Sapphire

Ain't bad is it....:cute: Weather is ****. Wait till the long night summer nights come, you will love it.

It rained for weeks after we arrived home,and it was just wonderful,fresh,clean rain,,,,,,,,,even our dogs liked going out in it and they never would go out of the door in the Aussie rain,,,,very strange

Yes the summer evenings are going to be lovely,cant wait

Does anyone know if boxing your own stuff will make it considerably cheaper?

We boxed up all our own stuff, removals said we were more likely to be checked by customs,but I think that was rubbish.I dont know if it made much difference to price,I doubt it,but I wouldent of wanted packers, packing my personal belongings.

I think going out to Oz,you have to have the removal company pack now,but it certainly is not the case coming into the UK.

Just make sure you number each box and write contents on box,along with a detailed packing list and you will be just fine

Customs let our container straight through,without even opening it

Happy you are settling so well.

 

We have also now returned home after 8 years and are loving being back. We were lucky to have not had too many bumps in the move yet - other than not being able to afford to ship our things, so we have landed back with a suitcase each - and the dog, whose bed took up half of one suitcase lol.

 

Great news you are home safe and settling in.

We had alot of our doggies things in our cases and we had virtually no clothes or things for us,as doggie beds and toys took up most of the room:)

But is is amazing to be home,and loving every minute.

Proper Fish and chips for the first time was heaven,and our old chinese still serves the most fab food,so we are enjoying that

The supermarkets are amazing,so much choice and food tastes so different.

Wonderful to have double glazing and central heating and being somewhere that feels like home at long last.

Loving every minute:)

I havent posted on here for ages,but I just wanted to give you a quick update

We arrived home in December after a very long 8 years of not enjoying life in Aus for lots of reasons

It was a real struggle to get home,selling property,and just everything seemed to be against us,but we got there in the end.

We used Grace removals,who were excellent,packers were wonderful,however our container took 12 weeks,which was a nightmare.Melbourne to Tilbury.

When our container was delivered to our house,the unpackers this end,saw a cobweb,,,,,threw thier hands up in the air,and then told us,that the container was going tohave to be taken away and fumigated,would take 3 weeks and be in excess of 5000 pounds.I checked the cobweb,and there was no sign of life,could of so easily of been there,when it was loaded.After a very heated discussion, the guys obviously realised I was not going to accept what they were saying,and promptly unloaded,,,,,we were very lucky,,,,,so anyone heading home,be on your guard,as this may be a bit of a money maker for companies this end.

Other than that,we have settled well.A few wobbles,especially trying to get credit card and car insurance.

Finding a reasonably priced decent car for a runaround caused a few headaches,but we got lucky.

I have had a few panicky moments,trying to sort things out and did for a whole 24 hours feel like running back to Aus,as we came up against a few hurdles,and I think I was so tired ,Aus seemed like an easier option,but when I put my sensible head back on,I was fine.

We love being home,it just feels like we have never been away now.We are loving the weather,the rain just feels so clean,the air so fresh,and to see all the spring flowers,is just fantastic.

People are just so nice,no nosiness,no hidden adgendas,just pleasantly passing the time of day

We are a little bit shocked at the amount of Eastern Europeans,everywhere,but they dont seem to bother anyone too much.

I cant think of anything I really dislike.

Prices are variable,some things do seem more expensive,but not much.Im still converting into dollars,,,lol....and I went to write a pound sign the other day and realised I had written a dollar sign,,,I dont think my brain knows where i am

All in all,we have no regrets.I dont miss Australia one bit,

It all seems like a bad dream now,We are so happy to be home.

Good Luck to anyone returning home,its a wonderful feeling

Yep, we were caught out as well. My poor Best Friend had to pay 32GBP, for the priveledge of collecting her Birthday pressie from the post office, due to customs charges, and that was ticking the box that said "Gift"

The goods were valued at about 35GBP, so it was a sickner.

Obviously I sent her the money,but its very annoying, and very costly.

I dont send any pressies now, I just buy online from a British store and get the goods delievered.Most will even gift wrap, which is nice.

Thorntons have been great , I have had some lovely boxes of gift wrapped choccies sent for birthday and Christmas pressies

Even if you dont get clobbered by customs charges in the UK, the Aussie post prices are crazy anyway now, so I just wont do it anymore.