Moved back from Oz - still not settled!

[IrishMum09]

Hi there, I have two little girls under 3 and we moved back from Oz to Ireland 2 years ago now and I still feel unsettled and so doesn't my parents partner. Anyone else in the same boat? I thought I would have settled by now but where we are living the job situation isn't great and it seems impossible to save for a mortgage. We weee much better financially in Oz. Plus we miss the lifestyle so much, especially for the kids, they are outdoor babies. We moved back mainly to be closer to family and that is great to have the support. I do think about moving back a lot though and don't want to let years get away feeling we have made the wrong decision. Would love to hear from anyone that has moved back to their home town but gone back to where they emigrated to in the first place again :)

I haven't done what you did; I emigrated to Australia 8y ago and am still here, and unlikely to return because DH is Aussie.
But I go back to the UK every year to see family and every time I'm there I get heartsick when I have to leave again. But there are things that are better here too, so it's a tough one now, and worse as the boys are getting older and have their own friends and life here. DH would never leave Australia for the UK again though, certainly not while his mother's still alive, so I don't think I'd get the option - but I do wonder sometimes how I'd fit back into things over there.

I think you need to sit down and write a pros and cons list for both Ireland and Australia, and decide what you want to do before your children hit school age, as the longer you leave it the harder it will be for them to leave friends etc.

Also, if you go somewhere different in Australia, having pre-schoolers is a great way to meet new people, as I'm sure you know!

DH has been offered jobs in different parts of the Antipodes but I'm wrecking his career (not really) by refusing to move again, as I'm just about settled where we live, have friends and a support network, and I'm not about to give all that up again!

Would you have jobs to come back to here? I realise you moved back for the family support, but if you came back to Aus, would you have people you know to come back to?

Hi there , there is a brilliant but old thread on here which is named 'anyone regret /regretted moving home ' do a search . It has lots of posts and makes for interesting reading - i was in australia for a yr as a singleton and when i came home nothing had changed /moved on. Ireland is tough at the minute to get housing and thats for bog standard houses ie 3 bed semi s
Make a decision before kids start school.
Good weather is such a draw though after the summer we had 😐

Hi OP! I am currently living in Aus and desperate to move back home to my family who I miss so much, it's a bit of (a huge) issue at the moment. I've talked lots about moving back with my Aussie DH, he doesn't want to really but I do.

I'm replying really because I also have doubts. I want to go back for family support and that closeness I miss, but worry I'd miss the weather and outdoor life we have here, I don'tneed to work and my DH is about to be promoted so we can buy a house after that. But all the while I just want to be back with my family and in my old life. I loved the UK and only moved for DH. So worried I'd regret ping back though 😐

💐 Have a good, long think xxxx

For me it's a good up between what is most important to you - Being near family while you have young children. Or the life you can have in Aus.

What is most important to you?

I moved to Oz for a year in about 2005 with baby DD and DH. We moved back to my native England and stayed for ten years! Now we're back in Oz. I wouldn't have come back if I hadn't been certain that would be it for good now.

I was certain and though I do miss my Mum and best friend, I know this is the best place for us. We have a lovely home and it's in an amazing place too.

I love living in oz been here for 2 years but also get really really homesick but just for my family and my friends as I haven't made any good friends here
But I know it's a great place for my family and the opportunities we have
So I don't think we will go home purely to be near my mum and friends although some days it's hard

Thanks so much for your replies everyone. So interesting to read how other people got on. Still in the same boat really as to not knowing what decision to make. It's such a gamble either way, to stay in Ireland or go back to OZ.

I just returned recently for a weeks holiday in Portugal where the weather was just beautiful and the kids had a ball, just seeing how much they love the beach etc. And how the warmer weather feels more like home to them. Then we get back here and it's grey, dark and miserable!! It just gets to me. I love having family close by but it's starting to get me down how unsettled I feel and some days I just can't stop thinking about our what life was like back in Oz and how maybe I took it for granted at times.

I never thought I would be back in Ireland with all my family around me wanting to go back to Oz. My partner isn't pretty unsure too, I suppose we both are. We need to sit down and make anbig list of pros and cons I think. My partner wasn't really keen on coming back to Ireland, he is Irish too, but did it just to see what it would be like and for me I suppose. Who knows where we will go from here!!