ramot

4 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

However in this case, we are talking about someone who's retired, with the pension as their only income.  The Medicare surcharge is only payable if you earn more than $90,000 a year.

I don’t know if parents who are here on the ‘ normal’ the parent visa are eligible for the PBS safety net during their first10 years here? because in our case, as our parent visa had different conditions to the regular parent visa, we didn’t need to lodge money with Centrelink, so when. we reach the safety net amount for cheaper prescriptions, usually by June, we sadly need more meds as we age, most cost$6.80 each for the rest of the year. 

14 hours ago, Bobj said:

@Marisawright In my wife's situation, it was definitely not justified

My wife, Jo, had metastatic breast cancer and the Dr from Townsville was so very patient with Jo, due to Jo's dementia. Indeed, all the staff at the Icon Cancer Unit in Mackay were extremely helpful when Jo came in every month for a blood transfusion. After a year of treatment, Jo's red blood cell count was doing fine and she was prescribed a pill a day rather than a blood transfusion. Sadly, her dementia got steadily worse and she succumbed to that most insidious illness last October.

All the staff at the 2 big hospitals in Mackay were always helpful and always gave that enormous feeling of compassion to us.

Costs, Not important for a loved one .

Cheers, Bobj.

Sorry to hear the sad news about your wife   Bobj, from all your many interesting posts, it sounds as though you had a wonderful life together xM

When I arrived in Australia almost 20 years ago, after a married life of moving constantly with 3 children,  due to my husband’s job, which included 10 years as an expat, you would think I would take our decision to move in retirement to Australia in my stride. 

No, after the first few days I was in tears, a very unusual reaction for m. I told my husband I was homesick, but I didn’t actually know where I was homesick for. We were staying in a grotty motel at the time, which definitely didn’t help. Apart from that wobble I have never regretted moving here.

If someone like me who moved over 17 times before our move here can feel homesick, then I think it’s completely understandable that you feel this way.

You and your family have moved from everything you know, into the unknown, shortly before Christmas, and frantically looking for somewhere to live, and concerned about your job. You are allowed to feel concerned and homesick.

The best advice I can give, is give it a bit of time, I hope when you find a rental, it starts to make you feel a little more settled. I do understand a bit how you feel, moving with children is hard, settling into a new school, making new friends, but my three have survived that many times, and have turned out pretty normal adults.

Keep posting, you will get lots of support here. Take care and hope you manage to enjoy Christmas in your new country xM

42 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

If you want somewhere with a quieter vibe, then consider the Sunshine Coast 9350,000).  Much less glitzy with better beaches (IMO). Not commutable to Brisbane though.

Hundreds commute daily to Brisbane from the Sunshine Coast, most accept it can take up to 90 mins depending from where on the Coast to where in Brisbane, and how early you leave, but the balance of living there out ways the length of the commute. 

Plenty of casual work around at the moment, but rentals in short supply.

Might even get a decent rail connection one day if you believe the Palaszczuk government.

2 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

Just over a week ago I received a request for medicals, police checks etc.  My date for 143 was late Feb 2017. 

That’s great news xM

We have been in Australia for almost 20 years, and having just spent 5 weeks in UK, we know we made the right decision to come here, and that although the  path to Australian citizenship has been a challenge for us, plus for the 2 of our children who followed us here  ( that’s a complete understatement, it’s been a nightmare), not one of us regrets sticking it out, we all made the right decision for to live in Australia. No regrets, 

Not knocking UK, it’s just not for us.

10 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

Spent last night at the SCG - fantastic atmosphere and the right result.

I feel more attachment to Australia every day I'm here, but sport reminds me that I'm always English

Anyone else find this?

Depends whose winning. I’ve not lived in UK for nearly 30 years, so think perhaps I feel less attached than newer immigrants? I follow tennis, though, and have to admit I’m not sure I look how an Australian is doing before a British player, so perhaps deep down you’re right.

25 minutes ago, Cup Final 1973 said:

I feel there’s been quite a bit of hysteria regarding energy prices in the UK.  My electricity daily standing charge has gone down fractionally with the unit rate rising from 27.35 pence to 33.029 per kW.  Gas has increased more from 7.27 pence per unit to 10.244  although again the standing charge has decreased.  To offset this, households have received £200 in three payments and pensioners like us will get £500 winter fuel payment.  I’ve seen people interviewed on television claiming they’ll pay £4000 a year - they must live in a mansion with the heating on 24/7!

I agree, I was just so surprised, that friends who have held pretty responsible jobs in their time, and living in different areas, that we visited were all so concerned about everything. Perhaps even a bit depressed. I hope it isn’t as bad as predicted, and likewise here either.

27 minutes ago, DrDougster said:

Solaris packers came today and were excellent. I guess the proof of the pudding is at the other end though.

UK is grim at the moment - I wouldn't recommend coming over!

I’m saddened by how worried so many of our friends in our age group are, eg 70’s plus. None of them are near being on the breadline, but without exception all are cutting back on electricity and gas use. Some have a smart metre? and keep a check on how much they are already using, and it’s been a very mild autumn while we are here. We have actually been cold while staying with some of our friends, but haven’t obviously said anything. Worrying times, and I think it will soon kick off in Australia.

We had a pub lunch with a fairly large group of friends in our old village, and they were joking, at least it’s warm in here and we aren’t paying for it! 

Something I’ve noticed over the years is that very few if any parents who move to Australia give an update on their move, whether it was the right thing to have done or the wrong decision.

So I am writing this from a parents point of view.

I know I am in a slightly different situation, as we moved to Australia  after working in Brunei, when my husband retired, leaving our three children in UK. At age 60 it was perhaps easy to establish a good life and friendships here, as we had already moved on from our old village. Harder probably for most parents to leave long term friends and life behind to join their family in a completely new country.

Fast forward 19 years, we are lucky that 2 of our children followed us to Australia, so we have family support and a friendship group, but I do wonder if they hadn’t moved here, if we would have to seriously consider moving back to UK to be nearer to them as we are definitely getting older, and although still fairly healthy, problems are arising, and there is a lot of reassurance that they are in the same country. Friends are fine for support, but over the last couple of years, the reality is that several have sadly died, and others are facing increasing health problems, and relying more on their families, so family backup becomes more important. 

So although it is a very very difficult decision for many parents to leave their established lives in UK, and lots of posters suggest quite rightly that it seems children driven, and not what the parents want, it’s worth considering what I have written as an older parent, who didn’t perhaps really think through the distance involved living apart as we come to terms with getting older, and the comfort of having family near. There are obviously no right or wrong decisions, just careful thought needed.

2 hours ago, Mike1999 said:

Hi there, 

just thought I’d put my situation on here and was wondering if anyone had any advice for me!

as an intro, I’m a 23 year old (soon to be 24) and have just completed a sustainable energy engineering degree. I am planning to move to Australia from Ireland in early January 2023 with my visa just having been granted! I currently have minimal experience in the sustainable energy engineering discipline but have undertaken lots of seasonal and part time work in the construction and agriculture sectors!

Firstly, I am looking to get into the sector of wind farm construction. I have been applying for the past few weeks but have been unsuccessful to date! I would be open to working in the construction industry first if this might be an easier sector to get into first? 
secondly, I wondered is it possible to not do the farm work but possibly get working with a company and the possibility that they sponsor me, would this mean I would not have to do the farm work required as per my visa requirements? 

thirdly, I also wondered where in Australia is the renewable energy sector really taking off? I have researched many developments which are in the pipeline and the macintyre wind farm near Brisbane! 

finally, if I have to do the farm work, how difficult would it be to find work in the line of agricultural contracting or working on a farm rather than the usual fruit picking farms etc! 
 

thanks for taking the time to read this post and thanks in advance for replying!

Plenty of people on WHV working their 3 months  on Hamilton Island when I was there last week, rather than doing farm work.

As someone who has actually done this, our story is.

When my husband retired, after being expats for 10 years, we decided it was our time to do what we wanted to do, so we decided to live in Australia for a few years, rather than return to England. Our 3 children were in England, but all had finished university, and independent, which is I think is very relevant. Youngest was 22, but also they were used to us living in another country and joining us for their holidays. It was much harder for them to be apart from us when they were younger though.

So after 19 years, we are still happily living in Australia, 2 of our children followed us to live here, and have absolutely no intention of moving back to England. Our oldest stayed in England and will never consider leaving. Like so many of our friends, our children have chosen where and how to live their lives. Our only grandchildren are in UK, we have visited annually pre covid, but that’s life, you make choices and some good, some bad, and have to accept them.

I wonder if history repeats, as I went to live in Zambia in my mid twenties, never giving much thought about the effect it had on my single mother, and then in retirement, my husband and I did what we wanted to do, but did make sure that our children were independent and had somewhere to live, what they did after that was up to them.

39 minutes ago, Constance said:

Thanks for the info. The flooding is something i have checked a few times, but hadn't checked Sandgate yet - good to know! 

My son is in Eatons Hill, he has a good size 4 bed, 2 bath house on a generous block of about 1,000 sq metres, in a friendly cul de sac. Worth about 8to 850 hundred  thousand, I can’t help with schools.

19 minutes ago, Nanna said:

Actually we are arriving in a few weeks.

Hope you will be very happy here 

1 minute ago, Jon the Hat said:

I still think rent your place out and see how you like life over there.  Low risk, low cost.  Rent somewhere nice near the kids and grandkids.  What's not to like?

Plus 1 

27 minutes ago, Nanna said:

I did read further in the site that as non UK residents we pay a gain on any profit we make since 2105  - our house has doubled in value since then.  

We also pay UK tax on the rent, agency fees for looking after the booking  and property/ tenants rent insurance ( I think that totalled over 20% if the gross annual rent). and tax in the U K .  We then pay the higher value between the UK 20% tax and the Australian 35% tax as we would also receive  Australian wages, state UK pension and a small UK private pension taking us both over $45000 per annum.  

Our house, altho seafront and 4 beds would command £1800 - £2000 PER MONTH.  so factor in all the above and its never easy! If @Alan Collet knows different and can answer within 24 hours from now it might save us making a horrendous mistake.

 

Go onto family/partner visas, then the brand new parents visa thread, Alan Collett has replied to a post, and all his contact details are there, so contact him today via his UK tel no, as he has offices in both Australia and UK, so someone there might be able to help you straight away

023 81 66 11 55 

hope that helps

ps we have rented out property for over 20 years in UK from overseas, and never had a problem, we have always used  a management company

2 hours ago, Nanna said:

Hi and thank you.

The flight is gruelling and gets worse each time especially as we leave Australia never knowing when we can meet again.

One of the reasons this began was because we all worried about when only one of us is left or we needed the support of our family as we age so that is a factor in the mix.  Our sons so want us there just in case !  

It's very early morning and I don't sleep now as it is occupying my brain too much.

But as I am more obsessed with them I am asking hubby to decide as he is a bit less emotional altho he would like to live there if it wasn't so damned expensive and we didn't lose so much security.

So 2 days to go to sign on this house or not.  Either way I will cry, scream and I don't feel I will ever recover whichever way it goes. 

 

 

 

I Have no idea if we would be much better off in UK as retirees than here. Obviously it depends on your income, retirees here get help on electricity cost, have a seniors card, not sure that helps much, we aren’t eligible for a pension or concession card, but get cheaper prescriptions when we reach the safety net, usually 6 months of the year. The main thing that does affect us is the low exchange rate at the moment, it was $3 to the pound when we came, but despite that we certainly aren’t on the bread line. 

31 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

If I were in your shoes I think I would rent out my house, and come to Australia and rent somewhere nice near the kids.  You might not be able to BUY nearby, but perhaps you can rent?  Especially if your kids help out a bit.

I saw you posted something about high tax cost selling your home later, but I believe you only pay AU tax on the capital gain from the day you become a tax resident, and in the UK I am pretty sure you pay CGT from the date it stops being your main residence, so in the greater scheme of things not a big issues.

Always worth getting advice from Alan Collet, he has helped so many posters with tax  advice.  

7 hours ago, FirstWorldProblems said:

All decisions like this involve compromise.  For most people the compromise is easier to live with that the one you face.  The benefits of one choice clearly outweigh the other choice and whilst there is often a degree of sadness in that compromise it's something they can live with.  Your situation clearly involves a far greater degree of compromise whichever one you choose.  I think you are beating yourself up because you don't want to get this wrong.  But there isn't a right and wrong choice to make here.  You're not gambling on red or black where one option is going to be wonderful and the other one a disaster.  Whichever you choose is going to leave a hole for you - there will be elements of your life that you are unhappy with.  That really is terribly unfortunate but if you can reconcile yourself to that, it might help you make the choice.  There is no "wrong".  You won't be admonishing yourself down the line for your decision because you know they both involve really tough elements.

 

Couple of other factors I would throw into the mix here.  You've probably considered these already.

My kids grandparents are late 60's.  My kids are aged 15, 18 & 23.  They love their grandparents, but I've watched as that relationship naturally changes as the kids get older and start to build their own lives.  We just waved the MIL off at Heathrow to return to Sydney after her annual couple of months visiting.  My wife and I felt a mixture of guilt and sympathy that she spent most of her time alone this trip.  When we started doing this the kids were little, we needed help over the holidays and she got to spend wonderful, concentrated time with the kids.  Every waking minute actually. They built a much better relationship than they have with my father who is only 45 mins away as a result.  But this time the eldest has a full time job, the middle one has a part time job, a girlfriend and can drive now and the youngest has a friendship circle and other things she wants to do.  Whilst they made time every day with her, an hour or two out of 24 isn't a lot.  So MIL spent a lot of time watching TV alone.  When you move there, will you get to spend the kind of time with your children and grandchildren that you hope to? 

As I embark on my mid-life crisis, I find myself endlessly trying to gaze into the crystal ball and I am driving my wife batty as I contemplate out loud:

•  "how many years do we have left?"
•  "of those years, how many will be be physically able to do the things we currently value/enjoy doing?"
• "should we just crack on and bring forward our plans to head back to Australia but with it all the compromises that means to our plan?"

None of us have that crystal ball and hopefully we are all still travelling the world and hiking trails in our hundreth year.  But many of us won't.  Reduced mobility and living with multiple health conditions is on the cards for most of us.  How do you want to spend the years you have left where you are still vigourous, energetic and able?

 

We are going to UK shortly in the reverse visit to your MIL, and are very aware it will be different this visit, as we haven’t been back for 5 years. We have seen them since as they were here in 2019 for our daughter’s wedding, then covid hit.  I don’t think the 12 and 14 year old grandsons will be excitedly jumping up at the front window saying ‘they’re here!!!🥳. We are anticipating this and Luckily we have lots of  friends to visit, so any time with them at weekends will be special, but the last thing we want is to force them to be with us.  We plan to go away with the family over half term to somewhere like Centre Parcs, so everyone can have fun. I’ll report back in November.

Nanna I have no answers for you, only you can decide, and make the most of whichever decision you make.

We originally came here for a few years when we retired, after living as expats in Brunei for a bit more adventure,  we came with no family here, our 3 were in UK. 19 years later we love it here, never left and 2 of our children followed us here. One son and our only grandchildren are in UK, which is the only reason that we go back. The flight back is much less appealing now at our age, which is something for you to consider. We have a good support group of friends here, and plenty of activities we enjoy to keep us busy. The reality is of course that sadly quite a few of our friends here have died over the last few years, and obviously we are definitely getting older, so the reassurance that 2 of our children do live relatively near us  and not on the other side of the world is important as we get older. If all ours were still in UK, I don’t think we would be here, there is a comfort in knowing they are close as we get older. 

Could you consider renting out your UK home for 6 months/a year, and rent here. This might give you a better idea which life suits you best?

I wish you all  the best with whatever you decide, but I know long term, I would choose living near family, and that comes from someone who has led a very independent life, realising that family is more important than independence as I have got older.

1 hour ago, Nanna said:

If you compare Aldi and Tesco here to your equivalent in Australia,  particularly bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, lettuce, capsicum  sausages, veg, razor blades  etc they are SO much cheaper in the UK.  UK also has Super Saver which is so cheap for cleaning products .  Good job Australians earn more because the difference in food alone is over 24% overall more expensive in Australia.  We buy 3 capsicums for less than $1.50.  

We are retired from UK, and have lived here comfortably for 19 years.  Have no idea if food is 24%more expensive here, but possibly other things are cheaper here and it evens out? Petrol for instance, 

If I can be bothered, I’m tempted to take a till receipt from Woolworths and Aldi back with me to compare prices when I go to UK for a month soon.  It would be interesting to really compare some prices of everyday items. 
 

I am sad enough to admit that I did compare Woolworths prices to Aldi’s quite a while ago, and Aldi was much cheaper. I can’t remember by how much, but ever since I have certainly shopped more at Aldi than previously. 

On 25/08/2022 at 13:58, Safam said:

Hello! I'm new and looking for advice/insights from people who have made the move back to the UK from Australia.

We've been in Adelaide 18 years. We have a 9 and 10 year old who were born here. Our parents have both been great and visited us lots especially when the children came along!  We went back to visit the UK in 2017 and had a great time but were happy to come home. Then covid happened, parents have got older, my dad had lots of health scares during covid (heart, stroke, breathing) and my perspective has changed. We went for a 4 week visit to the UK in June and had a wonderful time. I've struggled since we've been back. I want to go and live back in the UK for a few months to a year (ideally a year but High school for daughter is going to determine when we have to be back). I love what we have here in Adelaide but I can't shake off the longing to be with my family for longer. I want the kids to have plenty of quality time with the grandparents before it is too late. 

My husband hates the UK and hates the thought of going there (His parents are in NZ). He is trying to understand how I'm feeling but is a very logical thinking engineer and feelings are not easy for him! We have an appointment to have a morning together in mid September to discuss whether we would be able to have some time in the UK. I think it'll end up with me trying to talk him into it and him trying to talk me out of it! I want to gather some info to discuss with him. When we moved here we said we would have to play it by ear about what happens when our parents get older - now I know how I feel about it!  If we didn't have the kids, I'd be making arrangements to go on my own.

I guess some of the things I want to know are:

Is it possible to get 6 month furnished or unfurnished rentals (I've looked on real estate sites and haven't seen any - I can see we're looking at around 1200 pounds a month for unfurnished)?

What's the job market like? My husband is an engineer and runs his own business in Adelaide. We have to work out whether he could continue with that remotely or whether he would have to leave someone in charge and get a job in the UK (Peterborough area). I have just started back at work for a few hours a week (presenting in schools for a charity) after 10 years raising the kids. I'd do anything in the UK but my background is in libraries and education. 

Cost of Living! Wondering what sort of income we'd need to support a family of 4, renting at about 1200 per month and eating out once or twice a week. Kids would be in state schools and we'd run one car between us. 

I don't anticipate we'd have any issues renting out our house at this end, we'd put our stuff into storage and either sell our car or leave with friends. 

Thanks in advance  

 

 

 

We lived in Brampton and Alconbury for many years, both were an easy commute to Peterborough on the A1. Brampton was larger, but we enjoyed the village life in Alconbury and our children went to the village school, but I must add this was a very long time ago, so it has probably changed, but might be worth googling Airbnb in the area to get an idea.

Good luck

A few photos from our latest trip. We stayed with friends north of Gympie, at their old family Queenslander,  which was full of their rich family history, beautiful countryside. Photo of the Really rickety Dicks ram Bridge over the Mary River, you did not feel confident on it, but it has stood the test of time so far

On 01/05/2022 at 08:32, ramot said:

Condabilla fish farm near Chinchilla, just googled it and it says permanently closed? We were there only a few weeks ago, wonder if the floods just after we were there was the cause?

Last I heard it was just a hiccup with the web site 

4 hours ago, Bonsta said:

Hello, We own property here in Sydney but are looking to buy an investment property in the UK. Just wondering if anyone knows of the pros and cons to this please as I am unfamiliar with all the tax implications involved and trying to weigh up if it will be worth it? Obvs this will mean us getting a loan too, is it better to get one from Oz or in the UK? Any advice much appreciated :O) Thanks

I can’t help with financial advice, but we have owned investment properties  for many years in UK, as we were expats before living here.we always used a management company and  luckily never  had any problems, but would in future buy here, I think it’s simpler.

The downside we have just experienced is the ridiculous UK system to buy and sell properties. It has just taken 6 months to sell a one bedroom flat, with no mortgage, from an investor to another investor with no chain.from the sale agreed to completion!!!   Solicitors were either incompetent or just couldn’t be bothered. Emails went unanswered, I think my husband did more work than they did, and midnight phone calls were not appreciated!  That experience is enough to put us off re investing there.

We have then had to set up a UK CGT account with HMRC and have 60 days to pay the CGT.