We have decided to move back to the UK from Melbourne. Originally we agreed on moving back in early 2013 but OH has just come back from seeing his family and now wants to move things forwards to July 2012. I'm OK with that in theory, I'm just freaking out about the practicalities.

We moved here in 2007 and were 23 and 24. We did plan it but put much less thought into the move and in general panicked much less. I am a bag of nerves over whether we will get jobs in the UK, where we will live etc. We will sell our house here, have already sold the business we had and will be moving back with furniture and two cats - when we came out we had a suitcase each and that was all!

We are putting the wheels in motion and have started ebaying things, doing the house up ready to sell and knuckling down to saving but I am just petrified that things will go wrong when we go back.

No real questions, just needed to get that off my chest!

Do a search here about DEFRA and shipping the cats home, it's more involved than moving them back than it is to get out of UK with them.

Thanks mummy, I've started looking into the process and have had a few quotes and some info from some pet transport companies. I'm a bit worries about how one of them will cope, she is Siamese and ridiculously highly strung but I guess thousands do each year.

I can sympathise!!! I am moving back to London after 30+ years in Los Angeles and am beginning to feel flutterings of panic coming on. I leave on August 10 and the time is flying by. I have a buyer for my car, and only have to give notice at my apartment next month. I leave my job at the end of July. The shippers come a few days later, although I'm taking very little back with me. I look around and see all the stuff I have to get rid of - and I feel overwhelmed. I'm sure it will all be okay, but it does seem daunting right now.

I'm sure we're doing the right thing, though. Life brings change, and at least these changes are our choice, rather than being forced on us.

Good luck with your move!

I never realised how much junk we have! Got a list of over 100 things to sell/ebay (some big ticket items, some tiny little junky things). Made my first sale this morning, $14 - not much but it'll all add up and this moving country business is expensive!

Barbara wow, August is not far away! Congratulations, you sound super excited and I'm sure everything will go really well.

Yeah, Junk does gather up. Never knew how much I had until I was moving to canada

I get overwhelmed looking at the nearly 18 years of collected stuff in this house. Dh finally started pulling things down from the attic, we got rid of all the baby stuff finally Dd is 6. Sold the big changing table/chest of drawers on craigslist here to a German lady having her first, she's been here a year now newly married, very sweet couple.
I have so much more to get rid of, and have been shredding paper like a man woman.
We have all this before we can even look at selling the house (or giving it away practically prices are so low)

I can relate to the shredding. I learned the hard way...last time I moved I had so much paper to shred that I now do it monthly. I can't believe how much junk I accumulate

When we moved, we headed full-tilt into the Canadian lifestyle, and have the junk to prove it - so much more than we had when we came here! Now that we're trying to decide what stays/goes, we're very shocked and disappointed in ourselves.

Yard sale in 3 weeks to try and make a dent/few $.

I think most of us feel overwhelmed at the idea (strange we did not though on our migration to Aus....maybe older and wiser does not help..lol)..try not to stress to much...just try and make a list of what to do first ie...are your cats vaccinated?....shop around for good Estate Agents.....try and take care of things first in Aus...then when you have rough dates...look at shipping (by then you might have an idea what you are shipping back to the UK) then when you have an offer on your home look at flights etc....the beauty of moving back in a year is that you can take each step slowly and do your homework....your young and what can go wrong?.....dont worry about things until you actually need to....when you are ready look for jobs....you might not have to do that until you arrive in the uk....and try not to listen to much about the doom and gloom....your experience might be a whole lot different to someone elses.....words of wisdom from someone who worried about everything and anything and really wished I had saved myself a lot of sleepless nights....lol...Good luck

Yard sale is the best way to unload a lot in a short time if you live in the right area, Good luck I hope you make a small fortune.
The first time we went back I did a yard sale 4 days before I flew home with my oldest son (he's 22 now) and sold all the furniture in one day (lived on a busy wide road no need to advertise), making enough to buy some second hand stuff for the UK house. Dh was left to sell the place (it was up for sale already) and I left him with a TV, a small couch and a bed He gave them away a week before he flew out.

Sorry but what does all this DH, DD DDGGFDD (ok making fun), whats all those acronyms mean?

DH - Dear Husband

Ds is son and Dh husband Dear or Dam you pick

OH means Other Half. OP means other poster. AFAIK means As Far As I Know. FWIW means For What It's Worth. IIRC means If I Recall Correctly.