Herbster Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Moving over here (Tasmania) was quite an ordeal: deciding what to keep, pack & ship, over what to leave, discard or give away - and meeting the Quarantine restrictions was tough with all the deep-cleaning and ensuring no woodworm!! Needless to say there were a few regrets & I don't want to miss out again! My OH thinks we'll get away with sharing a container, trying to sell as much as poss with the house - we had a 20' from UK 6+ yrs ago, I think it's too early to tell, but what I'd like to know from you who have returned to UK after a few years in Australia, IS whether there is anything you are NOT permitted to ship back, what you wished you HAD shipped back and NOW, what you wouldn't bother bringing (because you can get it cheaper in Tesco or IKEA - which we don't have in Tas!). We have 2 dogs which will be our FIRST PRIORITY, along with personal items like books, music, photos, etc.,... but probably NOT chainsaws, brush cutters & sod busters... :wub: What say you???:wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortlepuss Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 To answer the OP's question - I'd sit down and cost out how much to replace v shipping costs. Must say a lot of our stuff is knackered so won't be shipping that when I finally get back. Think sunshine last year was down to location in UK. I was 5 months in the south and it was almost consistently beautiful weather. stayed warm after I came back to Brissie so it was an exceptional year - and of course lovely long summer evenings. Sister in Middlesborough said summer weather was v different. And a trip to Edinburgh was chilly too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FatCats Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 My OH thinks we'll get away with sharing a container, trying to sell as much as poss with the house - we had a 20' from UK 6+ yrs ago, I think it's too early to tell, but what I'd like to know from you who have returned to UK after a few years in Australia, IS whether there is anything you are NOT permitted to ship back, what you wished you HAD shipped back and NOW, what you wouldn't bother bringing (because you can get it cheaper in Tesco or IKEA - which we don't have in Tas!). We have 2 dogs which will be our FIRST PRIORITY, along with personal items like books, music, photos, etc.,... but probably NOT chainsaws, brush cutters & sod busters... :wub: What say you???:wink: Hi Herbster, we are going back in July, came 3 years ago with a full 20ft container. We are now returning with just shy of 2/3 container. We sold all Ikea stuff and pieces that wouldn't fit in our UK house, chucked as much clutter as possible and kept the nicest furniture, most basic every day items plus personal items. I debated selling all white goods and repurchasing, but mine are only 2 years old and fetch poor prices as used, so we are shipping back. I will rent white goods in the UK until the container arrives. If you contact a mover, they will tell you the rules on shipping back, it is much easier to UK, nothing really prohibited other than the usual arms, weapons, drugs, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbster Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 (edited) We have very similar in Tas, quite often 4-seasons in one day (although this past summer was LONG & our creek is still NOT running) - but I'm sorry I mentioned the weather, it has been pretty extreme ALL over the globe the past 12-months, but weather is weather there's not much to be done about it - but what I wanted to KNOW from those in the KNOW IS; was there anything they could NOT take back to Blighty; anything they regretted NOT taking back with them (weather excepted!!) and ANYTHING FROM HERE THAT THEY MISS & WISH THEY HAD TAKEN! Plus, any tips on how to prepare the dogs? One small thing I may be inclined to stock up on would be budget art supplies for the kids as Shiploads & Reject Shop currently have very good selection... And please, don't degenerate this into a ***-for-tat talking shop - PIO used to be above all that... However, if you've never been to Tas and are not in the higher tax brackets, shopping here really is a trick... PS: StevenLozza - what's central heating?!!!!! Now ENOUGH ABOUT THE WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!! Edited June 15, 2014 by Herbster Spellings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbster Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Thank you - and no mention of the rain Much appreciated! Yes, I can see if you have a home to go to taking stuff back is pretty much the same as bringing it out here - you need at least the basics to keep yourself going for those first few months if not years when money is even more unpredictable than at present... But when you don't have firm plans/destination and the cost of keeping aging belongings in storage until we find a house, job, etc., can quickly become prohibitive, it probably would be better to invest that cost in to buying new appliances (ours were good Euro, but not worth returning now) & managing as best we can. I do think it's a valid point for people who may have bought a lot of larger sized Aussie pieces that they may have a problem squeezing them into an average British semi, & certainly taking back tatty junk & clutter is not to be recommended! It's early days yet, we have to put our house in order but it takes me longer to sort things than it used to, so if we want to be home by Christmas '15, I need to start getting organised now! And there are uncertainties, so we feel we need to be ready should we have to jump sooner... All the best with your move 3FatCats - love your robin - you must be feeling quite excited? I was even thinking self-packing this time, as I am SO fussy, & if it's not such a palaver at the other end, I could certainly do a lot myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbster Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 We came very close to losing our home last year to a so-called BUSH FIRE (we probably would have if my OH hadn't fought it) - deliberately started by a friendly, neighborly sort of chap... No prosecution, or probably chance there of, which is what really irks us - you'd just love him (it was a HIM) to come back and repair our kilometer of wrecked fences, (half of it up near-vertical slopes) or see our elderly neighbors who lost decades of hard work, their garden, sheds, 17-acres of native bush, their car, all their windows and even their internal blinds... Sure it wasn't all bad, surviving something like that makes you a deal stronger and it got rid of a lot of rubbish over a rather large area - although sadly not acres of dumped cars, tires & trucks that loiter amid the hills & valleys - kept choppers busy for well over a month and hundreds of fire-fighters in a job, but we are still not completely recovered & it has cost our area a huge amount... & no the Insurance doesn't cover it all. We've finally got a quote on one of the most difficult stretches of fence at $33/meter, we didn't make a claim, but our neighbour only received around $7/meter, even allowing that is 1/2 share, neither of us want to fork out over $1500 for something that wasn't our faults & has cost us so much in so many ways... For the poor folk in Dunalley, and on the Mainland who loose everything - I don't know how they can not be angry at the thoughtless idiots who started those fires, and at a system that has little will or ability to prevent it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbster Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Coffee is an interesting one: but could it survive 3-months on a heaving hulk suffering from all extremes of temperatures...? I was nervous sending photos back in the Container or even Snail Mail on account of the temperature extremes so I'm not sure how good the coffee would be by the time it reached UK after that? And I reckon I'd have much better choices in a UK supermarket than my little local Woolies which doesn't even carry a full range of Harris'... Just don't tell me all the stores only stock their OWN brands now?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Herbster we haven't moved back yet but like Chortlepuss we're not shipping anything that can be replaced fairly cheaply in the UK. We have a couple of nice pieces that are very Australian (like an antique meat safe) that we want to take but otherwise we'll just be shipping the kids favorite toys, clothes, books, photos, important documents etc. We'll also take a couple of electrical items like my much-loved Kitchenaid but won't take the TV or white goods. We are booking a Movecube from Sevenseas rather than a container. Forgot to say we'll take the kids' toddler bed and cot and their bedroom furniture too. Edited June 16, 2014 by Aunt Agatha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I have deleted a total of 36 posts from this thread :no: It may be best leaving this thread for those who are returning or have returned home as this is what this section of the forum is about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbster Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Cheers for that Aunt Agatha - I shall investigate Movecube from Sevenseas - should they have them here in Tas AND:cool: if you have kids I can imagine it's quite a different ball game as you wouldn't want to leave behind their special treasures unless it was utterly unavoidable... And I'm glad you have some nice pieces to take back, as leaving that kind of thing behind often turns out to be a big regret Safe travels - are you leaving soon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herbster Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 Well thanks for that - I don't know why people get so carried away - who knew sunshine could cause such offense! I'm sure there must be so many members who've been back & forth and have lots of valuable advice to share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Cheers for that Aunt Agatha - I shall investigate Movecube from Sevenseas - should they have them here in Tas AND:cool: if you have kids I can imagine it's quite a different ball game as you wouldn't want to leave behind their special treasures unless it was utterly unavoidable... And I'm glad you have some nice pieces to take back, as leaving that kind of thing behind often turns out to be a big regret Safe travels - are you leaving soon? Yes we couldn't possibly leave without my daughter's little wooden kitchen or dinosaur collection and my son needs his wooden fire engine and pull-along puppy :-) We have to sell/give away our bookcase which I'm very sad about as we only have a few nice pieces and the rest is mostly IKEA! Nevermind, we'll replace it in time I'm sure. I really want to take the meat safe as I know I'd regret leaving that as it's such a lovely reminder of our time here and the history of Australia. We don't have a date set in stone yet but before the end of the year is our plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julinoz Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Hi, we've just returned. Not much trouble with shipping furniture although the inventory needs to be well documented, they wanted to know what was in 5 boxes - it was hard to remember after 2 months so just had to put it down as ornaments etc so make sure this is properly itemised. We only took back non-bulk items i.e beds that were easy to flatpack etc, anything such as settee etc which are bulky they will take up a lot more space in the container so we sold these. Take back any unusual items with you as the furniture shops here I find the items a bit more run of the mill, nothing beautifully carved etc. good luck with your moves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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