Polly68

We went with OSS and they have been dreadful. They did our pack mid February and we are finally taking delivery this week, nearly five months to ship from Sydney to UK, Rather than the 12/13 weeks max they had promised. They also underestimated the amount of stuff, but rather than take responsibility they demanded another $1k from us after they had done the pack. Communication has been awful and they have still not responded to emails asking them why it took so long. All in all a dreadful experience. Should have stayed with Anglo pacific, who did the move out for us! Good luck

We went with OSS and they have been dreadful. They did our pack mid February and we are finally taking delivery this week, nearly five months to ship from Sydney to UK, Rather than the 12/13 weeks max they had promised. They also underestimated the amount of stuff, but rather than take responsibility they demanded another $1k from us after they had done the pack. Communication has been awful and they have still not responded to emails asking them why it took so long. All in all a dreadful experience. Should have stayed with Anglo pacific, who did the move out for us! Good luck

Well we have decided to make the move back to UK and have begun the long process of culling our stuff and getting shipping quotes. OSS came round today as I've heard good things about them and we are also getting quote from Allied as we may be able to get a corporate rate through hubby's company. OSS reckon we are looking at about 24 cubic metres or a 20 foot container. They haven't given us a figure yet but I just wondered what sort of prices other people had been paying recently? Any other recommendations much appreciated. For better or worse, after 3 years of sunshine, Blighty here we come...:-)

I presume you think Oz better for kids long term? My hubby was of the same opinion, partly what drove us coming here. But I keep going over and over it and the only way I can see they've benefitted so far is in the time they've been able to spend on the beach and in swimming pools. On the flip side they've been away from grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, moved from a fantastic small village school to being in a huge class in a school of 750 children, education has been very narrow and their maths and reading hasn't progressed as I would like, they don't have nearly as many opportunities to go to museums, galleries, theatre, concerts etc as back home and their manners have gone severely downhill thanks to some of the children they are mixing with (they are also getting exposed to far too much American 'culture' imo). They miss the changing seasons- playing in snow, collecting conkers, long summer evenings playing outside etc. Plus they are missing out on the richness and diversity of Europe, its culture, architecture, language, history, heritage. Don't think I appreciated all that when we were living in the Uk but now we are so far away I realise how lucky we are to have all that on our doorstep. I guess we were lucky in terms of where we lived in the UK and maybe we've just picked the wrong suburb here, but I honestly do feel they are likely to have a far greater breadth of education and opportunity in Europe.

You make a fair point. All I would say in my defence is that in Brisbane all my friends were Australian, it was only after several months in Sydney I struggled so much that I ended up befriending people through the ex pat forums. I found mums at school in general quite insular and unwilling to be any more than acquaintances. I'm a stay at home mum and did everything like helping at school canteen, joining p & C etc as I didn't have work colleagues to fall back on, but found non Brits a bit unfriendly. Could just have been unlucky.

Kellie could I just add, as someone who has been in Oz three years now, that IMO the education and healthcare are far superior in the UK. We still don't really understand the Medicare system, dentist bills will make you weep, I've yet to find a GP in the Western Sydney suburbs who speaks English well and my kids have gone backwards not forwards in many areas of their schooling. Today it is nearly 40 degrees, too hot for the children to play out so the idea of the 'outdoor life' is a bit of a myth too I'm afraid. The cost of living is also frightening- we are paying $650 a week rent for a very average single story suburban house. We had to move from a bigger house after the quarterly electricity bills hit $1200! In terms of overcrowding of course it depends where you live...we are in the suburbs where its just as packed as any big English city suburb. Housing tends to be concentrated in small areas by the coast (where prices are really scary) or cities. And Sydney especially is manic in terms of people and traffic. Of course you can live in more rural spots, as long as you don't mind commuting (and competing for space with snakes, spiders and giant cockroaches ;-)), and having very little to do. Please believe me when I say there are things about Oz I've loved but I wish we'd been a bit more realistic in our expectations of what it was going to be like- two holidays here before we moved here gave a false impression of what it would be like actually living here. Personally I love Kent and miss the beautiful English countryside, the changing seasons, the British sense of humour and courtesy, my family and the friends I have had since for ever (don't underestimate how hard it can be to replicate those deep relationships). Plus tons of other more trivial stuff (cliches like decent TV and media, cosy pubs and good value/range supermarkets spring to mind!). I wish you luck with your application and really hope it all works out for you and your family. For us, its back to dear old Blighty...

Thank you for your reply. I guess the only thing holding us back from PR process is the cost- employer is supporting us but not prepared to pay for it- around $7k I think for our family of four. Seems mad to spend that money when I'm 90% sure I want to go back within the next few months. If it wasn't for that then yes totally agree its worth doing it and keeping options somewhat open. To be honest I can't imagine ping ponging though- we've already spent so much getting here plus I'm really not sure I could face all that upheaval again! How people find the energy and resources to go back and forth I don't know. There are many things I love about our life in Oz but I think once we left that would be it... thanks again for responding.

Hi all, we've been out in Oz for just coming up to 3 yrs- 1 yr Brisbane, 2 in Sydney. I feel really ready to go home now. My hubby (also british) has family here and I know would be happy to stay if I was (though probably back to QLD, which we both preferred, and where his family is). He accepts that going back is what I want though, and our kids are equally up for it. All my friends, bar a couple of school mums, are British and I just feel like I'll never properly belong here. Plus I have ageing parents and an extended family back home whom I adore and miss terribly. Of course there are lots of other issues, mirrored in the posts of many others, which I won't go on about here. Basically apart from the lovely friends I've made here and the sunshine I feel that there is very little I'll miss. There is a small part of me though that is wondering if we are crazy. We could start the process of applying for PR this month (on 457 at the moment and hubbys work would support our application) and I think back to the amount of emotional and financial effort it took to get us out here and get scared we are doing the wrong thing going back. You only need to glance through some of the other forums to see how many people would love to be in our position. Anyway I guess I'm just looking for some other perspectives and also the experiences of others who've been through the same and are back in the UK. I do have three British friends who I made out here and who are now back in England and seem really very happy (but then, would they admit to making a mistake?!). Thanks all and good luck to everyone facing a similar dilemma.