LostMyWay

Hi! Have you been home since you had the baby? If not you might find a trip home and seeing what you're missing out on makes your hubby think about bringing forward the plans? We agreed we would holiday home before making the decision and flew home twice in 2014 with our daughter and each time was magnificent, it cemented it and made us want it even more! We had a lovely life in Aus and I wouldn't change it for the world but I am so pleased to be home now! Just seeing my children lavished in the same unconditional love from all my family is just like nothing else! we're from the Sleaford area, just moved to Metheringham, so not very far from Lincoln! I'm loving being back in the 'shire'! It's a beautiful county! We've had thick frost this week and it's just beautiful seeing the farm lands covered in white! Just driving to the Drs this morning was like driving through a post card, not like the faceless and endless suburbs we've been used to! When I think about Australia I must admit I get very nostalgic about the life we had but honestly, apart from the people, there is nothing I miss, and even those people don't equal the family I've gained back from moving home! The power of FB and email, I still chat to good friends almost weekly so it doesn't feel like I'm not seeing them! So now the dust has settled this is life....My children see their grandparents almost daily, all of our old friends here have young families too so I am busy catching up with them in between seeing 'nanny' and 'grandma', we have babysitters on tap who are more than desperate to have some time with the kids, we've had a few nights out which has been lovely! My weekly shop has gone from $200 p/w to £60, my rent from $2020 pcm to £625, my hubby's wage is enough to give me the option of when I go back to work and how much I work! Life is peachy! Anyway, best wishes on your journey and I hope you and your hubby come to the same decision and it's a seamless one for you!

hi Katieoz, one thing i have have learned from my experience is everyone' experience is unique! We are actually 'ping pong poms' having moved back to the UK in 2011 and instantly hating it and so moving back to Aus 7 months later. I was instantly happy to be back in Australia but then starting our family is when I started to feel homesick again. 2 things I have learnt....1) is the time we spent in UK pining for Aus meant that we had changed and Aus had changed, just in the short time we were away, so when we returned we didn't return to what we knew. I found that since about 2011 we've just been chasing yesterday! 2) we returned to England the second time at the absolute perfect time unlike in 2011. All our friends have young families and we have just slotted straight back into life as if we'd never been anywhere, whereas in 2011 all off our friends were at totally different stages of life! So really, timing is everything! To answer your question we moved back to UK in 2011 because I wanted a baby and we decided that we wanted our family involved in that. The truth is when we got back to England my husband was not ready to have a baby and so we yearned for our carefree life back in Aus. We got back to Australia and my want for a baby only increased and so our carefree life became all about getting pregnant and then quite quickly all about our daughter. All of our friends were childless and so we were very much alienated from them. So fast forward 3 more years and 2 children I guess the reason we came back this time was for the original reason we came back in 2011, we wanted our families involved in our children's lives....so again timing is everything! i am sorry to hear that you are feeling homesick for Australia. I do know what it is like to have the expat curse, I'm so thankful that this time it's worked for us because it gets tiresome! There must have been reasons as to why you came back to England? Are they still valid/true? Do you think you will go back to Aus? Good luck with your journey!

We're finally connected to the Internet and back into some kind of routine! Now let me update you all and give you the information that you've asked for! In terms of migrating with 2 young children (one being a newborn) it wasn't that bad once we'd got all the relevant paperwork. For a newborn (if you want it quick) you need to apply for the birth certificate at the civic centre and request it be priority processed. This costs $110 and takes about 5 days. There's no option on the form or the website, but if you go down to the centre you'll see why as that place is chocca everyday and I guess if they advertised a priority service it would take even longer. Depending on your state depends on the waiting times but if you apply the regular way then averagely you're looking at about 30 working days for a certificate to be issued (in case you have the time to wait!). If you were a permanent resident at the time of birth and don't have a stamp in your passport to prove your residency status you will need to apply for the baby's citizenship certificate. There is no priority service and takes about a week, all of these are processed in Sydney and there is no way around it. The passport office won't accept the email letter confirming your residency status. Once you have the birth certificate and proof of your residency/baby's citizenship you can apply for the passport. You can pay for the priority service which takes about 3 days including delivery and you can choose to pick it up or have it posted. Be warned-we requested all of our passports be collected from the central office but mine and my husbands was delivered to our home address! Flying was relatively easy. We flew with Etihad. We decided to pay for our daughters seat even though she wasn't quite 2. Having flown previously with her and not paying we were generally given an extra seat, but on busy flights we have had to share 2 seats, so we didn't want to run the risk of having 2 seats between 4 of us. We were given 46kg each and 23kg for my newborn! Couldn't believe that we still struggled to keep to the weight allowance despite shipping our entire house back to England! We arrived at the airport late (!) with 7 suitcases, 4 carry on, 2 car seats and a stroller! It was a tad ridiculous and we were running to the gate to catch the flight on time! We flew a little later than I would have liked. Previously we've flown through the night and my daughter has slept the whole way whereas this time we flew early hours and so by the time we got on the plane my daughter was past it and hardly slept. My newborn thankfully slept most of the journey in the provided bassinet. It was hard with my daughter as she was too big for a bassinet but to small to sleep in her seat! We did 2 legs straight through with no lay over arriving in UK at lunch time. If you can establish breast feeding, that makes it a lot less painful as it helps to pop the ears and it provides comfort! My god, re-telling it all now seems like so long ago! Our furniture arrived in the country on 2nd Dec, just 6 weeks after it left Aus! We weren't even in our own house! We moved in 22nd Dec with all our stuff, so we had a chaotic Christmas but were in our own space, and didn't have to worry about borrowing/buying furniture to make do until or things arrived which we weren't expecting until he new year! We are 100% happy with our decision to return back to the UK! It is lovely being home with our young family and having our parents around to shower them in attention and to help out with everyday tasks! Something I felt my daughter has missed out on over the last 2 years. Hubby found work after about 6 weeks and started this week. He has had a lengthy paternity leave which was wonderful and the added bonus of having the whole of Christmas and new year off! Im happy to answer anymore questions if I can, in case I've missed out anything here!

Hi, I have plenty to share with you regarding our journey! I've just moved into our rental and we are waiting to be connected to the Internet so I'm relying on 3G and my phone to type this message! I just wrote an essay for you but my lovely 2 year old just deleted before I could send it! I should be connected at the end of the week so I can share my journey with you then!

We actually took a risk and booked it all before we got his passport!!! Was beginning to panic but we got his passport Friday afternoon!!!! Now to pack......! Heading back to Lincolnshire!!! Just packing the house up now! Proving difficult with 2 kiddies!! Just want to be on the plane so it's finished and I can sit down!!

So I just wanted to update my journey as so many of you have helped with tough decisions, plus I'm so excited, I feel like I just need to shout from the roof tops, mixed with utter terror of what lies ahead! following my threads from earlier in the year, we made the tough decision to rehome our dog. He has gone to a lovely couple who already have a dog and were looking for a companion for him. To be honest, I think he's better off with them as he doesn't have a 2 year old bullying him now! He settled very quickly and with no problems and I'm 100% sure it was the right decision for us. My husband has been in touch with many many recruiters and has 2 jobs lined up. He is pretty certain of them, but both employers want to meet him before securing the positions. This is the feedback he has had from most of the recruiters. We were hoping he'd secure work before we landed but it seems that that is just not going to happen. But it certainly looks positive! I had my baby (number 2) almost 4 weeks ago and we decided we would go when he reached the 6 week mark. So flights have been booked for 21st October! I can't believe that we're finally doing it! It feels like this is all we have talked about for the last year and now it's weeks away! We've the freight booked on 19th, the house is being cleaned and handed back to the real estate agent on 20th and then we fly 21st! Tight schedule with a 2 year old and 6 week old but hey ho! To top it all off, we became citizens last night! I know some people think it's wrong that we got our citizenship and we're leaving, but it's strangely satisfying, a kind of full stop at the end of the story! It's great that we share the same nationality as our children, we have something to show for our time here, and we won't be closing the door entirely........!

Enjoyed this read, it really reminds me a bit of my own journey! We moved to Melbourne and after nearly 2 years decided we wanted to be back in UK to start a family and within 4 weeks we were back home! Life was not at all what we expected and our family just annoyed us! 7months later we were back in Melbourne after deciding that family wasn't enough and we wanted to give our future children a 'better' lifestyle. That isn't the case, by the time we had children all the things we had missed about the country we no longer accessed! I was very happy to be back in Melbourne until my daughter was born nearly 2 years ago and we have since been talking about our eventual return again! We are doing things differently this time and not being impulsive like last time. We have visited England twice since my daughter was born and it has cemented our decision to go back! I am due to give birth in Sept and we plan to fly back with an 8week old!!!!!!! I am so ready to be back in England for a multitude of reasons, however I am so nervous as we did this once before and 'failed' and Australia has been our home now for over 5 years and although I yearn for and miss England, I fully expect I will feel the same for Aus once we're back home! It's a novelty being a foreigner yearning for their homeland but when we return we'll just be another English couple amongst the English-how average!! I feel for you and your family because the curse of the expat is indeed a curse, I wish you all the best in your adventure and I hope eventually you find peace.....I know all I really want to do it settle somewhere and build a life!

This is going back to 2010 when I applied for my 457, but I was advised that immigration wouldn't grant the visa until a month before my work start date. So the sooner the proposed start the sooner you'll get the visa. That's not to say if you put your start date as next week it will be a priority, there are obviously processing times, but for me personally that's what I found delayed my visa grant. The employer needs to put the proposed start date on your offer of employment letter/contract, and it doesn't mean you actually have to start on that day. But I agree with the others, 8 months isn't long, enjoy the summer, have one last cold Christmas, save some money and enjoy friends and family, Australia isn't going anywhere! 8 months will fly and that gives you time to get all your affairs in order!

Hi blobby1000, there are some interesting comments in your OP that struck me and I am wondering why no one else is highlighting this so I wonder if I am missing the point? You have listed several very positive things that you are currently experiencing in England yet you question whether it was really worth going back for after being very unhappy in Aus. Then you list several things you miss about Aus....yet these seem to be the things you disliked in the first place (for example you say one positive for England is swimming without the fear of being eaten, yet you miss 'trying not to get eaten by sharks'! Forgive me as I don't want to sound rude but this all sounds like you're moaning for the sake of moaning? You actually remind me of my husband; a very 'grass is greener' type, and it certainly is the curse of the expat and I've no doubt my husband will never completely be happy with the choices he/we make! It sounds like you have a very nice existence in England and chasing a dream of Aus when you didn't like it in the first place, it seems like you have a lot to risk, especially with children involved?! I certainly do not want to be a hypocrite as I am a 'ping ponger' myself and am currently planning my 2nd return to UK, but honestly I wouldn't wish this on anyone and I would encourage you to think strongly about what you risk losing and gaining in moving again, and the justifications you have for doing so. Having said that I would never discourage someone from pinging back as only you can make that decision and sometimes once you've got an idea in your head you have to follow it regardless of people pointing the obvious out to you! You may find if you don't give it another go you'll eventually grow to hate all the great things going on for you in UK! For us, in hindsight I wish we had given ourselves longer to settle in the UK because one theory could suggest that we would be very happy now! On the flip side, if we had never come back to Aus we probably would have grown more and more unhappy and who knows what might have actually happened? Although I wish we'd stayed put, I do hypothesise that my husband would probably have grown to resent our children for holding him back and ultimately ending in our divorce!! The point is you can't predict the future! Good luck with whichever decision you make!

I already have an 18 month old which he had to get used to and he adapted to the situation very well, especially after having been the baby before she came along! The sad reality is since my daughter was born he doesn't get the attention he used to or deserves and I do worry that a 2nd baby will push him further down the line, though my daughter now lathers him in attention (albeit quite rough bullying like attention!)! My very good friend has actually offered to take him in, she lives by the beach and already has another dog whom Rufus get son well with. So I'm now actually spoilt for choice as to what to do for the best! There are actually some very positive options available to me now and I don't feel as guilty as I was feeling which is good because I had an awful dream last night that I was chasing him out my house and trying to shut him out but in the process was hitting and kicking him!!! :shocked:Just awful!!

Hi, I'm not sure if I can help you as yours seems a bit more complicated than the average 'overseas British citizen' situation but do you actually need a British passport? I have been looking into what I need to do to get my daughter her passport once we get to the UK and was worried about how she could stay in the country without one and from what I can tell she only needs a passport if she intends to travel and doesn't already have a passport. The passport is obviously one way of proving she is a citizen but it's not the only way. She wasn't born in UK but has 2 British parents (in their own right) and that automatically makes her a citizen. I don't know the 'ins and outs' of it but it might be worth you calling the passport line/citizenship enquiries to see if you actually need a passport? As for the counter signatory person it's just like any passport application, they need to verify that the photo is of you! There must be a Pom you know who can sign it for you?? It doesn't have to be a friend....someone you work with maybe or know through someone else? If you have been in correspondence with a Brit they could sign it....but have you met? It is of course up to them whether they want to sign it but it is a legal document and once they sign it they are liable for claiming the picture is you if that makes sense? hope that has helped and sorry if my information is incorrect.....I also welcome correction of my above statement!

I went to uni in Southampton and although enjoyed my time there I do remember it is largely a student town; once the students went home for the holidays the place was a ghost town! It mostly accommodated the students/young so the cheap bars/pubs/restaurants are likely to be dives filled with students! The nicer places to eat were usually outside the city going towards Winchester or the New Forest which of course then adds to the price tag!

Oh all really great news and very reassuring! Congratulations to you all and best wishes for your future in England! Can't wait to join you all!

Can I ask who you went with? I've managed to get the quote down to $3300 and that's door to door and it's the best quote I've had, one company wanted to charge $5000!!!!

I have certainly thought about this! I have no intention of coming back however I wouldn't ever rule it out after my last 2 moves were 'forever'! It really wouldn't be fair to up root him twice, nor could we afford it twice!