<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Exclusive:</span></strong><span> Annie Symonds followed a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/uk-eta-dual-citizen-rule-expired-passport-loophole-explained/f67b643f-992d-4e6d-930e-997dfe3dcf20" rel="" target="" title="path well-trodden by her fellow compatriots"><span>path well-trodden by her fellow compatriots</span></a><span> when she boarded a plane headed for Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The British-born woman made the 17000km move to Sydney on a working holiday visa, leaving the grey skies of London behind for the fantasy of sunny days, beach swims and green smoothies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sydney" rel="" target="_blank" title="Symonds"><span>Symonds</span></a><span> soon met an Australian man, obtained her permanent residency and thrived in her new life in Kirribilli in Sydney's north.</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/meet-the-team/digital/april-glover#:~:text=Anna%20had%20no%20idea%20her%20identity%20had%20been%20stolen.%20Then%20the%20letters%20arrived" rel="" target="_blank" title="Anna had no idea her identity had been stolen. Then the letters arrived"><strong><span>Anna had no idea her identity had been stolen. Then the letters arrived</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>Just under 40,000 people from the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man arrived in Australia in 2024 alone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><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="_blank" title="And until recently, England was the top source of overseas migration"><span>And until recently, England was the top source of overseas migration</span></a><span> in Australia before it was narrowly beaten by India in 2026, with 970,950 of Australian residents hailing from the British country.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/british-expat-why-she-moved-back-to-australia-after-returning-to-england/75109d3d-f00d-416b-bbd3-fdae6d0ca001" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Like many of these expats, though, the temptation of returning to a circle of loved ones back home was hard to resist.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was here for seven years before we moved back to the UK, and when we decided to move back, it was really exciting. It was a very spontaneous thing," Symonds told </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/?rf=true" rel="" target="" title="Nine.com.au."><span>Nine.com.au.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In Sydney, I never really felt like I fitted in properly.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So I couldn't wait to be around all my family and friends again."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Symonds and her husband Stephen Moylan packed up their life in Australia and moved to Brighton in 2018, a seaside town on England's south coast.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The couple wanted to at least replicate some of Sydney's coastal attributes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And for a Londoner, Brighton was the next best thing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The first 30 days were ideal. Then it all began to unravel.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was living in Brighton and commuting to London... and it was a horrendous commute," Symonds said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It can take three hours to get to London. I was spending £1000 ($1873) per month on commuting."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was more than the rough commute that made Symonds realise she had made a mistake.</span></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/mcdonalds-dan-murphys-development-cowes-phillip-island/4eb0323d-ad53-4edb-a757-f833c0d615fc" target="_blank" title="Residents of seaside Victorian town braced for Macca's battle"><strong><span>Residents of seaside Victorian town braced for Macca's battle</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For one thing, a partner visa application for Moylan to permanently live and work in the UK was going to be a long and costly exercise.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In fact, Symonds realised most things were more expensive in the UK.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I remember just thinking, like, how is everyone affording this?" she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Everyone was just trying to keep up with the Joneses... It was a real eye opener.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We thought, this isn't worth it. So that's why we came back."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After just six months back on British soil, Symonds became a "ping pong pom", a term coined by the expat community.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She made the leap for the second time and emigrated back Down Under.</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>Logistically, it was easy to slot back into their Australian life. The couple had sold most of their belongings to travel before moving back to the UK.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sydney house prices and rent, however, had become prohibitively expensive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's like saying an Australian wants to move to London and buy a house there," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was just not gonna happen."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Symonds and Moylan moved to Queensland's Sunshine Coast, where they eventually bought their first home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This time, eight years after leaving the UK behind again, it is a permanent move.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I never realised that actually buying a home was what was going to really make me feel completely settled," she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I feel really content now."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/redundancies-australia-jacques-bergh-dealing-with-redundancy-exclusive/9a8c37d8-7d97-4369-8c35-50aafbbaab3f" target="_blank" title="'Demoralising': Jacques faced over 100 job rejections after redundancy"><strong><span>'Demoralising': Jacques faced over 100 job rejections after redundancy</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Symonds is empathatic of the expat diaspora experience in Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She writes blogs, produces social media content and records a podcast on this very phenomenon for her website </span><a href="https://londonerinsydney.com/10-things-ive-learnt-since-moving-back-to-england-from-australia-1-month-update/" rel="" target="_blank" title="Londoner in Sydney."><span>Londoner in Sydney.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her experience is not unusual: Symond said plenty of British expats "ping pong" their way back to Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That's the problem that a lot of expats have when they move over to Australia, is that they remember the UK with rose-tinted glasses, and remember the good parts of it, not what it's atually like to live there," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I've found that a lot of people end up moving back because they've missed their friends and family and that sort of sense of belonging and identity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Then there's the British culture... you know, the banter, the pub."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now a fully-fledged Australian home-owner, Symonds want to help other expats feel like they belong in the lucky country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Because, as she explained, there is a lot more about Australia than just the beach.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And I think it takes quite a while to understand that."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" 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