AliQ

Hi Dennyboy, I’m sure you have done all those “change of address’s”, just a reminder, don’t forget to tell the Electoral Commission that you leaving, and if you have private heath insurance, you can suspend it for up to two years, which is a good thing to do just in case you did return (it does not cost anything to suspend) Good luck and I wish you well with your move, it’s no mean feat organising a move across that distance !

When we moved states, we offered six months rent up front, no problem and no documents etc. asked for. Agent just happy to have the cash !

Hi Ballaratburd, we lived in Perth for 28 years and loved it. We chose WA because of the weather and the beaches and it suited us to a T. If you are looking for a less busy lifestyle then Perth will suit you. I’m sure you will get loads of replies on your question, everyone will have their own opinion of Perth, but all I can say is we loved living there, loved the quieter lifestyle, and the “isolation” comments you may receive are in my opinion over exagerated.

We were not driven out by any problems, just reached a new stage in life and wanted a change of country after 28 years. We’re retuning to a different state, and already been there to have “a look see”

Sorry to hear about your Mum. We flew our cat to the UK last year, and used JetPets who were fabulous. Yes, it is a lot cheaper to arrange yourself, but there is a lot of paperwork and issues to address. Miss just one piece of paperwork or forget to tick one box etc, you may find your dog is refused entry. Personally, I would never risk it to save some dollars, even though it is a big saving. Also, relocating is such a lot of work, stressful and incredibly busy, I’d leave pet transport to the experts. I wish you well and good luck with whatever you decide to do.

We’ve doing the same as Booma but staying a bit longer. Yes it costs a lot of money going backwards & forwards, but to us it’s money very well spent. When we go back to Aus next year, we both know 100% it’s the right decision.

Thanks richev, yes we plan to buy a new washing machine once there, no way could I last without one till our shipment arrives.

We’re in a similar boat as Marisawright. We’ve tried twice over the past two years to settle back in the UK, but it’s not for us, we ‘re returning to Aus 2020. We love both places so we feel like both are home, but the UK is just not “our place” anymore for many reasons. We only came back really because we were at a new & different stage in our lives and just wanted a change, well, it’s not a change that suits us, but having said, we’re enjoying our time here but it’s a long term prospect anymore.

Hi AussieMike, try the website again, I used my Aussie bank card to pay for our new UK passports and did not have an issue. Supply all the listed documents as requested and you’ll get your UK passport very quickly, it’s a simple process these days. Our new UK passports arrived in just over a week which was very impressive !

Hi Eera, thank you for posting about form F4408. Do you know if having no permanent address or temporary address for a while, increases your car insurance ? Thank you.

Thanks Quoll, yes, also taking our Dyson, it has to be one of the best gadgets ever. Decided not to take our TV and washing machine even though they are only a few months old, as we’ll need those fairly quickly on arrival for our rental, and shipping is too long to wait for for these items. Thanks for the idea of taking a power board, that’s very useful. As we have no children to leave anything to, we’ve de cluttered big time thanks to that book by Marie Kondo. No one will want to clear our house full of “stuff” when that time comes !

Thank you, much appreciated. We have our lists of what to ship and what to sell / donate etc, but interested to know if anyone had that “ wish I’d bought that with me “ moment or “wished I’d left that back in the UK ! “ moment. I tend to cull very strictly so I know we’re not going to be shipping any useless stuff !

To anyone who has recently moved to Australia, is there anything you wished you had shipped ? and is there anything you wished you had left behind ? We’re currently getting removal quotes ( this is our second move, and already done some very serious culling of “ stuff”) but keen to hear from others who have recently moved for fresh ideas. Thank you.

Thank you The Pom Queen - we’ve booked a home visit with PSS and Robinson’s for now.

Hi, has anyone had any recent experience with 1st Move International ? Thank you.

Ah, that's why then. Your initial post inferred you were in Australia, as it was posted under Aussie Chat. Anyone reading your post would presume you were in Australia.

In that case, leave husband behind and just take your lovely dogs & cat !

No, I renewed mine early 2018. I did NOT have to send in my Aussie passport.

Hi Jenny, I can empathise with you on this, we've done some serious "ping ponging" in the last 18 months ! I'd like to suggest a few things to help if I can and please don't close any door's on Australia, not just yet. Regard the move as a "long period of living abroad for a while", your circumstances could change and you may want to return to lovely Queensland. You've been there some time now, have you got an Australian Passport ? if not, I'd suggest getting one before you leave. It is so much easier to get this whilst in Australia, as once in the UK you will have to visit an Australian consulate / mission to get one. If you have private health insurance, just suspend it, do NOT cancel it. You can suspend these polices for two years, sometimes a bit longer depending on which fund you are with. Do some serious de cluttering before you leave, have a garage sale. We shipped majority of our furniture over here, only to find a lot of it would not fit in the cottage ! we ended up selling nearly all of it really cheap just to get rid of it. You mention the UK tax office, I find dealing with any big organisation over here VERY difficult indeed. When we first arrived back here, I thought the UK was quite progressive, but after two episodes of living here, I now think the opposite. As for Brexit , well, ........................ Hope your house sale goes well, feel free to ask me anything else, as I said ,we've ping ponged a bit so got plenty of recent experience with moving between two countries - unfortunately.

rammygirl is correct. I also checked this out with GOV UK.

Love going to cafes where the dog’s are, it’s nice to see them involved in family life and like Toots, we’ll avoid those with noisy unruly children. Many a trip out has been ruined by parents letting their children run around bumping into tables etc and generally just being a nuisance, and the parents never rein them in either. Not ever been offended by a unruly dog !!!!

Hi samlab, thank you for that info. that’s very good to know. We visited the Sunshine Coast earlier this year and loved it.

I’ve been in that position myself many times (us in Perth and family in UK) and never found a policy to cover that. Every policy we looked at clearly stated relatives residing in Australia. If you do come across a policy though do please post back, I’m sure there are many people who would be interested in this.

I agree. Logical to use the 12 day address.

I totally understand your sheer frustration. However, save some patience, you will need bucket loads when you get back here. Dealing with energy suppliers and my internet provider here in the UK have at times reduced me to tears, literally.