jellodog

After having been back in the UK for more than 6 months (from Australia) it became apparent that I had probably suffered from a little Reverse Culture Shock. I was finding fault with everything about the UK and I got angry about many things; for example, I kept complaining about the cities being dirty compared to Melbourne. Well, Manchester is pretty dirty, actually. Haha. Looking back, I can see that something wasn't right; that my thoughts weren't fully rational and that I was unreasonably agitated. When you're in the midst of it, it may be hard to recognise, so you have to be on your guard and question yourself honestly. Regardless, Manchester isn't cutting it for me. Will probably move to Scotland again (!)

I lodged mine online this year from the UK, but that was in July 2015 - during the usual end of year period. Very quick turnaround - a refund cheque arrived within a couple of weeks. I would guess if you want things resolved earlier, then a paper return might be in order.

I used to love top-loaders - part of that love was probably down to the novelty aspect of not ever having had one in the UK. It's also great if you find a sock on the floor or forget something: You can simply flip the lid open and chuck it in, even after the wash has started. However, whilst living in Melbourne and after my second-hand top-loader broke down, I did some research and discovered that front-loaders are way more energy and water efficient, as well as leaving less mechanical wear on garments, so I changed my mind and never went back.

LOL. Given that I thought that I'd somehow lost the money for good, I would probably have gone along with your suggestion too!

Haha, so I've answered my own question here. I couldn't find anyway of contacting the ATO yesterday, electronically from the online app or email addreses which is why I was asking who to contact. I'm sure that you were sitting there thinking "just phone them!", and you would have been right. I found the overseas enquiry number and phoned that this morning. I was told that the money would be automatically sent to my Aussie bank account, and then bounce back. A cheque would then be generated and sent to my UK address which is on their system. So panic over. Apologies for the flapping. Also: Plus points for the ATO and Australia - they were so incredibly nice and helpful. Great customer service. They even called me back to save on my long distance mobile bill. Very different experience to those that I've had with HMRC.

I'm been living back in the UK now since April and I've closed my bank account in Australia, which seemed like a sensible thing to do at the time (!) Now it's looking like I've messed up. I've lodged my final Australian return online with the ATO, and much to my surprise, I'm looking at a significant estimated tax refund. I couldn't delete my existing bank details, and it's only possible to enter AU bank details. Am I screwed? Who can I talk to? Has anybody else had this problem and managed to get an overseas refund from the ATO? If it was just a few dollars, then I'd let it go, but it isn't.

We used Amaysim PAYG SIMs and found them to be great value. You can pick up Amaysim SIMs for a couple of dollars at Coles and a number of other places - they're everywhere. When we first arrived in Australia we used Vodafone and it wasn't a good service or value.

Hi there, I know how you feel Chorltepuss; it can be truly awful, can't it. I've had some sort of anxiety for most of my time in Australia. There were multiple stressors but much of it was brought on by the uncertainty of being here under the 457 visa, and therefore being a temporary resident. Anyway, things got really bad in November and I sought help from my Doctor and I was referred to a Psychologist for CBT to take advantage of the 10 rebated Medicare sessions that are offered. 3 Months later and CBT has made a massive difference! I'm much much better now and more or less back to my usual self. I would strongly recommend it if you haven't already tried it. There comes a time when you can't fix an internal issue without seeking outside help, otherwise there's a tendency to constantly repeat the same cycles of thought. I also stopped drinking coffee (which is a tragedy in Melbourne) and started going to bed earlier to get much more sleep until the situation improved. I should also add that I'm thinking of leaving my job and returning to the UK within the next few months... so clearly that has also helped a great deal.

Salaries vary from state to state, so I can only comment on what I've seen in Victoria. I'm a Senior Software Developer living in Melbourne. I keep an eye on the market and believe that for decent .NET skills you would be able to land a job with a salary between $100 & $115k. There are some roles offering more for (niche?) in-demand skills; for example, there is a dearth of good Ruby developers in Melbourne at present and I'm seeing those advertised at $120k. If you move to Melbourne then I would strongly suggest that you go to the monthly ALT.NET meetup held in the CBD. There is a good chance that you will find work there through networking (I did).