Moving ‘back’ is difficult.

I’m a fellow Brit who’s very close in age to you, and also moved away at a similar age to you (I travelled and lived in multiple countries). I relocated my base back to the U.K. due to the pandemic, though I’ve continued to go abroad for a few months at a time each year.

If you see career opportunities here, then that’s great. I personally am mostly still here because of my partner (who ironically isn’t British, but is based here for work right now) and supporting my family with some things. But I would prefer to live elsewhere.

The biggest change I’ve seen in the time I was away is the cost of living - the relative cost of food, transport, etc, seems much higher compared to the minimum and average salaries. Moreover, having lived overseas, it’s really easy to be hyper-aware of whichever things you personally like LESS about your home country.

I’ve been discussing it with my friends who have also lived abroad and returned home. And with my partner who it’s keen to go back to his own home country (but will have to, at least for a while). Initially, it’s exciting to be back and enjoy things you missed. But after a while the reverse culture shock is isolating.

The other thing which I think many people struggle to adapt to moving to the U.K. from elsewhere is the short daylight hours this time of year. If you’ve been in one of the sunnier parts of Oz (like Brisbane or north of there), then I think you might not enjoy getting used to 6 months of relative darkness again.

Oh, how exciting! I really want to spend some extended time in that region! Do you mind me asking what you’ll be doing out there?