FITCHETT FAMILY

hi all,
can any 1 plz advise us of ne shipping companies for stuff from OZ back to the UK. Been here two weeks , bought loads of furniture but hate it here, hearts just dont feel right .
cheers

Kath

We used Chess from Perth back to UK, very pleased with their service, packing etc. Hope all works out for you.

NC Penguin

You've only been in Oz for two weeks and you're ready to return home? People go on vacation for two weeks!

I imagine the move to Oz was pretty stressful. Has your family even recovered from the upheaval of moving from one country to another?

If I were in your position, I'd give it more time before deciding to return to the UK.

As for removal companies, have you searched for past threads on this topic in this forum?

Best of luck, whatever you do.




NC Penguin

starman

Not forgetting you will get taxed on your goods as you havent owned them for more then 6 months.
You will also need a C3 form (HM customs) for which I have copies.

scottish

We bought some stuff and brought make and Customs didnt bat an eyelid.. thank god. Saying that we were there about a year.

Have to agree with the others... 2 weeks is very soon. Try and take some time out, stay away from the forums and chill out abit.

Good luck
x

Jonahs_mummy

Are you sure you have given it a proper go? 2 weeks is not a lot of time when you consider how much time, money & energy you have already invested....?

Pollyana

Have to agree with the others here, 2 weeks is not long enough to know whether you like somewhere - you have to give it longer, for your own sakes.
I cried myself to sleep every night for the first month I think - and that was when I had come here to be with the man I love. It takes time to adjust, and for things to stop feeling strange.
Give it a chance, after a few months if you feel the same, then go back, but 2 weeks really isn't long enough to judge.

Pants

Sorry to jump in on this one but I have to agree with all of the above posters. How can you truly feel that way after only 2 weeks?Pls give it more time. What a huge expense and emotional turmoil. Relax, pour a big glass of wine/beer and enjoy the experience. What is it you hate so much?

Dan725

Two weeks? I'd at least give it 6 months if not a year or two.

scrawni

We used PSS who shipped us out to Oz in the first place.

What is it that you actually hate or is it homesickness? Feel free to send me a pm if you feel the need to chat. Maybe if we know more then we can help you better.

Alot of people on this site have been there, done that and now wear the t-shirt so may be able to offer some comfort and advice.

Mandy

bridiej

I've just been reading back through some of your previous posts - you were so happy when you got the visas!

I'm sure you're just going through culture shock, please give yourselves longer, two weeks just isnt long enough.

Sending you some karma.

mr mover

www.grace.com.au sorry you did,nt fit .....mm

Tops

Hi Guys,

What dont you like about Oz?
What did it not live up to?

2 weeks is very short to make your minds up and I get the feeling that perhaps your 'hearts were not in it' before you left...

I know what it is like to leave a country, family, friends, jobs, homes etc. It is very difficult and often when the place is suppose to the 'perfect' place you still miss your old life, it does not make it any easier.

You are allowed to miss people and places, even in paradise.

You need to remember you have never left your life, you have just changed places, would you feel the same about a different country; France, NZ, Spain?

I do hope you give it a bit longer, try 6 months at least. Try to really give it a go.

All the best.

T.

selina

hi, could you elaborate on what it is you don't like?

ShozInOz

I can empathise with your feelings OP.

Two weeks after I got here, I HATED it. Seriously, I really couldn't stand it. In fact - I felt like that from the moment I got to the airport at Manchester. We arrived in Sydney in October 2003 and I thought I had made the biggest mistake in my life. I was with my beloved wife but felt completely alone. I'd been here before but it felt completely foreign. I was crying constantly; not a normal state of affairs for me. I was desperate and after a few weeks felt I was breaking down. I certainly wasn't coping. I took 2 weeks off work - my boss was great about it. He (typically male I suppose) gave a piece of advice, but a good one. He said do something for yourself that you enjoy every single day. It was actually quite helpful. The anti-depressants also relieved the symptoms. I also has some therapy which was long overdue but brought into the fore by the homesickness.

In fact, before I go on, I've dug out a previous post of mine here, for a women whose husband was in a similar position to me:

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I was very depressed here for the first 4 months, then it changed considerably - due to a combination of 'time', talking about it, and therapeutic interventions. Now I've been here 16 months and have enjoyed the vast majority of my time here.

It is good to have a review date, but 2 years will seem way too long to him right now. I found I had to live one day at a time. I had to do something for myself every day that was positive. I phoned home every day for a chat - but then I cope with things by communicating. Some people isolate instead.

Think of homesickness as grief. Your husband is mourning a loss. Unlike bereavement, there seems to be a solution that will fix the feelings - to go home. But to go home now, unfortunately, would replace grief with regret.

You will engage in lots of negotiation over this issue. Maybe negotiate a 9 months review date. That is only four months away. Then look at 12 months review, then 18. Formally plan them and have them. Maybe even write the pros and cons on paper at the time - this issue can seem so complex that it is impossible to keep all the issues in your head at once - rather like choosing a mobile phone plan...

Most importantly, ensure that you listen to each other and empathise with each other. Work with the process. I personally have found that the three most difficult situations of my life (immigration was one of them, but the least painful by some way) resulted in the most growth in me as a person.
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As I said above, a review date is a good idea, though they will probably change a bit. Don't think "This is it forever now". We have been here 20 months or so now and are still not sure if it is for us for the next few years, BUT we are happy here. We have a good life. We miss family and friends immensely, but we do have new friends now. Sure, we miss lots of things, and are very glad to leave lots of things in the UK too. And now we have a baby on the way, so our lives will change immeasurably. So we have to 'wait and see'.

Now I could NEVER have been comfortable saying that when I got here, or even 3 months later. If it were up to me, my courage would have failed me. If my wife had not talked to me and been there for me, I would have got back on a plane to the UK ANYTIME in the first 4 months. Then it changed.

You won't feel it now. BUT if you stick around a while, the feeling of being comfortable in your environment will return. You will gain a new perspective. You will feel that you have made an enormous accomplishment in life. You will, in future years, be able to move around like a free spirit without the ties and binds that keep other people in one town for their whole lives. You will gain a new inner strength, knowing that you can face the challenges that life throws at you, and the feelings they evoke. You will gain new friends. You will keep your old friends just as close. Your family will love you all the same. And you will, for however long, enjoy a new way of life that you could not have enjoyed before.

Feelings of sadness and homesickness will begin to disappear. Not immediately, but over the coming months. If you return right now, you will be left, I fear, with a very bitter taste of defeat and may well look back in regret at not having given it a fair go. Or rather not having faced up to challenging feelings.

Maybe it will only be for a year, maybe two, maybe five or ten or forever. Who knows. But for now, try to get through each day as it comes, one day at a time, and approach life on life's terms. Because someday soon you will feel very different and look back in wonder at how you have changed for the better as a result of facing this emotional storm and carrying on one step at a time.