Hi all!
I am an Eastern European woman currently living in Australia and have been pretty much thorn lately, trying to decide whether I wanted to stay any longer or not.
I have been living here for about 4 years now, at the beginning I was on a work and holiday visa, and have been with my employer for nearly 2 years now. I was going to get sponsored, which would have led to permanent residency, however, my employer changed their mind last minute and my sponsorship fell through.
The last few months have been really difficult and I started to question if I wanted to stay here anymore without any view of becoming a permanent resident as under these circumstances any kind of stability, or job opportunities are nonexistent.
At the same time, I have been dating an Australian who has become an important person in my life but our relationship is nowhere near being eligible to apply for a partner visa and meet all the requirements.
I am not sure what to do anymore, as I feel like there is no good option at this point.
If I choose to switch to a student visa I might be able to stay and develop a relationship but I might still be unhappy in my personal/work life.
If I move back to Europe I might regret leaving Australia.
The person I have been dating is a builder, and while he’s been to Europe before the job market would be tough for him, and he does not speak any other languages other than English, thus I am not sure if he would be willing to make the move.
If anyone has been in a situation like this, or just moved back to Europe, after living in Australia, and could tell more about their experiences, that would be appreciated.
Thank you!
It’s always a list of pros and cons.
I have no idea why you left Europe. If you just left out of wanderlust but were fine with Eastern Europe, then the “only” factor keeping you in Australia (not trying to minimize his importance, just a manner of speech) is your boyfriend.
If you moved to Australia because you had other issues with Eastern Europe, be aware that they are very likely to still be there if you move back, and what you are experiencing is just a fit of nostalgia.
All in all it really depends on how you see long term prospects for your relationship.
We did 8 years in Australia and became citizens and then moved back. First to us and then Italy. We were in our fifties, and we realized that soon going back to Italy twice a year was going to be too much of a physical and financial burden, it was unsustainable. Also we didn’t really make strong ties with locals, all our friends where from different countries and younger and we knew they would move at some point. It was a good experience, but it didn’t work out for us.
Your partner is a builder, so he might actually get a job before you. Western Europe is really short of builders.