<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Exclusive:</span></strong><span> Damien and Victoria Byron took a leap of faith when they packed their bags and </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/british-expat-why-she-moved-back-to-australia-after-returning-to-england/75109d3d-f00d-416b-bbd3-fdae6d0ca001" rel="" target="_blank" title="moved from the United Kingdom to Australia with two young children."><span>moved from the United Kingdom to Australia with two young children.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Manchester-born couple were in spontaneous pursuit of the great Australian dream, a familiar pilgrimage that dates back to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/uk-eta-passport-scheme-how-dual-citizens-have-been-impacted/884e44d6-d134-48f5-9281-b46e2c1818ca" rel="" target="_blank" title='the first voyage of "ten pound poms".'><span>the first voyage of "ten pound poms".</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We chose to literally sell every single thing we owned, apart from a couple of suitcases each," Damien told nine.com.au.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/british-expat-why-she-moved-back-to-australia-after-returning-to-england/75109d3d-f00d-416b-bbd3-fdae6d0ca001" rel="" target="_blank" title="Expat Annie decided to move back to the UK. She lasted just six months"><strong><span>Expat Annie decided to move back to the UK. She lasted just six months</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Do you have a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter April Glover at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:april.glover@nine.com.au" target="" title="april.glover@nine.com.au"><em><strong><span>april.glover@nine.com.au</span></strong></em></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An estimated 970,950 people living in Australia were born in England, according to the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/england-is-no-longer-australias-top-overseas-country-of-birth/0ff1cc9e-3f9f-4d6a-8dd3-1344379a98d3" rel="" target="" title="latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)."><span>latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>What the ABS doesn't track, however, are the expats who "ping pong" between Australia and the United Kingdom.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/british-expats-why-manchester-family-moved-back-to-australia-after-returning-to-england-exclusive/ba9c9a8b-bfe4-411c-b100-b128fb35da0c" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victoria, 35, Damien, 40, and their children Fabio, 16, and Aluna-Anayh, 12, touched down in Perth in 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They had assumed Damien – who moved on a Temporary Skill Shortage visa – could easily secure work as a plumber.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The couple admit this was the "wrong choice".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To be honest, we thought we'd just figure it out," Damien said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Once we got here, it was a lot harder than we thought to actually find work.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I got plenty of job offers, but it was as an apprentice."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Damien was also required to pay for a 12-month course to recognise his trade qualifications in Australia, after which he would be paid a minimum apprentice wage.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He took on a role in project management instead, where he needed to work seven-day weeks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pokies-loss-sounds-neil-walshe-fight-to-change-law-to-help-gambling-addicts/3337fa94-a633-47a2-a638-abbe1a3be3ce" target="" title="Neil wants pokies machines to play 'losing sounds'. Here's why"><strong><span>Neil wants pokies machines to play 'losing sounds'. Here's why</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We weren't aware that was going to be the case, it was really tough when we first got here," Damien said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Byrons had been struck by Australia's version of Paris Syndrome.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The reality of moving their entire family abroad did not match the fantasy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><blockquote><span>"We realised that in going to Australia the first time, the way we did, we'd made a lot of mistakes."</span></blockquote></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It felt like a massive step backward," Victoria admitted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was just a lot harder than what we'd actually imagined it to be."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We were just bleeding money," Damien added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"With each month that went by, we were just eating into our savings that we'd built up."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victoria found herself yearning for their life back in Manchester.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was ironic, given the family had decided to escape the monotony of their hometown for a life of adventure.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/mount-pleasant-mining-giant-takes-hunter-valley-farmers-to-high-court/07717198-4e91-4b08-be56-779ca30d82d2" target="_blank"><strong><span>Wendy took on a local mine. Now she's at the High Court</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They stayed in Perth for seven months before making the difficult decision to move home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was hard not to feel as though they had "failed".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was that person that was never coming home – I'd always wanted to do it," Victoria said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's kind of a scary feeling because... I felt like I almost failed at it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Bryons packed up their belongings, moved out of their rental and flew back to Manchester.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was easy to slot back into their old lives.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Which, as it turned out, was the crux of the problem.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As soon as I landed, it was like... 'Oh God, this is the same feeling of why I wanted to leave'," Victoria recalled.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was like time had stood still. Everything was still the same."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victoria, Damien and their two children felt comfortable back in Manchester with family and friends nearby, but the family knew they had unfinished business in Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They gave themselves a 12-month deadline.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We realised that in going to Australia the first time, the way we did, we'd made a lot of mistakes," Damien said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We knew what we had to correct and do right if we wanted to come back in the future."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A long family discussion and a pros-and-con list sealed their fate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There were about 30 things on the pro column and maybe four on the con," Damien said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And after a year back on British soil, they decided to give Australia one last crack.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Damien flew back to Perth alone and worked on the mines for several months to build up savings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victoria and the children followed and the family reunited in Sydney for an east coast road trip.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So we could gage where we liked before we settled somewhere," Damien explained.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We fell in love with the Gold Coast pretty much instantly, once we got there, we realised, this is the place, it has the best balance of everything for us.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But again it was a case of doing it correctly, doing it the right way, getting the opportunity before we go."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Byrons headed back to Perth for another 12 months before Damien secured his dream role on the Gold Coast.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was an anxious waiting game, troubled by brief spells of "have we made the wrong choice again?"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>BUDGET 2026:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-budget-2026-winners-losers-workers-first-home-buyers-property-investors-ndis/55ede4e3-2ea7-4315-93f9-0f08ca98d2b3" target="_blank"><strong><span>The Budget's winners and losers, from first home buyers to NDIS rorters</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A year on, the family can definitively say that moving to Australia for the second time was the right move.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They now have permanent residency and have the freedom to move back-and-forth whenever they please.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's unlikely they will return to the UK though.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We absolutely love it, and I've got no plans to move anywhere else, but when we moved the very first time to Perth, when we said, 'This is it forever', I think it added a lot of pressure," Victoria said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's not a holiday, we're still figuring everything out. We're still always learning."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Damien said the initial feeling of "failure" has dissipated.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All members of the Byron family now have permanent residency and hope to become Australian citizens soon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It feels good now that we've managed to do it again and make it work, and everyone's here and happy," he said.</span></div></div>