the mad thing is...we're already doing this!!!!...and it's still going to be rushing around!!!!!!!

I made it quite plain to everyone that I would NOT be going back to visit. I'd rather send them the money to come here

The thought of going back makes me shudder!

xmas is when we went back. got to be the worst time to go back. everyone has other plans, parties to go to.you get to see people a couple of times and thats it. and it was pricey. the ski trip to france was the only thing that made the trip worth while

I know - am going to have to go and open a bottle to calm myself

Sam

hi all

boy ..............have had fun reading this thread.............

not there yet but totally know where u all r coming from

c.
x

Good to know we're not alone, We did think about doing a stopover but it ended up too much money and effort, with a 4 year old and a 9 month old. And thanks for the airport tips! We've not set foot on a plane since we landed here two and a half years ago and so much has changed since then.(incidentally we were over our luggage allowance then and the only airport that made a fuss was manchester)

We would have done christmas but really couldn't afford. i know that the other way round, visitors to us paid about double the normal fare.

Contemplating trying to make it worthwhile by after 3 virtually babysitterless years, treating ourselves to a romantic weekend away
(leaving kiddies with nanna)

Sorry mate we are flying on the 18th December but we used our frequent flyer points and only had to pay the taxes for the return flights.

As you say it wont be cheap at that time of the year.

Indeed! A very good idea actually, as it would be cheaper, I imagine and they will go galah over how 'lovely' your place/suburb is.

We have an open invite - one bloke - old mate of the missus visits annually. Maybe there is something I need to know. Actually more to the point- I know there is something HIS missus needs to know.

I want to go back with empty suitcases and a change of clothes to repatriate (expatriate?) my CD collection which 3 years on is still over there.

We flew out around then 2006. For us and 2 of the kids it was around $9000 just for the fares, friends of ours with 3 kids paid $13000.

We searched fares everywhere and the cheapest we found at that time was (economy per person ) $1700 to $2600 PLUS taxes which at that time were between $400 and $600 per person. An expensive hobby for those with 2/3kids.

Just as painful was the 2 people off work with no pay, like many here were contract/casual/self employed and holiday pay is a long distant memory.

we've been scouring the net for the last 2 weeks for 1 way tickets - 2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant. Frightening ! Thank god for Tiger and oasis making it possible to go from Darwin to Gatwick for a $1000 for the lot of us(ideal if you arent in a hurry )

Tiger are starting to fly to Perth any time now. I've never heard of Oasis though?

Oasis - dont they fly from Hong Kong to Gatwick whereas Tiger are a Thai airline? Are you going Darwin to Thailand on Tiger then getting to Hong Kong somehow to take Oasis to Gatwick? Id be very interested to understand how you manage it. Thanks

You're so not alone! Unfortunately we kinda promised Mark's family we would see them in 2008, oh how I wish I hadn't done that! Over $10k just for our flights, we'll be paying out for accommodation and car hire not to mention all the sightseeing trips (boys have never seen London - apart from Heathrow)! If I can give any advice to those moving out here, its PLEASE take your children to London for a weekend, do the Eye, Buckingham Palace, changing of the guards, the wax works, and ride on a big red bus! Our boys go on and on about it, in fact they worked out that their Aussie mates have seen more of Britain than they have! Working out the finances I reckon its going to cost around $20,000 just for 6 weeks!!!! You begin to question whether its worth it. The boys dentist was born in UK, rasied in Aus from age 9 (is now in late 40's) she told me her parents took her and siblings back to the UK to see family every 2 yrs, as a result they had nothing, no house, no holidays to other parts of aus, no expensive toys etc She sounds quite resentful! Ummmmmmm.......................

Tiger are a Singapore airline. Don't know about Oasis. Tiger are planning to start flying Australian domestic routes too.