Stovies

When we first came over I worried a lot about my children being suddenly killed by snakes and redbacks (we lived right in the country and saw spiders and snakes regularly).... they're still going strong 14 years later and I haven't heard of any other children being killed this way. Its the females who produce the poison.. most redback bites are ineffective but if the child is bitten, there is time for antivenom to be administered after using a bit of first aid ie ice pack on bite. According to google, no deaths have occurred since the introduction of the antivenom.

I needed my car right up until the day before we left so put it on Ebay the week before. I got lots of bids. The winning bidder and I arranged pick up of the the car the next day at 10.30am from the hotel we were staying at. Our taxi to take us to the airport was coming at 1pm the same day. All good..... but then ....... got a phone call at 10am on day of pick up to say that they had changed their minds about buying an automatic! I was in a panic! The car was sitting in the hotel car park, I was due to fly to Aus in a few hours! After a few frantic phone calls to my older daughters, I decided that the only way forward was to gift the car to my daughter's partner! He had just changed job and with that change, lost the use of the company van so had no transport, so the timing was great for him. The car was worth less than £1,000 so it wasn't a huge loss for me and I was able to help out my daughter and her partner as they don't have much spare money,so it all ended well, but omg I aged about 10 years and my eyes were almost bleeding with the last minute stress of it all. So, I would say, unless you thrive on extreme, heart bursting stress, try to get it sold asap and hire a car until it's time to leave.

Have a look on the www.simplesavings.com.au website... I've been a member for quite a few years now and it's great for everything money-saving. There is a $21 dollar challenge book available from the website which is full of great ideas to help with the budget. :biggrin: You can become a member for a small payment a year and it is really excellent value. It has been a live saver at times for me!

Hi Lambfamily, I have recently been through all this, for the second time, and would say, declutter then bring EVERYTHING from inside your home. You can always get rid of things this end if you don't need them but I found all the things I needed and used in the UK is pretty much all the things I need and use here. The first time we came over, we gave away/sold sooooo many things and it was sickening having to rebuy it all again over here. This time round, I just decluttered each room and let the packers pack every single little thing. Okay, you have to do without them for a few months but you do manage (saying that, we have about 6 weeks or so until we get our things back and I can't wait!). Re your washing machine - don't worry about the bolts... my packers said that as long as it is in container, it will not need them. Until my machine arrives, I am using the local launderette once a week, $5 a load, then bring it home and dry it on the line. I am currently using my laptop on a $29 outdoor table from KMart and am sitting on a $9 outdoor chair, also from KMart.... inside the house.... you will manage! Best of luck with everything. ETA: Just to say that we didn't bring any outdoor stuff as we didn't think it was worth the hassle. I did take 2 days to clean up my wooden outdoor setting but gave up on it after seeing yet another spider appear from nowhere on the underside of it.... I didn't want any problems with customs so decided to leave that kind of stuff.

I craved Scottish fish and chips for years ... and then I had some .... :unsure: .... didn't quite live up to the dream. I think the thought of them .. and the smell of them ... is more enticing than the real thing. Indigestion.com.

The lemon trees are groaning with the weight of fruit just now.... but if you don't happen to have a lemon tree there are many places that have large boxes full with signs saying 'free lemons' that make up for the expense of the Ribena. Vitamin C is vitamin C. Apart from that nugget of advice, I would say it all depends on what and where you are coming from. If you have a full on loving, family life with your relatives, I would say you will miss them. If your immediate family is your main and 'only' family then you perhaps stand a better chance of not sinking into the Titanical misery of homesickness. Have a look at my thread 'Think hard before you give it all up in Aus', it may show you a lot of sides of what moving away entails. We are happily back in Australia : ) but the emotional and financial costs of returning to the UK because of homesickness have been huge. I am soo soooo happy to be back but I did have a terrible reality check re family that I had left behind and 'pined' for in the UK. I was lucky to be able to come back. Factor in the possibility of going back to the UK for longish holidays if homesickness does set in, that would be my advice to you. Best of luck with your decisions.

Ha ha, we have these signs just up the road from us.. I love them!

House all packed up now! White & Company were excellent! I was completely stressed before they arrived, I had been up since 5.30, panicking about everything (my husband is already in Aus with work so it's all been left to me!)....if I could send myself back to the future, I would have read this and not have let myself get so worried. The moment the guys arrived, I relaxed. They took over, made me sit outside with a coffee (luckily it was the day Scotland had it's summer) and they just bashed on with the job. Today, they finished off and loaded the container. I made sure they had plenty of tea, coffee, biscuits and Irn Bru and left them to it. I came and went as I pleased (leaving my mobile no) and I do not have one complaint about the whole two day process. Not one.

I'm using White & Company. In fact, they will be here in about 9 hours time! :twitcy:..... I will update in a couple of days. So far, great service, good price and they are very patient with my tourette like random phone calls.

Thanks northernbird, that's what I kind of thought by what the removalist said but couldn't get my head round it... seems too easy. I was told to fill any empty drawers with towels, bedding and the like too. The clouds are clearing but I still can't imagine that in 3 days there will be men in here packing all my stuff up .. I just don't feel ready even though I can't find anything else to dooooooooo!

Oh wow. Shouldn't my drawers still be full at 3 days? Panic meter has just gone into the med/high zone. I have been completely without ruths and thrown away lots. The things that are in there are things that would rattle around a big box. I phoned the removalists on Friday and the only advice they gave me is that everything should be clean and that the removalists would take care of everything... but I need more. I wanted her to tell me what to do with my velcro rollers and loose earrings.

Hi, my question might sound petty but I have 3 days before the removalists arrive ... mild to medium panic is setting in so if anyone can answer the question ... what do I do with the wee things? For example the contents of dressing table drawers (hair things, clips, brushes, etc etc etc), contents of the kids desk drawers, contents of kitchen drawers, etc, do I bag them up and put them back in the drawer, or do the removalists have their own method of dealing with this? On a normal day, I would know the answer to this because I normally have pretty good common sense but, not today. Thanks :wub:

When we went over the first time (in 1999), we went with just our suitcases, filled with photos, documents, etc..... we came back to Scotland last year but are returning to Aus for good next week. From experience, this time I am taking every little thing, every little peg, wooden spoon and duvet, every stick of furniture, every picture, vase and pot, everything. If it is not needed at the other end, so be it, but I am not going through the expense and hassle of buying every little single thing again! Okay, we wil have to make do for a few months.. cheap dishes, cutlery, bedding etc.. (I am taking 3 blow up double beds in my luggage) ... but by the time you add up the cost of buying everything new or getting a container, there is no competition, in my eyes. The first time we went we literally gave everything away, from hi-fi's (showing my age) to good beds and tv's, everything! Not this time.

Mwahahaha .... :twitcy: Thanks folks! I'll just unwrap the bedding and towels and open and unpack, but replace :wink: the new items in their original packaging... as if I've had them for years and years and years but always put it back in it's box after use..... OMG, I feel guilty already... just lock me up now and be done with it.:policeman:

Hi, we have the packers coming in next Wednesday. I've gone a bit mad at the Marks and Spencer's and other sales and now have a 'few' new things to add to our container... ie convection microwave, dualit toaster, towels, linen bedding (lots) and some kitchen items.... oh, yes, and a Thermomix :biggrin:. I've had a look round but can't really see what would be best ... to take them out their original packaging and repack them? Or, and what I would prefer, just keep them in their original packaging? Anyone have any experience of this? Thanks.

We chose SA (in 1999) and are going back there as we find it a lovely place to be. The Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula have some lovely houses at reasonable prices. The CBD is only 45 minutes away and there are beautiful beaches on the Fleurieu. I like having the different defined seasons and enjoy the winters, then look forward to the summer, although it does get pretty hot but there are ways of handling the heat. All the very best with your decision.

Me tae. The packers are due here a week on Wednesday and in two weeks' time we will be aboard our 'plane well on our way back to Aus... ans I am still at the walking round, room to room, staring stage, thinking what should I be doing....

All the very best for your return K3ngO! We are returning too, we lived there for over 12 years and came back to Scotland for just over a year. Two weeks tomorrow we board our flight back to Aus..... exciteballs!

My husband (who has dual citizenship and both Aus and UK passports) has been back and forward to Aus a few times over the past 15 months, always leaving Aus on his UK passport and always returning to Aus on his Aus passport with absolutely no trouble at all.

A couple of years ago I visited the UK for a holiday and left Australia using my Australian passport.. when I arrived in Scotland my passport was stamped with something along the lines of that I can only stay for 3 months and am not allowed to work in the UK. Last year when I returned to the UK (supposedly for good) I left Australia using my UK passport so that I would have no restrictions. I was warned at the airport in Aus that I would HAVE to use my Australian passport if I ever came back, so that's what I'll be doing. I would definitely get your Australian passport sorted out in Australia before you leave otherwise you will have to travel to either London or Edinburgh to have it issued here in the UK as you have to apply in person.