Sell house in Sydney for Bigger house in UK - a nice problem to have?!

Hi guys, is anyone considering returning to the UK after selling a home in Australia?

Interested to hear if any other people find themselves with the opportunity to return to UK to be much better off financially.

Using the equity of the Sydney house, I could buy a property in UK outright and still have change left over so I could take frugal early retirement/work part time.

Has anyone else found themselves in this predicament and how that has worked out for you?

Funny that I first used this forum to help me work through the initial migration here in 2008 and now I'm back here thinking of a move back England for my dream of a better life.

Life has a way of coming around full circle sometimes!

British born and migrated to Australia in 2008 - feel like I've given it a good fair go here but reality is not the dream I had envisioned....

Lots of people sell their Aus property to return to the UK. TBH how little or large your mortgage is at the point you sell is what will make the difference and where you then choose to buy once back in the UK. Some make the move and do well out of it, others not.

If you can be mortgage free back in the UK and want to go and are going to be happy in the area you buy in, don't see what is stopping you really.

I managed it the other way around selling my small semi-detached in Surrey for a larger better-appointed home in Queensland. We benefitted too from the exchange rate which has now swung back in your favour. It has enabled me to have a frugal semi-retirement too and I am loving it. It is exactly what I had dreamt of but then again I don't think Sydney would have suited me either.

Yes we sold our house in Brisbane and bought a bigger house here in England and even have a bigger garden, mortgage free.

I am sort of puzzled as to the reason for the question. What does it matter whether anyone else has managed to move back and be better off financially? Some will and some won't. We were. But all that really matters is your own situation and sounds like it would be favourable if this is the move you want to do.

Doesn't sound like a predicament to me. Australia has obviously suited you financially to be able to sell and buy outright in the Uk. If you're happy to retire to the UK, which its sounds like you are then you should be rubbing your hands in glee. Good on ya! Enjoy the fruits of your hard Aussie work.

Thanks for the reply bristolman, did you get stung with capital gains or other tax issue? Anything you miss now you are out of Brissy?

Hey LovelyWA, yes I am happy to return to UK myself but hubby not so much - trying to work out the kinks to say the least, thanks for the reply

Hey Bungo, I guess I just want to get my question out there - getting some info together is all, thanks for the reply

Thanks Gbyegreysky - I am now on a mission for my 'house in the shade' which ironically is more likely to set me up for the kind of life I migrated here for - less hours working, more time to myself to enjoy the things I want to do - thanks for the reply.

Thanks for the reply bristolman, did you get stung with capital gains or other tax issue? Anything you miss now you are out of Brissy?

No, we didn't have to pay anything. We just moved the money from one account to the other. Family and friends mostly, not too much about Brisbane itself, the wildlife and Dim Sims.

Yeah I see no downside myself but hubby is just more cautious cos of all the effort it took for us to get over to Aus in the first place - it sounds a bit too good to be true that we could actually be debt free - I see that as the best legacy for our child but hubby views Aus as the best country for opportunities for our son - so I have a big roadblock on my hands atm

Thanks Gbyegreysky - I am now on a mission for my 'house in the shade' which ironically is more likely to set me up for the kind of life I migrated here for - less hours working, more time to myself to enjoy the things I want to do - thanks for the reply.

That just reminds me of one of the things that amuses me, right up there with 'it will be better for the kids' it's the belief that moving to Australia gives you a better work life balance, I'm not really sure how that works.

Yeah I see no downside myself but hubby is just more cautious cos of all the effort it took for us to get over to Aus in the first place - it sounds a bit too good to be true that we could actually be debt free - I see that as the best legacy for our child but hubby views Aus as the best country for opportunities for our son - so I have a big roadblock on my hands atm

No downsides for us. Our kids love it here and have endless opportunities open to them when they finish their schooling. Have you asked your husband what these opportunities are that he is talking about ?

Hi guys, is anyone considering returning to the UK after selling a home in Australia?

 

Interested to hear if any other people find themselves with the opportunity to return to UK to be much better off financially.

 

Using the equity of the Sydney house, I could buy a property in UK outright and still have change left over so I could take frugal early retirement/work part time.

 

Has anyone else found themselves in this predicament and how that has worked out for you?

 

Funny that I first used this forum to help me work through the initial migration here in 2008 and now I'm back here thinking of a move back England for my dream of a better life.

Life has a way of coming around full circle sometimes!

 

British born and migrated to Australia in 2008 - feel like I've given it a good fair go here but reality is not the dream I had envisioned....

We moved to Perth in 2008 and that was pretty much our position too.

We briefly considered moving back to the North East where I grew up & met my husband where we could have bought a house outright and not worried about work but with a primary age child and not yet 50 it didn't seem like the best option so we returned to Scotland where we had moved from, bought a bigger house, in a better area, with a much smaller mortgage and I also earn a little more here & get far more leave so all in all a 'better life' for us.

My only regret is not viewing the move to Australia as a temporary adventure - I certainly don't regret going but as you said it was not the dream we envisioned & I'll take the blame for being unrealistic - people of this forum tried to inform me (us?) but the blinkers were firmly on

Yeah I see no downside myself but hubby is just more cautious cos of all the effort it took for us to get over to Aus in the first place - it sounds a bit too good to be true that we could actually be debt free - I see that as the best legacy for our child but hubby views Aus as the best country for opportunities for our son - so I have a big roadblock on my hands atm

Ah, a reluctant other half is a problem - how old is your son? Personally on balance I think there are probably more opportunities in the UK but it does depend a lot on the career path. And where you would move back to in the UK.

That's good to know that there was no hidden costs or penalties to move back - hubby is adamant that HM gov will want their cut from our gains here and would also require us to pay back pension contributions for each year we have been out of UK.

Hi Lady Rainicorn - yeah I keep telling my hubby that the better life we migrated to Oz for is actually waiting for us back at 'home' - except hubby insists that 'home' is now Sydney, hence the many circular conversations resulting in the same polar opposite views - son is nearly 7 and both myself and OH are not even mid 40s yet - hubby says we are too young to retire and he will soon be bored back in old stomping ground - he also blames my grief - my dad passed away 2 months ago and I was lucky that I flew over to be with him at the end. During those weeks visiting hospital every day, I reconnected with family and had a 'wtf am I doing' realisation that my hubby missed out on cos he was still in Sydney keeping our Aus life going. I've tried to build a life here with play dates and mother's groups and work friends are great, but it feels pretty vacuous compared to my sister and surviving mother now living alone - feel a real pull to get back there and do my bit but then I don't want to stuff up the future of the only Australian in the family, my little aussie battler. I don't want to be selfish - I want everyone to feel good about this... argh!!!!

That's good to know that there was no hidden costs or penalties to move back - hubby is adamant that HM gov will want their cut from our gains here and would also require us to pay back pension contributions for each year we have been out of UK.

No, neither of those things will apply.

Hi Lady Rainicorn - yeah I keep telling my hubby that the better life we migrated to Oz for is actually waiting for us back at 'home' - except hubby insists that 'home' is now Sydney, hence the many circular conversations resulting in the same polar opposite views - son is nearly 7 and both myself and OH are not even mid 40s yet - hubby says we are too young to retire and he will soon be bored back in old stomping ground - he also blames my grief - my dad passed away 2 months ago and I was lucky that I flew over to be with him at the end. During those weeks visiting hospital every day, I reconnected with family and had a 'wtf am I doing' realisation that my hubby missed out on cos he was still in Sydney keeping our Aus life going. I've tried to build a life here with play dates and mother's groups and work friends are great, but it feels pretty vacuous compared to my sister and surviving mother now living alone - feel a real pull to get back there and do my bit but then I don't want to stuff up the future of the only Australian in the family, my little aussie battler. I don't want to be selfish - I want everyone to feel good about this... argh!!!!

The recalcitrant other half is the bane of many a life unfortunately! Get your citizenship if you haven't already and go with the flow. On balance I would say there are more opportunities for kids in UK than in Aus, certainly on a day to day basis and in the longer term, who knows?! I don't think Aus is a cast iron certainty for "better" in any way shape or form. As long as you don't burn any bridges the world is still your oyster really.

Bristolman, hubby is all for the outdoors life and the better wage (comparative I know) - I am resolute though, I am going to get my research together and the facts and hope I can get him over the line - yeah the better life ideal of a place in the sun, funny how that work life balance lie got spread - I do more work now than I ever did.

That's good to know that there was no hidden costs or penalties to move back - hubby is adamant that HM gov will want their cut from our gains here and would also require us to pay back pension contributions for each year we have been out of UK.

Ah so selling up and buying outright in UK really isn't the problem, I was wondering why you were calling it that. The problem is wanting two different things. Anyway no, neither Australia or UK will want capitals gain tax on the sale of your primary residence. And paying NI contributions for missing years is entirely voluntary.

Quoll, yeah my initial gambit with OH is to sell the idea of renting out the Sydney house and buying in UK first as like a 'try before you buy' - I won't be needing my Au citizenship but I've encouraged OH to get his cos he goes off doing his kayaking and biking and he's so content here - my life here is decidedly less interesting and most of what I like (books, podcasts, skyping family) can all come along with me - trying to go with the flow but I can feel a torrent coming our way lol

Bungo, yeah, I wanted to sell up and return as soon as I landed after my dad's funeral but I realise this is a particularly vulnerable time for me - and yet in some way it has made me be honest with OH and myself about how I feel

Yes it seems the big problem is the split in views between you and your husband. One of you will be disappointed I fear. A personal decision and not an easy one to make.