Anyone ever want to come back?

[Riaan&Natelie]

Hi

My wife and I are planning to move to Australia (I am an SA attorney and will have to go over on a student visa to obtain the necessary bridging qualifications and apply for PR from there -effectively using our lifesavings to start over in Oz). As I read some of the posts on this forum, one question keeps on milling about in my head: are there many South Africans in Australia that want to come back, but can't (either because their financial and personal situation does not allow this or it would be too much of a hassle to move back and start from scratch again)? Could personal pride also be a factor in refusing to come back?

Don't get me wrong - things are becoming progressively worse in SA and we are looking forward to starting a new life in Oz (especially with the view of giving our 2 kids a brighter future). It's just that I am not sure whether I will be able to start from scracth again if things do not work out for us in Oz. Has there been a poll or are there any statistics on how many South Africans have come back to SA?

This must have been discussed previously, so any help referring me to previous posts would also be appreciated.

Any info would really be appreciated and will go along way in helping us make that final "We're Going!" decision (and I am aware that ultimately it is a decision that we will have to make for ourselves and live with the consequences).

Thank you

[Stepchook]

... instead of going to the effort of pointing out that your use of the word objectivity above (the bold and underline are mine, to help you see the difference ) is grammatically incorrect.

Objectivity:

From srmdc.net/glossary.htm: the ability to observe or reason without personal bias; e.g. while objectivity is virtually impossible to attain in all aspects of research, it is an ideal scientists strive to achieve

From oldweb.uwp.edu/library/2003/intro/glossary.htm: Expressing no particular opinion, neither for nor against, a topic or issue.

Sorry, Ajay, but Tobold was spot on with his grammar. Furthermore, he used the words "it seems", which would imply that he was expressing an opinion of his own, rather than a fact. I share Tobold's sentiment that forumites should be free to express their own opinions without fear of any chastising retort.

Edited March 12, 2008 by Pygmalion

[hellsbells]

The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky. I walk out of my modest home leaving the windows open to let in fresh air. 200 metres from my front door is the bush walking/cycle track; walk past the pony club where horses and riders are going through their paces, past the baseball club teeming with families watching their children practice and compete. Greet and greeted by other walkers all smiling “G’day, beautiful day isn’t it?â€; some are women walking on their own, some are couples or families, some walking their dogs. Cyclists passing us, some are kids on their own, some are families and friends cycling together. A kookaburra laughing in the tall gum trees, little birds twittering all around me. The sulphur crested cockatoos pass over screeching. Pink and grey corellas are feeding in the clearing. I can see into the homes that back onto the bush track because they have their curtains and blinds open and don’t need bars on the windows. Pass the tennis courts where young teenagers are lobbing balls. Pass the golf course where I see an family; mum, dad and two young daughters playing golf. Over the bridge the creek is gurgling below, around the lake a pelican and hundreds of ducks are gliding. Toddlers are feeding the ducks. Walk past families’ picnicing and lighting up the free barbecues in the park. Dads and their sons are flying kites; The sounds of children squealing with delight running around, some playing on the swings and slides, climbing trees. The scariest thing I see is a sign to beware of snakes.

Two hours later, I walk back into my modest home and it’s just as I left it. This is my Melbourne suburb only 20 kilometres from the city centre. Priceless and precious! I wouldn’t swap this for anything.

My family are all in SA; a fifteen hour flight away and the plane ticket less than a month’s salary. We can have it all. we are worth it!

[The 3 R's]

Hellsbells

You have made me so jealous. WOW - I think what you have described is exactly what everbody currently 'in the process' wants and dreams of. Good for you and your family - enjoy, it sounds fanstastic !!

[Guest natalie3]

Wow...think i better leave this topic before i grow a penis....

[dorry]

The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky. I walk out of my modest home leaving the windows open to let in fresh air. 200 metres from my front door is the bush walking/cycle track; walk past the pony club where horses and riders are going through their paces, past the baseball club teeming with families watching their children practice and compete. Greet and greeted by other walkers all smiling “G’day, beautiful day isn’t it?â€; some are women walking on their own, some are couples or families, some walking their dogs. Cyclists passing us, some are kids on their own, some are families and friends cycling together. A kookaburra laughing in the tall gum trees, little birds twittering all around me. The sulphur crested cockatoos pass over screeching. Pink and grey corellas are feeding in the clearing. I can see into the homes that back onto the bush track because they have their curtains and blinds open and don’t need bars on the windows. Pass the tennis courts where young teenagers are lobbing balls. Pass the golf course where I see an family; mum, dad and two young daughters playing golf. Over the bridge the creek is gurgling below, around the lake a pelican and hundreds of ducks are gliding. Toddlers are feeding the ducks. Walk past families’ picnicing and lighting up the free barbecues in the park. Dads and their sons are flying kites; The sounds of children squealing with delight running around, some playing on the swings and slides, climbing trees. The scariest thing I see is a sign to beware of snakes.

Two hours later, I walk back into my modest home and it’s just as I left it. This is my Melbourne suburb only 20 kilometres from the city centre. Priceless and precious! I wouldn’t swap this for anything.

My family are all in SA; a fifteen hour flight away and the plane ticket less than a month’s salary. We can have it all. we are worth it!

Well said. Thats why we are going over to Australia. Sounds like where I wanne be. Canada is just as safe but the cold is very very bad and I hate sitting in the house for 7 months. Waist of a good life. We went to have a picknick in the snow yesterday and it was -2 but the sun was shining. Had to get out of the house even thoug I had snowpants and layers of clothing on. The chicken was ice cold in about 5 minutes and the apple juice made my teeth pain because it got to cold to fast.

We pay $350 per month for insurance because of the dangerous driving conditions.

I agree with the cheap flights. The problem if you fly form Canada is it takes you about 7 hours to get to Europe and then you wait between 5 and 15 hours for the connecting flight and then you fly almost 12 hours to South-Africa. That is much longer than Australia.

See you soooooooooooooooooooon, maybe another year. That is soon enough for me.

Cheers

[Ajay]

Hi Tobold,

With respect, you are completely off base when you say that the only positive people are those that haven't yet landed. You are lending more weight to the posts of those that are unsure and under-valuing the ones that are positive because that is what you want to read and because their doubts resonate with your own. Nothing wrong with it - just human nature to agree with those people that are sharing our emotions - but you do need to try and factor in some objectivity in such a massive upheaval. Personally, from reading your post, I'm not sure that you are ready for this. It's a hard move when you're in the very best frame of mind and I imagine it will be pretty damn close to impossible if there is a part of you that believes that you're making a mistake.

Please, please, please spend some time really examining your feelings before you go too much further and make a costly and damaging mistake.

Cheers

Ajay

Can someone explain to me how I was chastising Tobold for having an opinion? I was urging him to try to be as objective as possible when making his decision. I'm not in the habit of getting into debates about the correct use of language, but was insulted by the obvious patronising tone of his response when I mistakenly misquoted his post - something that I apologised for, you will note.

If we all spent less time trying to gain one-upmanship on each other and more time in helping people make informed, educated choices, then just think what we could achieve.

Cheers

Ajay

[Noddy]

Ajay - i wouldn't get my knickers in a knot if i were you. As you say, you apologised for the misquote. What does he want - his pound of flesh?! I have read and re-read your post and find nothing wrong with the advice you gave - in fact, i echo your sentiments: if he has that many doubts, he and his family should sit and make a joint decision on the way forward. Once that decision is made, embrace it.

Tobold - wind your neck in mate! Ajay wasn't attacking you, just giving you food for thought. You wouldn't want to go ahead with something this big if your heart's not in it - it just wouldn't work. And that's just our opinions, not chastisement!

We came over to Oz without ever having set foot here, and we don't regret it - not one bit. I agree with Natalie3 - i'd rather smooch a public toilet seat than live in RSA again. That doesn't change the fact that you have days where you seriously miss family and friends. BUT, i wouldn't call that homesick, cos i'm at home already.

Take Care

Noddy

[polly]

Thanks hellsbells. The scene you describe is great.

Sometimes I fear I will miss home too much, but what you described is what I want home to be, even if only half is true.