Stovies

I don't think there's such a thing as 'adult to child ratio' when flying to Australia. I flew back to Aus with 3 kids and survived :biggrin:

Just say no!

I couldn't be bothered having the 'worry' of chocolate eggs breaking or melting enroute, and the hassle of having to carry them with you, declare them etc etc .... Naaah! Just buy them here! There's plenty for everyone to suit all tastes.

Get yersel tae the library (or website) and see if thull pit it oan hold fur ye. Or ye can watch on thon Youtube. It's a rerr watch just fur the banter like. Orrabest!

I picked a DVD at the library called Ten Pound Poms. I thought it was an interesting insight into people's thoughts and feelings of the day (post war years). 'TEN POUND POMS tells the journeys of nine Britons who took the gamble of migrating to Australia in the post war years. They were part of one of the largest planned migrations of the twentieth century. One million Britons were sold the dream of a modern British way of life in the sun and seduced by a fare of just ten pounds. The catch was that they had to stay for a minimum of two years. Most loved the sunburnt country but one quarter fled home disillusioned, fleeing 'Pommy bashing' or believing they had been sold a lie.' I think the feelings of people, emigrating to Australia then, are still the same today. They even ping-ponged in those days, except they called them Boomerang Poms :biggrin:.

If it's crowing it's a rooster. We used to hatch our own chooks in an incubator and that was a definate sign ... early morning crowing.

At last! I've missed Aldi.. :biggrin: http://adelaidenow.com.au/

Our mortgage is with Lloyds TSB and we are renting our house in the UK out. While still in the UK, we made an appointment with the Mortgage Manager, told him our plans, he phoned the Mortgage people who gave us permission to rent out for a fee of 250 pounds which was then just added to our mortgage, so with a little bit of paperwork, we were all above board and legal. No hassles and no extra payments on our mortgage or anything like that.

I think you'd regret giving it all up. We did but were lucky that a miracle allowed us to come back to Aus and we are slowly but surely building our lives back up here. ( http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/moving-back-uk/140638-think-hard-before-giving-all-up-aus.html thread explains our situation). Before making such a drastic decision to return to the UK can you not try managing your money more efficiently? We are having to be careful with every cent this second time around as we spent a fortune on moving back to the UK, moving back to Aus and having to have our things shipped, along with our dog, back and forward. The website simplesavings.com.au helped us enormously. You can browse around for free or subscribe to a membership to have access to loads more great advice and information. It's amazing how little you can live on if you really put thought into it. Best of luck with everything.

Having been on both sides of the fence ... The things I love about being back in Aus - EVERYTHING

A couple of weeks ago I took my UK Christmas Cards to the PO to post. I hadn't realised that my daughter had added her friend's card in there too... and she had put two candy canes in with the card. All the other cards were $1.60 to post and the card with the candy canes in was going to be $17!!!! Needless to say ........

I have found that it's easy to adjust to the country you are living in's food. I've found that it's not such a big deal. I've found that it's a waste of valuable time trying to recreate a UK life in Australia. Just go with the flow and be open to all things new! BTW: blossom79 is right in saying that you can buy most of these things here.

I don't mind them. It gives me a push to give the house a good spring clean! At the last inspection we were told we were a landlord's dream ...... my halo did need polished so it was a win win... We are renting out our property in Scotland and I am so glad of these inspections. Our tenant is great and it's good to know that they are happy and the place is getting looked after.

Four hundred thousand families must notify Centrelink in the next month if their child is starting primary school or moving to high school next year so they don't miss out on the school kids bonus worth up to $820 per child. http://www.news.com.au/money/cost-of-living/parents-must-act-to-get-school-kids-bonus/story-fnagkbpv-1226511699915

I had to get a statutory declaration from my ex husband to say that he agreed to our daughters coming to Australia. He had to go to a Solicitor to have one drawn up. This was in 1999, things may have changed since then.

Depends on what time of the month it is ... :twitcy:

Thanks Snifter!

I've noticed that the Queenslander's accent is squeaky ... no offence. I love how the Aussies pronounce their T's so precisely. I love Aussie accents, and Irish accents..... I find it strange when people say they love my accent : /

Free postage to Aus seems to be finished now : (

I'm not getting involved in the statistical fisty cuffs but just wanted to say LEAVE SA ALONNNNNNNEEEEE! I love it here .... try the Fleurieu Peninsula for the best of all worlds .... affordable properties, countryside and beaches ... Mind you, I have lived (for a very short time) in Seaford and that was dubbed Little Britain .... hated it there! I found the brits made a sport out of trying to out do each other 4 x 4 wise, house wise and all things ... that's NOT what I came to Aus for. I prefer the non-suburbian lifestyle that can be found in SA, if you look. Don't have to automatically go for the Hallet Cove's and other Brit magnet places. http://www.fleurieupeninsula.com.au/

To ship our dog it cost us 2960 pounds from Edinburgh to Melbourne plus $1200 for quarantine fees for the month. We also had her in Kennels in Scotland for 6 weeks at a cost of 420 pounds and then another $620 to have her brought over from Melbourne to Adelaide. For our belongings we had a 20ft container packed in Edinburgh and delivered to our home in SA for the cost of 4500 pounds plus $400 for Customs inspection. We also got stung with tax for bringing over new items and also the cost of destroying 3 pine cones that was in our boxes! We have had to do this twice as we Ping Ponged :twitcy: All the best for your move! ETA: Our dog is a big muckle one so the prices will be lower for your wee pug!

Interesting theory. I am a really bad sleeper (wake up at 3am most nights and can't get back to sleep until just before the alarm goes off!) and I find due to my tiredness, I am forgetful and just can't think straight, etc sometimes, so obviously lack of sleep affects the brain quite a bit ... I wonder to what extent :eek:

Hi Anita, We recently got our dog back from quarantine in Melbourne (4 days ago!) and she was absolutely fine! Best of luck with your journey over! Mount Barker is not far from where we are .... and we had a Dalmatian for over 13 years! I love them! :biggrin:

Awww! Congratulations! That's wonderful! Don't worry, I'm still in awe at 'being a mum' ..... and that's 5 children later :eek:

That's great! Thank you! ..... I think:eek: