I have posted about this elsewhere on this forum but thought I'd post here as seems more relevant.

I am looking at moving back to England after being in Australia since 2009. My relationship didn't work out, I have no family over here and just want to go home. Whilst I have a good job and own my own house, this isn't home and I don't belong. I don't enjoy where I live or the people in this area and desperately unhappy so I am making the decision to move back even though I know that my job is non transferrable so I'll be in some minimum wage job when I move back prob earning £25,000 or less and probably barely earning enough to cover my outgoings.

Despite this, I need to move back for the sake of my mental health and happiness. Even if I do end up moving back to Aus, I at least have to try it rather than spend my entire life wondering what if... I have set a date of 1st June 2026 to give me a chance to save some money and get organised.

I was just hoping to get some advice from people who have done the move on their own. I am going to see if I can get a years unpaid leave from my job and go over on a trial to see if the grass really is greener... I will rent out my house but the difference with what I can get for rent and my home loan and strata means I'll have to have $600 a month of my own to cover that. My question I guess is if anyone has done it on a trial basis, did you take your furniture and things over with you or did you store it? I would like to take it with me as it's good furniture but also, in case I do come back I don't want to sell it. Either way it would cost a lot with storage or shipping. What other things did you have to consider? Did you rent furnished when you went over? How did you apply for jobs when you moved back when from over here I can't get any response to speculative emails... How much money did you move over with? Another thing to consider is if I do stay in England but my furniture and belongings are in storage in Australia, because I'll have been on such a budget I won't have the money to pay to ship it most likely or if I do ship it over then I won't have the money to return it back to Aus if I do come back...

I will be on a VERY tight budget and don't have family I can stay with long term when I go over which makes it harder. I also have a dog who will be coming.

Any advice very much appreciated as I just feel so overwhelmed it's almost not worth doing!

Hi

I'm wrestling with the wisdom/logistics of a move to the UK from France so you have my sympathy.

As I see it, you have two options.

OPTION 1
Sell up in Australia next year and just go.
Sever any attachment to the furniture and sell it or donate it in Australia. Shipping and storing it will involve expense and hassle that you can probably do without. You can furnish a place now very cheaply from IKEA or charity shops in the UK.

Do you have a family member you could move in with temporarily? If so, that would make the process much easier.
If not, you might have to start out in an Airbnb until you find a rental. You know the rental market is really tight, right? At least if you have the proceeds of your house sale, you'll be able to offer a landlord 6 months' or even a year's rent upfront.
This would mitigate you're not having a job. And having a pet.

One advantage of burning your boats is that you would be highly motivated to make the move work. Otherwise I think there's a risk you might end up treating it as an extended holiday and not put in the hard work needed to form new friendships etc.

OPTION 2
Keep the house but still sever any attachment to the furniture. Rent out the house furnished. And try to set things up so that if after a year you decide to stay in the UK, you wouldn't need to undertake an expensive trip to Australia to tie up loose ends. Do what we did years ago and use the letting agent to sell the property (if after a year you decide not to return). The agent could also dispose of the furniture. Choose your letting/estate agent VERY carefully and ask friends for recommendations. Do not just pluck a name from the phone book.

Out of interest, which part of the UK are you thinking of? We're thinking the Norwich area but haven't actually visited yet(!)

It'll break my heart to leave France because it's beautiful and I have friends here but the administrative side of things is getting worse and worse and I know my husband could never cope here on his own if he had to. Don't think I could either in old age so am thinking we should make the move now before it gets too daunting.

My husband is useless at planning but does at least have a way of calming me down. I can well imagine it must be quite scary doing a big move on your own. However, others on this forum have managed it. Pollyanna springs to mind!

Bottom line, you are unhappy where you are and see no likelihood of that changing. If that's so, then you have one answer - move. Trial runs are expensive and complicate everything hugely. The UK won't be the same as when you left, but then you aren't the same either. You won't be going back, you will be going on - to the next adventure.

I would prioritise two things - determining your UK housing where you will land, whether it's for months or a year or more, and determining how you will make a living.

Your housing situation may determine the viability of keeping your current furniture, since storage is likely to be expensive in either country.

Moving your dog will also be expensive, so a one-time thing, not out for a year and then back.

In terms of employment, I know you say your role is non-transferable, but are your skills transferable? I suggest a bit of research, possibly with employment agencies.

It can be done - many have

Thanks for the replies.

I would be looking to move to Yorkshire.

Realistically, I have to do a trial run and I need to have some security so I can't sell my house in case things don't work out and I'm left with nothing. I'm going to be in a bad situation when I retire as it is with minimal super and no savings. My family have all said don't move back but do not understand this feeling, just see the material things I have.

I've already spoken to Pollyanna in another post. She has had some very helpful things to say.

I think first things first I need to save as much money as I can, maybe keep minimal things in storage and get rid of a lot of things I don't really need/want and then ship some things over the more personal bits I have. Even if I did move back to Aus I know they'd be safe in England if I left them there.

Hi, if it were me I would sell up and leave, if as others have said the UK does not work out then you can always return to Australia (maybe another state) , you have “given” Aus a good “shot” it’s not worked nothing wrong in that, moving for some can be stressful so why out yourself through the stress if only having a certain amount to live on (you will not have to have that added problem if you sell everything), you will be free to have a good look around the UK (the variations etc here in not only countryside to building styles, villages, towns cities are huge especially compared to Aus) you have been unhappy for a while and most deserve to be happy so “come on over” and see what happens. Good luck ps we have never regretted our choice to return home from Perth

Hi, if it were me I would sell up and leave, if as others have said the UK does not work out then you can always return to Australia (maybe another state) , you have “given” Aus a good “shot” it’s not worked nothing wrong in that, moving for some can be stressful so why out yourself through the stress if only having a certain amount to live on (you will not have to have that added problem if you sell everything), you will be free to have a good look around the UK (the variations etc here in not only countryside to building styles, villages, towns cities are huge especially compared to Aus) you have been unhappy for a while and most deserve to be happy so “come on over” and see what happens. Good luck ps we have never regretted our choice to return home from Perth

I would also do what others have said, sell your house now rather then rent it out.Renters can trash the house not pay you rent and cause you a real probelm.As far as the Furniture it is not worth shipping it cost a lot and flats houses in the Uk are not as big some we not fit. It is really a big deal to move I did it ,you have enough time to plan,it is expensive to rent in the Uk you will need that money from the house.Once you do move you will feel a lot better TRUST yourself

I could've written those 2 paragraphs 3 years ago.

I was there for almost 20 years; hated almost every minute, and only stayed as I had an amazing job, that I could work long hours at, but which was totally non-transferable to the UK (we don't have many cyclones here!!). I had no home to sell, had to wait till I could access my super.

I have been back home since March 2023. I no longer feel like I'm losing my mind. I'm much more relaxed and content. Life is a struggle financially as I am broke as hell, but I'm happy to do things on the cheap; I can sit by the sea, wander into a proper pub, and just enjoy being in a country that understands me, where things make sense, where I feel at home.

Queensland is like a bad dream from which I have finally awoken.

So - I dumped my furniture as it was basically junk. Organised new stuff from a local shop here and by emailing the shop they arranged delivery on the day after I got the keys to my flat. I shipped personal stuff and a couple of good bits of furniture, using Chess who were fantastic - efficient & good communicators.

Rented the flat prior to arriving - I contacted a lot of local agents, telling them my plans and the fact I wanted to rent ready to move in when I arrived. All but one of the agents were happy to do it, and when I found the right one the agents did a video viewing for me and were extremely helpful. Picked up the keys the day after I flew home.

Jobs - Knowing I would be looking at basic admin type roles it just wasn't worth trying before I arrived, although I did set up job alerts on Indeed so I could get an idea of what was out there. I'm now doing 3 casual jobs, and have just started looking for something more stable.

I do have family here. but have nothing at all to do with the majority of them (their choice) and I certainly had no family help when I moved back. I just booked a hotel for a few days, staying there while I got my flat organised.

The best advise I can give you is to approach it logically, in bite-sized pieces. I had a huge spreadsheet of lists - every item I owned and whether it was being packed/dumped/sold etc. I worked dates backwards from when I actually wanted to arrive home - date for leaving my job, leaving the flat, for my shipping leaving etc.
Making the decision of when to go will give you a good start, and then work from that.