How did you do it?

[fiveofus]

Hi,

We are going to move back to the UK in a few months to spend some time with DH's family. We have a 3yo and 18 month old and the logistics of it all scares me!!!!! We will be able to stay with his parents in the short term but they don't have a huge house....
Wondering about him going over first to find somewhere for us and a job?
Did you ship stuff over?
AGGGHH - I go crazy just trying to think about organising it all!

Any suggestion - what did/didn't work would be great!

Bec

[babycake]

Hi Bec,:)
My husband and I used to live in the UK for 5 years or so. We have been back in Australia for a while and have 3 month old twins. Recently we have been thinking about going back to live when the twins are a little older (maybe 1 or 2).
We have decided that when the time comes he will go back and get a job ( there are plenty of employment websites so he may even organise some interviews before he leaves)
We know quite a few people there so he would stay with one of our friends while organising work and a house for us.
Then he would come back and help me finalise everything back here, and fly back with us. (no way in hell am I flying 22 hours with 1 year old twins without him).
As soon as he has a job I would organise shipping of the things we cannot do without from here and send them to one of our friends if we did not have a house by then.
If he could not come home, I would just get a relative to fly over with us and they could be the nanny for a few weeks while we set up house. Yep it would be tricky but if well organised it could work well.
Hope this helps.
Meg

[Africamum]

Morgans mum,

We are on our second stint as expats, although this time I moved with a 5 week old baby.

A couple of thoughts on shipping stuff to the UK - check how long it takes, you may find that your items can be in transit for up to 4 or 5 months. At least though you will be living in a country where you can get what you need.

Someone going in advance is a good idea, it may help reduce stress when you get there.

Fly business class if possible, I think hosties have more time to be helpful with small children in business compared with economy where they are often rushed off their feet.

Dont travel without a portable DVD player for the children.

Thats all I can think off at the moment.

Goodluck

[ogsmum]

Hi Bec,

We are in the same situation as you - we are trying to get back to UK July this year and I am a little stressed at the thought of getting 2 passports for my boys (18 mnths and the other is still in my tummy) and my visa (unmarried partner visa). But the two big concerns for me right now are

a) how on earth are we going to ship things over - how do we decide if it's more economical to keep our things or replace them? and how much does shipping cost?

b) is there any work in the entire UK for my partner? If you read all the media reports about the recession, etc you'd think no-one is employing...

It's scary isn't it? I tend to be a bit dramatic about things, but seriously with the amount of hours my partner works, I do feel this will be down to me, mostly...

In regards to your partner going over first - this is the same question we are pondering at the moment. Pros are the prospect of work secured before leaving with the kids. If he can stay with family for that period and you with your family then I think it's a good idea for everyone's piece of mind. Financially this is a smart option and also your partner can get about organising himself for job interviews, etc without the hassle of kids and you. Not that you or they are a hassle of course, but you know what I mean! And having somewhere to live organised will be good because as much as it is possible to stay with family, it's really only fun if you know the date you'll be moving out and into your own place...iykwim?

Things that I can see that would change this decision would be if you don't have family over here that you and the kids can stay with while your partner is over there looking for work. It might take a month or two and without family, that might just be a little too much.

Hope these thoughts help, and as I said it's just the thoughts we are having too. Not sure the exact solution :confused:

[Lastcenturymum]

Our situation is slightly different, but I would recommended him finding a place for you first, that is what we did, but we still have a rental back home which is great when we go back there. Hence we didn't have to ship all our stuff over, just the basics as we rent a fully furnished apartment.

Have friends who have moved here with all their stuff and and a baby, but had contacts here.. They rented short term till they found a place and moved in as their stuff took about 5 months to ship over. PM me if you want anymore info, though I am a bit to the east of the UK, in that damp, soggy little green Island;)

[bgbgbb]

We moved from Ireland back to Aus when I had a 2yo & 7mo.

We shipped all our stuff and it all turned up, except for one box that happened to have the items of greatest value (funny that!) I've been warned that Aus customs are pretty corrupt and often help themselves to stuff they fancy.

Check with your airline on your luggage allowance. Because we were permanently moving to another country the luggage allowance was much greater than normal. We used up every last kg, taking important items such as photo albums with us.

I would recommend shipping only what you are prepared to lose (non-valuables) and air freight stuff that is more valuable. It's worth the cost for the piece of mind.