LKC

Thanks for this @suesmalls. It's interesting to note that you sent the two cats in one carrier with that particular pet transport company. We decided to go with an oft mentioned company after some glowing reviews on here, but we've not been impressed so far. It took multiple attempts via email and phone to even get quotes, which they did for both Glasgow and Edinburgh (which involves an extra flight from LHR), we sent the quote acceptance back for Glasgow route (since it is only 10 minutes more drive from our new home, and two flights must be less stressful for them than three) only to have them email and say they'd arrange our pet transport via Edinburgh. We asked if we could send two cats in a bigger carrier when we initially spoke to them, and were told that they wouldn't do that and that the airlines won't allow it in case they hurt each other on the flight. When we initially contacted them back in March we were told they'd only need a couple of weeks to organise things, but we're getting closer and closer to our departure and still don't have things organised. I'm finding the whole process somewhat frustrating, not to mention stressful. We fly on the 4th of September and were hoping that the cats would fly on the 5th so time is getting on.

Thank you! That puts my mind at rest. I think I'm finding things to worry about at the moment! I guessed we'd just have to pay VAT and then claim it back, but I'm a bit stressed about the whole cat shipping thing at the moment.

I've just got a quick question for those who have sent the TOR forms recently. When I did ours I sent it to the email that was at the end of the form first, but it bounced and I saw on here that there was another email address to send it to, so I tried to send it to that one and it bounced again. I saw that there had been a problem with file size, so I fixed that up and sent it to the second email again. I got an immediate response from that email address which I assumed to be a receipt, since it said 'NCH Auto-Receipts' as the subject line. I didn't click on the email at the time because I figured it was just an automatically generated receipt. However, I've just had a look at the email and it mentions nothing about the TOR at all. It says that 'HMRC acknowledges receipt of your email' but then goes on to say something about marine and air import clearance times of 2-3 hours, nothing about the TOR. Is this the email message that other posters got on emailing the forms and supplementary evidence, or should I do it again? I'm a bit worried that I won't get the number in time for our four cats to be shipped.

My children are younger and we're not quite back yet, so I can't help you in terms of my own experience. Just bear in mind though, that until you've been in the UK for three years, you may well be charged international fees if either of your children wanted to pursue a university degree. I believe that some universities will charge domestic fees though, if you make the case that you moved for work and your child had no say in the matter. Just something to consider. Hopefully someone who has been through moving back with older kids will be along soon.

We fully intend to do just that! I've been listening to Bill Bryson 'Neither Here Nor There' (his travels around Europe) on my morning walk, and it has totally made me want to take the kids all over Europe! They want to go to Kefalonia (no idea where they've picked that up from - I guess someone from school has been there), Iceland and France, so I think those places will be first on the list. Not forgetting that the UK is a pretty amazing place too, of course!

Funnily enough we did first look at relocating within Australia, and Tasmania was the only place we would have moved to. As it is, we are relocating to a small rural village in Scotland!

My mum once said to me 'It's alright for you. You live in a holiday place!' when moaning about some aspect of her own life. She's never been to Australia to see us, and had forgotten that life is still the same with work to do and bills to pay. She seemed to think we were on some sort of permanent holiday or something. That all said, to be fair to Australia it is a wonderful place and we have LOVED living here and having the experience that we've had. Our reasons for moving back are many small things rather than one big one, but above all it's just time to go. We never said we'd be here for ever, and as anyone who has read any of my previous posts about our life here will see, until the last year or so we've been incredibly happy in Sydney. We've just reached a tipping point where the pros no longer outweigh the cons, and it is just time to go. No more explanation is needed than that.

It has taken me until now to realise it, and I feel sad for the years I spent worrying about other peoples expectations of me but hopeful that now I have worked it out I can get on with life.

This ^ Someone recently said to me 'you are not a tree, and you don't have to stay where you're planted'. There is no point in spending life in a place you don't want to be. If you don't like it move. If that doesn't work, move again. We have precious little time on this little blue planet as it is. There's no point in wasting it because other people expect you to do what they think you should do. This is something I've learned over the past few months. My dad died at 52, working hard so he could start life on his retirement. I won't do that. I'm 42. I could have a day, a year or fifty years of life left, and I won't waste another second of it wondering if I live up to other people's expectations.

We had a few of that sort of comment, but I was sort of expecting it so it didn't bother me over much. Unless you've lived here, you really have no grounds on which to comment about living here (or indeed to compare it to the UK). We're moving back soon (flights booked for six weeks tomorrow - eek!) and have decided to try another part of the UK. OH and I are from Kent/the Midlands respectively, but we lived in Cambridgeshire/Suffolk before we moved to Sydney. We will be moving to a small village just north of Edinburgh when we move back, so a completely fresh start. People keep telling us how cold it will be, how we'll miss the beach, how they can't believe we'd give up the 'Australian lifestyle', but I live here and I know it isn't for us. I'm in my early 40's, OH will turn 40 just after we arrive in the UK, and we don't consider ourselves too old to relocate, although I would say it has been harder this way round, mostly because our children are older and less easily portable, if that makes sense. Just do what you think is best for your family (meaning you, your partner and your children). Things usually work out for the best in the end.

@The Pom Queen No worries, it's something I've been meaning to do forever! I was having a bit of a quiet day yesterday, OH was at work and the kids were watching some awful film about a ballerina, so I decided I'd sit down and get it done! I think I'll do the suburbs by postcode area, that seems to make most sense, rather than splitting them out individually. @Bobj No, unfortunately we haven't been able to see everything we'd wanted to. Last year we used all of OH's annual leave on visiting the UK, the year before that we couldn't afford a holiday, the one before that we went to Tasmania and the one before that we went to the UK, so we've not had the time or the money available. We have promised that we'll come back on holiday though, because I suspect that way we'll actually get to see the things we'd wanted to!

We have lived in Sutherland Shire for a bit over eight years, and although we are currently in the throes of moving back to the UK, I thought it might be helpful if I could write down a few things about Sutherland Shire for those moving to the area. Our reasons for moving back to the UK are not a reflection on Sutherland Shire at all; they are personal/family related in the main. We have in fact been very happy here. I will do a bit of an overview of Sutherland Shire, and then make separate posts on the same thread for individual suburbs as and when I have time. I will add postcode and other information in the individual suburb posts, which can be used to refine searches on the website links I have provided in the general Sutherland Shire post here. Sutherland Shire has had a bad reputation historically. The Shire is seen by many as being a bit Bogan, filled with “real 'stralians who have no need to travel north of Georges River”. The 2005 Cronulla riots did nothing to improve its image either. The average ‘Shirey’ male is portrayed as having a Southern Cross tattoo and a hi-vis vest, whilst women are assumed to wear white jeans, which are heavily ripped in order to meet the latest fashion trends. However, having lived here for a bit over eight years, I feel that The Shire is unnecessarily maligned. All kinds of people live here, from those who are born and bred Shire folk who wouldn’t move away for all of the money in the world, to immigrants just like us, who came to Sutherland Shire in search of the Australian Dream. It is family friendly, convenient and a wonderful place to live! Map Google map of Sutherland Shire. Sutherland Shire Council Sutherland Shire Council Website Sutherland Shire Leisure Centres Sutherland Shire Libraries The Sutherland Shire Mayor, Carmelo Pesce, is very approachable and is a member of numerous Sutherland Shire Facebook groups (listed below), which I would definitely recommend joining once you are here (you need to live in the area to be added to the groups). I have seen numerous occasions where residents have approached him via Facebook and have had their enquiries dealt with. Sutherland Shire Facebook Groups and Pages Sutherland Shire Council Everything Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire’s This That and Everything Everybody’s Sutherland Shire The Sutherland Shire’s Buy, Sell and Swap Sutherland Shire – Latest News and Alerts There are many other more local groups which I will add on the individual suburb profiles below. Transport There is a really great app/website in NSW called ‘Live Traffic’ which shows live traffic information, including accidents, flooding and roadworks. Live Traffic Website Live Traffic App For trains look at the Sydney Trains website – look at the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra Line. Sydney Trains There is also an absolutely fantastic transport app called ‘NextThere’ available from the Apple app store. It covers all public transport and tracks trains/buses in real time. Next There Weather I use two websites for weather reports and warnings. Both are available as apps, so I keep them on my phone too. Bureau of Meteorology Willy Weather Housing For real estate listings, keep an eye on the following two websites. Domain Real Estate Schools The MySchool website has information about schools in the area. You can search by suburb/postcode. Please take NAPLAN results with a pinch of salt. They aren’t compulsory and I have heard of schools excluding lower performing students in order to boost their ranking. There is so much more to choosing a school than exam results. You can arrange to visit schools to see whether they might be a good fit for your children before enrolling them. MySchool NSW Department of Education Shopping The main shopping centre in the Sutherland Shire area is the Westfield Miranda site. There are other smaller shopping centres, which I will detail in individual suburb reports. Miranda has a cinema, numerous shops, restaurants and supermarkets. It is sometimes called ‘Miranda Fair’. Westfield Miranda National Park Information Sutherland Shire is home to the second oldest designated national park in the world, the Royal National Park (RNP). The RNP is home to a multitude of walking tracks, beautiful beaches, and enough wildlife to satisfy any nature lover! Royal National Park I hope this and the following information helps those who are thinking of moving to Sutherland Shire. If you have any questions about the area, please feel free to send a PM to me via Poms In Oz! This post has been promoted to an article

I'm in Sutherland Shire, but I'm a much older married mother of two, so probably not who you are wanting to socialise with! Have you tried joining some group exercise groups? If you join up with the Facebook group 'Everything Sutherland Shire' there are some advertised on there, or you could ask if there are any in your area. Alternatively, you could try meet up.com where there are lots of different groups who meet up locally. Otherwise, do you have any hobbies you do that have groups in the area?

Check with the shipping company. Maybe they will know if they are okay to ship. I've only seen the cheaper type here, although I've not looked for anything more fancy. My four are hooligans so I get the cheaper ones, so they can trash them and then I can replace it. The cat tree is out of the way in the garage though (they have their own area there with comfy hides holes and things to climb on and play with) so I don't have to look at it!

This is the conclusion that I am coming to. The older I get, the less bother I want. All I need is a roof over our heads, enough food to nourish and good times and laughter with my OH and girls.

Thanks Chook :wubclub:. Just in a bad place at the moment. I am sure that things will improve, given time and support.

I have been here for almost seven years. My depression/anxiety has been worse here, I drink more as a result of that, I have put on weight due to the drinking and despite the fact that I have a very healthy home-cooked diet. I am vitamin D deficient due to the care I take in the sun. I have a hard time in the winter with my asthma. Since I have been here I have had a pars fracture in my back and two metatarsal fractures whilst bushwalking and turning my foot awkwardly. Having said all that I have absolutely no idea as to whether the same would have happened in the UK had we stayed there. I have had depression/anxiety since my late teens. I have used alcohol due to my depression on and off since I lost my dad when I was 24. I have been steadily putting on weight since then too. I had bad hayfever in the UK which I don't have now. Just part of getting older I would guess. I don't think that Australia has improved/worsened my health. I am getting older and my life experiences dictate how my health is to a larger extent.

I suppose our story starts quite a number of years ago. When OH and I first started dating in 1998 we realised that we both had a desire to live and work overseas, although because we were both at uni the time wasn't right. Fast forward a few years, we were married, with one daughter and a second on the way, OH phoned me from work one day to tell me that he had been approached by his company as a potential candidate to move over to Australia, because they were going to be expanding in to Australia. Took me about 10 milliseconds to decide I was game for it if he was. We were renovating the house, so we got on with that, put the house on the market and came over to Australia to meet with the Australian end of his company and have a look at potential areas for his practice. We signed up and returned back from our holiday to sort out the visa etc. One day after our youngest daughters first birthday, in Feb 2009, we waved goodbye to our family and friends, and made the journey over to Australia, with a freshly granted 457 in our sticky mitts! We had pre-arranged a rental from the UK with the help of a relocation agent, so the morning after we arrived in Sydney we moved to our new (temporary) home. We had a few ups and downs in those first few months, I started to become depressed because I wasn't having much luck in meeting people, and was having a huge amount of pressure put on me to do that by certain family members. We didn't like the suburb that we had rented in particularly, there wasn't anything wrong with it per se, it was just a bit noisier and in the middle of things than we were used to. However, OH was getting on well at work, so we looked around and bought a beautiful house in a lovely quiet suburb. We have been very happy in this home. We love the suburb, we have made some very good friends, the girls go to a good school and both are blossoming in to wonderful little girls. OH has been going great guns at work, and was subsequently sponsored by his company for PR. We have since gained citizenship. The girls were so little when we moved here that they consider themselves to be Australian, although of course they do know that they are also British. OH and I are happy and settled, and to be honest, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. It hasn't always been easy, you do have to be self-sufficient. We don't have that support network from family that many people depend on, but we do have some very good friends who have helped us out when things have been difficult. And of course we have returned the favour to them. OH and I have not suffered with home-sickness at all, which has probably made things a great deal easier for us. We didn't live close to our families in the UK, so it wasn't such a wrench to leave them. We are due to go back to the UK for our first visit in the four and a half years that we have been here, in 23 days time, so it will be interesting to see whether the homesickness presents itself after that, or whether we will be running back on to the plane to get home! Advice, I suppose would be to come with a open mind and no pre-conceived ideas about living here. Australia is a very different country to the UK, probably more than most people would expect. It isn't like being in the UK, but with better weather. Living here won't transform your life, won't make you slimmer or fitter, it won't make you do more outdoors things that you wouldn't do in the UK. It won't make your kids more or less clever or confident, it won't give them a better life, just a different one. You may or may not have a better work life balance, you may have to work harder, you probably won't knock off work early every day and go to the beach. Life is just the same, bills have to be paid, the house has to be cleaned and the kids have to be run hither and thither at the weekends. You are just living your life in a different place. Same ****, different bucket as they say. Australia is a country of extremes. It is hot and cold, dry and wet, green and lush and barren and dusty. It won't suit everyone, but I can say with certainty that I love it with all my heart, and absolutely wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Barramundi is nice, also Dory is very nice. I think that Hoki is quite similar to cod, I remember that back before we moved over some of the supermarkets were making a big thing of Hoki because of the depleting cod stocks.