akiralx

New Holland honeyeater in our Geelong garden:

If you can get a career break then seems a plausible proposition - otherwise I would say no. You would have to give up your jobs, might struggle to get similar ones when you return, and (if you care about such things) may have damaged the path of your future careers.

Melbourne winters are nothing like as cold as the UK. I don't even own a coat here in Geelong! But then I am a hardy Yorkshireman...

Yes, this is correct - though sadly if the rate is worse you cannot claim a capital loss (as usual...). To the OP, you can wait till the rate is better (maybe quite a few years...and it might get worse) - or bite the bullet and earn over 5% gross on your capital. You can do the maths as what the rate would have to move to to offset the lost interest, but I plumped for moving money over. Some migrants are also betting on waiting for house prices to rise before selling, and then waiting for the exchange rate to improve. I doubt they will win both those gambles. I am currently selling our house at about 10% lower price than when we left in 2009 (so no worries about CGT) - then I'll worry about the rate. My view is I want all assets out of the UK/Europe before the balloon goes up...

One good thing for the kids in Singapore is the Moonlight Safari - you are picked up from most hotels and bussed out to the park (about 25 mins), and then see all the animals in moonlight. A buffet dinner in a Jurassic Park-style outdoor venue (flaming torches etc) is included.

Isn't 85+ a bit like lying on the beach under a tarpaulin?

From my experience, no.

Sounds like most of this site should be closed down - aren't we all generally giving advice and assistance to migrants?

If that commute is no problem then consider Geelong - much cheaper housing and a lovely community, plus gateway to the Great Ocean Road etc. We live in a great period house with a large garden. 1 hour direct to Southern Cross on V/Line. $59.90 per week (cheaper monthly tickets of course) - not sure what Zone 2 Metro trains are now but not much less. I can understand a new arrival wanting to live in Melbourne for a while but consider it for later.

'There is an infinite choice of lifestyle here, whether you are looking for the easy, laid back stress free lifestyle that this country is famous for...' I'd love to know where this is, Australian life has many advantages but stress-free isn't one of them in my view. I find the constant form-filling, dealing with officialdom, and general complexity of living here rather stressful to be honest.

I can relate to this, we've been here for 3 years and have just bought a house, so we will stay for quite a few years yet - I am quite happy here, but was just as happy in the UK, for different reasons. Life in Aus is not really that much different - you commute, you work, you buy food, you relax, you go out to places during your leisure time... The 'lifestyle' is pretty ordinary really. Weather doesn't affect me one way or the other. I do find being surrounded by Australians rather stressful in fact. We have nothing in common. I can apply for citizenship next year and probably will for the convenience, but rather dishonestly as I feel 100% British and always will. I don't feel any loyalty to Aus, I just live here...

Well, I can up to a point. Most things like utilities seem to be handled very efficiently here. My beef is with doing a tax return (never filled one in in the UK, no need - all tax deducted at source). Also the Medicare system/private medical insurance - and the superannuation industry (I work in it) which is insanely complex, completely unnecessarily in my view.

Ah, chips are like fine wine - they need laying down for a while before consumption... You wouldn't guzzle a claret which had been bottled last week would you? English fish and chips (haddock) is the only thing here I really miss. Maybe English strawberries - Aussie fruit is generally excellent but the strawberries are often tasteless (though the English ones may well be now).

Well, maybe he took advice from this forum... I was amazed when another poster here who had an aspiration to live in Aus asked for advice, listing all the tangible benefits he enjoyed in the UK (a good career, excellent circle of friends, close family ties - all in all an enjoyable lifestyle). Almost everyone who responded gave the same advice: 'yeah, go for it, you only live once, you'll regret it it if you don't...' I think I was the only person who cautioned against moving here, recommending that he think long and hard about what he was giving up. My advice is: unless you have a clear dissatisfaction with at least some part of your life in the UK, moving overseas is perhaps not a good idea.

Prawns, ham, salads. English trifle for dessert.

I'm quite happy leaving in Geelong since June (Melbourne before that) - but I was just as happy living in Bradford in West Yorkshire. I think these survey are skewed as a basis for migration, because they don't factor in leaving behind family and friends.

I think he was implying the entire country is an institution....

I agree 100% with this. I have now lived in Australia for 3 years and don't regret moving here, we have had some great experiences, and now live in a lovely house with a wonderful garden, but Britain will always be home. My wife was born in the UK but brought up in Sydney, and loves both countries 50-50, and we moved here as she was disliking the UK weather after a few poor years. I know I will live in the UK again, and have told her so! I won't see out my days here. She also agrees with my aspiration to live in the Lake District for a year, no matter what the cost. Family, friends, and the Lakes is what I miss the most.

I think you were in Aus shortly after 1992 so maybe you or others can recall - the large cost burden to employers had to be met somehow. I suspect wages for new employees were adjusted at least to a degree, and for existing employees future wage increases were similarly adjusted. Of course part of the cost on businesses would have been passed onto customers. For public sector employees the cost would have been passed onto taxpayers...

Well, I phrased it as meaning in respect of each employee - as you say sadly it ends up effectively coming out out of the employee's salary.

Well, if a job's salary is advertised as '$x plus super', the employer pays it on top. If it says '$x including super', the 9% in effect comes out of your salary.

Depends how it performs.... Note the Centrelink Age Pension is not like the UK State Pension - it is a safety net, not universal. There are income and asset tests, so you may get nothing.

You are compelled to have 9% put into super, but many employers pay this on top of your salary. You do generally have to pay fees, but do not have to invest your super in the stock market, it can be in other assets. Lump sum benefits (the usual type of superannuation benefit paid in Australia) are tax free to those over 60.

Good luck - we have one of these and it is a great car. Very economical, nippy, and well-equipped. My wife drives it now and loves it, I ended up getting an iX35...

Actually I would think very carefully before going. There are tangible things you are giving up (job security, family ties) for a potentially pleasant existence, and an expectation, which may not be fulfilled, of another career here. Finding work in Aus is becoming increasingly difficult, especially for migrants. I don't regret moving to Aus, I and I live 15mins' walk from the coast. It's been a great experience but I wouldn't say I am any happier here than in the UK. I'm certainly not better off even though I earn 50% more. We have given up a lot, emotionally and financially. Living in Aus is not like a holiday - day to day living is much like it is anywhere. You will see your family and friends every couple of years at the most - rather less than if they were visiting you in a UK jail. Or you can use Skype and see them on a pixellated computer screen with an audio time delay. Some will visit, which is great, but most probably won't. You will have higher living and housing costs. You may well have a better lifestyle, though most of your time will be spent working and commuting, just like in the UK.