So Good To Be Back In The UK

[Redtop1]

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.

 

 

 

[simmo]

Welcome home!.  You made that all sound so easy.  I remember when I returned and thinking how easy everything was.  You have come just as the evenings are closing in but Autumn can be amazing in England (especially down where you are).

[cheese n pickle]

sounds wonderful. So jealous! Would love to live in Devon/Cornwall. 

[Quoll]

Welcome home! It’s great when you hit the ground running and everything falls into place. You’ve certainly chosen a beautiful part of the country so I hope everything continues to go well for the next step in your life adventure.

[Lady Tottington]

Thats fantastic, so pleased your all sorted, hope we too move so smoothly, just had 2 quotes for shipping, and still toying with the self move cube? Who did you use for shipping?? [emoji4]
Welcome Home too

Sent from my SM-T580 using PomsinOz mobile app

[Guest The Pom Queen]

@Redtop1 Glad to hear you are back home and settled. Did you have jobs lined up?

[bunbury61]

9 hours ago, Redtop1 said:

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.

 

 

 

a wise and bloody sensible decision to move to somewhere like Dartmouth ( what's the place in the other side of the river ...kings ?....thats nice as well ) .

you can have a fantastic life in the u.k ...IF YOU PICK THE RIGHT AREA .....

if you live in a decent area with decent services ..it beats most of the world hands down .

if you want to go abroad ,you have Exeter airport up te road ...exeter itself is lovely ....great scenery ..pubs.....history...and the people are lovely ....and not too busy

I am on the edge of brum for family reasons , but that part of the world would definitely be an option if things were different .

 

WELL DONE REDTOP.....GREAT CHOICE AND GOOD LUCK

[bunbury61]

Just now, bunbury61 said:

a wise and bloody sensible decision to move to somewhere like Dartmouth ( what's the place in the other side of the river ...kings ?....thats nice as well ) .

you can have a fantastic life in the u.k ...IF YOU PICK THE RIGHT AREA .....

if you live in a decent area with decent services ..it beats most of the world hands down .

if you want to go abroad ,you have Exeter airport up te road ...exeter itself is lovely ....great scenery ..pubs.....history...and the people are lovely ....and not too busy

I am on the edge of brum for family reasons , but that part of the world would definitely be an option if things were different .

 

WELL DONE REDTOP.....GREAT CHOICE AND GOOD LUCK

???...somerset as well ???.....i was down in torquay on saturday ...bloody torquay ?......even that's vastly improved visually ...money being spent ...even the marina is quite decent

[ScottieGirl]

I am jealous ?Wish my house purchase was that smooth. I am on my 2nd offer and 4 weeks after viewing have just got the survey back. Takes 3 weeks here to get a full survey and report and don't  start me on the complications of being in a chain as that adds a couple of months to the process. Now I am having doubts as it needs work to make it my ideal place but as Prof  Kirsty say location, location, location.

I keep forgetting the fur kids are welcome in so many places. My boy loves to fossick in the stone mill in the local park which has a large sign saying no unauthorised visitors. Inevitably I end up going in to retrieve him, yesterday I apologised to one of the guys there who just laughed and said "it must be all the rabbits".  If that had been Sydney he would have been lecturing me and threatening me with a fine.

[blondie]

well if you want to swap oz tales or fancy a chat and a cup of something, then private message me.  We are in Somerset also, been in the house two years at the end of October. 

[grizzly111]

Would love to hear more about your experience.

Why did you decide to ship your car over to the UK?

Also, why did you choose Devon and specifically Dartmouth? It appears to be better value so I am also looking to move to Devon/SW England.

[bunbury61]

27 minutes ago, grizzly111 said:

Would love to hear more about your experience.

Why did you decide to ship your car over to the UK?

Also, why did you choose Devon and specifically Dartmouth? It appears to be better value so I am also looking to move to Devon/SW England.

choose carefully grizzly.....do your research .

some rough places in the u.k ...i should know .

10 miles up the road can be a different world

[Guest]

2 hours ago, bunbury61 said:

choose carefully grizzly.....do your research .

some rough places in the u.k ...i should know .

10 miles up the road can be a different world

Agree with Bunbury on this regarding Devon and and some other parts of the SW. Choose carefully as some areas can be pretty poor and often based around tourism and the job market isn't great in some areas. And neither are some other aspects (2nd home ownership is a bug bear of many Devon towns and villiages for example). Sure some plus points to the area but I'd not take my family back there unless we were totally mortgage free and could buy the type of property we really wanted in a good area. And within decent commute of a city for more varied employment options. 

I spent most of my teens and a good chunk of recent years down that way and have family and many friends in the county dotted around that way still. 

[bristolman]

On 28/09/2017 at 09:20, ScottieGirl said:

I am jealous ?Wish my house purchase was that smooth. I am on my 2nd offer and 4 weeks after viewing have just got the survey back. Takes 3 weeks here to get a full survey and report and don't  start me on the complications of being in a chain as that adds a couple of months to the process. Now I am having doubts as it needs work to make it my ideal place but as Prof  Kirsty say location, location, location.

I keep forgetting the fur kids are welcome in so many places. My boy loves to fossick in the stone mill in the local park which has a large sign saying no unauthorised visitors. Inevitably I end up going in to retrieve him, yesterday I apologised to one of the guys there who just laughed and said "it must be all the rabbits".  If that had been Sydney he would have been lecturing me and threatening me with a fine.

Our house purchase went through in literally a couple of weeks and because it's a really old house we wanted a full survey and that took a little over a week. No reason at all why it should take 3 weeks to be fair. 

I agree about the dogs though, much more relaxed here. 

[bristolman]

On 30/09/2017 at 08:04, bunbury61 said:

choose carefully grizzly.....do your research .

some rough places in the u.k ...i should know .

10 miles up the road can be a different world

In fairness that goes for absolutely every country in the world, you should research any area you choose to live. My wife used to do meals on wheels were we used to live and she said it was like going into a ghetto. A few miles can make an enormous difference, you are right. 

[ScottieGirl]

3 hours ago, bristolman said:

Our house purchase went through in literally a couple of weeks and because it's a really old house we wanted a full survey and that took a little over a week. No reason at all why it should take 3 weeks to be fair. 

I agree about the dogs though, much more relaxed here. 

Welk this is turning into the house hunt from hell for me. Not helped by the fact I cannot find anything I like, If I see one more wood chip papered wall I will scream. It's not the money I  have looked at properties  100k more expensive but I don't like them either! I have looked at 39 houses and liked 1 but it was on a very busy road.

I am about to reduce my current  offer which will go down like a very big fish bone stuck in the throat and there is nothing more to look at as I have seen everything on the market now. I am missing the Sydney sense of style and need to learn the c word which I hate. 

C is for compromise ?

[bristolman]

3 hours ago, ScottieGirl said:

Welk this is turning into the house hunt from hell for me. Not helped by the fact I cannot find anything I like, If I see one more wood chip papered wall I will scream. It's not the money I  have looked at properties  100k more expensive but I don't like them either! I have looked at 39 houses and liked 1 but it was on a very busy road.

I am about to reduce my current  offer which will go down like a very big fish bone stuck in the throat and there is nothing more to look at as I have seen everything on the market now. I am missing the Sydney sense of style and need to learn the c word which I hate. 

C is for compromise ?

We were incredibly lucky, we only looked at 4 houses before finding this one, it hadn't been decorated since just after the war but that was no problem as it's just a bit if paint. 

Yes it might come down to some compromise. There are lots of beautiful houses out there but they won't have everything you want.

[ScottieGirl]

22 minutes ago, bristolman said:

Yes it might come down to some compromise. There are lots of beautiful houses out there but they won't have everything you want.

It's not like I am fussy, all I want is a detached house on a quiet street with large living area, utility room, bathroom with shower and bath and at least one bedroom that will fit a 5ft bed. I don't need an en suite or a south facing garden and I can live without a kitchen diner?

Oh and preferably no screaming kids ??

And nice neighbours  ???

Current house offered on meets all requirements except utility room but next door is rented.Trying to tell myself not to be paranoid about that one... As a friend pointed out many people consider may consider me the neighbour from hell ????

[bristolman]

12 minutes ago, ScottieGirl said:

It's not like I am fussy, all I want is a detached house on a quiet street with large living area, utility room, bathroom with shower and bath and at least one bedroom that will fit a 5ft bed. I don't need an en suite or a south facing garden and I can live without a kitchen diner?

Oh and preferably no screaming kids ??

And nice neighbours  ???

Current house offered on meets all requirements except utility room but next door is rented.Trying to tell myself not to be paranoid about that one... As a friend pointed out many people consider may consider me the neighbour from hell ????

So the possible stumbling block is that next door is rented ? We rented for around 15 years and we were model neighbour's. You are just as likely to have issues with an owner as a renter. 

[ScottieGirl]

15 minutes ago, bristolman said:

So the possible stumbling block is that next door is rented ? We rented for around 15 years and we were model neighbour's. You are just as likely to have issues with an owner as a renter. 

True, I researched my Sydney neighbours very carefully. Stalked the street for days. ?️‍♀️  The  owner occupiers moved out 18 months after I moved in, the subsequent tenants were all lovely.

The stumbling block is the price and the unexpected repair jobs found by the survey hence the revised offer.  The valuation agreed with the offer price but if you don't ask you don't  get and I don't  think the market is going to go up.

Plus I am a tight arse. Always wanted to live in Yorkshire....

Edited October 1, 2017 by ScottieGirl

[Toots]

6 hours ago, ScottieGirl said:

Welk this is turning into the house hunt from hell for me. Not helped by the fact I cannot find anything I like, If I see one more wood chip papered wall I will scream. It's not the money I  have looked at properties  100k more expensive but I don't like them either! I have looked at 39 houses and liked 1 but it was on a very busy road.

I am about to reduce my current  offer which will go down like a very big fish bone stuck in the throat and there is nothing more to look at as I have seen everything on the market now. I am missing the Sydney sense of style and need to learn the c word which I hate. 

C is for compromise ?

Could you buy a block of land and build a little house?

[ScottieGirl]

6 hours ago, Toots said:

Could you buy a block of land and build a little house?

I am realising I will have to do a fair bit of updating. I guess people who have gone to the effort of doing so then stay there. I did see a nice house last week, selling due to divorce but it was snapped up very quickly

[grizzly111]

Thanks for the replies. Any suggestions of where to start looking in Devon (in terms of a good area)?

Since I closed my bank account in the UK years ago and don't have work history there I'm not sure how I will go about convincing the bank to lend until I find work (so renting will be the initial option).

[karen williams]

I am looking at returning to UK with two dogs and I am interested how you found a house to rent short term with your dogs?

[Tobymarco]

hi,  just found this forum and all your posts are invaluable to us.  I am South African and my husband is orginally from the Uk.  we have lived in Australia for 22 years but have no family in Australia and are looking at moving to the UK as that is where most of our family is.  All my husbands family are there and my sister is in the UK too.  I have a British passport.We have just returned from a month in the UK and I am happy to move there.

We have 2 dogs and I see that your furbabies made the trip Ok.  Who did you use?  We are in Newcastle just 2 hours north of Sydney and i have already had a quote from Jetpets. would you do anything diffent with the move for the dogs or where you very happy with how you did it.  its possibly my biggest stress is moving the dogs..I have moved countires once before so that is not a issue.  its more the fur babies. It was very reassuring to read about your move and how easy it was.