Living in Oz but so homesick..

miss niamh

Hi guys,

Im originally from Dublin and emigrated to Brisbane, three years ago with my husband and two kids. I know there are probably a lot of people who would kill to be where i am now, sunshine, beaches, outdoor life blah, blah, blah...
Yep its got all that but you also have to work, pay the bills, endure peak hour traffic, put the kids in childcare, pay the rent as house prices are insane so no hope of buying, etc etc..

I've been really homesick lately, and no matter how pretty or how sunny the country is that you're living in, it doesnt cure it.

I've come to realise that its the people that you're with, not the place that you're in that means everything.

I know how bad the irish economy is at the moment so im thinking it would be the worst time ever to move back, would i be right?
Am i mad to even think it?
Is there no jobs at all?
I'm a nurse and have heard that there are no jobs at all for nurses and that everyone is leaving,is that true?
Give it to me straight!

MagicMarker

Stay where you are.

RaZrReD

as regards nursing jobs...i'm not 100% sure but i believe the HSE are still on a recruitment freeze for all non senior management positions so no nursing jobs within the public sector at the minute as far as i'm aware...someone correct me if i'm wrong tho!!

bonerm

Move back if you miss Ireland. Australia is over-rated. The weather gets boring after a while and the people are morons.

Stephentlig

Im originally from Dublin and emigrated to Brisbane, three years ago with my husband and two kids. I know there are probably a lot of people who would kill to be where i am now, sunshine, beaches, outdoor life blah, blah, blah...

I wouldnt kill to be in your position, all those spiders and snakes? you can keep them :pac::P

I've been really homesick lately, and no matter how pretty or how sunny the country is that you're living in, it doesnt cure it.

I've come to realise that its the people that you're with, not the place that you're in that means everything.

I know how bad the irish economy is at the moment so im thinking it would be the worst time ever to move back, would i be right?
Am i mad to even think it?
Is there no jobs at all?
I'm a nurse and have heard that there are no jobs at all for nurses and that everyone is leaving,is that true?
Give it to me straight!

I'd rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable.

kuntboy

Yes you are mad.
Brisbane= tropical paradise of magnificence.
Dublin= festering sewer full of skangers and mutants.

AnonoBoy

Well you can't come now anyways. We're under 3 feet of lava because of that blasted volcano.

miss niamh

bonerm wrote: »

Move back if you miss Ireland. Australia is over-rated. The weather gets boring after a while and the people are morons.

True, true and true

miss niamh

Stephentlig wrote: »

I'd rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable.

Exactly

miss niamh

kuntboy wrote: »

Yes you are mad.
Brisbane= tropical paradise of magnificence.
Dublin= festering sewer full of skangers and mutants.

lol!!!!

Have you been to Brisbane then?

dave 27

miss niamh wrote: »

Hi guys,

Im originally from Dublin and emigrated to Brisbane, three years ago with my husband and two kids. I know there are probably a lot of people who would kill to be where i am now, sunshine, beaches, outdoor life blah, blah, blah...
Yep its got all that but you also have to work, pay the bills, endure peak hour traffic, put the kids in childcare, pay the rent as house prices are insane so no hope of buying, etc etc..

I've been really homesick lately, and no matter how pretty or how sunny the country is that you're living in, it doesnt cure it.

I've come to realise that its the people that you're with, not the place that you're in that means everything.

I know how bad the irish economy is at the moment so im thinking it would be the worst time ever to move back, would i be right?
Am i mad to even think it?
Is there no jobs at all?
I'm a nurse and have heard that there are no jobs at all for nurses and that everyone is leaving,is that true?
Give it to me straight!

op as much as id love to visit oz, its now way too over run with irish people..paper headlines over here saying irish are heading there in there tens of thousands..people getting arrested and sent home cos theres way too many etc.

the weather here is actually lovely here too, if u really miss it just come home, after all..home is where the heart is!

Come home NOW!






your clogging the place up for the rest of us economic refugees :pac:

4zn76tysfajdxp

dr.bollocko's gonna have a field day with this one.

Sisko

Didnt she say its more the people she misses? Thus with all the supposed thousands of Irish people heading over there, well... SCORE , irish people , and a sunny country!

Whats so bad about the aussies anyway?

Standard Toaster

Miss Niamh, I'll gladly swap with you....minus the husband and two kids of course.

STAY WHERE YOU ARE!

dave 27

actually op i dunno if u were looking at the news but europe is closed due to a big magic smoke cloud!

on a serious note tho, my bro went to canada for about a year a couple years back and eventhough he said they are a lot more genuine race to the americans..he said it would have been impossible to live there as the place (montreal) was very polluted, had propper ghetto areas, horrible wage..when he came home (to Limerick city), he said the people are so much more genuine and real and realised he couldnt leave unless it was with loads of irish as the people just made the place what it is!

miss niamh

Sisko wrote: »

Didnt she say its more the people she misses? Thus with all the supposed thousands of Irish people heading over there, well... SCORE , irish people , and a sunny country!

Whats so bad about the aussies anyway?

Ah the aussies are grand, just takes a while to figure them out, not as easy to get on with as the irish, different sense of humour and you have to say
'no im joking' a LOT!!

miss niamh

dave 27 wrote: »

actually op i dunno if u were looking at the news but europe is closed due to a big magic smoke cloud!

on a serious note tho, my bro went to canada for about a year a couple years back and eventhough he said they are a lot more genuine race to the americans..he said it would have been impossible to live there as the place (montreal) was very polluted, had propper ghetto areas, horrible wage..when he came home (to Limerick city), he said the people are so much more genuine and real and realised he couldnt leave unless it was with loads of irish as the people just made the place what it is!

definately dave, irish people are definatley more genuine and real, what you see is what you get. its taken me nearly 3 years to crack the aussies, lovely people once you do, but jaysus it takes a long time..

biko

You'll get better responses in Personal Issues.

kuntboy

miss niamh wrote: »

lol!!!!

Have you been to Brisbane then?

It's just a big country town, mate!

adamski8

miss niamh wrote: »

Hi guys,

Im originally from Dublin and emigrated to Brisbane, three years ago with my husband and two kids. I know there are probably a lot of people who would kill to be where i am now, sunshine, beaches, outdoor life blah, blah, blah...
Yep its got all that but you also have to work, pay the bills, endure peak hour traffic, put the kids in childcare, pay the rent as house prices are insane so no hope of buying, etc etc..
/QUOTE]
Your in brisbane, i feel sorry for you! just move somewhere else in austrailia

Biggins

Honestly - stay.
The health service is on its knees here.
You have my sympathies but try to stay where you are. The "grass is always greener on the other side" as they say but in this case the grass is dying from lack of care and funding.

dr.bollocko

Come home. You hate it there because it's not for you. Went through the same. You'll have people telling you you're mad. You're not mad. Australia is horrible. The weather gets overbearing. The people are mental or arseholes. Hated the place.
I'm only returning to fly the nuke on home Dr. Strangelove style. Or if they make me go for stealing a loaf of bread or being a prostitute.

Xavi6

OP, feel free to post in the Aus/NZ forum if you want more opinions/advice.

syklops

Ive been away nearly a year and do get bouts of serious homesickness. Sometimes its based about one particular thing, sometimes its more general. Like I miss the random conversations you have with people on public transport.

Around the time of the Thierry Henry hand ball I got very homesick. The next day I know the entire nation was talking about it. Every office, pub and workplace was a buzz but I went into my office and no one even knew about it.

I suggest you find some Irish friends and hang out with them a bit. There is an irish bar near where I live, and I am going there to for a few pints tonight and to talk to a few people I have met who are Irish. I dont think I have ever been a regular in bar where everyone was genuinely pleased to see me when I went in. Maybe find a similar niche of Irish? Be it a bar, or a club or something.

I read in an expat survival guide that homesickness comes in about 4 different phases and that the final phase occurs 3-5 years in the country. According to the article it is concidered the worst of all the phases, but once you get over it, people generally settle down and homesickness fades away for good. I dont know if it is true, and obviously everyone is different, but it sounds to me like you are in that phase.

Economically, you would be mad to consider going home right now. However never say never. I think if you say to yourself your never going home, that would make things feel worse.

Is there anything in particular that you miss?

LegacyUser

I find that once you meet like minded people, you will be happier where you are. And once you start getting involved in the community, you will feel more at home.

And there are some genuinely nice friendly people in Australia - it's just a matter of finding them.

I think that you're placing Irish people on a pedestal - I've travelled all over and I find that although we hold ourselves in high regard, we are the same as every other nationality really - except I think that we're more superficial.

I miss lots about Australia - particularly living in a hot climate (never got bored of that), swimming outdoors, walking in sunshine, keeping fitter and being healthier.

If it was me - I certainly wouldn't come home now - the country is in a financial crisis with no jobs and little opportunity. Stick it out for a couple more years, save a bit of cash and then think about it again.

billybigunz

dr.bollocko wrote: »

Come home. You hate it there because it's not for you. Went through the same. You'll have people telling you you're mad. You're not mad. Australia is horrible. The weather gets overbearing. The people are mental or arseholes. Hated the place.
I'm only returning to fly the nuke on home Dr. Strangelove style. Or if they make me go for stealing a loaf of bread or being a prostitute.

Booyah! A fairly backward hole.

Irish people have this strange fascination with the place. I felt every isolated form the world there so I can't imagine what a few years would be like.

pog it

My friend gets loads of work doing agency nursing! So while you may not get permanent work here as a nurse, you'll get work if you have the experience, etc.

Ireland at the mo though.. I don't know. I studied and lived in Melbourne for 6 months and I loved the Australian people. Loads of Irish to mingle with too.

So maybe consider a change in location within Australia, but Ireland is in a bad way right now and I don't think coming back right now would be wise.

Hold off.

tenchi-fan

here's a cure.. come back home for 2 months! faraway hills are greener

Cullen82

Agree with the Come Home Call.....Life's too short to spend it on the other side of the world from where you want to be. Was in Oz for long enough myself and eventually ended up feeling the same way.

The way I see it people that complain about living here (In Ireland) either

1. Have not travelled or lived abroad for a decent length of time

2. Really don't know themselves what makes them feel happy

or

3. Just complain about everything because they can & because everyone else does!

tenchi-fan

I'll say two things about oz... cheap beer, nice weather.

Other than that, maybe by expectations were too high but i could not see myself living there.