Lorry1

Hello all,

Well, it's 2013 at last and with 7 months to go to the big day I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I know a lot of you have been through this and are indeed going through this so I just wanted to check I'm not going totally insane!

Both our kids know about the return now so we just have to keep it secret from everyone else for a while until we can hand in our notice.

My youngest is kind of excited but scared too. We left England when she was 4 and she is now 10 with all her friends here. She has a couple she kept in touch with but not sure if she can settle straight back in with them.
I worry about her schooling as they are about 2 years behind here and she will also jump a year. I hope she doesn't suffer too much and can catch up

My eldest is 18 now and is sailing back with us but doesn't know if she will stay. I'm hoping once she is back there she will stay otherwise it will be a return back to Canada alone. I can't see her doing that but it does worry me. I will have to help her get a job and a boyfriend to keep her occupied

I have called the realtor and the house will be on the market very soon. Here's hoping for a quick-ish sale, but not too quick or we'll be homeless for a while.

I have thrown out so much but there is so much more to do it just seems never ending.

Roll on July!

lf1

Wow! I can't believe you are now so close to moving. I remember, when I was still in Calgary, following your posts about your yearning to be back home. They resonated with me as I was also planning a move home.

It is a little overwhelming, but it will all come together, especially if you are better organized than I was. I tried to do things in bite sized chunks, but getting the house ready for listing was a lot of work, but paid off in the end. We did a lot of decluttering at that stage and I really think it helped to sell our house. It was so neat and tidy that I wanted to stay

I'll be thinking of you and I wish you all the best..

pommybird

Not long now, the next few months will fly by.

Don't worry about your youngest being behind in school, she will catch up in no time. I am used to seeing kids come to school here in England from overseas, even from non English speaking countries, and with a bit of extra support from home, they all do very well. If worse comes to worse you can get her a private tutor for a few months to give her a boost confidence-wise.

It will be a transition for you all, but in my experience if your heart is in the right place, everything else will follow in time, good luck with it all.

Mummy in the foothills

I'm feeling the anxiety for you Lorry.
that I'm heading home before you or around the same time. I can only hope!

jemima55

The time will go really quickly! Just chuck, chuck, chuck and throw as much as possible except your real treasured possessions. Get the house on the market ASAP, and good luck with it all!
I thought I had been ruthless, but my husband who was left to finish the job was still chucking out stuff up to the last minute!

Lorry1

Thanks all. I am getting a bit anxious now I have to say. This weekend is going to be really busy scrubbing the house and cleaning the carpets ready to go on the market.
I have thrown so much but more boxes seem to keep appearing. The more I throw, the more I find.

Yes I hope my kids will be fine and settle in. My eldest said last night she doesn't know what she wants to do yet. I will be really sad if she returns here alone as she will actually have no family here at all. I just got to hope she settles back in England so that doesn't happen.

I really hope the youngest will be fine at school. It is a concern.

Thanks for your support. I love this website.

MissBetty

Oh wow not long to go now!!! If you do sell your house quickly it might be a good thing??! My lease ran out here in Dec so I moved out, blimey it was stressful with all the packing and cleaning, but now I have 4 months to chill and sort out the final bits and pieces. Do you have anywhere to stay if you need it? I know its a bit different for you as you have your kids!

I actually applied for a job yesterday! Its a bit of a long shot as its difficult applying from overseas (they usually want paramedics to attend a practical assessment as well as an interview) but I've got nothing to lose so busy filling out forms. If I do get it by some miracle I will be leaving sooner it is my dream job so decided to have a go lol!

I really do hope things go smoothly for you and that your daughter decides to move with you, just think once its all done you'll be home before you know it and looking forward to a proper British Xmas! Good luck

Lorry1

Yes, thankfully we have some good friends who will put us up/put up with us
I know that selling sooner will be better stress wise then we can just ship and store our stuff in England and relax for a while. I fear that staying with friends for that long is always dangerous though as you feel in the way after a while and sometimes you just need your own space!

Oh well, whatever happens will happen.

Good luck job hunting. It really doesn't hurt to start now and hopefully they will interview over phone/skype.

Mummy in the foothills

You know the guests, like fish begin to stink after a three days I think it was Benjamin Franklin.
I'm good with guests longer than that Plan lots of days out.

Lorry1

yeah it should be fine as I will still be working up to end June and kids will be at school so we won't be there a lot.

Nicola1

We're working on a similar timeline

We put our house on the market last July and we sold pretty quickly, we moved into a rental end November and have packed up most of our furniture and belongings which are now in storage and ready to be shipped.

sallysimmons

Great to hear you're on your way! Good luck with everything and don't worry - you'll have a blast when you get here

Mummy and Nicola1, good luck to you too. Can't wait to say 'welcome home.'

curleytops

Lorry, July will be here before you know it! It's hard to believe I've been back almost two years now, I keep asking myself "where did THAT time go"??? I guess that's what happens when you're where you're meant to be or headed there. All the best

Lorry1

Thanks all.

Well done Nicola for selling last year and renting. That's what we did before leaving England, we sold really early and rented for 2 years!

I hope we haven't left it too late by going on the market now. We really have to sell to be able to move back home. Our house is unique and you either love it immediately or hate it. We really need someone to walk in and fall in love as we did.

Good luck to all returning