Living in Oz but so homesick..

miss niamh

Deleted User wrote: »

What about your husband and kids?
Are they homesick? or do they like it there?

What would you and your husbands job prospects be here?
What about your childrens future? Would you rather they grew up here in Ireland or in Australia?

The hubby likes it here but he just wants me to be happy so would move home if need be. The kids are too young to know. Not sure of hubbys job prospects in Ireland but it looks like from the reply's im getting that it wouldnt be good.
Regards my kids future, i really would like them to grow up among family so that would be in Ireland.

miss niamh

thinklongandhard wrote: »

Lemme tell you something. A 'lifestyle' cannot replace 'people'. Great, you have sunshine and BBQs and beaches but who do you share them with? Who do you want to share them with?
99% of people will tell you it's not where you are, it's who you're with that matters.
It's all well and good people saying you have it handy in Brisbane but your parents, siblings etc are not there.
I lived in Oz for 5 years, I liked the country. I did not miss Ireland but I did miss my family and for me, that's what mattered more. My parents were getting on, my sister was ill and they meant more to me than any cheap booze or guaranteed summers.

On an economic point, now is not a good time to come back to Ireland, but save as much as you can and see how the land lies in a couple of years' time.

You see that's exactly it, its not the place that you're in, its the people you are with. If i could move all the people that are closest to me in Ireland over here, then i'd be happy.

Billiejo

Niamh.

Know exactly how you feel - been there & done that!
This moment in time my experience will be no consolation because 'home sickness' is consuming mental torment.

Initially having been married 12 months we sold up and left the country. I really had no excuse to feel unhappy but after the 'psychological holiday period' (in my head) ended, I started to want to go home.
The need consumed my thoughts day and night for about two years, that is up to the day I realised something was 'not right' because I was deviously working out ways to 'stowaway' by cruise ship, boat or plane to get home.

Stupid idea and totally unrealistic!!!! Had bought a new house, was happy with hubby who couldn't leave his job, had money in the bank to pay my fare there and back 100 times over.
My husband realised I was depressed and we returned home for a 'holiday'. After that temporary cure event, had my kids and spent our summers for the next ten years at home always with the intension of going for good.

Fruition presented itself in 2005. From a head hunted prospective I returned to Ireland to work within the Public Health system (qualified nurse too).
Initially the place was awash with money and cracks started to appear in this dream of HOME. My naive belief in the Government slogan about Quality & Fairness waned on finding it almost disgusting, even mercenary to find struggling young mothers and babies being charged to see a GP when ill, as well as exorbitant fees for medicines. The final straw was the painful June day beside the grave of a beautiful 18 year old due to lack of facilities for her cystic fibrosis...unbelievable!!!!

Having top management experience the lack of strategic structures was apparent. Within health, it was almost laughable that policies appeared to be what the British NHS left behind in 1922. Wonder what the highly paid bureaucrats were doing at their desks all these years or if the public have any idea or even care?.
However the economy dived, Ireland was in dire straights and the Government simply took a large chunk of our salary back. Like myself, other nurses who had trained in the US and UK left and none to date were replaced. I believe they wont be for the forseeable future, and those left behind have double the work for less pay

If you are currently working with autonomy, professional development opportunities and respect for your profession you will not find the same in Ireland. The old fashioned term of 'Hand maiden' comes to mind, or as my colleagues say 'Slog Gang, sitting beside Nelly since 1922'.

Going to and from work in traffic will be no different except when raining. Its true that its people who are important especially family and lovely to have them near. But beware, when domesticity kicks in and they too have their own lives and work schedules you may as well be miles away. Perhaps its the psychology of 'nearness' that matters for I sometimes thought I saw more of them when I visited once a year.

Stay where you are and save your pennies for an Irish holiday. The countryside is still lovely.

davyjose

OP, I must have read your first post wrong. I thought it said you have kids. Because anyone considering quitting their job, and moving their children half way around the world for the second time in three years, to certain unemployment, because they're homelsick, needs their head checked. I don't care how sh!t Australia is.

It's tough, and I feel bad for you, but there's a sense of made-your-bed-now-lie-in-it to this, and tbh your duty is to your family.

tenchi-fan

davyjose wrote: »

It's tough, and I feel bad for you, but there's a sense of made-your-bed-now-lie-in-it to this, and tbh your duty is to your family.

I think the op's problem is she HASN'T made her bed. She's hardly settled in oz. Australia was meant to be a clean slate where quality of living came before the irish mentality of job security, property ownership and accumulating savings because we don't know how to enjoy life.

She moved from Dublin (a s***hole at the best of times) to Brisbane, where she faces high costs of living (esp renting) and a crazy rush-hour commute. So much for the Australia lifestyle, it's turned into the ratrace!

Op, I'd suggest before packing in australia try a different area where you can get to meet your neighbours and avail of cheaper childcare, even if the pay isn't anywhere near what you're earning in Brisbane. Did you know you can buy a house in australia for around $50,000. Yes, it would be in the middle of nowhere - but maybe you could compromise and live somewhere more civilised without being so close to the city.

if you come back to Dublin your pay could be well under €30k if you're lucky enough to get a job with the health board recruitment ban, but you will face creche fees of €1000 a month, a house will cost you €400,000 - you will have no hope of getting a mortgage, and your commute will be horrendous. Oh, winters are dark and cold. Just get thinking of why you left Ireland to begin with and think of what australia offers over ireland.

If you are homesick, book a holiday. In November or some miserable season like that for 3 weeks or long enough until you remember why you left.

davyjose

tenchi-fan wrote: »

I think the op's problem is she HASN'T made her bed.

Packing up and getting on the plane was making her bed. She might wish, or even convince herself, she hasn't made it, but she has. Fact of the matter is she has a job, that she can't replace back here, and two young children. The decision, presumably wasn't a whim, and if it was, more fool her. Either way she's got to stick to her decision for her family, IMO.

Cute Tour

I have been living and working in Canada for almost a year and although I quite like it I just cant wait to get home. I cant quite figure out why I want to go home, I know the way things are at home and I will probably be unemployed, but home is home and Canada or any other part of the world could never be home for me.

Its strange but the time away from Ireland has made me realise what a great place it is and how much we under value it. Yes the country is run by a bunch of gangsters and there is no jobs but the important things to me is my family and the other things that make me happy; the Irish way of life!!

As I said Canada is great but in my opinion its not a patch on Ireland; the weather is poor (probably worse than Ireland) and the people are characterless, the night life is tame and its also an expensive place to live. Its "different strokes for different folks" and I can see why some Irish people who prefer it over here than at home but for me its just not home.

I think homesickness is more of an issue for people who find themselves abroad now because a lot of these people never really wanted to leave home but decided to leave because they had no job prospects.

calahans

I lived in Auss for three years and really enjoyed it. However I started to feel that I would never see my family bar once a year. I decided to come home (2004) and while I do miss Sydney I have never looked back. I love Irish people and our humour, but thats probably because I'm Irish

Saying that at the time I was single so it was easier to move around.

I think the long holiday (if you can arrange it) would be the best option. It would give you a taste and make sure you dont do something you will regret.

davepatr07

Cute Tour, you hit the nail on the head there. I couldn't have said it better myself.

It is "different stokes for different folks" I think when you are away you seem to dwell a bit more about life and certainly for me I have found the most important things to me are, being Irish and living there regardless of the **** going on, and being close to my family. I do miss home and I feel I have been there done that with the 1 year WHV in Canada. I was pushed about coming here to NZ.

Don't get me wrong, it's nice to do it again but then at the end of the day we all want to settle down and be close to family and friends. You know inside what's best for you. So what if somebody else wants to live their life away from home, that's their choice. It's your decision no one else's.