You are all so kind to reply with your thoughts on our dilemma. It is interesting to predict what sorts of replies I would have had if I'd posted this to the Uk returners on the British Expats forum. I think they would be very different!! I decided not to post there as I think their opinions are understandably pretty skewed towards 'don't bother!' That forum is pretty scary reading! Has anyone else been there? Perhaps I should stop all this 'research' LOL! NO offence meant to peeps who have been to Oz, given it their best shot and returned to the UK very much poorer, I just don't want that to happen to us.
Hubby and I are going to sit down tonight (with a glass of wine or two) and make an objective (koff) list of what we want to get out of life, whether we can stomach such a big risk and do a proper itemised rundown of Oz set-up expenses and how much money we actually will have to finance it. £160 k from equity in UK house seems a lot in dollars but I reckon it will disappear pretty quickly if we have to absorb massive pay cuts and the cost of living is not that dis-similar to the UK.
It seems there are lots of 'hidden' drains on the piggy bank too such as school fees, stamp duty on houses and cars et etc.
As I read my posts back, it seems I concentrate a lot on financial aspects which makes me seem materialistic. If I'm honest, I guess I must be as I do like my nice cars, clothes and holidays. Perhaps Oz isn't for me after all as I believe fashion is about 10 years behind the UK ! lol.
Hubby and I had a years working holiday down under in 1989/1990 and travelled all over Oz working here and there. We do know the place although I admit that is an awfully long time ago! I told you we were in our 40's! We lived for a month in Perth, Northbridge area (central) in a really grotty rented flat as we were literally on a shoestring budget with just the contents of our backpacks to our name! There was no work then (worldwide slump). We had a great time though and it means we don't have rose-tinted specs on. There is fab stuff and grotty stuff wherever you go. Happy days!
we could be facing financial suicide by not moving away.everything seems to be going up in price ,we have more and more taxes being applied to us (which also increase every year) however wages do not rise to match,more and more jobs are being out sourced to the far east,the only growth sectorseems to be tesc/asda/whoever,but they prefer the part time workers .......
.... And then theres the social suicide of staying,ever tried going out somewhere for free these days? we don"t have the climate (apart from maybe 5 weeks of the yr) to just go out to the country/beach etc....... going out at night these days needs a SAS unarmed combat skill,esp at the weekends in many towns ........... thats of course if you can get enough time off work to go out ........... and as for actually trying to drive anywhere .......
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fizz jo hays and chelle are all dudes
dan is a princess.
i am a babe. so there.
Hi again Tanya, Yes been on ex pats and have the same views as you - not very supportive. If you're really not sure - why not rent out your house for a year? I don't know if you or your husband can take a career break so that if you didn't like it here you would have something to go back to. If you're really not sure, you can still make the move and have some security knowing you can return to the UK.
If you don't go ..... you'll never know
All the best
Ali
__________________ I am toopositive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful and too determined to be defeated!
Hubby and I had a years working holiday down under in 1989/1990 and travelled all over Oz working here and there. We do know the place although I admit that is an awfully long time ago! I told you we were in our 40's
BTW I think your initial post was excellent.... well thought out & logical :)
Here are a couple of things you might not have considered (I know I didn't, perhaps quite deliberately?).... the long term issues (both good & bad).
You will retire in a warm climate which will add to your quality of life & may? add longevity (as opposed to feeling a climatic prisoner in your own home). However, as you get older you may become more isolated. Even if you have kids there is every chance they'll be working several hours flying time away. This is likely particularly if your kids go & get degrees.
As you get older so will your parents... you will have to seriously consider the fact that you'll see them for the last time when you leave... on the other hand its very good to be away from the family politics sometimes :).
If you or your partner becomes very sick you may/will find yourself without any of the family support system... don't dismiss this... its likely to happen at some point. On the up side, you cope & its all part of lifes rich pattern. :)
why not rent out your house for a year? I don't know if you or your husband can take a career break so that if you didn't like it here you would have something to go back to. If you're really not sure, you can still make the move and have some security knowing you can return to the UK.
That makes A LOT of sense. Many seem to sell as a way of committing to the move...but then who wants to be committed? (hehe)
On the other hand, if you can afford it - even if it means taking out some equity - it does mean that you can relax in the knowledge that if you do return you really will be able to pick up life where you left off. No worries about buying a smaller home / not being able to afford to buy anything / moving into a less desirable area etc.
All worries are valid. All concerns worthy of consideration. I think this site is the best for non-judgemental, supportive advice, so just keep sharing! You can be pretty sure that someone out here has had that worry / been through a similar situation.
I think your right Fat Pom, we get caught up in the excitment of the visa etc., and don't give much thought to 20 years time. I'm acutally working with a couple who have been here over 20 years and are considering moving back to UK because of the heat!! They're taking a long holiday back in the UK first though (not been back there for a number of years), I'm sure they'll find it's changed alot
Ali
__________________ I am toopositive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful and too determined to be defeated!
Hi i jist thought i would reply to Heywood Monkey. If you spend severall years out of UK
You wont behable to claim any benifts or house. you would have to prove you can sppport your self . I f children need to go uni you would have to pay overseas prices for them to attend. I found this out on the B E fourm. i think this is totally unfair after all the years
of paying stamp tax etc. Their is also alt more difficultys i carnt rember.
Sorry to put a damper on things. But on a high note i think if your like me wont be a problem as i dont intend to come back to the uk.
Hi Mandyx
Not that i want to be sponging off the gov if i return to UK but i too had the idea that if we returned we could go for gold and claim everything poss! Why would you have to prove you could support yourself as we wouldnt be asking to come back to UK we would just come as we are citizens born and bread. I know i am a citizen of Australia too and hubby came on a spouse vise and i have to support him for at least 2 years. But we are both UK cits so dont have to prove a thing. we thought if we returned we could clain benefits until we got ourselves sorted with jobs. As for Uni well my kids are UK born and bred too so will not pay overseas fees that would be ridiculous if we lived in UK.
Can anyone clear this up for definate please as i am sure it would be helpful for people to know for the "just in case they need it" scenario.
Thanks Georgiexxxxx
Hello gergie
I went on the british expats forum and when i read it i was gob smacked when i found out
that we were'nt entitled to much. I dont think it would affect you if you went for a couple of years. I think its if you go long term and then come back. because we havent paid tax
& NI contrubutions. its dosent sound they take inconsideraton the years you paid in before we left.
To be sure check out the B E forum click on going back to uk (its at the bottom) And its on the read this bit (in blue) also there was a thread on there where a woman had manyproblems
when she returned after 10 years.
Hello gergie
I went on the british expats forum and when i read it i was gob smacked when i found out
that we were'nt entitled to much. I dont think it would affect you if you went for a couple of years. I think its if you go long term and then come back. because we havent paid tax
& NI contrubutions. its dosent sound they take inconsideraton the years you paid in before we left.
To be sure check out the B E forum click on going back to uk (its at the bottom) And its on the read this bit (in blue) also there was a thread on there where a woman had manyproblems
when she returned after 10 years.
Just a mention about leaving the uk for long time. I was away for 4 years the first time (11 years ago) and tried to come back for university. I was treated as a foreigner and couldn't claim anything. I was expected to pay £5,000 a year for university and ended up paying £1500 after appeal. Someone in the unversity felt sorry for me and fiddled it a bit. I couldn't get a grant or any benefits. I also couldn't get a credit card or anything on credit. Renting was difficult too. So I think the cut off time being abroad is 3 years but don't quote me on that.
I have wobbles every day. But so far I've been a weeble - I haven't fallen down.
My lovely wife and I talk about financial security after our move, and things are far from certain. You can do best estimates and projections, but you don't know the exact situation you face until you are there. It is a worry.
My latest wobble has been the depreciation in value of your bricks and mortar. The land is your investment, not the actual house. This takes a bit of getting your head round, but I think we have got ther now. The idea of having to consider rebuilding in 25 yrs time does not appeal to me.
Other things that worry us are medical and dental costs. I know about medicare, and health insurance, but you still have to pay something of an excess. My wife needs a routine procedure every three years due to her family history, and we don't know if this will be covered by the insurance. Dental fees are a worry too.
Then there's the prevalence of hard drugs, with which there's supposed to be a massive problem. Someone is about to say there are massive problems here too, but not so close to where I live. I believe it is more widespread there, and out in the open, but of course I don't have first hand experience. But this worries me also, for the sake of my children.
There are certainly serious issues to consider in moving to another country. If my company wins business there, I should be working for them in Melbourse. If not, I need to look for jobs - that in itself scares the bejeebers out of me.
But after researching these things, my informed choice, in as far as I can be informed, is that we need to go for it. Someone way up this thread said about the power of sunshine. I totally agree - it affects my whole outlook. I'm very much affected that way (or rather in the absence of it). I'm a bit S.A.D. that way.
We are looking forward to a fresh start with fresh food, good climate (even given Melbourne's rain!), flat landscape so we can all cycle together, and this good standard of living we hear so much about, which is not all about money.
On the balance of things, this is a brilliant opportunity and we're going to go for it. I'm 42 this year, and I don't want to look back in a couple of years when the politicians have continued to ruin this place, and realise what we should have done.
