AliQ

8 hours ago, Vickie78 said:

Money, I woke up last night thinking shit what if cards don't work when we get there (Will be telling the bank of course) Surely I should take some cash with me? Just in case. How much can you take into the UK without raising eyebrows? 

Hi Vickie78, when we moved back a few months ago, I bought a few £ at the airport (about 100 ) just to have some cash in our pockets when we landed, then used our Australian credit cards everywhere until our UK bank account was set up and working.

I transferred money to pay off the credit card using online banking via the banking app every few days like I would do anyway in Australia, so did not pay any interest or any extras. Easy.

16 hours ago, Linda C said:

Thanks for that AliQ.  I have spoken to Linda at Kent earlier in the year but will need to get an updated quote.  This is all so stressful!   Glad your move went well and I hope you've settled back in the UK and are happy?  

Hi Linda, thank you, yes we're happy and thoroughly enjoying our time back here in the UK, however, doubt we will stay long term though.

For us, day to day life in Australia is a better option.

10 hours ago, Linda C said:

Hi Robe.   I'm in the process of moving back to the UK too.  The TOR1 form was fairly straightforward: just have to make sure you have everything you need as you can't save as you go. 

Whilst on this thread,  can anyone recommend a shipping agent going from Perth to Kent area of UK.   I'm liaising with Grace Removals at the moment,  but they are mucking me about.   Thanks.  

When we moved from Perth last year to the UK we used KENT Removals.

This was the only company that appeared to know what they were talking about, kept the appointment and were extremely organised.

On packing and uplift day, it went like clockwork, we were very impressed with the quality of their service. And their price was one  cheapest quotes too.

Good luck with your move.

20 hours ago, Skye said:

Perth is very isolated due to its location. I find it very behind the rest of Australia. It's health system is not that good and the laws here are colonial.

It's not easy living here in Perth worse if you feel isolated you are not alone. We must makes choices to be happy I guess home is where the heart is.

Yes, Perth may be considered isolated by some, but that is also part of its charm for a lot of people.

It's health system, based on my experience is excellent and progressive. However, there are good & bad areas in every area of every country in the world, so it's unfair to say "It's health system is not that good".  Trying to book a GP appointment here in the UK is frustrating AND difficult !   In Perth we were always able to see a GP on the day we phoned, or allowed to book ahead for any day that suited us.

"and the laws here are colonial"  well, not sure where you are living in Perth, but after 28 years of living there and now in the UK for a while, we find the exact opposite.

Maybe Perth is just not for you, we all have different points of view, likes & dislikes, and if it just does not feel right for you, then it probably is'nt.

I wish you well, and hope you get to enjoy lovely Perth.

1 hour ago, Freo81 said:

It's Movecube day for us on Friday! We're all packed and itemised, but have had to go with a medium instead of a small as it's too close to call. This now means that we will have some space in the cube.

What tips do people have about items to stockpile that are particularly expensive in Oz? I recall reading a thread about nappies a while ago but we won't be needing those (yet).

Anything else like this that people can advise so we can make as much use of the space as possible?

Thanks!

Towels and pillows.

We actually think the UK is expensive for most things compared to Australia,  except cholcoate.

Hi Davo453,

Thank you for taking the time to post your experience.

We aim to move back early next year so reading your experience is helping me make decisions on what and what not to take.

Thank you.

2 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

How is that even legal?  Surely there must be some trading standards equivalent in Australia at state level?

Not sure. But, as we had a cat due to fly over on a set date, we felt under pressure to secure a place to live BEFORE we arrived, hence searching the internet for homes that would allow pets, and that was a real challenge !
If our circumstances had not changed (we had to leave) we would have certainly refused to move in.
We had a lucky escape.

 

On 01/10/2019 at 02:57, calNgary said:

It really isnt wise to sign up to a 6mth rental house until you are here and have viewed it, so many homes are nothing like the photos on line so always worth seeing with your own eyes before committing.

As already advised, DO NOT RENT before viewing. We secured a rental before arriving earlier this year  - on arrival, we were shocked, it was awful and nothing like the photo's.

"Luckily" for us, our circumstances changed within two months, so we were able to vacate early and get all our money back. 

1 hour ago, KFR said:

Hi all, just wanted to hear peoples opinion on taking out the insurance when shipping furniture / goods.

A) Do people think it's worth paying for the insurance?

B) Has anyone had their items damaged or lost? Like is something that is likely to happen?

 

We’ve done two big household moves, and did not take out insurance on either move.

We felt that if our container sunk in the sea, we could accept that as we have nothing of any real value really, just stuff, and it was a gamble we were prepared to take.

Nothing major was broken, a glass here or there, and that was it.

Considering the cost of insurance and the excess / small print conditions attached to these types of policies, it was a risk we were prepared to take, but like all insurances, you need to weigh up the risk to yourself versus the benefits.

3 hours ago, Lee Blowers said:

We are moving back to England after 13 years in Brisbane  !!

When we ship are items back are you charged on weight or volume or both ???

Look forward to replys 

Shipping is by volume. You can share a container, or have one to yourself, all depends on the volume you are shipping.

On 27/09/2019 at 02:51, llessur said:

Fixed it.

IIessur, I’m very impressed with your map, brilliant idea to do that for folk on this forum, well done.

Just need someone to do one for the Sunshine Coast !

9 hours ago, Senfield said:

We are having a trip home for Christmas and planning will commence in the new year to make our return. Any advice warmly received 

A return to the UK first can be extremely useful, as we are finding out second time around ! But it does all depend on your own individual circumstances such as money, children, age etc etc. Yes, it does cost, but to us it’s been money well spent.

I think it is also relevant on how long you have been away from the UK, because if you have been away a very long time, then you will find the UK a very very different place.

4 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

Save yourself some money and just go back if you are serious about it. Why go on a holiday first? It costs a heap that you might need later.

50 minutes ago, KGWragg said:

Hello.

just to thank you all for the help/ advice we received in the UK before leaving for ADELAIDE.we are now settled and would like to ask the community the following? How can we find out the Transfer Rate of our Retirement State Pension from the UK that we receive monthly, it’s paid into our Australian Bank but we never know what rate we get when it leaves the UK. Would appreciate your help/ advice, again thank you for your help that you gave us prior to leaving the UK.

K.G.W.

 

It will vary each month as per the exchange rate of the market at that time, and the actual  time of transfer into your bank, impossible to know ahead of time.

1 hour ago, starlight7 said:

If you can survive a Winter and things start to improve I would stay. Otherwise start to plan your return. Having a bit of a map of where you want to be in the future will help - much better than uncertainty.

Try a winter here like starlight7 suggests, it will certainly help you decide.

For us, we prefer the UK during the winter rather than the summer.

Summer to us equals crowds, traffic and just sheer congestion at every turn. It's no fun leaving your front door ,especially during school holidays.

8 hours ago, Marisawright said:

 I loved living in Sydney (can't afford it now) but I wouldn't live in Perth if you paid me - yet I know people who think exactly the opposite. 

We LOVED Perth, lived there for 28 years, and only left because I took early retirement to spend time with hubby, we wanted a change, and to travel. 

But as Marisawright says, each state is so very very different - you need to do some homework and see what each state has to offer you and your child.

8 hours ago, Jemvin said:

feeling confused.... which I’m sure is totally normal. Myself (British) and my Aussie partner and 3 yr old son moved back in June. Mostly because I have struggled missing family etc didn’t want to have another child far away after having terrible post natal problems. and felt like it was best to do it before staring school etc, my partner was never keen but always said he would. Also my dads health hasn’t been great so I never wanted to have regrets. But he is also an alcoholic, we stayed with my parents to start before we could find somewhere to live. But my meant to be sober father was drinking and turns nasty on us and gave us no choice to leave, after 6 weeks of living with friends we are now in a rental. Quite small, old £1000 a month in rent. My partner selling cars and with no experience but couldn’t find s job in home sales which is what he done in Aus earning a high income. We are feeling stressed and missing our home in Aus. I know it’s early days but it hasn’t gone how Imagined at all. I don’t want to give up so easily and the thought of possible being stuck in Aus does scare me too. I know my partner would fly home tomorrow if he could and he is constantly complaining about everything daily which is also taking its toll on me. Sorry for the rant I guess I’m seeking some kind of reassurance or stories  from others 

I know exactly how you feel, been there, done that ( still doing it ! ) and there is no easy answer unfortunately.

However, and this is just my personal opinion,  I think for day to day living then life in Australia beats the UK by far. It was suggested that you stay through a winter here, good idea as that will certainly help sort out your feelings, and if you have to go to work in the frost and snow, that will certainly help you decide !

And, as for moving back for family, I never think that is a sufficient reason alone for moving back to the UK, unless you have many other reasons for wanting to stay in the UK like a good job etc, and I speak from personal experience on that. Being apart from family at times of crisis is very hard to deal with, I’ve had enormous feelings of guilt on that front, but that is part and parcel of life when we all decide to emigrate.

I don’t see it as “giving up” at all, moving back to the UK is not always what you think it would be like, even if you were born and bred here. Trouble is, once one has tasted life in Australia, it makes this type of decision hard, it will always have a pull on you I think.

I wish you lots of luck.

2 hours ago, Sadge said:

The search continues.

Hi Sadge, www.covermore.co.uk  will cover you for one way travel from UK to AU.

We used them when we went back to AU earlier this year, in fact we're used Covermore in both the UK and AU for all our trips (one way's and return's) as we found them particularly good for covering pre existing conditions.

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

For some people, going back for frequent holidays can be counter-productive because it keeps reminding you of your old life.  

VERY strongly agree. Also returning for holidays is NOTHING like living in the UK.

We're about four months into our nine month " another trial of living in the UK" and finding life here VERY frustrating to say the least. Trying to communicate with utilities and communication companies is shocking.

However, we are enjoying our time here and it's always what you make of it yourself anyway. But, if we had to work then no way would we consider re settling in the UK, just could not face the traffic & crowds during the bad winter weather trying to get for work for 07.00 in a morning (in the medical profession which involves shift work)

2 hours ago, Sadge said:

Could you please post a link?  I've googled insure4less and none of the entries appear to actually direct you to the company - rather information about the company.

I found the same.  Looks like the UK branch is no longer in business ?

I’ve always used Covermore here in the UK and Australia.

2 hours ago, bug family said:

wow...that is a fair old wedge of income just on council tax, are you down south by any chance? ..the fuel price seems to be around what I figured it would be though

Hi, no we're not down south. In Derbyshire. There are eight council tax bands where we are (A to H) and we are band C, so lots of folk will be paying much more than us.

4 hours ago, bug family said:

And right there is a good enough reason to move back

A pack of 12 Milky Way's is just £2.50 !!!!

4 hours ago, bug family said:

Interesting...can you give approximate examples of how much for each on average, as I have been away for some 8 years I expected there to be an increase, but in general as I remembered the UK always was cheaper, apart from the fuel I think, but even that is expensive here in Australia now

Hi, where we are currently renting, our council tax is £1,590.00 a year, today I saw petrol (unleaded) at £1.29 a litre ,and what we paid in £ for our new car (Ford Fiesta, base model) was similar in price to what we paid for a VW Tiguan, good spec, just one year ago in Perth.

2 hours ago, nikci said:

cost of living is extremely high

1 hour ago, bug family said:

way more expensive to live here

Interesting to see these comments. As recent arrivals back to the UK, we currently find the opposite.

Our Council Tax here is nearly double compared to our Council Rates in Perth, petrol is very expensive, cars are ridiculously expensive, and as for gas & electric - don't start me on that !!!

But chocolate is so cheap here, never seen such big bars / packets at such a low price - and it's always on "special" too. 

2 minutes ago, Siamozzer said:

Hi everyone,

I know some will think we're mad for even having four cats in the first place, never mind trying to cart them all the way to Brisbane (it's a long story, two were planned, two weren't), but that's another topic! 

We had a move to Sydney planned in 2011 (three cats and one kid ago), but life happened and it fell through. (Kate - Pom Queen was a massive help. Thanks again! ) We've become home owners here in the meantime, so it never occurred to me that we'd go back into a rental and pets would be a problem, but now we're suddenly headed to Brisbane (482 with 186 in progress).

I know that some states have made it illegal for landlords to turn down pet owners, but that QLD isn't one of them and 90% of home owners say no to pets. I've seen property adverts saying 'pets allowed (or considered)', but also heard that that usually means one small outside dog. Do you think we have any chance of finding a rental? I'm worried we won't find anything, never mind something in a decent catchment zone for our little one to start school in a year.

I mean, I know and love my pedigreed, indoor-only cats, would be happy to provide pictures of our home to show that they're not destructive and don't spray, provide references to show that they're insured, see the vet regularly, are well-socialised, are litter-robot trained so the house never smells like cats, etc. But even I would think twice about a tenant in my house who said they had four cats!

I'm well-versed in the requirements to get them there, and have caught with the quarantine changes etc. since 2011 too. They've all passed their rabies titre tests, and our 'old boy' passed a blood panel with flying colours and is "in excellent health to fly", says our vet. I know we'd need a licence to have four cats in Brisbane. They're used to being mainly indoors with sometime access to an enclosed garden, and happily spend all day in the conservatory when it goes up to 35 degrees, so the Ozzie lifestyle won't phase them, I'm sure. The admin is sorted, but I'm still in two minds.

The financial implications of taking them are massive, of course, and basically guarantee that we'll have to rent to save again for a house deposit despite selling here.

But I can't appease my conscience! I feel like they're our responsibility and rehoming them isn't an easy option - I'd never stop worrying about if they were being well-cared for. They would have to go to people we don't know (I'd vet them, of course, but you never know). Although they're all pedigreed Oriental cats, none of them are kittens (theyre 10, 8, and 2x5 years old), which makes it less likely someone else will want them. Also, they're a very social breed, so are attached to one another as well as to us. I'll be lucky to even find a home where two can go together. It'll be hard for them, as well as us, if we rehome them.

But if their presence will stop us from even finding a place to live, maybe we have to leave them?

I'd be so grateful if anyone has some advice from experience of actually living in Australia, especially QLD, or just any advice or opinons, really.

We recently spent a few months in Queensland and found it VERY hard to find a decent rental, in a nice area, that would take pets.

We secured a rental (on line with an estate agent) prior to leaving the UK,  just to make sure we had somewhere to go to with our cat.  Big mistake, the house was not nice despite all the photo's and questions from us ! We left that house after a few weeks (our cat had not been flown over at this stage)

This is such a tough decision to make. There is no right or wrong answer whatever you decide to do. I wish you well with your move but do NOT secure a rental until you are there and can see it yourself - lesson learnt for us.

6 hours ago, Marisawright said:

That would have been to get the increase permanently, not the temporary holiday one

You learn something everyday, never knew you could do that. Well worth remembering this for when I reach pension age ! (wherever I may be in this world)

Thanks everyone for this thread.