Redtop1

Years that count for topping up NI are 2016/17 forward, as that is when the ‘New Pension’ came in. I did this last year and topped up 3 years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. It was round about GBP 3,000 in total to do.

That’s great, just how we felt when we came back in August 2017, still loving it, really settled well in our new home. Dogs love it, nice walks, beaches etc. My husband’s first job didn’t happen, it fell through at the last minute, but that was okay as we are a bit older we factored in a year plus to get a job, plus we had purchased our house so we were committed to an area. So it took a year and two months before he actually became employed, but he only has another 5 years or so to retirement. We still have the ‘it’s good to be back’ feeling, we will go back to Australia for a holiday towards the end of 2020 to see friends and family, but enjoyed the experience of living in Australia but feel happier and more relaxed being back in the UK.

I shipped my two miniature poodles from Adelaide to Heathrow beginning of August 2017. My vet in Lewiston, put me in touch with a fabulous guy Ian Liddle of Animal Travel, his quote was competitive. I felt we received a more personal service and nothing was too much trouble. My dogs journey was a breeze, they overnighted in Dubai and then flew next day to Heathrow and arrived late evening, cleared customs and vet check and had a night in the kennels at the ARC and were ready for pick up the next morning. They were totally unfazed by their experience. Let me know if you want any further details.

I asked my vet who he would use, he was an AQIS approved vet and also a dog breeder as well and often ships dogs. He gave me a recommendation of a local guy in Adelaide who I used and had excellent service bringing our two dogs to the UK. He was about the same price as Dogtainers and Jetpets, but didn’t feel we were just a number on their sales tally. I wouldn’t have found out about him if I hadn’ asked my vet as he didn’t advertise or have a website and seemed to work mainly shipping for dog breeders.

Nijallo, good to hear you are back and settling well. Also good to hear that you dogs were fine, mine were in shock when they first saw ‘the white stuff’ and after being out in it once decided they weren’t going out in it again, So they thought..... Good luck with the house purchase and getting a job. To be honest I have not noticed the winter, have just been enjoying the glorious green countryside, old buildings and history and friendly, helpful people. Time has just whizzed passed. Best of luck.

We moved moved from SA to the UK in August last year were flexible with regards to where we would buy a house. We ended up buying on the outskirts of Yeovil on the Dorset/Somerset border and moved into our house in October. We have the choice of Sherborne (has a Waitrose and Sainsburys) and Yeovil offers (Tesco, Asda and Morrison’s) and 2 Lidl for food shopping as opposed to just Coles, Woolworths, Foodland and Aldi in SA. We can get to the beach within about 30 minutes, Dorchester is about 20-25 minutes. So this area ticks the boxes for us but it wasn’t on the radar when we left Australia. Hospital, GP and dentists good. We found house prices here reasonable compared to other areas we looked at in Wilts/Dorset/Devon. We love the area and are Happy to be back? Good luck with your plans.

Nijallo you sound like you are all sorted? Good luck with you move to the UK.

Thought I ‘d just reply to this one, been busy decorating new house so haven’t popped into here for a while. Finding somewhere as a short term rental was my biggest worry, especially as we were due to arrive in the UK in the height of the holiday season August and we had two dogs. We were extremely flexible as to location I looked on Gumtree there were a few places that I tried but couldn’t convince 5hem to accept dogs which I fully understand). So I just put a wanted add on Gumtree in various areas, along the lines of ‘couple with two extremely well behaved non shedding dogs looking for short term rental’. We were fortunate in that an letting agent saw it and contacted us, it was a bit nerve racking as we only had 4 weeks to find somewhere before we were due to arrive. We did in fact have another letting agent contact us a week after we got to the UK that also had a property this second one was in Bournemouth. Hope this helps.

When we register with a GP the receptionists were like a pair of Rottweilers! We had to show ID we used UK driving licenses and also a utility bill we used our councilrates bill. We were told that they don’t contact Australia for medical history, they said they would contact our previous UK doctors (11years since we left so old records!!). I obtained 6 months worth of prescription medication before leaving Australia because I didn’t know how long it would take for us to get our permanent house. The receptionist also told us that the Nurse Practioner deals with the initial appointment and she would decide if we could make an appointment to see a GP. After much discussion we got appointments with a GP, but on the morning of the appointment the surgery rang and cancelled them, they did offer an alternative in the week before Christmas a and we had a lot of trades people scheduled to work on our house. I have now been to the surgery and seen two different more pleasant and accommodating receptionists and arranged new appointments to see a GP. So to date I haven’t seen a GP yet, but have received PAP test, Bowel Cancer Screening kit and Breast Screen appointment from the NHS. I know this doesn’t help your situation but it what I have found so far and reserve my judgement until I actually get to see a GP! So this is my experience thus far, I am in Somerset.

We had a similar problem when we came back in August. Some car hire companies don’t allow you to carry dogs, although saying that I know people who have ignored this. We had our own car which we collected the day before the dogs arrived, our dogs left Adelaide the same day as us, but we had them kennelled overnight in Dubai, then as they arrived in Heathrow in the afternoon we had them kennelled overnight at the ARC. In August the Animal Reception Centre was taking 9 hours to clear customs, it was a really busy place, my advice would be to check this out as there isn’t much to do in that area. As for the dog travel crates we were asked on collection of the dogs if we wanted our crates - what we did was to unscrewed the plastic clips so the crates were in two halves and stacked the 4 sections (2 crates), so they only took the space up of one crate. We have a large estate car. I have 2 miniature poodles and they were in PP70 size.

We have been back 2 months now, didn't realise how happy I would be to be back. Our two dogs travelled well, did an overnight in Dubai then onto Heathrow next day, we knew it was taking for animal 8-9 hours to clear customs so boarded them there for the night and collected then the next day. They were happy, clean and not at all smelly on collection. Just as well as it was a Friday and we were travelling down to Devon in the height of the holiday season in August (Unfortunately, it was the worst traffic jams and Road works, normal journey about 3 hours, it too nearly 7). We booked a cottage near Dartmouth for 3 months, such a friendly village, the dogs go most places with us, they have been on a bus, most pubs allow them in the bar when you go for a pub lunch, one even had a dog bar with bowls of water and treats. We have found a house in Somerset to buy and we will be completing and moving in on Monday 2nd October, (5 weeks from initial viewing as we are cash buyers) our container (40 foot high top) with our car and belonging is due to be delivered Wednesday/Thursday 4/5th. We had planned to spend a few weeks decorating whilst my husband started his job hunting in earnest, but unbelievably he was contacted last week by an agency, had an interview and is due to start his new job on Monday 9th! Our weekly food shopping is a lot cheaper and a far wider choice, car insurance also a lot cheaper. I have no problem getting an NHS Dentist in the area we are moving to and could have had an appointment within 3 days, but need to wait until 6th October due to moving. It has been a lot of work and organising, but we started the process getting the house and garden ready forsale and decluttering in May. Organised the real estate agent and put the house on the market 3 days before we left on our previously booked holiday in UK for the month of June, our house sold within a couple of days of going on the market and we were in the UK knowing we only had 4 weeks when we got back to Australia to organise everything including selling our car, seaside block of land, dogs, shipping, UK short term rental that would take 2 dogs, buying a car in UK! We achieved it all, I still pinch myself, so just need next week to go to plan! Will do an update in 6 months, see how we get through winter etc. It is great to be back home.

We got a second TOR with a different number as well. We tried both of the email addresses as well due to the first one didn't receive a confirmation email once sent. So we assumed it wasn't working and sent another one through to the other email address!

Hi, We applied for our TOR on 1 July and have received it today. Still got things to sell, dropped prices as it seems only low value items selling, we have also got a car to sell and have dropped the price on that. Everything else booked and ready to go. Chess packing 27 & 28 and collecting 31 July, settlement 1 August. Dogs being collected 1 August and going to kennels ready to fly on the 2 arriving 3 and being staying in kennels at Heathrow ready for collection on Friday 4. We fly evening 1 August, planning to buy a car in between picking the dogs up. Have managed to get a short term rental in Devon for 3 months, job market a bit slow over there due to summer holidays so hopefully a couple of jobs that were put on hold till whilst we were over there in June will spring back into life after the holiday period. Got a couple of areas in mind with regards to house purchase Dorset/Wiltshire areas, but depends on what jobs come up! Not had a good nights sleep since we got back from the UK at the end of June! Too much to think about and organise! So far all is going well.

Anyone got any suggestions regarding short term furnished rentals in the UK that aware dog friendly. Everything has been going so well, house sold, got quotes for shipping and dogs, but have just hit a brick wall on short term house rental - we are looking for approx 3 months. I have tried Gumtree and even put wanted ads on for anything in Dorset, Hampshire or Wiltshire. Everything seems to be for student let's (time of year) and it is one thing that didn't cross my mind. Our house settles on 1 August and we were hoping to go to UK the next day. Any advise pointers would be welcome.

Our house sold within a week of being put on the market, cash buyer and settlement 1 August. We have also sold one car, one more to sell nearer time we depart. Our Jaguar which we brought over from the UK will be shipped back and have had quotes and will be going with Chess 40ft container. Dogs have had their rabbies injections and have got crates for them. We are currently in the UK on holiday been here since beginning of June, flying back tomorrow. OH has been talking to recruitment agencies etc and a couple of promising things on the go. Have managed to narrow down the area we want to settle in Dorset/Wiltshire/Hampshire but depends on work. Once we we get back will finish selling items we are not taking back, and get shipping dates for car etc, dogs and our return booked. We have friends in UK assisting with locating a short term rental, will try and get an holiday let for the first few days, purchase a car. So we have a lot to get on with once we get back, but have had a fantastic holiday with time spent in Gibraltar, a barn rental in the beautiful Hartland in North Devon, visiting family in Plymouth and Wiltshire. Can't wait to get on with it!

We are in this situation as well, the decision is made we are going back to the UK. We have been in Adelaide for 11 years, both been made redundant 3 times, within months of each other so we are both out of work together! Had enough, the unemployment rate in SA has gone up again now 7% and that is before the Holden closure. Jobs for my husband only come up once a twice a year. We came here to work and contribute, but we can't carry on like this. There appears to be plenty of jobs advertised in the UK so with heavy heart we will be packing up and going back. In June we will be going over for a month which is a holiday which was already planned, can use this to see what job opportunities there are. We don't mind where we live within reason - not London or the South East too expensive and too busy and we have been there and done that previously. Just decluttering and planning stage at the moment getting the house ready to put on the market, tidy garden up etc. Then get quotes for moving and shipping our car (which came over from the UK) back and of course the two dogs. We kept our UK bank accounts and a credit card, although we sold our house, we were fortunate enough to be able to leave the money in GBP off shore. Hopefully it won't take too long and I am focussed on getting back in time for Christmas 2017. We were over for Christmas and New Year 2015 and had a great time, it was like Christmas is supposed to be. Christmas in Australia has always seemed odd to us. So some busy and probably frustrating times ahead, then new beginnings again!! I am new to site so i hope I am putting things in the right place!

Thank you, it is going to take a while to get sorted out and sold up here, but we will do it one step at a time. We are fortunate in that we still have UK bank accounts and a credit card. I just heard on the radio today that the unemployment rate has just gone up to 7% in South Australia. We just want to get our house sold before Holden shuts down.

HI, I am new to this forum but thought our experiences of living here were worth sharing. We built our home in Adelaide 15 years ago and had to get Foreign Inestment Board Approval, initially it was our holiday home. We both had sick, ailing aged parents in UK and also good jobs, so we visited Adelaide a couple of times a year and had family local to our house keep an eye on it. This worked well for us. Sadly our parents passed away in a short period of time. We decided that we would move to Australia permanently, my husbands job was on the skills shortage list and within 18 months we were approved (2006) we sold up in the UK and came over with our two dogs. Husband got a job immediately, I stayed at home for about a year to short out arrival of furniture, cars and the dogs. We also had other work done on the house and when this was completed I set about getting a job. In in short we were happy and soon settled into our new life. Better job opportunities came along and life was great. Then 2010 I was made redundant, followed within weeks my husband lost his job, we both found it difficult to get new jobs as I was now 56 and encountered agism, my husband found it hard to get a job as there are only one or two jobs in his field that come up a year. He did get a job and after a year I got a job, it took us a couple of years to get back to where we were before redundancy. THen bang out of the blue I got made redundant (I was a couple of months from my 60th birthday, so I was pretty devastated and felt written off), 4 months later my husband was made redundant - this was 2014 and now we were feeling rather unsettled. We put a plan into place giving him 6 months to get a job, if he didn't, we were going to sell up and go back to the UK, we started to declutter to set ourselves up in readiness, we got to nearly the end of the six months and had arranged an appointment to sign up with to put the house on the market the following Monday. The next day a job came up he applied by the end of the week he had a job, it was 'the job he always wanted', he accepted, he was happy, life was good again. We quickly setttled back into enjoying life here I was even given the opportunity of going back to my old job which I took up, we were back on track again. We only had planned to do 10 more year and then retire and move back to the UK. In December 2016 I was told my job was to finish again! At the beginning of April my husband was made redundant! We were both devastated. We have had enough, we are selling up and moving back to the UK, there are jobs there for him to go for. We will miss our friends, our family that was in Adelaide has mainly gone now to other states as they don't see a future for themselves or kids in SA. We are sad that it has finally come to this. On the positives, at least my husband can go back to the UK and get his NI contributes to get a full pension, When I get mine in 2019 I won't have to worry about currency fluctuation. The exchange rate is in our favour for returning, We had a holiday booked to UK in June, so it will be an opportunity to see what jobs there are, we will be flexible on where we live over there within reason, so all will be good. We have been back regularly and have seen things on the up in our last 3-4 visits. LIfe is what you make it and when we came to Oz we were only going to live on earned income, no income, no stay. Onto the next adventure! Sorry this has turned out so long.