Yeah as soon as I asked the question I found it written down on a list of 'things to download' right in front of me. Typical! I think we are pretty much sorted, I've been working on this for so long it's just dragging itself out cos we can't post too soon. I've got until June 09 on my UK visa but we are both decided we want to be home for the summer, so I'm okay to post as soon as we're ready. FINALLY! I'm sure I will have a few last minute panics but I won't hesitate to ring you up at 4am. (Aren't you SO glad I don't have your phone number!) Went into the police station over here yesterday to try and get the form for UK checks, but the guy gave us a phone number to ring and said they don't just hand them out anymore. Phoning on Monday.

God it's such a pain having to rely on people on the other side of the world to fill out a form and post it back.

Wonder why they don't hand out the forms anymore? I think I printed ours from a website - can't 100% remember, I'll ask my OH when he's finished listening to the football (if I was to disturb him now I'd get the death stare lol)

With relying on people to send forms back - tell me about it. I was nagging my family for ages to send the forms back, and when I finally received them it turned out I'd forgotten to ask them to get a certified photocopy of their passport/birth certificate! So then I has to ask and nag for that!! Your police checks will take about 5 weeks to come back (The UK ones) well ours did anyway. When do you think you'll be looking at submitting your application then?

Well first things first I just want to get most, if not all, of our stat decs back from Aus. We've got a few unreliables out there and I want to make sure they don't hold me up! As soon as that's done we're ready to roll! Send off Aus and UK police check forms (know it could take a while to come back but one stress at a time!), book in for medical then post away when they all come back. Hopefully sometime in March... ASAP really. We're not in a desperate rush, I'm just sick of it hanging over my head. I know we could send away for our checks now I'm just worried that if our mates don't get their buts in gear we'll have all our checks back before our stat decs and time will be counting down.... oooooohhhhhh the overwhelming orgainisation of it all.... breathe... breathe...

I think I had everything done and the last thing was the stat decs, so I was left waiting on them in order to send everything off. It's like the people who I'd asked to do the stat decs didn't understand the urgency of it all. Typical laid back Aussies lol. We got 4 in total (altho only 2 were required I believe) my mum, dad, sister and brother in-law each did one. We also got a written statement from people in the UK, my mother in-law and a friend in work - although I don't think it was needed but oh well! I'm just glad it's all done now, and we have all new worries!!

I just can't wait to get back to Aus now, settle down and start sorting ourselves out. We will be living with my family for quite some time as when we move out we want to be buying a house and not renting, so will need to stay and save for a bit. Plus we have UK loans that we'll be continuing to pay for the next few years But I'd rather be home and paying them off than over here and paying them off. Not that there is anything wrong with being over here - but it's just not home ya know?

Yeah I know, home will always be home. I'm getting really sick of everyone telling me how deadly Australia is and how their sister went there to visit and had to bang her shoes out every morning because they were full of funnel webs and check under the toilet seat etc. and how 10,000 people go missing every year in the outback. And I'm getting even more sick of people telling me how they went to Aus and just killed every insect that dared set foot anywhere near their backyard because it was ugly. If you don't like it, stay at home!

Sorry, just had to get that out of my system, I have great respect for our wildlife, it was here long before I was.

I love it over here (it's snowing today) but I'm really missing the sunshine and the waves and the rainforests. Just keep reminding myself to make the most of it, if life was all about the weather I would never have left home!

Hi girls - Can I join the convo

I just wanted to say my Hubby is flicking between skysportnews and the rugby at the moment!! I don't know what he's going to do with the football being so late at night in Aus!!!

He will find it oh so hard. But you will find it harder, because it won't stop him from watching, but it will stop you from sleeping!

And of course you may join the convo! Welcome to our happy little picnic!

Thank you!!

So when are you heading home? I'm guessing you're the Aussie and your OH is the Brit? How long have you been here for? Oh my god, all the questions are coming at once!

Damn!! Well gonna have to get one of those ''media rooms'' I keep seeing in the houses on 'Wanted Down Under' Yeah, as if, we should be so lucky!! I don't remember having one of those growing up in Brissy!!

You know I haven't watched that program yet, everyone keeps asking me if I've seen it. I do like the sound of a media room though...

Yah... me Aussie, hubby is Brit. We are heading home (hopefully) beginning of April but still haven't booked flights yet! I have been here past 10 years so looking forward to going home. How about you?

I don't know why I watch it (WDU) because really I have more important things to do like ringing up shippers etc!!

There's nothing like TV to run away from things like ringing shippers...

We're posting soon (defacto spouse visa) and hoping to head home for Christmas (Woo hoo! Summer here I come!). I'm only here on a two year working holiday visa so I'm not as experienced as you! But good luck, I know you'll love to be back!

Right girls, I'm heading off for a siesta before I start work tonight. Had a rather late night playing in the snow outside!

I know what you mean, people say to me 'Oh I could never live there because of the spiders/snakes' and I think - How many people live in Aus and how many people have actually been killed by these things!!?? Plus growing up I can't remember seeing hardly anything deadly. In saying that there were loads of Redbacks in the last house I lived in, and I nearly put my hand on one when opening the garage - that freaked me out a bit. I mean I don't like spiders or bigs and insects but I lived with them for 23 years. It's only now I'm freaking out more about it after reading peoples posts about them!!


Hello there! My husband at the moment is listening to the Swans on the internet as he couldn't make it to the game. He will also be watching the rugby Wales v's England game later on.

I have been watching wanted down under, and I can't remember ever seeing a 'media room' It makes me laugh at some of the things that people expect in an Aussie house, or when people complain about the houses being too close together - hello if any of the houses are close together it's the ones over here! In my opinion anyway! It does sometimes wind me up!