ramot

On 14/04/2023 at 13:10, Marisawright said:

We have the Seniors Health Card too.   Like Quoll, the application process was a pain in the proverbial but it was worth it for us.   I guess it depends what kind of medications you need.  I need an asthma preventer which is normally over $40, so it's saving me a fortune in prescriptions.   

I had to go to the Centrelink office too due to difficulties with the online system.  A snotty youth assumed I wasn't doing it properly and directed me to "have another go" at one of their DIY terminals. When I got to the same point in the form and had the same difficulty, I called him over and let him struggle with it for a few minutes before he finally admitted I wasn't an idiot, and sent me to another clerk who did it manually. However even with all that, I was there less than an hour.

Is the seniors Health Card income dependant? 

We have to pay the PBS rate, until we hit the combined safety net, then we get the $6 rate for the rest of the year on all our scripts that certainly helps.

2 hours ago, Chortlepuss said:

We have come to the UK for 6 months and rented out our house in Brisbane to a lovely family via Sabbatical Homes - people on this site need short stays as they are only temporarily in the country. We did appoint a managing agent and change insurance, smoke alarms, other regs. 

We now have the same problem with our UK house. We came back to sell it but it hasn’t sold so need to rent for 9 months or so. Rentals in our area are like rocking horse poo. The UK govt are making it very hard to evict problem tenants.  I feel tempted to use a house sitter and just write off the potential income.

I know you hear of nightmare tenants, but we have rented UK properties  for 25 years plus, from overseas, as have most expats we know, and never had a problem. We have used different agents as our properties aren’t in the same place, they are in charge of everything, and as mentioned never had a problem. Good luck with whatever you decide 

15 minutes ago, Tjsmum said:

@Marisawright, from what I understand, you have to have paid a certain amount into your UK pension to be able to access it?

My mum’s best friend finally hit retirement age and was told she didn’t contribute during x , y, z years therefore she didn’t have enough to be able to receive her pension ?!?!

Those years she didn’t contribute because she wasn’t working, she was doing motherhood duties 

That surprised me, because unless the rules have changed? I received 17 years credited to me for child rearing, plus I found out that I could contribute a certain amount before I reached Pension age, to receive a larger pension. Don’t know the age of your mother’s friend, but I was eligible from age 60 to receive my pension. Be a bit unfair if child rearing years are now discounted. 

44 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Thanks for all of the info/tips. 
 

We have never been to Australia so it will be really good to explore a few different areas. Definitely want to spend at least 5 days in Sydney - was thinking it will take a day or 2 to recover from the journey!! 
 

I think estate agents are the same the developed world over to be fair. Due diligence will be very much required. We would always rent first to see if an areas was suitable etc before buying. However, if the rental shortage is to be believed we may end up having to take what we can get. 
 

I think it’s a bit of an assumption to say Brits know what recreationally is available. That will be very important to us due to having a daughter on the verge of the teenage years. 

Hope Australia Zoo is on your list for the Sunshine Coast. Cotton Tree has stand up paddling which our grandchildren enjoyed, Mooloolaba has a lovely beach and take advantage of the free bbq’s, Noosa is always popular, has a nice vibe and beach.

Montville and Maleny in the hinterland provide a very difference feel to the Coast. I prefer Maleny.

Have a wonderful time wherever you manage to visit xM

21 hours ago, mxh said:

I'm sure that once you've set up your account and know the process then they're fine, especially for smaller, regular amounts. But as I was trying to move a relatively large sum of money with my first transfer with them, maybe they wanted a bit more detail around it? 

But the big 'fail' for me was them not even reviewing the documentation I supplied until I'd put the money in their account - can't see why they couldn't do a 'pre-approval' to make sure they were happy that everything was in order before I go to the trouble of moving it into their account.

21 hours ago, mxh said:

 

I was making the point that even if we were  only using them to send ‘smaller regular amounts’ the company has never ever let us down since we started with Transferwise in 2016. That’s what has given us the confidence to actually send far larger amounts over the years with complete confidence. 

9 minutes ago, mxh said:

a) I already had an account set up with TorFX, had used them before and felt comfortable with depositing a large sum of money in their account. Not saying that Wise aren't trustworthy, but would prefer to deal with a company I'd already had a good experience with

b) Trying to set up a transfer with Wise turned out to be a frustrating experience. They wanted to see all sorts of documentation to approve a transfer and wanted me to put the money in their account first. Only then would they review the documentation to see whether they'd approve the transfer - and I'd seen a few online reviews where this process had taken weeks. 

We have used Wise for a very very long time, transfer every month, as all our income comes from UK. Have never had a complaint and the money is almost always in our account in 24 hours.

can’t comment on how long to set up as it was too long ago. 
I’m not on commission either

7 hours ago, Manrug said:

Hi Palmtrees - your situation rang a chord with ourselves. In 1988 my wife and I were both young similar ages to yourselves, We had 2 young kids. We were doing very well in the UK. I had my dream job, a nice house within walking distance to my job and good schools.

We always had the intention of emigrating to NZ, but friend of ours visited us from Canada and sold as the idea of emigrating to Canada. We applied in 1989 and got accepted to emigrate to Canada. We sold the house and gave away or sold the furniture, etc and emigrated. We only lasted  6 months we realised we had made a mistake and came back. It was most daunting to come back but it was the best thing we ever did and this country was so good to us, I managed to retire at a very young age, my children both flourished in the UK and went on to have successful careers.

In 2023 we are now emigrating again we have our 143 visa for Australia. Sorry for the long story. The reason why I am sharing this story is we were faced with the same dilemma . We decided to take the risk and emigrate to Canada . Now in our old age and looking back we do not regret it for one moment, at the time it was tough. We returned to UK after only 6 months and we have done better in the UK then we could have done anywhere else in the world.

 

So my two pence worth is take a deep breath and go for it. If things don't work out if you decide to come back, your situation may be even better than the one you let behind.

Best of luck for whatever you decide to do.

Good luck with your move. We retired here 20 years ago, there was a retirement visa then, had no immediate family here, wanted a bit more of an adventure and thought we would stay for 2-3 years, just not ready to go back to UK after living in Brunei as expats for 10 years. We never left! Love our retired life here, and  2 of our children followed us here. 

1 hour ago, Blue Flu said:

I guess one just needs to pick the magic that suits. Many countries seem to possess it. Ireland, UK, Africa, India, and so on. I've heard it said about all the latter plus others. As anywhere there is much to appreciate and equally a lot to abhor. 

If you’ve lived in Africa, it is said ‘Africa will never leave your heart’, so some of my family  always homesick, but the reality of life and a future there has to be given careful thought, All but one of my family has left, it was not an easy decision. Safety, quality of life, stable government(?!!!) all important considerations, in determining where to live.

1 hour ago, InnerVoice said:

I think it is pretty magical here. There's so much to love about this country, but I appreciate it isn't for everyone.

I’ve lived and spent time in quite a few countries, on different continents, I have no intention of ever moving from Australia, definitely the best place I’ve lived in, had a slight wobble when we retired here 20 years ago, as at that stage it was to be an adventure for a few years and we had no close family here, but that didn’t last long at all, two of our children followed us here, reconnected with family that had left Africa, made good friends, and  love our life here.

Having said that, most our UK friends haven’t  moved since we last lived in UK over 30 years ago, and are equally happy with a static existence. 

23 minutes ago, Toots said:

I am very slack when it comes to applying sunblock.  Always wear a hat and sunglasses and don't go around half naked (apart from swimming) so I've never had sunburn in Australia.  I do slap on sunblock on a really warm day if I'm going to be out in the sun for a while otherwise I don't bother.  I don't like the feel of it on my skin.  I take Vitamin D in the winter.  

 @Cheery Thistle will end up with a much better skin than people who don't bother.   Not that mine is that bad - not reached the old leathery, wrinkled type of skin yet.  I do get my skin checked annually for skin cancer.  So far so good.

Yes same have an annual skin check, clear so far, and my glasses have transition lenses.

23 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said:

No, I need vitamin D because of a lack of sunshine/daylight in winter months. You must have forgotten what that’s like. It gets light around 9 am and dark around 3. 
 

I use spf 50 on my face in winter and summer to protect from UV damage for anti-ageing as per modern advice. 

I lived in Africa in the 1960’s, Brunei for 10 years, before living on the Sunshine Coast for the last 20 years and I have very very low vit D, I’m bad at wearing suntan cream, but also luckily don’t burn with only 10 minutes sun exposure. I remember using Johnson’s baby oil sunbathing in UK, in my youth. Despite this My skin is remarkably wrinkle free at my advanced age, So we’re all different,.

Good luck with your decision.

1 hour ago, Squirlies said:

What's the weather like on the gold coast first two weeks of April. Just wondering what clothes I should be packing 

Thanks 

Where are you coming from? Because that makes a big difference to how warm or cold you feel. I’m on the Sunshine Coast and the weather is fairly similar. It’s autumn here, but the temperature is between 28-30 and more humid than usual,  but Easter is about 5 weeks away, so should be cooler, mid 20’s? and  cooler evenings under 20’? 

You might be fine in shorts/skirts T-shirts, swim wear, light weight trousers jumper for evenings, a light weight rain jacket. You need suntan cream and perhaps a sun hat as the sun is strong here, but you can buy that here.

You can google the long range forecast to get a better idea. As a local we can always tell who the visitors are, in autumn and winter as we feel cold and are wearing light weight trousers and a jumper, even a fleece and visitors are sunbathing on the beach soaking up the Sunshine.

Enjoy your trip

Remind me nearer your trip and I’ll give you a weather update 

1 hour ago, Tjsmum said:

 

 I couldn’t believe it! Snow in March, but mum says they’ve had it in April too 

On June 2nd 1975 we took our son to Ely East Midlands to hospital to have his tonsils out, it was snowing! We bought him home on Friday that week in a heatwave! 

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

You're in Melbourne, Parley, where the mornings don't get hot until gone 11, and it cools down in the evening for a pleasant stroll.

Try living in Sydney or points north, where it's hot by 10am and doesn't cool down in the evening unless there's a thunderstorm (in which case it's teeming down). 

Even if you do go out at the crack of dawn or at 9 at night, you're still stuck in the house all day.  

 

That’s rubbish

I’ve been out and about this week midday in 30’ heat and lived to tell the tale 

25 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

There is a lot more to NSW than Sydney though - NSW is about 4 times larger than the UK.  Lots of people live in other places.  Depends what you do of course.  

It is bloody hard making new friends without working I think - maybe find your football team's local supporters club or something?

Google   British groups in Sydney, there seem to be quite a few to choose from.  There are 2 good British pubs, Duke of Clarence is central, the Lord Dudley Woolahra, not quite so central. 

Hope everything works out for you. xM

5 hours ago, Quoll said:

Lol, the one thing she doesn't need to bring is her bed! Beds are different sizes here so sheets are different sizes. 

Easy to replace UK size on line

12 hours ago, Huntersmummy said:

Hello guys!!

I was an old time annoyance on this site after I moved from Scotland to Darwin but that was 7 years ago!

Now after spending 7 years in Darwin. Let me just say what an experience…

Not my cup of tea if I’m honest. Beautiful places, met some wonderful people but it’s a place….in my opinion, if your born and bred here, your fine. I had a very hard time adjusting from life in Scotland. Darwins brutal. No middle ground, they either hate you or like you. The heat, the wet season, the locals who don’t like ANYONE from outside Darwin. (I work in a pub so I hear it all the time)
So anyways, kids, husband and I have decided to move down to Mandurah. 
Never been to Perth before or anywhere outside of Darwin. 
We literally picked a place on the map and said yup! That’ll do!

So we’re leaving May 5th. 
Any advice on what it’s like there and if anyone from there would fancy meeting up when we arrive

Sarah

 

Good luck with your move, keep in touch to let us know how you get on. 

4 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I disagree, we sold absolutely everything before we came over. We travelled with Qantas, one 30kg suitcase each and 10kg of hand luggage. So 80kg between us. Basically clothes, laptops, important docs and some sentimental things.

Never been happier, we had a 5-bed house chock full of stuff before, we now rattle round the new place because we don't have any clutter

Best thing we ever did to hit "full-reset" when we made the move

We’ve always been amazed by how much clutter we’ve managed to accumulate every time have moved house again,, and  as I gave up counting after 17 house moves, I’m quite experienced about weaning out all the unnecessary clobber every time.

When I posted about bringing everything with you, I didn’t mean unnecessary clutter, but why ditch perfectly good items, because unless you have plenty of money, it makes far more sense if they fit in your container, to replace them slowly, rather than the unnecessary expense of buying new, as soon as you arrive here. There is also a general consensus that everything is more expensive here, and a lack of choice.

6 hours ago, Ceebs-x said:

Hello,

Probably not the average post. I’ve only been here a few days and everything is really fresh. But, has anyone arrived and just instantly felt like they don’t belong here? For the last couple of days I’ve just been looking at flights home. I’m finding it really hard. I have come here on my own though, probably would have been easier with someone else. 
 

I‘m here on a PR visa and I fought for ages to get it. I know so many people fight for it too, I really don’t want to seem ungrateful cause I truly am. It’s such an opportunity. But I just can’t shake the “I should be going home feeling”. I don’t have massive ties back home, like I don’t have any property or job or anything. 
 

Suppose I’m just looking for someone who has felt like this, to explain if they got past it or if they went home themselves. Even if they went home and then came back at a later point. 

Not quite the same and a long time ago, in the mid 1960’s i went from swinging London where trust me it was a really exciting place to be, to work as a stewardess  for Zambian airlines. A few other personnel from my UK airline went as well, but I was the only stewardess and didn’t know anyone else. To be honest I treated it as an adventure, a chance to live somewhere right out of my comfort zone.                            Yes of course I was nervous, but I had nothing to loose, I was single, it wasn’t easy at times, but I never regretted finding the courage to go.

I met my future husband on a blind date 3 weeks after I arrived!!! So you never know how life will turn out.

I genuinely think you should at least give it a few months. I can relate to how you feel as I can still remember how I felt all those years ago, and wish you all the best with whatever you decide. x M

We bought everything with us, apart from winter clothes because we actually had almost none as we had lived in Brunei for 10 years prior to our move. If it isn’t broken and it will work in Australia, then it certainly keeps the initial costs down, and then you replace them  slowly rather than all at once.

One thing to remember if you move here to a warmer part of Australia, is that it doesn’t take very long before you acclimatise and  start to feel cold in winter and understand why no one else is wearing thin summer clothes in winter, apart from visitors from the South, or overseas. You see us locals wearing trousers and a fleece, and visitors in swim wear.

I appreciate our circumstances aren’t quite the same, but apart from the three covid years, as we are retired we have mostly spent 3 months of every year back in UK for the last 15 years. 
This is because we have a son and our only grandchildren living there.

We finally visited again last October, for 5 weeks. We decided 3 months was really too long now for us. Apparently it was a very mild autumn!? I was so cold! and when you added cold rain into the mix, I was plain miserable, there was no pleasure in being outdoors, and I did have the right clothing with me, but I have got out of the habit of wearing at least 3 layers of clothing, long trousers, socks and shoes wooly hat, gloves.                                  I live on the Sunshine Coast, and yes it does get hot and humid in summer, but only for a about 3 months, the rest of the year is usually glorious, and even today which has been very hot, I still went for my daily walk in the late afternoon, Mooloolaba was full of people enjoying the weather. 
The other thing that I also realised on this last visit,  like Melbpom, was that I was also more Australian now than I had realised. 
Neither my husband or I are in a hurry to return to UK, if at all. The journey is tedious at our age, and our son and family were very bound up in their own lives, best not to mention the hours our grandsons spent gaming, rather than communicating!!! and we don’t like the weather.                               So even if you have family in UK, like Marisa mentioned, be realistic about how much time you will actually spend time with them.

Good luck with your decision 

14 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Save me.... It's probably time to give in and turn on the Aircon...

•  When it’s cold in UK, you put the central heating on, when it’s hot in Australia, you put the aircon on.

10 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

I know what you mean, first summer is AUS and it does get a bit "stuffy" after many consecutive days of just hot sun (and I realise by normal standards Sydney hasn't been that hot this summer)

On the radio we heard the Christmas song "baby it's cold outside"

To which my daughter immediately changed the links to 

"Baby it's oppressive outside"

Brits aren't made for more than 2 days of warmth a year unless they are on holiday at the time

And when on the 2 weeks holiday in the Spanish sun, so desperate for sunshine, they sunbathe like sausages under a grill, turning redder and redder. 

This Brit has spent the last 30 years in the sun, hates the cold, and struggles with the gloom after several wet days. Similar to SAD syndrome. 

Tried to add smiley with sunglasses, can’t seem to add it

What a nonsense this thread has deteriorated into. 

We should all apologise to the OP

9 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I used to live in wymeswold hence I was very aware even people in Loughborough (10 minutes away by car) don't even know it exist!

We were near neighbours, I lived in Keyworth