MARYROSE02

On 26/09/2021 at 15:42, Paul1Perth said:

It used to be bulk billed but there's a charge now. You get most of it back through medicare.

Just the fact that it is open 7 days is reassuring. If I remember rightly,  most GPs in England worked Mon to Friday?

17 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

You still need somewhere to live and costs of moving aren't cheap. You may have your life and friends in the suburb you live in and moving might mean trying to recreate that part of your life.

We have friends downsized, cashed in on a beautiful house and moved to a new build but way up the coast. Loads of friends tried to talk them out of it. Their friendship group is here, members of the surf club. They bought electric bikes and thought they would be biking from where they live. The wife did it once and just said it's way too far.

I wonder why they didn't do a "test run" ie renting a place for a month or two to see what it's like. I've done my test run in Surfers but I still would not be game to move permanently.  I want to see if I can handle it on my own as I lived with my brother before. I was just starting to make some friends but I've already got a friends' network in Sydney. 

I did my test runs in Perth too over two trips totally 12 weeks. My friend over there has invited me to stay but, like Qld,  who knows when the borders will open? Xmas looks unlikely so next year after the General Election? 90 percent vaccination? Zero Covid? Never?

19 hours ago, Drumbeat said:

I'm a night owl so not having to get up early is bliss! I've just been offered 2 months work at my old job and I'm hating the thought of early mornings but at least it's for a limited time 

I only really became a night owl when I worked for Royal Mail and realized I liked working late shifts from 1330 to 2130 thus avoiding rush hour on day shift and getting up at 5 am for 0600 to 1400 shifts.  I never had to set an alarm clock and could go to bed when I liked. Before RM I always worked daytime hours.  It is nice to be on day shifts in spring and summer when you have the long evenings. 

I suppose I should push myself to be more disciplined and go to bed before midnight but I like watching the English football.  Tonight Arsenal v Spurs kicks off at 1 am or 130 am and although I could watch it on record without knowing the score I'll probably stay up.

3 hours ago, nomadiccarpenter said:

While Brisbane lacked "ocean beaches", there is access to lots of nature and of course South Bank beach was always nice for a quick dip. I guess it technically has beaches but they are all along bays and rivers. I worked in Redcliffe on a casual gig. It was a bit of a ways but I've had worse. Was a nice quaint town. I would probably want to invest/live in South Brisbane as I like to surf and have better accessibility to Gold Coast. As of now, I'm thinking of going ahead and investing in property in Brisbane next year (pending my visa grant) and work my two years in or around Sydney, renting.

Sounds good.  Brisbane had nicer winters than Sydney? "Question mark" because I don't actually know.  I do know that Gold Coast winters are nicer than Sydney though.

Every city has its pros and cons.  My other brother lives near Camden which is 55km from me which means Bondi/Clovelly/Bronte etc are 60km away. He's may be closer to Wollongong beaches.  He rarely goes to the beach now.

I've no idea when I will get a chance to go to QLD. On Sky they reckon both WA and QLD will keep the borders closed till after the next General Election so the Liberals are restricted from campaigning there.  If those states are going for 90 % or zero Covid-19 then they will never reopen.

6 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

One of the things I've stuck with is getting up early. Best part of the day in Perth is early morning, specially in summer. Lots of the surf club training starts at 5:30am in summer, not yet though, it's still 7:00am for most sessions.

I have a weird thing called benign positional vertigo at the moment, had it since Monday evening. Just thought I felt a bit dizzy going to bed and would be fine the next morning. Still felt the same next morning and it makes you feel sick. Thought it was getting a bit better Wednesday and took the youngster for a driving lesson. Felt really sick in the car and couldn't wait to get home. My wife took me to St Johns clinic the next morning where you don't need an appointment. Emergency care clinic. Saw an Irish doctor who knew instantly what it was when I told him the symptoms. Had me do a couple of exercises where you sit up, look up, then drop on to your side on the bed. Made me feel instantly sick and dizzy. Got some anti nausea tablets which help. I had a sick bag with me and threw up in the wifes car coming home. Hopefully go off soon I hope, can't do any exercise so it's driving me nuts. Just getting over a broken leg now this, it's crap getting old.

Hopefully soon back to the 7:00am swim or ski paddle.

Looking forward to the AFL final tonight, Perth is really busy and it should look great on TV. My son has tickets for the game and is going for Melbourne. I'd like to see them win too but as long as it's a good game not really fussed.

I could not resist Googling the medical centre - open 8am to 9pm 7 days and in a number of locations in Perth. Do you have to pay? There's a 7 day medical centre 9am to 5pm or 6pm weekdays in Bondi Jn which bulk bills. Is there a 7 day dentist in the St John's place? I found out a couple of years ago BUPA have a 24 x 7 emergency dentist  - you don't have to be a member. I used them on NYE.

I did resist the temptation to look up yr illness however.  Nasty to get things like that. I had a problem last year which scared me, something "neuropathy" which the neurologist I saw said is not dangerous. I felt like I was unbalanced,  walking as if I was drunk.  It went away but I fancy it may return. 

I wish i could go to bed early and rise early. I fancy in Perth summers it's more pleasant early mornings and late arvos?  I'm in bed now at 1835, nap before the GF. I'll go for Demons because they've not won since 1964? I watched 2h of Penrith v Melbourne in NRL, Penrith v Souths in GF. I'll gir South's as that is my part of Sydney.

If I have to tie my shoelaces i can't get up easily. Reverting to being a kid when I could ask my mum or dad to do it.  

21 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

My wife said she didn't know how she had time to work a couple of days ago.

I guess I do volunteer on patrols at the surf club. Not what I'd call work though, being down the beach looking out for people who might be in difficulty. Nice feeling when you do get to help mind you, happened a few times.

Patrols start this weekend.

Replying to your earlier post! I love Woodside,  one of the two stocks I've held along with ANZ, after selling the rest when I bought the home in the UK. When I get the money from the sale I might buy Wesfarmers again. I think they still own Bunnings and Blackwoods? I've still got my Spurs shares which my Dad bought for me but they don't pay any dividends.

There's nothing wrong with doing nothing in retirement as long as you fill your day with different kinds of nothing rather than the same nothing.

That's my theory which I've put into practice. Yesterday I rose late at 1140, showered (proper not Pommie) breakfast, put some washing on then spent an hour reading and listening to 2GB (Sydney's 6PR?) followed by an hour watching Billions.

Then I went down to the park with coffee to go and did an hour or so of Japanese before returning home for late lunch before a second stint in the park walking and sitting. 

Then home to nap till 830 pm, dinner,  pizza to go, bit of TV then a marathon session  on the Times' cryptic Xword which, for the first time in 25 years, I think I finished,  with help from my brother in Surfers. (I text him a photo of the xword).

0100 to 0230 was another one and a half episodes of Billions. I should have gone to bed earlier but I'm addicted to Billions which has made the interminable lockdown easier to bear.

I really should emulate you and go to a gym and once they lift the 5km limit I might start going to the beach every eve to swim again. 

Have any long term studies been done on the effects of FIFO working? I'm sure I read something about it.

92 days of lockdown and 90 days of no alcohol but not an ounce of weight lost, nor any other benefits that the wowsers go on about but I feel good for doing it.

On 27/06/2021 at 04:02, nomadiccarpenter said:

I didn't need a job offer but I do have to live and work in New South Wales for two years before I can move anywhere else. Just part of the standard 190 requirements. I'm going for duel citizenship eventually so trying to be very cautious.

I've only spent a total of three weeks in Sydney in the past. There's definitely a lot to love but it felt more intense than Brisbane. I feel like I gotta be hustlin' to stay alive. People were in a hurry. It reminded me of big US cities in that way. My impression could change once I live in different suburbs and maybe the city will grow on me more. I'm still very excited about living there, hopefully soon.

People I meet either love or hate Surfer's Paradise. It's definitely not for surfers. My flat mate called it "Shopper's Paradise." I didn't mind it, but there were other areas around Gold Coast I liked a lot more. Brisbane felt just right to me as far as size and the pace of life. Also did some work in Redcliffe. That was nice. Very family-oriented community there.

My brother likes Redcliffe though he's since gone back to Surfers again. I've not been there.  I did look on the map and wondered how long it weighs take to commute to the CBD? Brisbane may be smaller than Sydney but it's still a big city. Perth had a slower pace but I'm not sure about Brisbane. Nicer climate in winter than Sydney but no city beaches like Sydney. On the other hand you have the Goldie and Sunshine Coasts. I hate commuting. It looks like it has a similar location to the Northern Beaches in Sydney? The one time I went to Brisbane from Surfers and in the middle of the day I hated the drive. 

  27th June you posted. The 2nd day of lockdown and the last day I had a drink. It's my 84th day without a drink and the 86th day of lockdown I think.  Maybe another month before the lockdown is lifted but who knows when border will be open into Qld? After the NRL Grand Final? The Goldie hoteliers would like it open before Xmas. I MIGHT go over Xmas but rates shoot up.

10 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

@MARYROSE02 you don't need to ring the HMRC, or use a tax agent. You can complete the Capital Gains tax return online - it's quite straightforward.

Non-resident: Report and pay Capital Gains Tax on UK Property or Land

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/shortforms/form/NRCGT_Return

I already do my returns on line but I accrued a 1200 quid penalty for late submission (not entirely my fault) and I was thinking of getting a UK TA.

Then I rang HMRC the other night and very nice lady cancelled all my pens on the spot.  So I might do the CGT myself.  That will be in the 21/22 ITR?

5 hours ago, tea4too said:

"You may have to pay tax when you sell ('dispose of') your UK home even if you're not a UK resident for tax purposes. Even if you have no tax to pay, you must tell HMRC you've sold the property within 30 days of transferring ownership..."

 The Gov.UK  link provides more information . Tx

https://www.gov.uk/tax-live-abroad-sell-uk-home

Thanks. I just had a quick look lying in bed at HMRC calculator but I need to pull a few figures out before completing it. I've not actually exchanged contracts on the house yet and i want to do my 2021 tax return too. So I have a bit of time before the 30 days starts. 

2 hours ago, Red Rose said:

Here is an alternative POV for this chat.

Work is better than retirement (including voluntary work)

It gives you purpose. You're continuing to use the grey matter. You have more social and human interaction working than not. It's proven to be better for your health than retirement. 

 

 

So far, I don't have the slightest desire  to return to work. I'm not bored. I learn Japanese, doing some every day. I study on and off with the Open Uni. I don't feel the slightest guilt about no longer working.

By contrast, up until a couple of years ago I DID feel guilty about not working and I felt a lack of purpose when I was out of work. I used to envy people I'd see out on their lunch breaks from the office.

I also used to work some insane hours back in the 1990s and I look back on those years with a feeling of regret rather than pride and working those hours probably had a far worse effect on my health than not working at all. I couldn't cope with my workload and as I thought it was my fault I worked back to try to get on tip of it but I couldn't and I was too lacking in confidence to protest about it.

Now I've swapped the 6 - 1, 6 - 1, routine for 0 - 7, 0 - 7 and I live guilt-free, and every day is Saturday.

40 minutes ago, ramot said:

 

M R I’m sure you know, but I’m fairly sure you have to register your house sale in UK within 30 days as a non resident, not sure of the exact details so Hope this information is correct, so please check. Think it’s to do with capital gains? 

I didn't know that.  I might ring HMRC on Monday if I can't find the information. I've never used a tax agent for my UK return.  Maybe I should?

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

Congratulations, and remember, you won't pay any Capital Gains Tax unless you've made a profit. 

I think I've made 75 percent on the original price though I was living in the house for a while after I bought it if that affects CGT?

It was the right time to sell.  I'm not going back to UK to live. 

On 16/09/2021 at 11:56, Marisawright said:

....and you're about to get a lump sum of cash when you sell your place in the UK.  Are you including a pension from your superannuation in that amount?  You sound like you're rolling in it, actually.

I've never thought of myself as rich! Sounds like I've undervalued my assets? Ever since I returned to Sydney in 2008 I have "half" struggled with intermittent casual part time work and some money from rent and a small pension. I whittled away at my cash and sold shares.

When I retired my extra pensions replaced the part time work. What's changed is realising I've got some super which I can treat as cash or draw as a pension  and the money from the house sale will be available soon.

I think it's more knowing the cash is there rather than wanting to splurge.  Nice to think I can buy business class without a second thought or pay for a holiday. 

59 minutes ago, Paul1Perth said:

Nah, he'd have to return to the UK for a while to do that. Just sell the UK place, take the tax hit and he should have plenty to give him a lovely lifestyle. Most of what's good is free anyway.

Too late! It's sold unless the buyer changes their mind. I don't really want to go back to the UK.

Frighten me with the Capital Gains Tax hit?

7 hours ago, Parley said:

I could live well spending $44,000 per year.

But I think those quoted figures allow for irregular large payments which don't happen every year. Like buy a new car every five years, or redo the kitchen and bathroom once during your retirement etc.

So I think you need to sock away $10K into a savings account for any of those quoted yearly amounts. Don't think you should spend it all every year.

During lockdown I've given up drinking (11 weeks so far) and that's reduced my spending big time. I'm living on my threw pensions (2 UK  1 OZ) and have not touched my UK home rental.

You could be right about those big ticket items and my flat could do with a total makeover. I've had the mindset I think that my super is different to my savings but I think that's wrong? I'm at the age where I  can and should treat it as ready cash. I mean I don't HAVE to treat it as income to be doled out monthly with my other pensions?

My mum and dad came out in 1981 and bought a house which I think they paid cash for and I remember my dad doing the same with a new car in 1997 back in England.

Actually I did use cash and shares (sold) to buy my house outright in England now I come to think of it. 

7 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

Well the OP I suspect wrote with tongue in cheek. Likewise they have a cross section of responses , some confirming aspects of original post, others putting a different slant to it. Not sure what you expect. 

"Tongue in cheek?" I never considered that.  If that is true we should all be making tongue in cheek responses.

Come to think of it perhaps I did as I said it was an example of "Pommie whingeing from Central Casting." Has the OP responded?

Did I ever write that I loved Perth from the moment I arrived on 3rd November,  1978? I wrote it I'm my diary. If I could have had my time again I would have stayed in Perth,  not worried about a job, just stayed till my money ran out gone "Home". However, I ended up in Sydney where my money DID run out but my Dad sent more and then I got a job. 

Perth was and is less of a rat race than Sydney. On the other hand I adapted - eventually. 

7 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

As in all factions there are some so far out of mainstream thinking to be fringe dwellers or subversives. They have their place by exposing the ideocracy of extreme thought, but you are wrong to place the entire blame on the left. BLM was not a political made up movement, but a reaction to on going injustice. Obviously it became more so as time moved on and millage could be made from far left groups. Don't fall into the same trap by using ideological terms and swallow the right wing attempt to disempower whatever poses a threat to their desired /preferred take on history and/or philosophy. 

The Left have certainly in history taken the baton up against racism. Against all forms of bigotry. For rights of women. The world the right envisaged from the eighties, has not exactly turned out very well. Obviously a new direction is eagerly needed  but just who will deliver? 

They don't take up the baton against racism; they want racism to continue for eternity so they can continue and expand and the different jobs, quangos,  commissions,  university pseudo scientific courses, all of which would end if racism ended. Of course "racism" means only "white" racism. 

The UK and Australia have nothing in common with the USA where BLM began.  Britain banned slavery 20 years before the US Civil War.

"Taking the knee " before football games does nothing to stop racism. They'd be far better off taking the knee against discrimination against gay footballers few of whom dare to "come out" whilst non-white players are fully integrated into football in Britain. 

And of course why would any rational person want to emigrate to a country known to be racist? I certainly wouldn't.

On 22/08/2021 at 21:24, Wanderer Returns said:

I'm wondering just how much you would need to retire these days, if you were single - or a couple. I appreciate it's a 'how long is a piece of string' question, but let's say for the sake of argument that the retiree(s) mortgage is paid off, they aren't renting, and they don't have any other loans or major outgoings. They lead a modest lifestyle, with one overseas holiday a year, and replace their car every 3-5 years. They are retiring at 60, so will be completely self-funded until they reach retirement age. Would $40,000 for a single person, or $60,000 per couple be enough?

I seem to recall that circa $44,000 is the amount required for a single person hence my near pauperization (sic) on $36,000 pa!

I jest  I own my own home and have no debts.  I do sometimes struggle with sudden expenses eg $1,000 for my cat at the vet but I have a bit of money in super which I should be using. When I sell my home in the UK I'll have some more money to splurge.

Just now, Blue Flu said:

Are you by writing that in some way comparing that to Australia's experience? To be fair, you would need to compare apples with apples. Now if the warriors from the ancient African kingdom of Benin had sailed up the Thames , enslaving the local population, introducing own rites and totems who knows how the native Englanders of the time would have weathered under such cultural difference and treatment? 

Apples with apples? You mean that because the people who invaded Britain were from Europe that made them "better" than if they'd come from Africa or Asia?

The Romans thought we were barbarians and they did enslave the local population and they brought their own language and customs.  The Normans did much the same thing. Any people who resisted were killed or starved to death. The Vikings terrorised the parts of England that they invaded.

On 11/09/2021 at 08:32, Canada2Australia said:

There is also the option of not coming into this thread and reading the negative reviews if it bothers someone that much.

Isn't the intended point of this thread to debate the good and bad points of Perth? Wouldn't one assume that several points, pro and con, would end up being repeated ad nauseum? That is the expectation I have for any type of discussion that encourages debate, like it or lump it.

I'm still waiting for someone else to address the specific issues the OP raised.

20 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

So are those termed 'lefties' by your account, less in position to bring change in acknowledging past misdeeds, than the right that want more of the same? 

The lefties are the ones who put 100 percent blame on  white people, the West, UK, USA, Australia.  They invented the pseudo scientific anc pseudo academic uni studies which I mentioned which again put all the blame on white people. BLM in Sydney is run by Trotskyists just as BLM in the UK is Marxist and anti Semitic.

Lefties don't care about ending racism or any of the other isms.  They want to invent more of them and create more uni courses to study them. 

On 11/09/2021 at 16:35, Paul1Perth said:

Don't know much about Canadas' history, or America come to that. 

How long do we have to dwell on it though. Every nation on Earth has had periods in history where things were terrible for different people at different times.

England must have been pretty ruthless to run a lot of the nations they did. England itself was invaded by Vikings. How far do we go back?

No, move on I reckon.

The Vikings were just one of an almost continuous line of invaders from the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Normans 1,000 years later. The Normans took everything.

Odd thing about Britain is our pride in that period of our history.  Hadrian's Wall, Bath,  Carlton, Norman castles,  the Domesday Book and the Bayeux Tapestry.

21 hours ago, Canada2Australia said:

Yup, First Nations. Same as in certain areas back home, although what I've witnessed in the NT takes those issues to a while other, much more severe level. All part of colonial government mismanagement over the past 200ish years.

What would you suggest as a way of NOT mismanaging the indigenous peoples with some sound examples from similar countries.  Canada and the USA? How do they do it? Reservations for the native peoples? Check. Spend vast amounts of money? Check. Hordes of leftie white people living in the cities pretending to be indigenous and blaming indigenous problems on white people, Check. See Critical Race Theory,  Post Colonial Theory,  White Privilege, Check. Ignore indigenous community leaders who are really doing good things because they DON'T blame it all on white people eg the Price family in Alice Springs whom you will NEVER see interviewed on the ABC. Check. I

Has anyone actually addressed the points the OP raised? Something about "cliquey, work till I die, obsessed with money,  nowhere to go," all BS, and I did address them. 

You have to work till you die and obsess with money if you want to buy a house, a car, probably two cars if you live in the burbs, send your kids to a private school, which many do,  and that holds for any city in Australia. 

Cliquey? Someone who is not prepared to put the time in to get to know people and make friends. 

Nowhere to go? Someone with little imagination. 

In short, as I said before,  the Whingeing Pom from Central Casting.

39 minutes ago, Paul1Perth said:

Lake Grace I think Nat Fyfe is from. Farming community.

That's it. The AFL clashes with the NRL tonight, Melbourne Storm v Manly in the NRL (I go for Melbourne) and Melbourne v Geelong in the AFL, and as Melbourne have not won a Grand Final since 1964? I thought my friend would be back in Surfers by now but she's still in WA after six months.

And I was planning to flick over to England v India 5th Test too but that has just been cancelled.