blondie

Please hang in there and talk things through with a professional first ... these big decisions really need to be made with a clear, healthy mindset. I was in a very similar situation myself so really do understand what you are going through.

Hi scousers, I have been reading your posts and I thought you were going to try the counselling.

https://www.clarendonhotel.com Always stay here when in London, 5 minute walk to station, independent hotel, some free parking, good breakfast included,

Yes, we came back in our 50’s and got one with the TSB.

Well looking at the weather at the moment (freezing) I would be off to the shops for cheap coats. Try Sports Direct, charity shops, supermarkets etc. plus a hat or scarf and your all set for some lovely long walks.

I personally would rather see a uniformed security guard than have a random member of staff insist on seeing the contents of my shopping bag before I leave the store ... this used to enrage me. I could not understand how a company (K Mart in particular) would rather search a customer than attach security tags onto clothing and install cctv. Maybe the security screens/bars issue just occurs in inner cities ?? I've never noticed them where I live but did in inner Sydney, however, although I have accidentally forgotten to lock the car or front door at times I wouldn't make a habit of it ... it's lovely where I live with a great community but, as with other lovely communities, the grotty people will drive to 'work', they keep the most strange hours ... Normally 2 - 5 am

Agree with NickyNook .... we lived in West Pennant Hills, it ticks all your boxes.

As always Quoll you've hit the nail on the head

well if you want to swap oz tales or fancy a chat and a cup of something, then private message me. We are in Somerset also, been in the house two years at the end of October.

we just came back from a week-end and went to The Globe Theatre to see a brilliant production of Much Ado About Nothing. How about Brick Lane for a decent curry, or a west end show, St Paul's Cathedral just before official closing time and you can listen to the service at the end of the day. Adult only nights at the museums (google which one and when) Hampton Court is amazing, Tea at the Savoy or The Ritz. Try the new alcohol free bars. Google walking tours.

I lived in West Pennant Hills and seem to remember an ex-pat group that meet regularly in each others homes but cannot remember how I found them although this link is also good for meeting people : https://www.meetup.com/cities/au/sydney/social/ The library is another good source of information for meeting up and social events, there is a good one at Castle Hill and one at Rouse Hill, although I never used the Rouse Hill one. Meeting other mums through the kids is always a surefire way to make friends. Good Luck

On landing in London and arriving at my mothers house she told me "you must be mad coming back here" in fact she loved to tell me several times a week !! I think she was just pissed that her free holidays had come to an end. It certainly made our relationship pretty sour and continues to do so. I'm questioned a lot of the time as to why we would come back, but always by local people who have never lived overseas. They have no experience whatsoever and, therefore, their opinion is irrelevant. Good luck with your move I turned 50 the year we came back and had no trouble finding work (NHS) and my husband was 55 and had a job offer before moving back (engineering consultant) We have a great house and not a colour bond fence in sight (they are my pet hate)

thank you all for advice ?

Thanks for your reply, I have one more question please. I never took citizenship but have permanent residency. Is it possible for me to withdraw my super ?

they both took citizenship

Hi, I am guessing the answer to this question but will ask anyway ... nothing ventured etc. My daughter is 28, spent 7 years in NSW and Queensland, studying and working and has accrued monies in her superfund. She has absolutely no intention of returning to Oz and is now living with us and saving for a house deposit. It seems so unfair to have this money just sitting there when she desperately needs a house deposit. Her partner has about $40,000 also in a super fund, He too has no desire to live back in Australia. Between them they have a house deposit saved there. Is there anyway at all that this money can be released to them, or at least transferred over to a british pension provider, It is completely non-sensical to keep their money in Australia. Any ideas ... anyone ?? Many Thanks

Sydney in 2015

We self packed and got a removalist to help pack the container, didn't get stopped at customs.

We did it all ourselves .... shopped around with shipping companies, luckily found a removal man who would help pack up the container (he worked for another firm but also did a bit on the side) and he was able to provide an invoice with his tax number thing. You will need it 'professionally' packed for any insurer to cover. Arranged with council for it to stay on the grass strip outside the house. Packed it over a couple of days, company came to pick it up and deliver to UK. Arrived with no problems at all in Southampton and arranged for it to be delivered to a local storage facility until we moved into our own house. It was a lot of stress and organisation and, to be honest, we saved a few thousand, but if doing it again I would completely ditch everything except the most precious and personal items. Look at the cost of packing and moving items and compare to cost of replacing (and not everything replaced has to be brand new)

Hi all We have been back home for 2 years now after 7 years in Sydney, so thought I would give a little update that may reassure others making the move to the green and pleasant land. HOUSING: While in Sydney we rented and had to move 3 times for various reasons. Lived in the burbs (which I hated). In the UK we sold our house in Devon and bought in Somerset. We have an amazing home (barn conversion) which is large and open plan and fits all the furniture in which we bought back with us. We are in a lovely little village, good community, surrounded by fields and sheep. We even have our own allotment EMPLOYMENT: OH had a job offer made whilst still in Oz which was great to come straight into, I took a little longer to find work as our son was diagnosed with diabetes and I had to re-think a lot of choices. I now work part time within the NHS and I love the job. Our daughter is a teacher and her partner is also working full time. Our salaries are lower than Oz but it seems to be working out ok as cost of living is lower. EDUCATION: Our son went to a private school in Sydney which we hoped would provide the extra help he needed as he has dyslexia. The school was ineffective and offered no extra help at all other than a weekly homework club. Two weeks into his new school here (an Academy Trust) he had been tested and extra measures put into place. Student support, a learning mentor, scribe for exams and extra time. The campus isn't as pleasant as his private school and the kids are not as privileged as his old school friends but he has the opportunity to learn properly. ENTERTAINMENT: We may be out in the countryside but have everything and more we could need. Gym 5 minutes in the car, tennis club 15 minutes down the motorway. Dancing lessons, film nights, gardening clubs, pilates, yoga, bands, theatres, astronomy club, youth club, WI, history club, art groups all thriving in the the various villages and local towns. Nearest pub is 5 minutes in the car, welcomes the dog and serves a cracking roast for nine pounds The nearest (decent) beach is just over an hour away in the car. WHAT DO I MISS: Mostly it's the friends I made, the large salary made us feel successful, coupled with blue skies pretty much every day, just helps a person feel "YES" !!! If our salary increased dramatically here, there was a tad more of the blue skies but without the blistering heat and one friend in particular then I would be pretty much in heaven. WHAT DON'T I MISS: Mosquitoes, humidity, spiky grass, gum trees, the suburbs, colorbond fencing, endless NSW bureaucracy, flies, conversations about Super and house prices and shopping malls!! So thats us in a nutshell .... not too shabby really Good luck to all returning or moving here for the first time.

I know of many parents who are granted disability living allowance for their kids with type 1 diabetes ... so my apologies if I confused the two ... carers v disability living allowance, DLA requires the two year residency rule as I posted previously. I am saddened though at the usual comments, Diabetes is a major 'issue' ... children die of this disease. Parents have to change their working life/hours/commitments to take care of their children when other adults refuse to step up and assist. Too many schools are lax in their care of a type 1 child with a general huge misunderstanding of the disease. I speak from bitter experience which I would willingly trade with Sammy who seems uninformed. So, as with most life experiences, if you have no knowledge and only opinions ... then please think before you speak ... you literally have no idea

I am struggling to understand your logic ... minor issue !!!! try explaining that to the parents of kids who have died from this incurable disease ... shame on you

You will not be eligible ... currently you have to have lived in the UK for 2 years before claiming benefit. I know this because 10 months after our arrival back in UK our son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and we were told the 2 year rule at the time we placed an application for carers allowance. We will wait until March and re-apply for the PIP allowance for him.

Who knows ... People say hindsight is a great thing. Personally I think it's something to crucify yourself with. We stayed seven years in the end. I enjoyed the first two, then downhill after that. We only went on a temporary basis. The pros were we saw some amazing places, opened our minds to a more cosmopolitan lifestyle, learned to love sushi !!, met some lovely people, The cons were inadequate education system for our dyslexic son, shallow image obsessed culture in Sydney, healthcare system that is a money making business, eye wateringly expensive houses, grotty rentals, obsession with wealth and owning at least one rental property, mozzie bites every time I went out in the evening, every time, having to cover my skin in chemicals to stop being burnt or bitten. Freezing houses in the middle of winter. the cost to our family has been huge, we all came back with the exception of our youngest daughter who stayed in Queensland, I miss her beyond words and feel incomplete without her here, my relationship with my own mother has deteriorated but not for obvious reasons, since our return and our marriage took a real hammering as he ended up loving it and wanting to stay and I never did. So on a good day here I say ... Yeah it was worth it, but on a bad day I wish we had never bothered leaving uk. Thats as honest a reply as I can make it

"I think there's got to be something more to life than working, paying taxes and bills and then dying" Kurt, you will work, pay taxes and bills and die regardless of where you live. How you fill in the time in between is the essence of life and with whom. I am not saying go or stay, what I am saying is consider carefully what your real reasons are for this move. My experience is that, generally, ex pats fall into two groups, ones running away from their past and the second group are out for an adventure. i thought I was looking for an adventure in 2007 when we left for Sydney but soon understood that actually I had been bored at home with work, marriage and 3 children .. it was all work and little play. A couple of years in Sydney, working, looking after children, juggling just 4 weeks annual leave in order to fly home to see parents was my wake-up call but I had my 'adventure' ... was it worth it ? Yes and no.