It's often said 'there's no place like home', and while that might be the case for many expats who make the move to another country, those deciding to settle in Australia are often torn between their homeland and their new love for the land Down Under. Such was the case for Ruthie Ellis and her family from Dunbar, Scotland who've just moved to Australia for a second time to give life in the sunburnt country another crack. The couple, with their three children, temporarily in 2020 to Scotland.
Now, four years later, they are back again. The 37-year-old refers to herself as a "Ping Pong Pom" — the name given to UK citizens who move back and forth between Australia and the UK. And there's a reason why.
Picturesque beaches and quality of life are some of Australia's biggest drawcards. Others have spoken of the laid-back culture . For the Ellis family "it has so much to offer" compared to their hometown in Scotland, Ruthie told Yahoo News Australia two days after arriving.
"Australia is wonderful because it’s just so beautiful and there’s lots to see and definitely way more to do than in our little town in Scotland," she said. "But Australia is so far away from other places as well." "When in Scotland we can nip to France or Spain, it’s a lot more accessible and we have our family there," she added.
"But there's just so much of Australia to see and we’re really excited to be able to have the opportunity to show our kids. At the moment we’re definitely here for the foreseeable future." Those born in the UK make up the largest migrant community in Australia, equivalent to 14.
9 per cent of Australia's overseas-born population and 4.4 per cent of Australia's total population, according to the Department of Home Affairs. In 2024, there are thought to be Ruthie and John's love affair with Australia began way back in 2005 when they spent time backpacking around the country.
Since then, John's been "absolutely desperate to come back" having fallen in love with our vast landscapes and the "amazing weather". They were given the chance when Ruthie was as a midwife, granting her and her family permanent residency. It was September 2019 but at 30 weeks pregnant with their third, she was "too pregnant to fly" so their plans were delayed by three months.
By January, 2020 they'd sold their house, packed up their lives and flew into Sydney. But it proved to be a false start as the family didn't last. Their first stint in Australia "was pretty horrendous," the mum explained.
Not because they didn't love the adventure they'd set upon, but because they'd moved during , and merely weeks before the Covid pandemic shut down the world. "When we flew over, we thought ‘oh God, what have we done’," she explained. "When we got to Sydney, the whole sky was black and we thought that was going to be our biggest issue.
"It was fine for four weeks then we saw how bad Covid was on the telly. It was a worldwide pandemic and the whole world shut down. It was awful.
"People thought I was nuts for moving continents with a newborn," she continued. "I was like ‘no it’ll be fine. I’m pretty resilient.
But then all flights out of Australia were cancelled. "We couldn’t leave the house. My mental health took a real toll very quickly and I thought ‘I think we’re going to have to move back’ .
.. but we couldn’t.
" They ultimately spent 20 months in Australia before being able to move home, with the family divided over how they felt. "It was a sense of relief for me. It was like heaven to be home.
But for my husband, not so much. He was really devastated for a long time," said Ruthie. At the time, Scotland was experiencing a housing crisis preventing them from finding a suitable home.
They didn’t have money and found themselves living with relatives for nine months. During this time, their eldest daughter became "very unwell" and was diagnosed with epilepsy. The tough start back in Scotland made them crave "a fresh start" and to John's surprise, Ruthie suggested they move back to Australia — even after purchasing a house in Scotland.
"There's loads of Australia that we still have not managed to see because our last experience was totally wiped out by Covid. We did very minimal travelling around," she explained. The west coast is high on their list of places to travel.
So too is New Zealand. The kids, now aged 16, 11 and 4, were "pretty positive" about the change, despite having to once again pack up the lives they knew. Unlike the first time, when “there was very minimal organisation", a relocation agent helped set up the family with a rental home before arriving and both Ruthie and John had also lined up jobs.
The family arrived this time at Brisbane airport this week with plans to live on the Gold Coast. They'd settled in Coffs Harbour, on the NSW north coast, the first time in 2020. "We travelled there [Gold Coast] a lot before the borders closed last time.
We really loved it and we wanted to do something different." "Last time we moved all our stuff over in a shipping container, and then moved it all back," Ruthie explained. "This time we bought five suitcases and that was it".
Offering advice for anyone too concerned about moving across the world more than once, she said, "life's for living, and you've got to take these opportunities while you can". "Absolutely go for it, because I always say, if it's an itch, then you need to scratch it because it's better an 'oops' than a 'what if'. If it doesn't work, you can always go back".
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