frostie

We were away 14 months come back & entitled to full nhs. Kids now getting braces fitted (2 kids) child benefit was reinstated when I called them with out return date. They paid it straight away. Don't forget that will give you approx £110 extra per month. We live in the south east just by gatwick. If you have any questions or need any help on prices etc in this area feel free to send me a pm. Jobs are easy to come by where we are so hopefully your wife shouldn't have a problem getting a part time job or full time if that's what she wants. Check out the job centre jobs & reed employment.

Sorry my fault for not explaining properly !I meant if we decided to return in the future for reasons such as, if we didn't have a choice, as the likelihood is it will be another 457 visa. What if a recession hits or redundancies are made and we decide to head back if another job can't be found we would have no choice but to return..... I am trying to think of every possibility for my childrens sake. I know it would be for the long haul but I have to think of every possibility that could happen, which would make us decide or give us no choice but to leave. This isn't being taken lightly & I'm just trying to get advice what would happen if if does all wrong, and what would happen to my childrens education if if did all go wrong. I guess apart from education my other worry is returning on a 457 visa again.

Hi long story cut short, moved to Sydney stayed 14months & moved back to the UK. A new opportunity may have arisen to return back to Sydney ! My one and only worry in returning is the risk of harming my children's education. I have a 12, 10 & 6 year old. I'm worried about the eldest who is doing fantastic in a local secondary school, he is already undertaking a GCSE and one of the two top children in the year group for both Maths & Science. If we move back to Australia how will secondary education compare with the UK? My other worry is if we decide to return again a few years down the line, neither of the eldest would have gcse results and we wouldn't be able to pay international Uni fees in the UK. Also would the HSC be recognised in the UK. We could not afford a private school with the international bacculate but could afford to put them in a catholic school. We would be looking at moving to the hills district. Any advice in your experiences of high schools both state & public would really help ....

Hi ill send you a pm. I have also found that second hand items sell at a far less price than back in the uk. Except for cars that is !

Hi sorry I didn't get a notification. We need them until a week or two before we move which is the 21st may. We will also have a garden table & chairs when we move out which you can have for free to get you by also a BBQ, garden spade etc which we will not need ill send you a pm & try to include some pictures if I can work out how to do it.

Moving back to the uk for sale I have the following ( collect Castle Hill 2154 ) 1. Westinghouse side by side fridge freezer 610l white....Bought May 2012 so still has a years warranty & I have the paperwork for it $500 2. Brown dfs Uk Leather 3 seater & 2 seater sofas. $500 ovno 3. Glass Office Desk ( large frosted glass slab on trussles ) + office chair $100 ovno 4. Uk Size Pine Bunk Beds $50 onvo 5. Microwave / kettle / toaster / plates/ bowls ... Free ( must be collected at mutual time from my friends after we have moved out ) 6. Ottoman Brown Leather ( bought here in oz but matches the sofas I am selling ) $90 ovno 7. Cream pencil pleat curtains x 4 prs different sizes $30 the lot If interested a deposit will need to be paid pm me for any further info.... Some items can be collected ear,over than the 21st May but no later Thanks Mandy

Ill pm you the shippers details

Lol I'm also at that stage.... On the school run I'm constantly being asked why we are leaving, I simply reply "Family" . I'm the same there are multiple reasons but if I say family I don't feel like I have to justify our decision which was made as a family

We have had a few quotes for containers... To get it as cheap as we can we are packing ourselves and they are wrapping the furniture. We have approx 17cubic meters which is approx half a 20' container and have quotes ranging from $3900 to $4400 plus insurance. The super you claim back after your visa is cancelled and they take 35% ( I think ) that's if you do it yourself, the agencies that do it for you take more. You also have to pay to get a copy of the cancelled visa I believe. Hope that helps

Arrived April 2012 with Husband & 3 kids that were 10, 7 & 3. Leaving May 2013... Looking forward to go ping home but I do appreciate all I've seen and done here at the same time.

I am dreading answering everyone's questions on why we have returned. My Family have never questioned why we are coming back and support us 100% on our decision. My friends are a different story a few have been very supportive and have done a lot to help me from the UK but some just tell me I'm crazy ! Why would I want to return to that dive which is the UK? Im fed up with explaining only for some to argue with me on my feelings ! Everyone presumes the kids have got to be happy as they are in Oz... But they have all said they were happier at home and in their old school ! I'm just going to go along the lines of " It's great for a holiday, beautiful country but its not for us " I can't wait to get back home ! We leave end of May which means we would have been here 13 months.

We came here a year ago thinking it could be a better life for our 3 children 10, 8 & 3. I have to say I honestly belive the children all had a far superior life back in the UK and which for us was the decider to move back. Our flights are booked for 13 months after we arrived here & the children cant wait. They miss their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents & older siblings. My middle one wrote me a letter saying all she wants for her birthday is to be with all her family which she will now be blessed with :-) I belive the schooling back in the UK to be far superior to what we have got here in their school which we pay a great deal for, they were outside more at home, they had great sports facilities and clubs back home which didnt break the bank for them to join... But i have friends here who do have a much better life here for their children, so i guess its an individual family thing.

Thanks Tink ! I've phoned the shopping company and have asked them to call their warehouse to check. Although they said they only keep things for 6 months! So not holding out much luck! First time we've ever moved so concentrated on photos, memory boxes etc Crazy thing is we were just about to book the same company to go back with ! I don't hold much hope of getting them back and feel guilty as they were my sons :-(

I am totally gutted right now :-( short story our shipping got delivered last June from the Sydney port. Was just dusting my sons (11yr old ) football medals ( the big tall ones ) sudden thought appeared where are all his medals on ribbons ???? He had about 50 of them from all his tournaments, soccer schools etc and they are not here :-( I was so focused on checking photos etc I just didn't think about them till now ! I'm now sure a whole box of things are missing. Shortly after delivery I noticed my little laptop was missing but we convinced ourselfs that we must have packed it with the stuff we put up in our loft at home so never questioned it! Has anyone else ever noticed something missing down the line like us ?? I'm waiting a call back from the shipping company but not expecting much of a response ! Irreplaceable items feel so sorry for my son right now :-(

Glad you had some good news. All the phone calls we've made have payed off . Our eldest got a yr 7 place in the senior school we wanted and both our youngest have received primary school places also where we wanted! I can't believe how much luck had been on our side :-) Good luck with your 14yr old Mandy