Brumbles

I assume the same as dogs ...rabies injection at least 21 days before they fly. Plus being up to date with their normal annual jabs. We have just had our dogs vaccinated. You should be checking out the requirements asap and contacting pet moving companies to check out prices and recommendations.

Empire we are in a similar boat. We have just sold our house in Aus and due to fly back in 20 Jan after being here 10 years. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if we had gone back last year we would have been considerably better off with the exchange rate. But sometimes you just have to bite the bullit and make the best of what you have, which is what we are doing. Good luck with the move back to UK I am sure you will be fine.

Can i ask what area you live in InkBlots as every where we look house prices in the uk seem to be racing ahead again....

Absolutely Chortlepus i wouldn't have changed it for tge world and consider myself very fortunate. We managed to see quite a bit of Australia too so it was a win win...

Chortlepuss I wish we had not sold our house in the UK 10 years ago when we moved out to aussie. We could not decide whethere to sell it or rent it out, we chose to sell it and commit to life in Australia. After 10 years here we are going home to the UK. We have just sold our house here which we bought 8 years ago. We managed to sell for $40,000 more than we paid. We actually put in a pool which cost $50,00 so i guess we lost money. The housing market where we live in Aus is dire and will be returning home to the uk looking at the first time buyer housing market, especially with the weak aussie dollar. I guess at least we did not loose too much on our house and managed to sell in about 5 months. Houses around here are often in the market for a year plus...

Thanks Zack...yes I have already decided to use an agent and im in the process of getting quotes. Who did you use and were you happy with them?

I agree Chortlespuss the humour issue can be a real barrier.... In my experience Australians do err towards the American sense of humour. This is not meant to be a "knock Aussies post" but I do think its easier to strike up a conversation in the uk. Just stand at a bar in a pub or at a bus stop. Somehow Australians are more "closed off" and less approachable. Families, sport and church are massive to a lot of Aussies....

ScottieRoo I couldnt agree more. Our experiences are much the same as yours. The only thing different for me is in my workplace they all bitch about each other too. It is so tiresome, in my 30 years of working in the uk i never came across so many backstabbing colleagues. In our 10 years here we have made few friends. Oddly enough i find australians either really like poms or they treat us with suspicion and contempt. I have made one true Aussie friend out here, which after all this time I think is sad. I truely believe Australians now are more now like Americans...they don't get our sense of humour. Living in a country town means I have few opportunities to mix with "other cultures" but I doubt "other cultures" would be welcomed in my area anyway. When we first avrrived we were full of hope and optimism for our new lives in Australia, however over the years it has been eroded away. We tried living in different areas, different states but we have given up trying and are going back home. We were glad for the opportunity and have some wonderful memories..but its time for our next chapter. Isle of Wight here we come in January 2016...

Thankyou everybody. I think i will use an agent, i am sure it will be less stressful for both my dogs and me. I am assured that even if they do spend time on the ground at Dubai their compartment on the plane remains aircooled. But anyway just in the process of choosing an agent and most seem to use Qantas direct Sydney to Heathrow which is good news.

I know newjez...it seems to tick all the bodes for us. Great beaches, friendly people, decent pubs and a bit of nightlife when we want it.

We have just accepted an offer on our house...so if all goes well with the survey etc we will be heading back late January 2016. We have decided to give the Isle of Wight a go. House prices there seem a bit more reasonable even if the sea travel is a bit expensive. Been there several times to visit and loved it. 10 years in Aus....ready to return to the UK. Cant wait to meet our dogs of the plane.:animal-dog::animal-dog:

Thanks Ruthwin for the info....we just sold the house so we have 8 weeks before going back to the UK. I might use an agent to make it a little less stressful....

Hi Chrisrich 5 did you arrange their return yourself or use an agent?

Has anybody by passed using an agent to ship their dogs from Sydney to Heathrow. Having done some reaearch there seems a lot of info on the web regarding the requirements but i just wanted to know if anyone had done it. I dont want to cause un necessary stress to my doggies but i am happy to do a bit of leg work to save what appears several thousand dollars.

I will be taking our 2 dogs back from sydney to heathrow. I have looked at the Qantas website who have an excellent document which looks like it clearly lays out the requirements of paperwork and vaccinations required. Has anyone else experience of arranging this themselves as it does appear a lot cheaper than using an agent.