annym

Thank you for that suggestion - I honestly never thought of that! It's a brilliant idea.

I am returning to the UK on October 29th. and as yet have nowhere to live and my dog and cat return 2 weeks after me. I have been searching on Gumtree UK, Zoopla, Rightmove, you name it, I've been on the site; lots of the places allow pets but require my presence before I move in. I have no-one in England to view properties for me, very limited funds, no car to drive around in yet, absolute disaster. Originally we were going to stay with my step-mother to allow me time to leisurely look around but a few weeks ago she said that I couldn't stay. I honestly have no idea who to turn to for help; I tried emailing 3 different county councils in the areas where I would like to live but they all said that I should contact them once I got there! Obviously they didn't read my email! I even contacted the Salvation Army but they never replied. If anyone has any suggestions, positive ones, please, or know of any private rental properties in Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, South or West Wales with 2 bedrooms and a garden, would they please let me know?

I used Dogtainers to bring my Airedale terrier and Siamese cat here in 2009 and not only did they charge an arm and a leg, their response time to my queries was rather lax; once I knew approximately when I was going back home with both the animals, I actually sent out about 12 emails to different pet travel companies for quotes with markedly different responses, and 3 companies didn't bother to reply at all. I don't think that I should name them here. I decided to go with Petraveller in the end because their quote was really good, they replied within 1 day and they have kept in touch since with lots of advice and support. I found that the quotes varied considerably, some by up to $2,000 which certainly coloured my judgement. It helped that I have still got the wooden crates that were made for them in England but I was annoyed that 2 of the companies suggested that the crates wouldn't meet 'Australian' standards. Well, it made me chuckle when I stopped being annoyed, hahaha.

I have never heard of the 5 day rule, an urban myth maybe? Here is Petraveller's website: http://www.petraveller.com.au/ Lenny Thomas is the man who I am in communication with and he has been terrific from the beginning. When I was researching for pet transport companies, I emailed over 9 companies and Petravellers was the first to reply and in fact I only got 4 replies in total; obviously the others don't need the business, hahaha.:confused:

kiwiinaus, what you say resonates so much with me. I am new on this forum as I only started posting today despite signing up in July, 2015. I fly out of here at the end of October and am also really, really excited. Every day I say to myself 'Not Much Longer' - it is my mantra, it is what keeps me going every day. I hate Australia so much and have become more and more disenchanted every day - Not Much Longer! My Permanent Residency visa ran out in January and I decided that the cost of renewing it was a waste of money, money which could better be used somewhere else. My oldest son is angry with me but my youngest son is really laid back about it. I doubt very much that either of them will forgo upgrading to a newer mobile phone or the latest Playstation game and instead buy a plane ticket to come to England to see me but it is time to think of myself for the first time in my life. Thank you for your posts. Incidentally, what part of the word 'permanent' means temporary?? As in Permanent Residency? I thought that it meant permanentally.

I am leaving Adelaide on October 28th. (hurray!) and originally my Airedale terrier and Siamese cat were returning on the same plane but circumstances have arisen which make it impossible for all 3 of us to land at Heathrow on the same day so they both fly out 2 weeks later than me. It is going to cost an extra $149.00 but it is worth it. If I haven't managed to find anywhere to rent, then they will be boarded at kennels at Heathrow arranged by Petraveller who are handling their move back home from here.

newjez, I was diagnosed with cancer middle of last year, surgery and chemotherapy over with, now time to go home to England. Hope everything is alright for you.

wow, your post bought tears to my eyes, Rainman, and I also kept nodding my head whilst reading it. I am so excited because I am finally moving back home to England at the end of October and bringing my Airedale and Siamese with me. The only things that I will miss when I leave Australia are my two sons who have sort of settled here - well one has and the other one hasn't, he has the Union Jack and Liverpool FC, (yes, I know, why THAT club and not Manchester City!) emblazoned on everything in his house! We originally emigrated here in 1985, my other half, my mum and our 3 children, the youngest was only 3 years old, the next one up was 11 and the oldest was 13. All 3 children endured 'pom bashing' all through school which really infuriated me as their parents, grand-parents etc all came here from somewhere else! All of us, apart from my husband, realised that we had made a huge mistake after only 3 or 4 months and my mother was particularly unhappy but my husband perfectly fitted into the 'okker' male, macho type and loved everything about life here. The problem with being so far away from England was the isolation from friends and family; my mother sadly died here in 1997 but I sent her ashes to England and when I finally get home, I will scatter them over the sea at Whitby as she always loved it there. My dad died in England and I couldn't spend time with him before he died. I am counting down the days until I step back on English soil. This is my first post here on this forum and I am really needing some help to find a place to rent when I get back. This may not be the right area to ask for help.