Harpodom Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Absolutely sorted. Its a trip we cant afford but nor can we afford not to do it! Fly to Perth 9th Nov, Hire Car: Fremantle (coninciding with the festival) 4 nights, Kalbarri 2 nights, Denham 2 nights, Coral Bay (7 nights), some mad roadhouse 1 night, Jurien Bay (1 night), Perth 1 night. Fly to Alice Springs, 2 nights, Uluru, 2 nights, Alice Springs 1 night. Fly to Brisbane (1 night), Springbrook ? National Park (2 nights), Bryon Bay (2 nights), Bellingen (2 nights) Port Macquarie (1 night), Sydney (4 nights), Bali (4 nights), Kuala Lumpar (1 night), London (1 night), My Mum's for Christmas, Cornwall holiday rental for 7 weeks, find job, find house.................. Funnily enough I will now have spent 2 years in Australia and a previous 6 month visit and am yet to see the area from Townsville to Brisbane.....I cant believe I am leaving without seeing this part AGAIN!!! bloody hell, you'll need 7 weeks in bed after all that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AKA63029 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Absolutely sorted. Its a trip we cant afford but nor can we afford not to do it! Fly to Perth 9th Nov, Hire Car: Fremantle (coninciding with the festival) 4 nights, Kalbarri 2 nights, Denham 2 nights, Coral Bay (7 nights), some mad roadhouse 1 night, Jurien Bay (1 night), Perth 1 night. Fly to Alice Springs, 2 nights, Uluru, 2 nights, Alice Springs 1 night. Fly to Brisbane (1 night), Springbrook ? National Park (2 nights), Bryon Bay (2 nights), Bellingen (2 nights) Port Macquarie (1 night), Sydney (4 nights), Bali (4 nights), Kuala Lumpar (1 night), London (1 night), My Mum's for Christmas, Cornwall holiday rental for 7 weeks, find job, find house.................. Funnily enough I will now have spent 2 years in Australia and a previous 6 month visit and am yet to see the area from Townsville to Brisbane.....I cant believe I am leaving without seeing this part AGAIN!!! :jiggy::notworthy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 I know AKA Cant wait! Go a house booked for the week. Be interesting to see how the place have changed since 2000, hopefully not at all. Definitely the highlight of the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest16631 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 ...........have watched with interest ...........and admiration blobby.............as from frustration and exasperation of choices not working out as you had hoped............to a realisation that your choices at the time dictated your experiences..............not mistakes.............lessons and learning curves............ ..........your initial choice of place must of been made for a reason.............and your trust in someone on the phone .............was a leap of faith .............a chance taken ! ...........a leaving party given by you to people you obviously felt something for..........the fact that these peopl,e were important to you......... ..............your ties to the uk..............many of us still follow things that were important from when we lived there..........perhaps with less intensity.....! ...................work can become frustrating when treading the same path we did many years ago...........when advancements we took for granted are slow to reach our new place of work....... .................and often it takes ,something drastic to make us look back and.......see.........yes it wasn't all bad..........your memories of Australia will be scattered with gems... ..................just part of your journey in life........perhaps you needed to come here to help you learn something's about yourself.............and the fact you have looked back and seen a different choice that may have helped you ................means you've already learnt so much.............. .................the next part of your journey .............is already ahead in that you know so much more ..........about moving to somewhere new.................I wish you and your family happiness in your new choices..................may they now be everything you chose to move for...................all the best .......tink x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landv Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I always liked your honesty in your posts Blobby, straight to the point, no sugarcoating and I think your self-reflection in this thread shows that you've recognized and embraced what is important to you and that you have remained true to yourself - which is one of the greatest attributes to possess. Good luck with your return to Cornwall - you've chosen well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I cant quote it on my stoopid tablet but I liked your post about being tired and needing five to take time out and decide what to do next Blobby, how do you find the energy to try aother area when everything is up in the air...best move back to blighty I reckon..lovely area to reassess, regroup and reflect... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalis Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Good post. Identify with the Facebook point. Others as well but particularly that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zk2102 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Good luck with your move back to the UK. I must admit that when I read a lot of your previous posts I found it hard to imagine why you moved to Melbourne in the first place, you always sounded so negative and upset about your whole experience hind sights a great thing though isn't it. Make sure you take the new surf board to Cornwall with you eh. Get yourselves down to Gwithian and catch a wave or two. Fantastic beach. I have a panoramic photo of it stuck to a kitchen cupboard to remind me that heaven on earth does exist. Make sure and pop into the Sunset surf cafe too. Best local brewed beer and cream topped hot choccies! We will be down there next summer for probably our last time for quite a few years but will make do with the delights of the Gold Coast and will take on board the comments you made in this post (I'm a rubbish friend anyway and crap at keeping in touch) take care. Enjoy your future. X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surf N Turf Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 You may have driven your wife mad with the analysis but it's quite a feat to come up with this stuff while you're still in the midst of it. I'd have thought it would have needed some time and distance to have reached this kind of perspective. It's great stuff and I agree with Harpo that it should be made a sticky. Too many good insights for it to be lost. But of course, most importantly, you'll take it with you and bring all that experience into your next move and hopefully make it a great success. I wouldn't get too hooked on the idea that a different location could have changed the outcome. It may have but I've shifted states with my extremely homesick OH and while it's an improvement it doesn't make a huge difference. It doesn't change the extent to which you miss family and friends, familiarity and a sense of belonging. No point laying the groundwork for future regrets. All the very best for your future Blobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxboz Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Fantastic and very honest post Blobby and I am sure it will be very helpful for some people who are struggling to settle in. I wish you all the very best with your new adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buttercup Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Blobby, I often can identify with lots of things you write in you posts. I seem to have trod a similar path in some ways... Upon reflection, I like you felt my head was still back in the UK.It was like I had left it at the check in desk at Gatwick. F.B and reading posts about people coming back sort of helped but also hindered me and my partner settling there. PLUS there was always the 64 thousand dollar question of wrong destination (Adelaide was too quiet for us). However I think the whole thing can drive you nuts if you spend to much time thinking about it, I really do. I loved my job and work mates too but was always venting about why this why that? What can you do? Hindsight is a great thing... However, we are so glad to be back. I love the 'omph' and humour of the UK and I really did miss this. I truly believe, despite all the emotional and practical upheaval, we are deep down happier and more content back here in Blighty. Massive learning curve and we have also found out who our REAL friends are! It's funny cause when I was there I missed the UK but now I'm back I miss some things there. Only natural I suppose. Once we made the decision to return we seemed to enjoy it more. I don't know if that's because we were coming back or if we were simply getting used to it? Anyway, always good reading your posts and enjoy your trip around Oz. Sounds fab. It is undoubtly a beautiful country with lots to see. I sometimes wonder that if I had stayed when I was younger (backpacking at 26), then the outcome may have been different? Who knows.. The world is a big place though and new adventures are always there to be had. All the best to you and yours and keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tea4too Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 What a great post. I have followed your ups and downs as you tried to settle, and am glad that you been able to make your peace with Australia before you leave. Try not to be too hard on yourself in the process, though. You dealt with life as it presented itself, and made choices when you had to. Looking back some of those choices may seem like mistakes, but different paths tend to throw up different problems to tackle, I think. All part of life’s rich pattern! Good luck with the next chapter. I hope Cornwall is good for you and the rest of the Blobby clan. Tx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Thank you to everybody. I think it is only natural to get the wobbles whether moving from the UK or going back. Unless you are leaving Australia because you totally hate it and cry into your breakfast every day, or have been here for years and seen it all, or have some pressing health concerns/family issues that mean you have to return, I think, we would all have some uncertainty about a decision like this: What if I had done this? What if we tried that? What if I was not such a moron etc... But we have learned a lot since we announced we were returning in March this year... We told ourselves we were NOT going back for our friends, and we are moving to a new area 3 hours from our friends, but it has still been interesting to observe what has happened. Initially there was a massive outpouring of love and good wishes, that warmed that heart after 17 months of nobody even noticing us here. After this initial period (that lasted a few days) there has been total silence. I notice now that when I do go on facebook, the majority of people that respond to me are from Australia....yes I know, its not all about facebook, but its quite telling, in the sense, that, seriously, we are soon forgotten in the UK and we know more people here than we realise..... When I lived in the UK I considered myself to have about 10 great friends. When I left I realised that I had 3 really really good mates and lots of other mates, but 3 proper mates. When we announced we were coming back we quickly booked flights at the wrong time and made a mess of it. We wanted to change things and asked one of my mates if we could stay with him for a few days when we get back until our cottage in Cornwall is ready, he agreed, "you can stay as long as you like" so we changed our flights and all our plans ($1200 and endless upheaval) and he has just told us we can no longer stay with him for even a couple of days! I then asked one of my other "3 good mates" and he was very positive about us staying with him for a couple of days. He has since totally disappeared off the radar!! The other good mate informed me that we should be staying in Australia. Im not being bitter. I'm just pointing out people move on. I dont think anyone owes us anything. Its a lot to ask of someone to put up a family of 4 and a dog. I'm just saying.......don't expect to return to a red carpet and brass band and a street party, people have moved on. My Mum, although always very supportive, has expressed regret that we are coming back because it means she wont be able to visit us again (she loves coming over here!!)...in fairness she will be delighted to see us and she is letting us stay with her for 10 days when we get back.... We then asked Mrs Blobby's Mum if we could stay with her for a few days when we get back and she also refused as she has "too much stuff around the place" We only need somewhere to stay for a few days until our Cornish Cottage is ready!!!!! OK so I am only commenting on the negative things. But my point is that people in the UK move on, and they move on almost immediately. We should have moved on as well! I'm not being too down on the above people, but my point is, don't expect someone to have thrown a party to welcome you home, we are more likely to receive a shrug of the shoulders and a "what did you come back here for!" Good job we aint going back because we missed people, eh!!! Hmmmmm. The thing is though,what a lot we have learned. As people have kindly said on here, you walk the path and react to things as they happen. We have learned so much about ourselves, about Australia and about other people, it puts us in a good position for the rest of our lives!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpodom Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 OK so I am only commenting on the negative things. But my point is that people in the UK move on, and they move on almost immediately. We should have moved on as well! I'm not being too down on the above people, but my point is, don't expect someone to have thrown a party to welcome you home, we are more likely to receive a shrug of the shoulders and a "what did you come back here for!" :biglaugh:Wise words again Blobby! It sounds like youve got over that particular let down already...youre more than 50% there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Don't be too hard on yourselves. Its good to remember though that family is you oh and the children, all others are nice to have around but not essential to a happy life. Hope you are happy in the UK but you can always return, many do, or try another place. Just go with the flow, and the most important think don't dwell on the past. Don't be sucked into the whole thing of you must come on a Tuesday etc. and the like which sometimes happens in our lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whichway1 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I love this thread blobby. x But you need to get off FB (if you are not already) Life is better without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Interesting Blobby, My really good friend who cried when we told her our plans and sobbed that she wouldn't see my children grow up and insisted on seeing us the night before we left (and sobbed uncontrolably), only sends birthday and Xmas cards - no emails, no news etc., It's not having a go at her, but you're right when we move we no longer have the same place of importance in other peoples lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Interesting Blobby, My really good friend who cried when we told her our plans and sobbed that she wouldn't see my children grow up and insisted on seeing us the night before we left (and sobbed uncontrolably), only sends birthday and Xmas cards - no emails, no news etc., It's not having a go at her, but you're right when we move we no longer have the same place of importance in other peoples lives. The upside is, that Blobby realises that and is prepared for it. Quite a few returnees and ping pongers aren't. Of all our friends in the UK, only one keeps in touch..............the rest tailed off mailing/phoning us after about 12 months..............one (who we thought of as a very good friend) "re-connected" after 15 yrs, only because she wanted info about migrating here, and after we answered her questions and said how nice it was to hear from her again, we never heard from her again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AKA63029 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Interesting Blobby, My really good friend who cried when we told her our plans and sobbed that she wouldn't see my children grow up and insisted on seeing us the night before we left (and sobbed uncontrolably), only sends birthday and Xmas cards - no emails, no news etc., It's not having a go at her, but you're right when we move we no longer have the same place of importance in other peoples lives. I guess you are a little more forgiving than me Ali/Blobby. I fully admit I had very feew friends to say goodbye to, (stop it,:mad:) but my family were and are always upset when I bugger off and always welcome me back and the offers of help, assistance and advice are always there. But peeps have very short memories I'm afraid, of course peeps 'move on', only right and natural, but when a 'mate' wants a helping hand isn't it only right to help out where you can. I'm not bitter at all, but do have the attitude of 'Fudge em' if some can't be bothered to help out and lets face it, a fairly difficult time. There's someone around these parts who has helped me enormously recently, will I ever forget that, no I bloody well won't, I may never be able to repay all the kindness shown, but I will try my hardest is all. Of course I'm not perfect, but I do tend to think that 'mates' and especially family (if you have a good relationship with them) should be glad to see you back and do what they can to help out at times. Oh, and Blobby, don;'t worry about the 'Why Have You Come Back, You Must Be Mad' comments, time and again I have been on the receiving end, the best way to counter act this is too go into GREAT detail about your reasons, when they glaze over and lose the will to live you have made your point.:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest16631 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 .........I have found that those who mean a lot to me.............don't need to constantly share my life apart from them...............but when we meet ...........are able to continue are friendship and closeness..............despite the gap................often it's the .......shared experiences that tie us together..............there will be those blobby..............who can continue their friendship .......often those who had got on with their own lives ............while you lived yours ...............who feel more comfortable shareing the same .......ime....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noworriesmate Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Blobby, Love your posts on this thread - I think most people will have at least some understanding of what you are saying whether they are heading back to the UK or not. I've been in Aus for just over 2 years and when we first moved out I was chatting with UK friends all the time but recently I have understood more and more that we are no longer 'doing life' together and their journey has changed as has ours. We are still friends but it's different - we don't have the 'in' jokes anymore and just knowing what's going on in each others worlds and we are having to explain everything more which sometimes to be honest doesn't seem to be worth the effort. Fortunately we love it here and are making good friends but there is a gap we are all feeling between not having the 'life long' friends around and still working out our new friendships etc. Anyway - all the best in your plans, please let us know how things unfold!! NWM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legoman Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 living the life of adventure, its what its all about good luck in your next adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Its not too late to change your mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatsitallabout Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 OK so I am only commenting on the negative things. But my point is that people in the UK move on, and they move on almost immediately. We should have moved on as well! I'm not being too down on the above people, but my point is, don't expect someone to have thrown a party to welcome you home, we are more likely to receive a shrug of the shoulders and a "what did you come back here for!" Good job we aint going back because we missed people, eh!!! Hmmmmm. The thing is though,what a lot we have learned. As people have kindly said on here, you walk the path and react to things as they happen. We have learned so much about ourselves, about Australia and about other people, it puts us in a good position for the rest of our lives!! This is sooooooooooooooo correct people we felt were our good friends have disappeared from radar, some who haven't heard from in the 3 years we have been here! We have moved on & made some fantastic friends here who really count as good friendds & like you if we did plan on going back we would go to a different part of the UK for ourselves not our friends. As the good saying goes out of sight out of mind! This is so true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kungfustu Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Goodluck with your move back, FB and those other social media websites are no good, they are the root of a lot of problems individuals suffer especially kids. I think you pretty much know straight away if the move is going to be good for you and your family, we new within a few months. Moving to a new area in the UK is something we also considered but schooling dictated, but saying that we never threw a huge leaving party, we kind of slipped out of the UK unnoticed and returned under the cover of darkness several years later, still have the same friends, they had moved on a bit.....but then so had we. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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