Life's crossroad

Went to oz about 3 years ago boyfriend wanted to immigrate then wasn't sure myself, but not having a summer for 2 years here changed my mind but we had a dog didn't want to put him on a plane etc so we would go when he was gone he was only 7 so I thought it would be at least 2 or 3 years away but tragically we lost him in october he was only 7 and a half. We now have the visa's we liked the sound of Adelaide so we went to have a look in March HATED IT :(
The first time we went was to Sydney which was lovely, but I don't know what to do I hate not having a dog, life is just not complete,Do I stay and get another dog and make the best of our rubbish weather or be brave and go for a new life in oz :cnfs:
Also my parents are both getting on and in poor health, I'm not an only child but none of the others care really if I do go it may be the last time I see them
My boyfriend is happy to do whatever I choose
Anyone have any advice for me would love to hear it

 

My sister in law has come back from having emigrated to Oz. She just missed everything too much. It ended her relationship ( although fair's fair it wasn't exactly the house that was built on stone).

I really think this is a personal decision, because for every bad story there is a good one, quite a lot of own not so close ( aunties and uncles) relatives moved to other parts-Canada, America, New Zealand and Australia and they never looked back.


I think this is a toughie-but if you do go and don't like it, you can always come back home. It isn't the great distance it used to be.

 

It's a tough one. We have talked about emigrating to NZ because OH has family out there and it just sounds brilliant. But OH also has aging parents who we do a lot for (mine are younger and they have my brother as well) and it would be a bit unfair to leave them. On the other hand, your life is also your own and most parents would prefer you to go and enjoy it.

 

Hello Nat75

Putting aside aging parents/ill relatives/etc which I won't go into ... I cannot imagine going to another country without taking any animals I currently have ... cost aside. I would not leave my children behind so why would I leave my animals behind? I have seen programmes where people do this ... it is appalling. I do admire you the fact that you stayed because of the dog ... but now you have this dilemna of a new one .... will you take it with you?

Wherever we have gone ... on holidays from Bucks to the IoW to our apartment there, our cats (three) went with us. Then we were to-ing and fro-ing from the UK to Portugal for years ... we forked out the money for the Pet Passports and bought a used BT Transit Van to convert into a travelling two-level mansion for them ... the ferry people asked if they were show cats .. one solid black and two pure white ... no, they were all moggies. They had to go where we went. Sadly we lost the two whites ones here (aged 13 and 15) but we still have the black one (14 this September).

We are not millionaires ... it would cost us more to have children. In the UK we ate out twice a year at a nice restaurant (except for the odd McDonalds or KFC) did not frequent pubs and saved our money ... for our furry children and lifestyle we planned out of the UK ... which we are thoroughly enjoying.

I must say I cannot believe you decided to live somewhere you had never visited .... :cnfs:

Do what your heart tells you to do ... perhaps you'll be at peace with your decision then.

Good luck for the future.

 

Im sure you allready actually know the answer, go with your gut instinct.

I think perhaps the idea of moving for the climate alone is perhaps slightly flawed, personally if i was upping sticks id need a bit more persuading than simply sunshine...... and thats from a sun worshiper lol.

 

I agree with Pro Gard.

I would just add though that Oz is not the only country to have better weather than us. Southern Europe is only a couple of hours or so flight away, and although not as cheap as it once was, property is still generally a lot cheaper than it is here (at least it was last time I looked).

It is easy to get sick of the same old same old, but Britain still has a lot going for it, just the fact that it is home counts for a lot in my book.

Do what's right for you.

 

clueless1 ...

* Property tax on an old cottage in the country ...€8 per year.
* Car tax for a Peugeot convertible and a Clio ... 25% of the cost of the UK.
* A red pepper, green pepper, crinkly lettuce, cucumber, onion, radishes, carrots (look at my pic in Enhanced Photo this month) .... less than a Euro.
* Water on mains, metered, which includes meter rental and rubbish collection twice a week .... €15 for April and May (we only pay every two months) and we have to irrigate and water by hose as we don't have much rain.
* Lunch out .. a baguette of either chicken or tuna with salad .... €2 ... a bifana ... thin fine pork steak in a sandwich (not British bread but home baked bread) €2 ... a glass of wine 70c ... a large beer 1,20.
* Private medical and dental treatment cheap and of the highest European standards ...

... I could go on and on ...

We are living on English pensions here ... if we were there, one or both would have to go back out to work.

I can't see where Britain has anything going for it ... I still pay my taxes there and get nothing out of it.

 

Mr G wanted to live in Aus. when we were married. Perth was his choice. I backed out as my father had recently died and I didn't want to leave my mother on her own. The guilt was too much. We didn't go. It's the sliding doors thing isn't it? I have often wondered 'what if' over the years. I know more about Australia now as I play in a foodie forum where there are quite a few Australians. I am glad now I didn't go but that is a very personal opinion. The reason really is the climate is just too extreme. I love a little sunshine and warmth but I could not stick temperatures in excess of 40.C at times. Gardening can be very difficult because of water restrictions. That said the people I know who have emigrated there love the lifestyle and wouldn't come back. It's a huge move.
You wouldn't think of a trial run for a couple of years?

 

Nat,do what feels right for your own circumstances.Everyone will tell you a different version of what it is like to live in another country but until you go there yourself and experience life and culture in that country you won't find out whether you will like it or not.I have a niece who has recently gone to live in Australia and they are missing their families and friends a great deal but I think they are sticking it out because the children will probably have a better quality of life over there,but there is nothing to say that they might come back here in a few years time,although they have just recently had their first ozzie baby so when he gets older he might not want to leave his birth country:D

Things are not rosy at the moment in any of these other countries since the recession started and the local born and bred people who have lived in that country all of their lives are stuggling just the same as the ordinary working classes in this country.I have a friend who has relations living in the Algarve having married a Portugese lady and has seen just what a struggle it is for the people of that country with their very low wages and the bills for them seem high as does the bills that seem high to people living on the minimum wage in this country.We only hear one side of the story at times:thumb:

I have been following a blog of a family living in their own country and the way they are having to cut back just to survive in this economic situation is just like many people in this country.

The one main downside of living a distance from friends and relatives is the fact that to visit them you would have to hop on a plane for either twenty four hours if you lived in Australia or New Zealand or a few hours if you live on the continent either by plane or ferry.At least all I have to do is either walk through the village to visit my friends or hop into my car and within twenty minutes I am at their house.:D

Victoria,I am surprised that you couldn't afford to live in England with your American husband,because if you have both paid your NI contributions for the amount of years you needed to for your ages{possibly 44 for your hubby and 38 years for you} and with the money you got from selling your Royal apartment on the Isle of Wight I should have thought you would have lived a really good life in England:cnfs::D

 

Nat obviously you have a deep down yearning to go Aus is a wonderful country if you don't go you will regret it for the rest of your life,get yourselves a 6month visa and backpack around the country and see what it has to offer if you like it then arrange to settle there,don't let the fact that your parents need looking after stop you going it's easy to keep in touch and in an emergency you could be back here in just over a day,I am sure they would want you to follow your dreams and for you to be happy, I have grown up children and wouldn't want their lives restricted through having to care for me.Go for it.

 

New Zealand is still tempting. A great quality of life, much cheaper than Britain, far fewer people, cheaper property, but still lots of Brits around (is that a good thing??) and a good climate, that whilst similar to ours, is a lot warmer in summer with more sunshine. And that's on South Island - North Island is even warmer (but more populated).

There are more people living in London than in the whole of New Zealand!!

 

Kandy, we only worked in the UK for 23 years and retired eight years ago. My husband is not even 60 yet. Had we stayed in the UK we would not have sold the IoW apartment and we would still be working no doubt. My winter fuel allowance paid for my winter fuel here ... I doubt seriously it would have covered the costs there. I love getting up seeing blue skies and sunshine for over 300 days a year, although I welcome the much-needed rain when it comes. I can have my doors and windows open most of the year ... I'm not a prisoner in my own home. I'm 20 minutes from the beach and 20 minutes from the mountains. It's all about quality of life.

People struggle in all countries, especially if they are on low wages and here is no exception. But the cost of living here is far lower and the standard and quality far higher.

I do think people need to seriously consider why they are going to emigrate and to know what to expect when they get there. We came here for 13 years before we made the decision to move here and weighed up the situation as Shiney has pointed out above. It was the same when we left the States. Everyone's values are different.

I also agree with Walnut's suggestion to try it first ... you can always go back home ... at least you then won't have that big WHAT IF? with you for life.