EvieV

Know it well. We holidayed at Calamansac for years.

My parents are on the Helford River which is beautiful and so quiet outside of school holidays!

They've just gone back for a holiday. My husband has a lot of clients in SE Asia so he's able to work in a better timezone, my son (Year Eight) isn't going back to school till September so is on his 3rd month of home-schooling, and my daughter (Year 11) has finished school, her GCSEs having been cancelled. Makes so much sense for them to be returning and staying with their Aussie family for 2 months in a considerably more Covid-safe country.

Unfortunately my favourite dog-walking beach is only accessible from Exmouth where all the problems have been so we've been sticking to local woodlands lately, although we may venture to Dartmoor soon to explore some creeks. The family are just visiting although I expect my 13-year-old surfer son won't want to return after 2 months in Sydney

We're actually just a couple of miles out of Exeter so we can escape via the M5 or airport (when it's open!). Some of the villages here are very insular, we've found.

I miss swimming in the warm ocean! I've only swum twice here in the last 18 months and to be honest, I wouldn't be going anywhere near the beaches at the moment - what I've seen on social media of crowds stacked up so close together on a tiny stretch of beach looks just horrendous. Coincidentally, my husband and children are back in Australia now. They're on day 3 of a 14-day mandatory quarantine in a Sydney hotel but we decided it was worth the effort as it's been such a miserable 3 months here in the UK and with the kids not going back to school till September, why not?! Moving just before a global pandemic has unfortunately not benefited our family at all, especially when they see the life they left behind in Australia has been barely affected.

Thanks for posting this update. We're in Devon, having moved from Sydney's Central Coast 16 months ago. Like you, we opted to choose somewhere relatively similar in terms of outdoors lifestyle, with surf beaches and beautiful landscapes around us. We live in a 200-year-old thatch and cob house with sloping floors and low ceilings. In Sydney, we were in an open-plan brick house with a pool ... It's been a tricky move with teenage children and the current lockdown hasn't helped but on the whole, we're enjoying life here. Cornwall is beautiful - my parents live there. It was just too far off the beaten track for us to consider a move there though.

Can I ask how long it took to receive this text, from the Sydney biometric appointment? Was it spouse visa? We're also waiting - 9 weeks now.

Has anyone used Hanrob kennels before? Our dog is staying there for a few days courtesy of Jetpets, prior to his flight from Sydney to London, but I'm a bit concerned that it will be a really noisy and stressful environment for him. He's a very nervous dog at the best of times.

Just wondering if anyone has applied for a spouse visa to the UK, then paid $95 at the VFS Global biometric testing centre to keep their passport while the visa application is processed? We have been advised that the turnaround time for a spouse visa is 10 weeks (if we pay for a priority application). Has anyone applied for the visa, paid the fee to keep hold of their Aussie passport, travelled to the UK on said passport as a tourist and then returned to collect the visa 10 weeks later?

We decided to move back 5 months ago. Sold the house in 9 days and that has been the hardest part so far - getting the house ready, tarting it up, decluttering, organising shippers, pet transport etc. Now we're just waiting for settlement & for the children to finish school. We leave on 30th Dec, 6 months from having made the decision.

Read with interest as we're about to do the same: ship our belongings, dog, 2 children ... to the UK after 19 years in Oz. Have rented a holiday cottage for 3 months until our shipping container arrives but was hoping to buy a house in that time so that everyone could be settled quickly. Will look into a Halifax mortgage ... can anyone recommend any others? The coffee may be bad but I bet their cream teas are better than the cream-in-a-can "Devonshire" ones on offer here...

This is us too right now. Replacing carpets tomorrow then the real estate photos are scheduled for Tuesday. Grateful for a long weekend in which to declutter, although I'm sure I'll be in for a few tense negotiations with the kids over what is actually "essential" and "non-essential" bedroom items ... Kazla, I too have a 15 year old whose birthdate is one month off the cut-off date for current Year 10 so she should technically be going into UK Year 11. (She's currently in Australian Year 9 and has been at the same school since kindy). I've spoken to a few schools in the UK about her joining the year below her chronological year group - the majority of them have the infuriating "computer says no" attitude. However, two have agreed that to join Year 11 from overseas in January, then sit GCSEs in May is madness and will allow her to join Year 10. You will need to contact the schools individually and then apply to the County Council (if going state) no more than 8 weeks before you want your child to start.

We're using a holiday company (bluechipholidays.co.uk) to search for a long-term let, but then we have the benefit of moving to a holiday spot area in low season so there's more to choose from. Plus you don't have to worry about registering with utilities/council tax etc as it's all inclusive.

Hoping someone can recommend some study books for UK Year 10? We're moving back to the UK early next year and my daughter will be sitting a grammar school entrance exam for entry to Year 10. Does anyone know of any maths & English books I can buy online to help her prepare for the test & the different syllabus?

TazG has the UK school allowed your Year 12 to "repeat" a year? I'm moving back in February with a current Year 9 - but although her birthday falls just 5 weeks outside the cut-off date for Year 10, the school we're interested in has said she would have to go into Year 11 and sit GCSEs just a couple of months later. Another school says they will allow her to go back a year - but only if she passes the entrance exam.

I got quotes from Jetpets and Dogtainers just recently to send a Labrador from Sydney to London & they came in at $4745 and $5290.

Just stating my own personal circumstances in answer to the question. I actually applied for citizenship before we even decided to head back to England (which was only a few weeks ago). The reason being I had no vote in either country as I've been away from the UK for more than 15 years (almost 19 years here in Australia). Having been accepted, it's frustrating to have to wait so long for the official ceremony but not the end of the world for me as I have permanent residency anyway.

Enduro, have you received a letter to say you've been accepted as a citizen & that you're just now waiting for your ceremony date? Or have you not even got the letter of approval yet? I phoned the Dept of Immigration and my local council last week to chase mine up.... My story is: Applied for citizenship late September 2017. Received the "receipt of application" email 8th November 2017. Sat the knowledge test late December 2017. Received the approval letter 5th May 2018. Still waiting for a ceremony date.... According the the Dept of Immigration, it takes on average 17 months from receipt of application to citizenship ceremony, which personally is incredibly frustrating as I'm moving back to the UK in January 2019 and am not on the next two months' ceremony lists so am really hoping it happens in Nov/Dec otherwise it'll be too late.

Hi Livvy, I'm afraid I can't offer any financial advice but just wanted to say it's very brave of you to reach out here for help. It sounds like you've been through a dreadful time and you now need to do what's best for you, mentally and emotionally - which is to return to the UK. I'm sorry to hear about your sons but hopefully you can create a new family bond with your husband's side. I really hope you can get some advice about pensions from somebody on here and best of luck with your (hopefully) new start.

Oh that's great to know. Thanks!

Thanks for the info - will come in handy when we return & need a mortgage early next year. Does anyone know roughly how long it takes on average to buy a property in the UK? When I bought & sold over 20 years ago, it was 6 months from offer to settlement - double the time it takes in Oz.

I can relate to your excitement! Where in the South West? We're moving to South Devon next February. I'm planning on a trip over in November to do a schools & houses reccy. Been here 19 years & for me, it's just time (also pushing 50!) There's more to life than beautiful beaches, which is the only benefit to living here imho ... Do you have children that are moving with you?

I've been getting some quotes as we're in the same boat; moving back early next year after 19 years away so will be following your post intently. 1. I started my citizenship application last October. I have just been approved and am waiting for my citizenship ceremony - likely August. Add passport processing time onto that and it'll have taken 11-12 months from start to finish. 2. The average quote has come in at around $8,500 door-to-door (Central Coast NSW to Devon). 4. Our 27kg Labrador is costing between $4700 and $5300, depending on whether we drop her off and pick her up ourselves. 7. As I understand it, if you don't become a citizen then you can cash in your super when you leave.

Thank you all for your responses. We plan to move to Devon so I've emailed the admissions department there (as I also want my daughter - a July baby - to go down a year - as she'll need to catch up on the GCSE syllabus.). Arriving mid-year complicates things a bit as according to the local authority website, we can't apply any earlier than 2 months before we want them to enrol (as if we don't have enough to organise around then lol!). But according to online reports, the secondary school was not oversubscribed this year and neither are the 2 primaries we are interested in; the beauty of moving to the sticks! I'll probably have to fly over 2 months before our move to have a proper look around the schools and organise the applications. Thanks, LKC, for your advice re rentals. I had thought about 'camping out' for a few weeks on a couple of airbeds and knowing someone else has done it with a couple of kids and survived gives me hope! Any money we can save on renting is a bonus as I really hope we will be able to buy a property after 6 months. Just got to hope there's a rental which suits our needs (we're bringing our dog over too) & is available then!