Scottish high school sweethearts Ruthie Ellis and John first backpacked around Australia in 2005 and had always dreamed of moving Down Under for good.
After settling down, buying a house and having children in Dunbar, they felt that dream was fading away. So they decided to make it a reality and move.
In September 2019, Ruthie, 37, was granted a permanent residency visa as a midwife, but was unable to fly for three months because she was pregnant with her third child.
After giving birth, they made the decision to sell their house, pack up their things and move to Sydney in January 2020.
Unfortunately, it was the “worst time” to move. Most of the country was engulfed in flames by wildfires and the Covid pandemic was just beginning.
“It was terrifying. The sky was black, there was smoke everywhere. A few weeks later we started hearing about the disease abroad and I thought: ‘My God, what is happening?'” she told FEMAIL.
Despite Australia’s beauty and relaxed lifestyle, the family returned to Scotland in August 2021, a decision many are making due to the rising cost of living.
However, they have now returned and stress that the grass is not always greener abroad.
Ruthie Ellis (far right), her husband John (far left) and their three children first moved to Australia from Scotland in January 2020, but it was a “disaster” due to the bushfires and the pandemic.
Despite Australia’s beauty and laid-back lifestyle, the family moved to Scotland in August 2021. They are now back
Speaking about the family’s adventurous nature, Ruthie laughed and described themselves as “ping pongs” because they have moved from one side of the world to the other.
Stunning beaches, extraordinary scenery and new places to explore attracted the couple, who have been together for 21 years and have three children – Brooke, 16, Alfie, 11, and Jonah, four.
“The weather in Australia is absolutely fantastic, it’s wonderful. We spend a lot of time outdoors, whereas in Scotland you get into the bad habit of coming home from work and staying inside,” he said.
‘We don’t do that here, we’re always outside, at the park or at the beach, and we’re always looking for an activity to do together as a family.
“It is a huge change and we are much more active here, even if it is unconsciously.”
As for other cultural differences, Ruthie made fun of the “strange” custom Australians have of not wearing shoes in public, especially at the supermarket. Apart from that, she loves it.
Before leaving Scotland, family and friends questioned the decision to move abroad with a newborn.
After moving to Australia, Ruthie’s mental health took a hit due to the strict lockdowns, so she considered returning home, which they did. “I finally said to John, ‘I can’t do this anymore,'” she said.
Before leaving Scotland, family and friends questioned the decision to move abroad with a newborn.
“When I was pregnant, people would say to me, ‘What are you doing? Why are you leaving?’ And I would say, ‘I’ll be fine, I’m very strong and resilient,'” she said.
But the move was much more challenging than expected.
“When the pandemic started, when I started homeschooling and feeding a newborn, I thought maybe I wasn’t as strong as I thought,” she said.
The harsh confinement also affected Ruthie’s mental health and she sometimes wished she could go home.
At the time, her eldest daughter, Brooke, became seriously ill and was struggling in school, so Ruthie considered the idea of moving out.
“We invested a lot of time, effort and money in the process of coming here to get started,” he said.
‘I finally said to John, “I can’t do this anymore. I’m going to have to go home.” I was absolutely devastated. I felt like a failure because we’d made all these plans to start a new life and it had all been a disaster.
“We had some fun, but it was a horrible time for everyone. Afterwards it was very difficult to make friends and there were no mum and baby groups.”
So the family packed their bags and moved back to Scotland in August 2021. But it wasn’t the same.
The family struggled and were homeless for nine months due to the housing crisis at the time, so they stayed with Ruthie’s sister.
The family were homeless for nine months after returning to Scotland due to the housing crisis. Their eldest daughter Brooke, now 16 (pictured centre), was diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2022.
But it was a wise decision because Brooke, now 16, was diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2022.
“I was sitting on the couch in my sister’s living room on a Sunday morning. Then she leaned to the side and I looked at her and said, ‘Oh my God. ‘ Her face was totally disfigured. It was like an exorcism. She was turning blue,” Ruthie recalled.
“Suddenly she started shaking and I now know it was a tonic-clonic seizure. At that moment I thought she was having a stroke. I thought she was going to die in my arms.”
The seizures occur randomly and Brooke has suffered minor injuries as a result because she has no control over when she will have another episode.
Ruthie said she would just “drop in” without warning at any given moment, meaning planning vacations, field trips or even going to school is terrifying.
Now, to stabilize it, all she can do is take dozens of pills a week and she will live with epilepsy for the rest of her life.
The 18 months following Brooke’s diagnosis were incredibly traumatic for the whole family, and Ruthie felt she would not have been able to cope without the support of her family in Scotland.
Ruthie has no regrets about the decision to return to Scotland as it allowed her to receive the care and support Brooke needed during this difficult time.
“We were in the right place. Yes, it cost us a lot of money, but I felt it was what had to happen. We wouldn’t have been able to overcome the trauma without the family,” she said.
Ruthie does not regret the decision to return to Scotland as it allowed them to receive the care and support they needed for Brooke during this difficult time. The couple even purchased another property in Scotland.
The couple even bought another property in Scotland which they still own today, but the downward spiral of Brooke’s condition led Ruthie to consider moving to Australia again.
“She was locked in her room all the time and she wasn’t having a good time at school. I hated seeing her like that. So I told John that we should travel more and go back to Australia. He was really excited because he was so sad to go home when we left,” Ruthie said.
In December 2023, the couple decided to commit to moving back to Australia for the second time.
They arrived on the Gold Coast two weeks ago and are settling in well with plans to explore other parts of the country.
Ruthie is also about to start work and so far the family has explored the entire east coast from Cairns to Sydney.
In December 2023, the couple decided to commit to moving back to Australia for the second time. They landed on the Gold Coast two weeks ago.
At the moment, the couple aren’t sure if they’ll stay Down Under “forever,” but it’s certainly a goal.
“I’ve learned not to make assumptions. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
‘I used to always think about not having to pay a mortgage at 50 or having a big car, but in recent years our view of life has totally changed and so has our view of what wealth is.’
“For us, the wealth of today is experiences. That’s what I want life to be about. When you’ve been through trauma, you want to live.”
But Ruthie understands that things can change at any moment and her goal right now is to see as much of Australia as possible.
As for money, she hasn’t calculated how much they have spent moving abroad twice, but she estimates it to be around $50,000.
He urges those hoping to follow in his footsteps to “seize the opportunity with both hands.”
For this family of five, it has been the adventure of a lifetime.
