I'm a few weeks away from returning to the UK after 2 years in Oz. I moved here to be with my (English) partner who already lived here when we met.
It's been quite tough for me - I've not made many friends and no close ones so have felt pretty homesick and isolated. It's been a bit up and down with my DP and I have had zero friends here to discuss that with. DP is coming back to the UK with me, although a bit later in the year, and somewhat reluctantly.
Already in Oz I feel people don't get why I'm moving back. My stock answer of "family, friends... the usual" seems to get a response of "But it's so cold there, you'll be depressed. You'll come back." etc. Actually it turns out that the weather doesn't affect my mood but a lack of relationships with others does. It's like they think I haven't weighed up my life in the two countries and made the right decision for me.
I expect the same questions when I get back and while I'm happy to tell my close friends I was pretty miserable in Oz at times, I need a more lighthearted answer for random acquaintances. Many people seem to think Oz is utopia and the sun overrides any bad stuff. I also feel like people think I am "forcing" my DP to move. But I'm not any more forcing him to move to UK than he forced me to move to Oz (admittedly I was a lot more keen to move than he was).
Reading this, there's a lot of what other people think going through my mind. I wasn't like that before - I was more confident in my decisions and myself before I lived abroad.
Any advice from returners please?