sarahjl

Hi Andy, we were very very lucky that our friend put his name forward for a vacancy that had come up at his power plant. It didn't need his qualifications but more his experience. If that hadn't have happened he would have to have taken a huge pay cut compared to the UK whilst he got his license. At one point we were looking at how long we could live in Australia before we ran out of savings and had to fly home due to the obstacles we were hitting at every turn. So basically we were very lucky it all fell into place and that he loved the job!

We considered everything and visited the area we were moving to twice to make sure. The actual reality of living there was harder than we had considered. I didn't realise just how upset my daughter would be and it took her a long time to settle, even then she still talked about going back to the UK. Being away from family was alot harder than I thought it would be and even though hubby had a great job, we had a lovely house, great friends and cars ultimately we decided to move back. We had a great time and dont regret the move, we still miss parts of living in Oz but couldn't see ourselves living there forever. That was just us though, until you get there it's hard to judge how you and your family are going to find it. Just be prepared that if you don't like it it is costly to get back, if you can, rent out your property. I wish you all the best with the move.

Hi we have a 2 year old metallic blue Barina for sale as we are moving back to the UK, its in excellent condition and comes with a full Holden service history. 3dr manual hatchback with air con 26,000km $11,500 Please message me if you would like pictures or to view We are close to Mandurah in Perth.

Will do, have a large pine square dining table with eight chairs that we will be selling soon but just need to get a bloke in to repair the varnish on one corner first. let me know if you might be interested.

We found the same thing, ended up booking with Singapore airlines, booked our seats and the planes are practically full! We couldnt get 4 seats together, just 3 together with one seat in the row in front which me and the hubby are going to fight over! lol! 21 hrs in total. We really wanted to leave July/Aug to get back and sorted before our eldest starts school in Sept. All the best with your move

Congrats and all the best for your move back. We leave 27th July and arrive in Heathrow and from what the mother in law says to be greeted by most of our families!! . sarah

Due to our move back to the UK we are selling some of our furniture, might suit any new arrivals! * Queen (dark wood) bedroom suite complete with mattress, two bedside cabinets and two large chest of drawers. $1100.00 * Large Wood Media Unit - has plenty of storage for DVD's, games etc. $250 * 2 + 3 seater sofas, 3 seater is a chaise lounge, Fabric and a charcol colour. $900 PM me if you would like further details We are near to Mandurah in WA. Cheers Sarah

Hi Sunni, The lady that helped us I found on this forum. Her name is Sherrie See. I did a search on expat mortgages and she had commented on a few posts, i contacted her and we went from there. I found her really helpful as there are alot of forms to fill in at the beginning and she happily answered every daft question that we had! The process takes longer and alot of forms being filled in and emailed back. We did have to post forms and copies of certified ID to her and our solicitor. She talked us through what we could afford/get and all the different rates etc. There were also no fees to be paid to her from us for her service. We found her fab and very pleased that we decided to go with her! It was still stressful though. Found out last night that we hve completed on our sale and the house is ours! Just need to finalise everything here and away we go. Our lovely parents are helping us out and are willing to sit in the house for any deliveries.......oh and to get SKY installed (thats the hubby's priority! lol) Hope that helps Sarah

We got a home buyers report which looks at everything but doesnt really look into how effective the gas and electric systems are, so we got both checked and certified which cost approx £70 each. That highlighted a problem with the boiler and the owner was willing to get it repaired before we completed on the sale. It is a bit odd buying a house we havent seen and we wouldnt have done if there was not anyone we trusted to view it on our behalf. As we are still here it was a condition of the mortgage to have building insurance arranged already. The solicitor then handled all the other land checks etc. There has been a lot of emails back and forth.! we did need to get our id certified by a solicitor over here and then get the copies sent off before anything could happen as well as sign a letter from the mortgage company once the offer had come through to prove our id! Paignton is lovely, we are moving back to Hythe near Southampton which we cant wait for as we will be right on the edge of the New Forest and we have the beach just down the road, although the weather wont be as good!

i hope you feel better soon! With the purchase of the house we have been very lucky to have supportive parents! We found the house on Rightmove in an area that we know. We asked our parents to view it on our behalf and they took extra pictures for us (this wasnt a problem as the house had just become vacant) as well as checking all our additional queries that we had. The estate agent is really helpful,so is the solicitor and we also had a great financial advisor who guided us through the mortgage process. Its taken longer than it would normally and we have paid for extra checks to be carried out on the gas and electric systems for peace of mind. We havent seen alot of Oz at all, not because we didnt want to but we didnt really have the funds plus every time Trev had time of work it was normally because relatives from the UK were coming to visit us! We have found living in Perth isolating but that said we are not leaving because we hate the place but because we miss family and the UK. We've had a few scares with members of our family being ill back in the UK and hated being so far away. We've had a great time here but we want to go home. Trev has been in contact with his old boss and there is a job waiting for him whenever we get back. Its not exactly what he left but a job is better than no job.

Hi, we are in the same boat! I have got a big pad and have been writing in it all the things that I need to do and when to do it, otherwise I would find it a nightmare! We are also buying a house in the UK to move into on our return which to be honest hasnt helped the stress levels but it was something that we felt would help us and the kids. We are in a rental here and have had to move a couple of times so we just couldnt face looking for a rental again in the UK and then trying to find somewhere to buy. Just de-clutter as much as you feel able to and sell everything that you wont need or wont fit in the UK. best of luck with the move, when are you planning to go back? Sarah

For me, i miss my family, for my OH its the UK, the choice, the greenery,the culture,SKY television! We've realised that after nearly 2 yrs that our life in the UK wasnt that bad after all but its a very expensive way to find that out! My six year old daughter misses stairs! Thats all she wants, is a house with stairs and to be able to play with her cousins. Not long to go now, hopefully fly back in the end of July.

Ok,heres mine! when are you returning? July this yea where you returning too? Southampton, just on the edge of the New Forest How long have you been in Australia? 2 years on May 7th. have lots to sort out and things to sell which is a bit stressful but excited to be going home! We are also in the final stages of buying a house so we can move into it once we are home. All the best to everyone who is returning

Hi, Ive been living in a suburb south of Perth for about 18 months now. I am a stay at home mum to two children, my oldest was able to start kindy and it took a few months but i gradually got to know a few of the mums. We now meet for coffee every friday after dropping our kids off. I also joined a mums & bubs group on facebook that was local to our suburb and met other mums through that but there is also a site called buggy buddies that also organise meet ups but I dont know if that is australia wide or just Perth. There are playgroups and rhyme time at libraries that are free. Our closest set of friends are ones that we knew from the UK and another Pom couple who I met through school though. I also made a new friend through the UK site Netmums as that has a mums in other countries forum and got chatting to her as she was moving to the area. hope that helps!

Hi everyone, does anyone know if you can get a mortgage in just one name even though I'm married? Hubby did some online calculators and we can get a better mortgage if it's in just his name rather than joint names. I'm not working at the moment due to having a couple of little ones. Sorry if it's such a daft question but we are keen to get back but want to make sure just what we can do! There's so much to sort out it's a bit overwhelming, my oldest will need a school place, sorting a rental to live in before we get back and hopefully my hubby will be able to get his old job back. Aaaaagggghhhh!!!!!! We've got some time till we get back, hubby really wanted to be back for Christmas but his parents have told us they think that we should stay out a bit longer but that might have something to do with them having booked to come out here in January.......cynical I know but you would think that they would be more concerned about how low their son is rather than their bloody holiday!!!!!! In-laws!!!!! :arghh: That's my little rant off my chest, sorry about that! Thanks Sarah