Moving back to UK where do we start!

[Wifey59]

After living in Australia for 12 years we need to move back to UK for family reasons. Where do I start I am so concerned for my dog who will be coming he is 12 but in good health.

I Intend to go first and hubby will continue working until all is organised. I am stressing big time!

Edited March 7, 2019 by Wifey59

[VERYSTORMY]

The dog is actually the only massive / time delaying thing. I recommend using a professional pet shippers such as Dogtainers who we used and were excellent. 

The rest is not that hard. We only made the decision on a Tuesday and flew the Saturday. Luckily the dog had least had his rabies shot. The dog will need to get that and then a wait of 28 days after the shot before it can fly. There is no quarantine and you can collect on arrival. We found our very nervous little one arrived fine. Just a bit hungry and he had jet lag for a few days. 

If you have a house to sell, get it on the market. It doesn't need to sell before as the sale can be completed from the UK

Book shippers.

Book some temp accommodation. We used Airbnb 

Staet applying for jobs. 

Book flights. 

 

[Wifey59]

Thank you so much verystormy. I will be staying with family to start until my hubby gets there. I will look into Dogtainers thank you for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated.

[Marisawright]

I second everything VeryStormy says.  In practice, having  months to plan isn't always helpful, because there is so much that you can't do until the last few weeks anyway.  

Do you still have British bank accounts?

[Tricky]

We decided in the January but didn't leave until August. In reality, the only things that are out of your control are if you're selling house/cars. Although both should go quick if priced competitively. 

Shipping can be arranged within days, flights can be booked at the last minute if needed. 

We brought a dog back with us, you just need to make sure that the rabies vaccination is done with enough time to go prior to leaving. We used Animal Travel based in Adelaide for the organisation of it all. 

One thing is, be sure you need/want to move. We've been back since August and just about to make the move back. And the dogs costs will be the most expensive part. D'oh. It's only money though, right?

One thing I can say though is, don't stress, in reality it's pretty straight forward. Break it done into categories (shipping furniture/dog/flights) and it'll appear much easier. I stressed, in the end for no reason. It was seamless. Going back, I'm just going to chill. 

 

Good luck. 

Edited March 7, 2019 by Tricky

[Wifey59]

Thank you for your replies. Yes I still have English bank account Marisa. I go back to UK every year. Spent 5 months there last year as my mum was critically-ill.

The reason we have to go back is to care for my mum who is 87. We nearly lost her last year bless her and she is practically house bound now. We love where we live on lake Hume victoria have most amazing views which we won't get in  UK (rented) so no house to sell.

I feel so guilty that my mum is struggling, her sight is failing too. I have 3 other siblings but it is always left to me. 

Hubby is going to stay on here and work so we have an income and eventually sell our cars etc.

One day hopefully we will come back to Oz.

My dog is my biggest worry.

Thank you so much for your replies they have really helped x

 

[Quoll]

18 minutes ago, Wifey59 said:

Thank you for your replies. Yes I still have English bank account Marisa. I go back to UK every year. Spent 5 months there last year as my mum was critically-ill.

The reason we have to go back is to care for my mum who is 87. We nearly lost her last year bless her and she is practically house bound now. We love where we live on lake Hume victoria have most amazing views which we won't get in  UK (rented) so no house to sell.

I feel so guilty that my mum is struggling, her sight is failing too. I have 3 other siblings but it is always left to me. 

Hubby is going to stay on here and work so we have an income and eventually sell our cars etc.

One day hopefully we will come back to Oz.

My dog is my biggest worry.

Thank you so much for your replies they have really helped x

 

Good luck! It won't be easy and perhaps the bulk of your job is going to be to get your siblings to step up to the plate and do their bit.  We're caring for my dad now - never thought it would be this long when we came 7.5 years ago on holiday and it's the hardest thing I've ever done. I think we are nearly at our tethers end now though and have said we will look at getting him into long term care once we are back from our months holiday in Australia over April. I'm an only child so leaving him here alone (in a caring care home with lots of other people) is going to be hard but we need to look after ourselves too and we've done a lot with zero thanks. I think he will actually be better off but he's trying very hard to be good at the moment since his last episode where I began to fear for my safety and his. We shall see. He's 95 and looking pretty good for it.  I've found community support to be quite good so I hope it's good in your area and I absolutely cannot fault the NHS for what they have done not only for my dad but my mum who died 2 years ago and my elderly aunt and uncle.

Anyway, all the best, my hat's off to you!

 

[Skani]

4 hours ago, Wifey59 said:

One day hopefully we will come back to Oz.

 

Do you have citizenship so that there will be no problem if you wish to return in the future?

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, Wifey59 said:

The reason we have to go back is to care for my mum who is 87. We nearly lost her last year bless her and she is practically house bound now. We love where we live on lake Hume victoria have most amazing views which we won't get in  UK (rented) so no house to sell.

...One day hopefully we will come back to Oz.

Just make sure you're on top of your visa situation.  Are you aware that although it's called "permanent residence", a PR visa isn't really permanent?  It's worth nothing if you don't have a valid travel facility to go with it, so if you don't have citizenship, make sure you've got a valid RRV before you leave the country.   Also remember it only lasts 5 years and if you haven't kept a home in Australia, you'll have bugger-all chance of getting it renewed if you let it expire.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Marisawright

[Wifey59]

Yes I do have the RRV but I will make sure that it's all up to date. Thank you

Lisa

[Toots]

19 hours ago, Tricky said:

We decided in the January but didn't leave until August. In reality, the only things that are out of your control are if you're selling house/cars. Although both should go quick if priced competitively. 

Shipping can be arranged within days, flights can be booked at the last minute if needed. 

We brought a dog back with us, you just need to make sure that the rabies vaccination is done with enough time to go prior to leaving. We used Animal Travel based in Adelaide for the organisation of it all. 

One thing is, be sure you need/want to move. We've been back since August and just about to make the move back. And the dogs costs will be the most expensive part. D'oh. It's only money though, right?

One thing I can say though is, don't stress, in reality it's pretty straight forward. Break it done into categories (shipping furniture/dog/flights) and it'll appear much easier. I stressed, in the end for no reason. It was seamless. Going back, I'm just going to chill. 

 

Good luck. 

Are you really ping ponging Tricky?  Why?  You all seemed to be settled and happy.

[s713]

1 hour ago, Wifey59 said:

Yes I do have the RRV but I will make sure that it's all up to date. Thank you

Lisa

This is what I am doing. You know it only lasts 5 years though and, to get another one, you have to have been in Australia for 2 of those?

I think.

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, Wifey59 said:

Yes I do have the RRV but I will make sure that it's all up to date. 

That's the point I was making.   If you stay in the UK until it expires, you may  not be able to "keep it up to date",  because you may not qualify to get it renewed.  You have to show "strong ties to Australia" or they turn you down, no matter how strong your reasons are for leaving.   So make sure you understand those rules.

[MacGyver]

When speaking with pet transport companies ask them about the pros and cons of getting the RNAT (rabies blood test) completed before leaving Australia. The RNAT basically tests if your dog has enough rabies antibodies in the bloodstream (after previously being vaccinated) to be allowed back into Australia. If this is completed overseas you have to wait 6 months after the RNAT before you can ship your dog back to Australia. If you have this completed before leaving Australia there is no waiting period to return. Test is valid for up to 24 months I believe.

I know your plan isn't to return quickly but nobody knows what's around the corner and it's not an expensive thing to have done. It would mean you could return to Australia a lot faster within the 2 years if you had the need or desire to

[Wifey59]

Thank you so much MacGyver I didn't know that. Will look into it.

Thanks again

[Tricky]

On 08/03/2019 at 05:09, Toots said:

Are you really ping ponging Tricky?  Why?  You all seemed to be settled and happy.

Oh only just seen this. 

We are happy but really miss Australia. However, we may just always be unsettled. We like both countries. Plus I've got a job offer back over there (also have a job here). 

Many people would love to have the choice we have but it's a tough one to make. 

[Marisawright]

15 hours ago, Tricky said:

We are happy but really miss Australia. However, we may just always be unsettled. We like both countries. Plus I've got a job offer back over there (also have a job here). 

Many people would love to have the choice we have but it's a tough one to make. 

Good luck with the decision.  The only thing I'd say is - be very, very careful of the rose-tinted glasses. 

I think it's built into human DNA to think that the grass is always greener somewhere else - it's why the human race has achieved so much.  When you leave somewhere and move somewhere else, you start downplaying the negative stuff and exaggerating the good bits.

We tried to settle back in England a couple of years ago.  I was so miserable I almost had to go on anti-depressants. I know that for a fact, and yet I still find myself thinking back fondly on our time there, especially our lovely European holidays!!   

Remember, there must have been a reason you left Australia in the first place.  Has that reason disappeared?  If not, then it's going to be just as bad when you go back.  Keep reminding yourself of that!

[Tricky]

On 17/03/2019 at 07:22, Marisawright said:

Good luck with the decision.  The only thing I'd say is - be very, very careful of the rose-tinted glasses. 

I think it's built into human DNA to think that the grass is always greener somewhere else - it's why the human race has achieved so much.  When you leave somewhere and move somewhere else, you start downplaying the negative stuff and exaggerating the good bits.

We tried to settle back in England a couple of years ago.  I was so miserable I almost had to go on anti-depressants. I know that for a fact, and yet I still find myself thinking back fondly on our time there, especially our lovely European holidays!!   

Remember, there must have been a reason you left Australia in the first place.  Has that reason disappeared?  If not, then it's going to be just as bad when you go back.  Keep reminding yourself of that!

Sorry, I don't want to hijack this thread. 

We could be happy in both countries, however slightly favour the Ozzie way of life and weather. However then we have the family aspect here in the UK. Niether of us need to be with family and if it wasn't for our daughter we wouldn't have returned. But we wanted her to know the family. Now I suppose we have to decide if we feel that that aspect is more important to us than being in Australia where we may only see them once a year. 

The only real 'issue' we had was isolation but wasn't the reason we left. The reason for the return was for our daughter to be able to see family more often. And that's what is making our decision so difficult. We prefer aus but would feel a bit guilty her growing up so far away.