Diane

It's happening here in Australia too - maybe also in America. Vilifying a group of people purely because of their religion, slowly and insiduously increasing police powers... You have only to look at the offshore concentration camps that the Australian government is able to run, shrouded in secrecy. I always wondered how Hitler was able to get away with it, but sadly it's becoming obvious that with the main stream media on your side (Murdoch both here and in the UK) a lot can happen that really should not.

That sounds such a sensible way of doing it, well done. People put on weight for all different reasons, but unless it's a result of medication or a medical reason, for most the only way to lose it is to either eat healthier or exercise more - or a combination of both - and most people know what eating healthy is. I know that snacking my way through half a brie, or stopping on the way into work for bacon and eggs probably isn't going to help me lose weight for instance! I don't think hearing about a miracle diet or a miracle weight-loss scheme does anyone any good - what works for one probably won't work for another, and everyone has different lifestyles and levels of willpower. I know someone that lost huge amounts of weight, but that was by becoming bulimic which is hardly something to recommend to others! I haven't read the rest of the thread I admit, but there are so many schemes looking to make money from those desperate to lose weight - "Call me now and I'll share my secret" type of thing! Even if they told me I could still eat my half a brie and bacon breakfast, if I just followed their plan as well I would lose weight, I would seriously question it, and question my sanity if I believed it - however much I wanted to!!

Don't know whereabouts you are living in Adelaide, but I have heard the complete opposite regarding schooling here compared to Melbourne - from people that have made the move in the other direction, from VIC to SA. There are plenty of excellent schools around the metro area with fantastic results, and the private schools are a fraction of what you would pay in VIC. Don't forget SA covers a huge area for results tables - and includes a lot of outback areas as well which would bring the average down. If you are not happy with the standards at the particular school your children are at though, perhaps a move interstate wouldn't be such a bad thing... but if not, I think in your place I would be looking at changing schools in Adelaide as well! PS I have a lot of time for Jay Wetherill too - I think the governmental decisions that blight South Australia tend to come from the Feds, and that will be just as bad in VIC as they are not too fond of Daniel Andrews either who is way too progressive for their tastes!

Probably a bit foolish but it's a very human way to deal with tragedy. When I worked in the City it was amazing how quickly the bad taste jokes surfaced after something horrific, and talking to friends who are nurses, it seems like the medical profession also uses black humour to cope with traumatic happenings

The city is getting quite a reputation for small bars and food places too - starting to rival the Laneways of Melbourne even. This is happening tomorrow night: http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/main/free-leighpeel-st-block-party-this-friday-in-adelaide-hell-yes/

For a (very) short time we were Aussie Dollar Millionaires - we did get 2.5 dollars to the pound then though!

it has been several years since we went there, but I remember thinking even then that Dreamworld seemed really tired and badly maintained compared to the rest of the themeparks there.

You got to know the tram route really well though :wink:

Well, those of us that live here know this already, but for the rest of you... http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/main/south-australia-scores-5th-in-lonely-planets-2017-top-10-travel-regions/

Apparently it was on the Buzz Saw roller coaster - don't kniw if that is different from the Thunder River one

I find what we poms do spectacularly well is whinge about the weather! Had a particularly cold start to Spring here in South Australia and you'd think the world had come to an end! "I didn't move here to be cold", "It's the same temperature as in England" etc etc etc. Just waiting for our first 40 degree day to hear the "Oh, it's too hot", "My air conditioning costs so much" etc etc! Now admittedly yesterday my fingers were so blue I could hardly get my bottle of shiraz open, but even so....

Must admit I was horrified when a parent on one of the FB groups I belong to here was asking about getting a private tutor for her 7 or 8 year old as she didn't feel they were achieving as much here as they did in England! I think that primary schools here rightly concentrate a lot more on developing a child's social skills, and high school then goes hard with academic stuff - that's what we found anyway.

There is also a very good Pay Calculator website run by Fairwork so you can work out what the rate for your job should be https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/

If you are employed casually by an employer, the employer pays 9.5% Super into a fund for you you every month/quarter plus your wage is included in the calculation of the amount of workcover he has to pay. Different industries have different workcover rates - it could be something like 3% for an office, or higher if there is a higher chance of an accident or injury happening in your particular workplace/profession. There are set minimum pay awards that an employer has to pay for the job you are doing. If you are being paid as a contractor, with your own ABN, the rate he pays you should not be less than it would cost him to pay someone as a casual employee - so the award rate for the job, plus a casual weighting (usually around 25%), plus any other weightings (weekend work, late shift etc), plus the 9.5% super that he won't need to pay you, and the fact that you will need to be covered by your own workplace insurance - although Workcover are getting a lot more canny these days and starting to look at employers that employ a lot of independent contractors. You will not get PAYG tax withheld by an employer if you are working on your own ABN - it will be up to you to put money aside for this or find the money when tax time comes around. If you just work for the one employer, you should not really be employed as a contractor - there are rules that say you should only do a maximum of something like 80% of your work for that employer and 20% elsewhere. As I say, Workcover and the ATO are cracking down a lot on this and I know have been auditing a lot of companies to make sure a contractor is really an independent contractor and not a way for the employer to get round the rules! So unless you are working elsewhere as well, might be worth looking at the rules closely before agreeing to anything. https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/rights-and-obligations/contractors-and-employees-whats-the-difference

You would have got a Tax File Number (TFN) when you were here in Australia. I know that if you were to move back and re-apply for one, they would reinstate your old one rather than issuing a new one so if you can find that out that would be a good start. Have a read through here (as well as the Qs & As at the bottom) https://www.elodge.com.au/etax-au/lost-tfn-find-out-your-tax-file-number/#.V_8gEvl95hE

She was amazing - so knowledgeable and so willing to share that knowledge. Hope she's been fitted for her harp and given a luxurious cloud to float on up there, she surely earnt it

How about putting some notices up offering dog walking services? That way you get the exercise and companionship of a dog (or several) without having to have them live with you.

I think the issue with private medical insurance might be getting cover for anything relating to your pre-existing condition. I'm sorry I don't know anything about Ulcerative Colitus specifically, but I have an auto-immune condition, so don't have private medical cover for the above reason. I have always found Medicare to be excellent though - I have seen doctors and specialists privately when needs be, and claimed a large percentage of the cost back from Medicare.

Also you need to think about what sort of investment works for your particular circumstances. If you are earning enough to benefit from tax discounts from negative gearing, then maybe a new place will give you more in terms of depreciation, but if you are looking to get an income from rent over and above the costs of servicing a mortgage (if you need one - again, may work out more tax effective to take one out, even if you have the cash to not need to), then maybe look for an older property that you can spend some time and effort (and maybe money) on, to improve and raise potential rent you could charge. Older properties also tend to be on larger plots, with subdivision potential down the line. Some real estate friends of ours bought a plot, subdivided, and built two properties - but actually overall they didn't make very much money on the deal because of all the costs involved. I have friends in Sydney who invested in properties in other towns (Melbourne and Adelaide for instance) as prices were cheaper. I think they even were able to claim the costs of travelling to maintain them against tax too (not sure though, that was a few years ago) - if you have a place near a Uni, you could probably rent to two or three students, instead of one family, thus increasing your potential rent. Consider also if you will have the property managed by an agent, or do it yourself (again, I've friends that do both for various reasons). As said above, do your research thoroughly, and speak to a financial advisor (see above) for some advice. You could go along to one of the seminars that are held by companies like Ironfish to get some ideas, but don't get sucked in by the hype and remember, they are in the game to make money too, not for your benefit!

We put our house on the market at the end of May, sold up lots of OH's toys (motorbikes, boat, caravan, two cars) and were on the plane out here on 9th August. Probably the best way to do it, as you really don't have time for second thoughts! We didn't bring any pets - just two kids, Within two weeks of arriving here we'd bought a house, two cars and a dog.

If you are coming from the UK, how about spomething like a bear dressed as a Beefeater, or a toy London bus?

Brilliant, you sound an amazing person - Darwin is lucky to have you. You really do need to start a blog or something (incidentally, I heard about someone here in Adelaide that writes a blog about shops and restaurants and stuff, and gets loads of free stuff in return for a review - with your writing style and great sense of humour I reckon you would make a killing doing something similar)

I would invest some money in a good accountant who knows his/her stuff.

You can drive across to Melbourne in a day from Adelaide, so why not buy a cheap tent and plan a trip over there to check the place out? You can spend a few days in the city and visit some recruitment agencies - with admin work it sometimes helps to start as a temp, or covering a short term contract, so both you and the employer can see if the job suits you, so that might be a way in.

Wonder if Abbott entered the UK on his British passport? :biglaugh: