Aunt Agatha

Thanks @Sustain I don't need the tips anymore (happily living in the UK with lower cost of living!) but I second your whatsapp suggestion. Saves an absolute fortune on texting etc.

I did the same thing the first time I went to Tesco Jock. Just stood there like a plum and then suddenly clicked and had to pack at the speed of light LOL. I have been offered help with my packing lots of times since - I'm not sure if that's because I usually have two small kids with me or because they think I'm incapable...

We're in beautiful Northumberland :-) Where are you moving to? I know what you mean - we moved from London to Aus at the exact same stage in our lives - no kids, recently bought a house, careers really taking off etc. - and a part of me wishes we hadn't done that. I wouldn't swap our Australian experiences or friends for the world but our timing wasn't ideal. I'm sure you'll be fine back in the UK, you're at a different stage in your lives now and your reasons for going make perfect sense! PS We moved back with a three year old and a one year old - the journey isn't as bad as you'd think but I highly recommend a stopover or two, made the world of difference for us.

You're welcome - glad to be of some use! :-) My DH is a business analyst and we are really enjoying being back. We joined the National Trust and have lots of lovely days out with a picnic. The kids are in their element spending time with Grandma and Grandad and the shops are great! We loved Aus too so are very lucky. I see from your signature that you moved back to the UK and then back to Australia in 2012 - what made you go back to Aus?

Manchester is such a cool city - I loved it there during the early nineties when it was at the height of its music scene. I have to agree with JockinTas - although we've had sunshine, it certainly hasn't been shorts weather up here! I agree too about not being bothered about the weather and if we did ever move back to Australia, Tasmania would be top of my list. I fell madly in love with it on a two week visit a couple of years back. Would be a lovely place (for us) to retire if our kids decide to live in Aus.

I went to University in Manchester, OH is from Cheshire. And I genuinely don't know about it being grim up north. I find it breathtakingly beautiful, friendly, exciting, culturally rich and with a real independence of spirit up here.

Just click "edit post" Shelley and delete the pics :-)

I'm meant to be right under that rain HelensvaleHoward (Northumberland) but we have blue skies here! It is blustery (not surprising given the geography). We are expected to get a hike in temps this weekend though it will be 18-20 degrees rather than the 25 the south is expecting which suits us hardy northerners perfectly! ETA I realise that pic referred to Friday's weather but Lastonealive said "the UK" was currently grey and wet and it's generalisations like that which get us all into bother. Likewise you can't say that "Australia is..." both places have too much variety. Likewise that assertion about staff in cafes etc giving bad service. Not something we have experienced since arriving here in Feb. (And that includes a trip to the North West so not just a NE thing). I lived in Brisbane too so can make the same comparison - we found service great in Brisbane and (despite expecting poor service after reading PIO!) we have found service great here too.

It must be something to do with geography in the UK, we've had nothing but good manners and friendliness from checkout staff in the North East!

Fantastic update @Helz980! So pleased you've settled back in and congratulations on the job. I agree re getting out more with the little ones here, we've been having a ball - despite the weather!

My DH got a job in the UK while we were still in Australia. I just asked him for his advice and he said: Sign up with all the relevant recruitment agencies in the UK - they get to know you and will start coming to you with jobs. Apply directly to companies you'd like to work for. Always explain that you're a British citizen and in the "process" of moving back to the UK if you haven't booked flights yet (sounds better than "I'm not exactly sure when we'll arrive"!) As soon as you see a job, apply for it. Even if it doesn't seem perfect - you just need something to get you over there and get you started. My DH applied for a job that was being advertised directly by the company. The CEO interviewed him via telephone then two days (or evenings I should say - the interview was at 10.30pm) later he had a Skype interview with the guy who would be his boss. He was told at the end of that interview that he had the job pending references so it can happen really quickly. That was in December 2014, they asked him for a mid-Jan start, my DH asked for early Feb (we had booked flights prior to his first interview) and they said yes. It's all been great so far. Good luck, it can happen!

I did settle in Australia - for 11 and a half years - I then I decided to settle somewhere else. Success/failure played no part in it. I wonder if people who emigrate and settle in Australia permanently consider themselves to have "failed" in their own countries? It's such a strange PIO phenomenon (in my experience) this idea of "failing" if a person moves/wants to move back to the UK.

You do sound happy and in forward motion Tillyd - really pleased for you! Good luck with your move and the situation with your OH.

Oh I'm so sorry to read this! I can only imagine how distressed everyone must be feeling. I am so glad you MBTTUK in time. Thinking of you xx

Small correction: we are with Good Energy, not Eco. They are an eco provider which is where my memory confused me.

You're very welcome Lis, I know I was always keen to know how people actually made the move in practical terms so thought I'd share the detail.You have an exciting journey ahead! Lots of luck though I'm sure you won't need it.

I'll send you a PM with my email address Sharon. My DH is a business analyst, specialising in information management. There's a fair bit of contract work in his field so we felt comfortable knowing that if he didn't get a job or if the job didn't work out he wouldn't be unemployed for long. What work do you/your husband do? Thanks @Lady Rainicorn.

Thanks @Gbye grey sky, it looks like a great site. I've heard a lot of people talking about "Martin's Money Tips" since I've been back - I think this website is the same guy? @fourcorners I did apply for child benefit about a month after we got back (could/should have probably done it sooner!) It's taking them a very long time to sort out but they do backdate it if you're eligible, so if we are we won't lose out. I'm looking into the NI credits as it would help to put my mind at ease (a little!) about retirement.

Sorry @lismith25, meant to tag you in my reply above.

Thanks Gbye grey sky, I'll look into that! I haven't heard of childcare vouchers - good tip that one. I should mention as well that there is 15 hours a week of free childcare for two year olds if you qualify - I think it might be based on whether you are receiving other benefits and/or income.

Lots of luck, sounds like some exciting times are ahead!

Great news! Good luck with this next adventure :-)

Hi @Sharon Bland you can probably find some answers in my essay above (sorry folks, got carried away!) but please ask me anything, it's honestly no bother at all and it would be lovely to meet for a cup of tea if you do come back. We are renting until we know exactly where we want to live and also until we save for a deposit as the move wiped out most of our savings. One Estate Agent was a bit thrown by our circumstances but the rest have been fine. Having a guarantor in place really helped and though we never actually needed to provide his name or details, the agents seemed reassured by his existence. We also offered to pay an extra deposit because we had pets and this pleased the agents although again it wasn't necessary in the house we got. One tip would be that even if a rental ad says "no pets" always check and offer the extra deposit because the house we have no was officially no pets but the owner likes cats so he changed his stance for us. Also, get on the agents lists, don't just rely on www.rightmove.co.uk we saw a couple of places before they hit the market thjanks to good relationships with agents - calling them to let them know how viewings went etc. Do you think you will make the move soon?

Hi, I'll try and remember the order in which we did things! First thing we did was to get on the electoral roll, it's easily done online. Next we sorted out the bank. My DH we weren't married when we moved to Aus and he closed his UK bank account after a few years of inactivity. I'm SO glad I didn't! I kept my account with Lloyds open and they have been great. As soon as we got back we went into the branch in my parents' home town, explained our situation and that we were living with them until we found a rental etc. and there were no problems. I had my DH added to the account to make it a joint account (he had to show his passport) and we had a chat about our needs going forward. Now that we've been here a couple of months we have been able to upgrade our account to one with decent benefits like AA cover and can have an overdraft if we want one. They just need to see that a salary is being paid in there regularly. After that we bought a second-hand car with cash and got it insured and taxed. We had to pay for a year's worth of insurance upfront and it was expensive as we had no recent "no claims" history in the UK so that may be an expense to add to your budget. (I have heard some people were able to get around this by providing Australian no claims proof but none of the insurers we spoke to allowed this). Getting on the electoral roll, a bank account and car insurance meant we now had some useful "proof of address" letters which we needed for our driving license applications. We went on the DVLA website and requested the forms we needed to renew our UK driving licences. We still had our licences but they had expired during our time in Australia. All we needed was a new photo and a £20 payment. If you don't require a new photo I think it's free. We used my folks' address, even thogh we knew we'd be moving soon as DH just wanted some form of official ID so that he didn't have to show his passport all the time. You can legally drive on your Australian license for 12 months after moving to the UK so there is no hurry but we felt that sorting out stuff like driving licences all helped to add to our UK "footprint" if you know what I mean - it made us seem more established when we applied for rental houses. Re jobs: my DH secured a job before we left Brisbane but from what I can see there is a fair bit of work about in his field. I haven't tried to find work as I freelance but part-time jobs are like hen's teeth everywhere so I suspect it would be the same here. Plus we're in Northumberland so it's not brimming over with local work opportunities in my field. I could commute to Newcastle once the kids are a bit older so that's always an option. In terms of a comparison our experience has been that everything except petrol is more expensive in Brisbane. Oh and childcare because the government help (15 hours of free childcare) doesn't kick in until kids are three in the UK whereas the Australian government paid 50% of my kids' daycare in Aus and because they only went two days a week it was quite affordable. Our rent is half what it was in Brisbane though we have to pay council tax and water here which was covered by our rent in Australia. Our "Foxtel", landline and internet is laughably cheaper here, as are our mobile phone plans - I pay the equivalent of $20 a month here for the same package which cost me $60 a month in Aus. We chose to go with Eco energy for our electricity and gas and pay a set amount each month based on our estimated usage so we'll either be in credit or have a bit extra to pay at the end of 12 months which I'm happy with. Check out www.comparethemarket.com to look at different providers. My son hasn't started daycare yet but the one we have chosen is absolutely lovely, same goes for our daughter's nursery school. I certainly don't feel we have taken a step down in that respect. I loved our local community in Brisbane and it looks like the local community is great here too - my neighbour has already invited me over to meet some other nursery Mums which is very kind. We have swapped the seaside for the countryside and I do miss the sea but I can visit vast expanses of coastline which castles thrown in for free - I might just need an extra layer! TBH I don't find comparisons that useful (though we drew up pros and cons lists A LOT before we moved!) Life is in some ways very different here - the landscape, the accents, the history. And in some ways just the same - the childcare run, working, making dinner, getting out and about at weekends. I loved Australia and I love England. But for your husband I would say that financially the UK wins hands-down for us. And as for shopping - at the risk of sounding incredibly shallow - it's heaven here!! I almost passed out with excitement in Tesco when we first, partly because of how cheap everything was and partly because of the variety. DH was beside himself in Waitrose as he gets a free coffee every day with our clubcard LOL. Good luck with your decision. I know how torturous it can be trying to make the "right" one but honestly, you can't go wrong really with two such lovely countries. `

How exciting @darkstone1975! How is all the packing going? @Cilla it cost us $4489 to ship the three cats, plus rabies vaccinations ($140 each!) plus delivery of £90 in the UK. We could have picked them up from Newcastle airport for free but opted for the lazy (and expensive) delivery option.