Aussie mums in the UK

[eidsvold]

Just curious - any other aussie mums living in the UK??

I am originally from Brisbane but have lived throughout Queensland. I have been living in the UK since August 2000.

I'm here! Have been here since 1989 though so barely qualify these days. I'm from Melbourne but most of my relatives live in Brisbane / the Sunshine Coast / Western Queensland. I absolutely love Queensland.

bells2 - my aunt and grandmother live in Melbourne. I really miss it sometimes..Do you? Probably more that all my family and good friends are there.

Hopefully we are heading back to live next year sometime. Although we are off to Queensland for three weeks during April. Can't wait.

I miss it very much although also love London. We are hoping to go to Cairns, and Melbourne next Feb.. I can't wait although all being well, our 3rd baby will be only 5 months old. Have you discovered the Australia Shop in Covent Garden? Pretty expensive but fab selection of twisties/ violet crumbles/ cherry ripes and so on. I'm a regular.

oh yes I have discovered the aussie shop in Covent Garden - if we are ever up in London we always try and visit there.. I also buy stuff on line too when I need a fix!!

Can I join you? Originally from the Sunshine Coast, then Brisbane, then Melbourne, then London. Just keep moving to bigger and bigger cities! I've been here 12 years, and have acquired a Scottish husband and a beautiful dual-nationality 3yo daughter.We are also going back for a few weeks at Easter. Best time of year for it I think. We'll be on the Coast (Woombye) for a bit and in Melbourne as well. Aint it a small world?

Ooooh the Sunshine Coast!. Last trip back we rented a flat at Mooloolooba for a week and it was fab, especially Noosa. I spent all my childhood holidays at Buderim. So which part of the country are you going to at Easter?.

Ashamed to say janinlondon that I have yet to sort out Aussie passports for my 2 children. Really must do something about it.

I agree, Bells2, the Sunshine Coast is a fab place for hols - and it is a great place to have my Mum and Dad living. We will also be staying at an apartment at Mooloolaba for a few days, and another up at Rainbow Beach over Anzac day weekend. I am SOOO looking forward to it. How shocking! No Australian passports? Well you must get your act together. Its positively un-Australian. So do you burst into hysterical tears as the wheels of the plane touch down on Australian soil, or is that just me???

Just to add to the flavour, have you seen this Bells2? My Mum and Dad occasionally wave at the camera for me! www.maroochytourism.com/net1.htm

Thanks for that - just what I need, another means of whiling away dull hours at work. It is a disgrace I know that they don't have passports but Australia House and the associated paper work terrifies me!. Number 3 is due in September and I will do them all at once I promise.

The first bit I like about arriving home is when the men in shorts and long white socks at the passport counter cheerily greet you. Sigh, think I'll fire up the beefmaster tonight and do a bit of BBQing....

oh no - we had to delay our trip at Christmas as my daughter had recently had surgery and so we are going in a couple of weeks. One week at Caloundra and then almost two weeks with my mum in Brisbane.

My mum has not seen my daughter yet so it will be quite an emotional time. My dh and I were last in Aus Oct 2001 when we got married. Think it will be really hard this time to leave all my family and friends behindn - especially as dd has a cousin that I have never seen and

The only time I cry is when we lift off from Australia to return to the UK. Jan - I worked a little quicker than you (laughs) I arrived in August 2000 and now have a dd ( almost 8 months ) and an English husband. Despite swearing I would never marry an Englishman ( my dad is one though.)

I have organised for my daughter to get her australian citizenship ( conferred australia day this year ) but time ran out to get into London and get her passport sorted before the trip. IT is a pain that I have to go to Australia House in London as it is her first passport application. We intend to sort that out as soon as we get back.

Bells - I organised my dd to get citizenship by descent and it was just paperwork and my papers ( birth certificate, marriage certificate and such) really easy to do. So she now has a lovely certificate saying she is an aussie citizen by descent. We went down that road as we hope to return to live next year. Hopefully it then means that dh is the only we need to get a migrant visa!!

Thanks for the encouragement eidsvold, I have an irrational fear of bureaucracy. Caloundra brings back such happy memories for me - my late Dad's nickname for me was "Bullcock" (charming huh?) after Bullcock Beach in Caloundra which I was mad about as a small girl. Such happy times.

It sounds like your trip will be an incredibly emotional time for you - your mum must be depsperately keen to meet your special little girl. My mother always cries buckets when she leaves us and misses her grandchildren desperately.

I too swore black and blue that I would never marry an Englishman but I take it that yours is happy to go and live in Oz?

I'm an Ozzie originally from Sydney and came to live in Europe when I was 17 - bit of a wild thing in those days! Didn't think I'd end up living in london for all these years, but I'm pretty settled now and have baby no 1 on the way. Will allways miss sitting by the ocean eating my beer battered fish & chips mmmmm

Can i join you too!

I'm also from Brisbane have been in UK since 1993. I have beautiful a dual-national 4yr DS.

In fact this week I have renewed mine and DS passports which you can do via the post. But be aware it is costly!

Eidsvold how did you persuade DH to make the big move?

Razer....I laid down the law before we even got involved - I told him that while I loved living in the UK i did not think I would be able to do it forever ( mind you that was after my first dreary winter here after almost a year of sunshine and warmth.) So if he was serious about me he had to consider that he might have to move to Australia!! Now we see that it will be better for our dd for a number of reasons to be raised in Australia. He is definitely as keen as I am if not even more impatient than I am. I think had I not fallen pregnant so soon after we married we might already be in Australia now. BUT we would not have had our little cheeky monkey.

Razer what part of Brisbane?? I grew up in Arana Hills ( north west) and then after moving around from Rockhampton, back to Brisbane and then Mackay, bought a house in Petrie (Pine Rivers area.)Then to a little country town and then back to Brisbane and now here.

Bells we are staying at Golden beach just around the corner from good old Bullcock Beach!!! yeh it is rather an interesting name.

Bells2 for their first passport you have to go to Australia House but that is it for renewals etc you can do it by post. It is just that the adult applying for the first child passport has to go to the High Commission. I would wait and do them all in one go but get them done before you go otherwise it adds up with their visa. Just a hint before you go - get their electronic visas online - much cheaper than travel agents. About £9 each at this website...

www.eta.immi.gov.au/index.html

You are all more than welcome - I was just curious to see how many of us there were...

Ohh eidsvold you are soo lucky.

My DP says it is toooooooooo HOT!

I grew up in Springwood (south), went to uni at Kelvin Grove, lived at Coorparoo, then moved to Wellington Point/Cleveland (bayside) then did the big OS to london. Do you still own your house? the house prices are skyrocketting, not enough properties to buyers. (everyones moving North)

I am waiting desperately for a care parcel from my mum, lots of goodies I miss tim tams and violet crumbles.

Bells2 You can get passport applications sent via
www.australia.org.uk or
email: [email protected]
Adults passports £50 and minors (dear darlings) £26 so not cheap.

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razer I did my grad dip at Kelvin Grove. I do still own my house - thank goodness we will have somewhere to live when we go back although after being rented for a number of years I am sure it will need some overhauling. Planning a big painting and decorating spree.

Ohhh tim tams - what abuot Arnotts shapes and my personal favourite - CHerry Ripes!!!

bloss - where are you now??

Thanks again for the passport info. This thread made me so feel so nostalgic that I placed an order yesterday for £20 of violet crumbles, cherry ripes, tim tam's etc. Just what I need (not)!.

Bloss, I seriously think that Radio 4 is one of the biggest impediments to me moving back to Oz.

Eidsvold your place at Kelvin Grove is probably worth a fortune now! Inner city property prices have gone through the roof.

So many of us!! Eidsvold, if you are planning to go back next year you need your application for DH in really quickly. I have friends (Aussie Mum and kids but English Dad) who waited over two years for his visa to be processed. She eventually took the kids back herself so they could start school and Simon followed about four months later when the papers were approved. There was no impediment to his migrating - he even had a star job developing Heathrow's terminal 5 and was assured of a job at Sydney's airport on arrival. But it still took two years. So get your skates on! We are flying out to Brisbane on the 17th of April on Malaysian Airlines. When are you going??

we leave in two weeks time .. with singapore airlines - not flown them before alhtough have heard good things about them. We will have had a week on hte beach at the Sunshine Coast by the time you leave the UK S We are planning on applying when we get back from Australia. That is interesting it took that long Jan as their website says four months processing time.

Well make sure you leave the beach as you found it! I'm SOOO jealous of you. The weather is great there just now. 27 degrees yesterday according to my Mum. I've flown Singapore - they were fine. Maybe the High Commission has improved its efficiency since my friend's experience (two years ago now). I hope so! My DH is very keen to live out there, but I don't think I would get a job very easily. But I can still dream.

I too have flown Singapore to Australia and found they were really good.

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