable standard of living, we have a great climate most of the year and you can live a much better life here - but that is only my opinion.

 

Please feel free to ask and you will get my 2cents worth ....

 

Cheers

Sas

xxx

[Guest norah battie]

we looked into the emergency part as we worried about the clause....we were told a cold is emergency...sore foot...any normal ailment and you get treated which has happened...if you need a knee replacement then you have to wait......we have used it plenty of times and its just like the uk thats why we don't have private cover.

[Guest smit]

 

I think we should all be more honest, as someone stated above this isn't paradise and maybe if some people knew this before they hauled theirs families over here it could save alot of time and money- thats not a dig at anyone who says it is fantastic out here, because in some peoples eyes it is fantastic but you should tell the good, the bad and the ugly!

 

Kerry x

You can be as honest as much as you want, as quite a few people always have been, but when people are sitting on the other side in UK , they always tend to ignore ' the bad bits', so people get bored with giving thier views, especially the ones that have been here a while.

[Guest njacinthebox]

Our daughter has taken it in her stride but all children are different, depends on the ages too and personalities etc.

She's 50/50 at the moment so we will be make the decision this year but having no work not looking like we will be staying at this point.

Please read between the lines also on this site alot of people promoting the place have a vested interest as they are offering furnished rentals to people coming out here.

The government also doing pretty well out of it, promoting it as wonderland full of sea, sun and 'work' . We all flock over they take everything they can and actually couldnt care less whether we stay or go once they lined their pockets with our money. Just my opinion, but I am entitled to one just as everyone else on this site has one.

Honestly is the best policy, best of all be honest with yourself then you will know what decision to make :-)

Jacqui

[Guest smit]

Please read between the lines also on this site alot of people promoting the place have a vested interest as they are offering furnished rentals to people coming out here.

 

Jacqui

That may be true, but those rentals have helped out a lot of people when they first arrived. There was very little accomodation to turn up into a few years back......................maybe a tiny holiday room on the beachfront for more money!!!...............

 

Id better just add...............I dont think the owners say untruths, i think they just like the place

[Guest smit]

My advice to anyone when they first get here

 

When you get off the plane................

 

' forget everything you ever know about the way you lived in UK'...................................this is Australia, its different here, things get done differently . They work differently, they play differently. The quicker your mind is open to change , the easier it will become and the quicker you will assimilate:jiggy:

 

Everyone is different , with different circumstances. It just takes time.

[Guest 0405delboy]

Hi ,

 

Thank you so much for all your words of wisdom. I can fully understand all your points of view and I had the same opinions too until now.

 

For us Australia was about more family time, a better work life balance, about the kids being outdoors more as that is what they love! Less crime and a better education.

 

Having come to Australia we have found that my husband is working harder and longer hours (he used to work from home in the UK, start at 8.30 and finish at 5.30pm) he now gets up at 7am and doesn't get home till 7pm.

 

The kids do love the outdoors just as we thought, but when winter comes I am wondering if it will be just like being in the UK , nothing to do!!!

 

There is certainly less crime so that has met our expectations.

 

As for better eductaion, I have found that private school is most favoured here and this costs money ($4k), yes it is alot less than a UK private school but you can get good schools in the UK without going private.

 

most of you have put that there are many free things to do here and everything costs money in the UK, but there are only so many times you can go down the beach before the novelty wears off.

 

I know this all must sound very negative (sorry), but I am trying to be realistic as the last thing we want to do is go back and realise we made the wrong decision... that would be awful.

 

We feel that Oz is not more expensive we are just paid a third lower in my husbands wage so the value of our money is not the same.

 

Please keep responding as your thoughts are invaluble x

 

Hello Baddeleys,

 

0405delboy here and I would like to say that I agree that Aust is somewhat more expensive than UK when you have kids. Not only re there the regular necessities for them ie; clothes, shoe and schooling let alone bloody daycare and OSHC but their activities cost a fortune. Keeping two kids occupied can cost a fortune. Many Aussie parents complain about this too. A day out to the footy or the zoo can swipe a substantial chunk out of your income especially week in week out. On top of tht, having no one to babysit can make you feel like its all work and no play.

 

What we need is Poms in Adelaide babysitting service. You could make a killing!!

 

Regards 0405delboy;)

[Diane]

In my personal view, and I've been here a while and read a lot of different posts both on this and other sites, a lot of people come out to Australia thinking it's all going to be sun and sea and fun. The world is in a recession. Yes, Australia, and South Australia in particular, is trying to get migrants out here to fill perceived job shortages, but migration to any country is not easy, it's probably one of the hardest things most families go through in their lives, and to settle into a new country, a new way of life, a new lifestyle, most have to take a few steps backwards before things are actually better than what they have left. Yes, when you look at things from the UK you see blue skies, white sands, and houses for half the price that they cost in the UK, but the average aussie works bloody hard and new migrants are naturally expected to do the same - in fact even harder to "prove" themselves - no-one meets you at the airport with the keys to a new car, nice house and a suitcase full of money. Life's just not like that. In my personal view, aside from any axe I have to grind, if you have a good job and a nice lifestyle in the UK, think very, VERY hard before risking it all to come somewhere strange and different and unknown. If you have family problems and think emigrating is the solution, it will probably just be the final nail in the coffin. It certainly isn't paradise, it's not necessarily a "better" lifestyle. Some of us made the move, determined to make it work and believe me, you have to really work at it sometimes and force yourself to see the positives rather than focussing on the negatives. There are both.

 

It's not for everyone, some of us like it here, some people don't. It's no reflection on individuals or in any way a "failure" if it's not for you. You tried it for yourselves, and maybe it has made you appreciate all the things you took for granted in the UK. If it's not right, it's not right. There are many who have returned to the Uk and been happier for the experience, and others (have a search through Laura Girling's posts in the middle of last year) who have hit rock bottom then fought their way back up to make it work.

 

Whatever you choose, I hope it works for you. If I were you though I'd stay at least until the end of the summer! Who'd want to go back to England before Spring anyway???!!

[Guest Nick11]

Please read between the lines also on this site alot of people promoting the place have a vested interest as they are offering furnished rentals to people coming out here.

 

Have to disagree completely on this

I know quite a lot of the people who post on this site and offer furnish rentals. Their posts reflect their personality and views on adelaide. They are very positive people.

I don't think you can generalise and make this statement til you've met them!

[ozzieclare2be]

You can be as honest as much as you want, as quite a few people always have been, but when people are sitting on the other side in UK , they always tend to ignore ' the bad bits', so people get bored with giving thier views, especially the ones that have been here a while.

 

 

Well i tend to agree with you there, we are just starting to settle but i hated it at first , many people have approached me at bbqs and said how they agreed with some of the things i have written on the forums , but didnt feel they could post it themselves for one reason or another. Its very difficult , you will always get people who love this place, others hate it, others grow to like it but it will never be "home" or where they feel like they should belong.

i doubt i will ever truly love adelaide completely but i am happy , even though there are things i do still truly hate about the place . When your back in the uk your still caught up with the dream, and even if people tell you their opinion, good or bad, people do need to bear them in mind but find out for themselves. I know id have done things a bit more different if id have paid more attention to the "negative" posts. Or then maybe i wouldnt i think i need wine lol.

 

oh and ps this morning i nearly got on a plane to uk as there was a massice huntsman trying to drive my car lol, it was that big, i had to wake the neighbour up to get it as chris had left already and i was going to be late for my first day in new job. Noowww wheres the brabdy im still shaking now when i think of it!!

 

The first few months are the hardest, its a testing time, my husband was a sales exec in the uk and has took a backstep here too, and works longer. I found it bloody frustrating for him, but now hes looking at it as a stepping stone. The thing i see alot of is people on tempory visas with children struggling, it must be really difficult and i seriously believe pr is the way to go if you have kids , if we didnt have it theres no way i would have come here to be honest. Often its a way for lots of people to get here but if anyone is reading this before they get here seriously consider the visa subclass because it effects so many things when your here.

 

To the op, only you can know if youve had enough and want to go back, maybe the time is wrong, maybe its not for you, but i admire you for voicing your opinion. 3 months is a short time though , but its also a long time if your so unhappy

[stomky]

,

Me and my hubs are still in England but hope to come out in the next few months, we visited a friend in November who took us round supermarkets etc, quite a few of the toiletries seemed to be the same price in $ as they are in £'s here, she pays less for bills and running her car I suppose you maybe lose in some things and gain in others.

 

I've got a job as a nurse which is as good as the pay I'm getting here, my husband won't have a job so I'll have to support him till he finds something so it could be a struggle, we are going with alot less money as previously planned as we can't sell the house and are renting it out (hopefully) so also have the worry of paying that mortgage if there is no-one in it!

 

Have "started over" a few times in my life, not on the other side of the world however! but what I've said is we'll give it 2 years and if it makes us appreciate what we had in the Uk and we want to come back OR love our new life and want to stay it's a win win situation.

 

I wish you all the best in whatever descision you make.

 

Sarah

[Guest Guzzler&Sas]

Please read between the lines also on this site alot of people promoting the place have a vested interest as they are offering furnished rentals to people coming out here.

Jacqui

 

I would like to point out that I make my comments at my own free will and not to do with people coming out here to fill my rental. I have been using forums for about 4 years now and only had our rental for just over 1 year!

 

I sometimes feel that I am damned if I do and damned if I don't Jacqui - many comments on this thread were asking for PIAs honest opinion, and I have provided MY honest opinion about Adelaide. We do love it and we love it without our rental too. I am simply trying to add our perspective to this thread.

 

Yes, some users of this and other sites have to bit our tongues on occassion and would not publicly cast opinions about some things - so that we do not upset others here. For example, when everyone still in the UK asks about which suburbs to live in - how can we say don't here, or don't live there, when we know others on here, live in those suburbs. Also, what is my paradise, may be someone elses hell - you have no idea what my standard of living is. I may love red clothes and you may hate them - do you understand what I mean?

 

I always maintain honesty and respect on this and other forums - I do not bend the truth to suit me. I do love Adelaide - would you prefer if we all hated it?

 

The original thread is Kerry in distress about perhaps wanting to return to the UK - I am simply trying to help by assisting in whatever way I can - offering advise about how to entertain children (I was in that boat when I arrived), clothes shopping, finding work - these are all things which I can help with and which are nothing to do with having a rental property.

 

Rahhh - rant over guys - I do not mean offense, but am trying to be honest without getting shot down!

 

Cheers

Sas

xx

[Guest Libby1971]

Lots of food for thought...

 

I thought that Australia would be much like the UK with the history of it but nothing could be further from the truth. I think it might have been Smit or Tyke who made the observation that if you were going to anywhere but Aus or USA would you expect things to be the same? No? Good, coz they are different and so is Aus too. However, that doesn't mean it is bad. Just takes a bit of getting used to.

 

One day in July 2007, my OH was at work, my kids at school, and I sat down with the phone book trying to get some work. Two hours later, I gave up, put the kettle on and cried, sobbed as if my heart would break for at least an hour and a half. Put the kettle on again, had a cup of tea, looked in the mirror and cried again for another hour. And that was the pattern for the rest of day. I have never felt so alone. I think that was rock bottom for me... and it was 3 months in.

 

Now things are rosier. I have a perm job, OH is out of work (I can't have everything), kids like their schools even if they are not the ones I originally planned, we have 2 dogs, car, couple of holidays, life is good. A year ago, not so good at all thanks.