grada

I'd like to chip in. Back after 9 years and loving it. SO absolutely glad to be here with my family. Sometimes fate lends a hand and shoves you one way or another. Kids swing it; doesn't sound like you have them but they change EVERYTHING as a migrant in ways you cannot yet imagine. It's one thing being so far away on your own but with a kid, seeing them miss out on family, guilt doesn't even cover it. Another thing is; illness and death. For example, last year i had a very close family member drop down dead at 48. That was a massive slap in the face- i'd already considered this with my parents, but, experiencing this SO far away was torture and made it so much worse. And, biggest ever lesson in human beings not being immortal, being fragile and none of us knowing when our time is up.

I'm home. One family member is very sick and i am able to provide hands on support. Parents- so much older than when i migrated. Friends- slowly losing parents and one a sibling through cancer, but, I am here for them.

I didn't mind leaving Australia anyway, I was over it by the end. It's just another place. Sure, i left friends there too. Either way, you lose, You also gain though.

Absolutely could not live with regret. The time may well come when i am ready to go again. But the glow i get being with friends and family makes me much happier than I ever was there. Just my experience.

We don't have all the time in the world. We really don't. It's cheesy but love is all we got in the end. Got lots of it here. Good luck!

 

Ps. Winter was delightful and i loved it. the seasons amazed me, it wasn't actually that bad, and the days are getting longer and Spring is almost here. i think we build up winter to being worse than it is!

Love this post, very well worded, and echo's my own sentiment exactly. I think about my close family and friends every day, and while it's not my only motivation for moving back, its certainly a biggie.

For me I think I have got to the point where my own homesickess, I can feel it physically, like really sick, dizzy, and cannot concentrate because of it. Thats when you know I think, and have to do something about it. Having a family and children to think about here, also needs to take priority, so their needs count also more than mine.

Life is a complex interwoven mesh of friends, family, finances, careers, and joyful or tough experiences. Migration (for many of us) can put a strain on that already fragile network.

Where is the house?

Sunny Coast

So many variables - If you think you may come back, it's tempting to rent it - as long as you won't do this at a loss. Non resident of Australia pay tax on all income (don't get tax free allowance) so is there plenty to offset? You'll need to do an annual tax return for Australia too. Would you make a gain or a loss from sale? Would it rent easily without hassle? I kept my UK house and am really glad I did now I'm returning but I can't deny that having to rent here (because I didn't release equity) has been a pain...

Thinking we'd break even on the sale, would just be happy to sell it for what we'd paid for it, rental wise looking at the local market thinking there would be a small loss and would probably need to top up between $50 and $100 per week. It should rent out easily, its a nice house, 4 bed with pool near the beach, rentals round here don't stay vacant for long and this one is certainly a lot nicer than many of the rentals advertised.

Bit of a generic question I know!

Short story is were approaching our 4th year here, and seriously considering a move back to UK (many many reasons, too many to list).

My dilemma is what to do with our house here in Australia? Sell the house before we leave (bought it stupidly fairly recently so we'd have to try and sell it for what we paid for it, or close to), or rent the house out while we relocate to the UK.

My reasoning behind this is that it's nice having the assets in bricks and mortar, and we don't know how long it'll take us to be eligible for a mortgage again once we hit UK shores. I'm thinking it could be a good idea to keep this one as an asset, and try and sell it once we become eligible for a UK home loan once again (with secure jobs etc).

It would be good to hear from someone who has been in a similar situation? We'll probably do a holiday back home first just to make sure (not been able to afford a trip home since we landed 4 yrs ago!).

Cheers.