Family Forum / Parenting / Single Parents / April 2005

When we went to live in Australia for a year, the girls were 12 & 14.
They were initially not at all keen, because it was unfamiliar and
they didn't know anything about Oz. Suffice it to say, ever since we
went, they've wanted to go back. Both talk of living there some day.

If you decide to do it, give them lots of information about what Oz is
like. Talk about Little Athletics, if they're into sports. Talk about
the beaches and the sun. Warn them about school uniforms (mine were
vehemently opposed and now think that uniforms are the only way to
go). Get them on the web, looking at pictures. Show them the websites
for attractions in the area you want to go to.

Also, consider that the Aussie dollar is smaller than ours. While
you're there on Canadian money, you feel richer. If you moved there,
you'd be earning their dollars, and it can be hard to get back to
Canada if you don't think that one through.

Be aware of the Australian-Canadian Association. I'm too lazy to look
for links right now 'cause I'm off to church, but if you surf it
you'll find it. Those guys are friendly and can help you settle in.

And be grateful it's olympic year here instead of there. I was there
for theirs, and now I'm here for ours. [sigh]

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Cele

 >I just got home from Melbourne, we actually ended up staying another
week.
 > I'm seriously considering a move, but I'm struggling with how much of an
 > adjustment that would be for the boys, as well as myself.  Although I
was
 > given many opportunities to stay, uprooting to the other side of the
world
 > is a huge step.  I'll give it a few months, let them finish school and
look
 > at making an informed decision then, instead of flying by the seat of my
 > pants... but part of me just wants to run and do it. :(
 >
 > Any thoughts/advice?

 Yeah.....if you do go, you have to get a place with a spare bedroom for us
visitors   :-)

 >
 > Christine
 >
 >

My experience was a lot like Cele's... except it wasn't Australia, it
was Florida but the kids loved it and they would move back in a
heartbeat.

'Kate

Christine, none of us can offer any certainty about how you and your
family will react to such a move. By any measure, it's awesome. Paul
Griffiths can tell you how it is for him, to be moving continents, and
I can tell you a little of my experience.

In the end tho, you have to accept that you will never do anything
else more daunting, or more exciting.

Moving from the UK to the United States is proving rewarding and
frustrating in equal measure. I have found that all the solutions to
problems we found in the UK, are just different enough here to be
confusing. All the more because you would think that nearly sharing a
language should make it easy. It's kinda like permenant *brain fog*.
The bonus is that travel really does broaden the mind. You will find
that accepting the fact that the answers to problems can be different,
in different countries, helps you to realise that your own ideas
aren't necessarily the ONLY ideas, and may not even be the best ideas.
It's liberating.

Australia is almost an English speaking country, and I imagine you
will have some of these feelings yourself.

For my part, I treasure them. The whole thing is a voyage of discovery
that leaves me feeling *more* than I was before ... and priviledged
too.

The biggest single issue for me is the people I have left behind.
Parents, siblings, friends and my children (it's a long story, best
told another time)

So having decided to put 5000 miles between us, the single most
important issue was how to shorten the distance. In our case, it's a
reasonable plane ride (10 hours incl. one change) and is affordable,
so the kids can visit regularly. The journey to Aus. is a much longer
and pricier one.

We have set up a phone link so the boys (and anyone else) can call for
the cost of a local call in the UK, and I can call them free.

Email accounts help too .... but we are doing other things as well. I
started an on-line journal which both kids, and the rest of the family
enjoy reading and commenting on. Old fashoined letters and regular
small parcels help .... I gave Tom an mp3 player, and he sends me the
SD card to change the music for him .... we also set up a *Geocaching*
Travel Bug (ask) to get from them to me.

It all helps. In your case, do it your own way, but keep the
communication open.

To give the move a fair chance to work, I found I had to commit to it
100%, that is .... no going back. This doesn't mean I couldn't go
back, simply that I abandoned any idea of doing so. None of that
implies one needs to give up family and friends, nor to lose contact
with them ..... but enjoy your new friends too. Don't allow
*homesickness* any houseroom .... you ARE home :)

In the end, as well as asking whether or not you should do this, ask
yourself too how you will feel if you don't do it. If your answer is
that you are, and should remain, happy in Canada, then stay and have
no regrets. If not ...... hang on and enjoy the ride.

hth

steveb