InnerVoice

They're probably more concerned about their work colleagues categorizing them as racists, boomers, misogynists, gammons, or some other term thrown at middle-aged white folk who've worked hard all their lives, paid their taxes, and made Australia a very desirable country for all.

I agree that it's easier to settle for the status quo when life 'isn't that bad' because change requires both commitment and risk, but I think one needs to have a solid plan when making life-changing decisions. The OP said they felt unsettled, missed UK life, but wasn't sure they wanted to return there, move back to Melbourne or try somewhere new in Australia, like Perth. That's essentially the catalyst for a ping-pom experience, which will burn through far money until than staying where you are until you've worked out what you really want.

I was wondering exactly the same, and if I was in the OPs situation I would want to take advantage of that opportunity while it's still on the table.

First part sounds right - not so sure about the latter. To date, the only banks that have booted us are Citibank and Barclays, both of whom are global players. It's understandable that they will change policies from time to time that might affect their operations in the domestic marketplace in certain countries. It seems that Brexit is a major factor in the decision made by some UK banks to close accounts as they are no longer choosing to service the EU and EEA countries, but it doesn't appear to be a blanket policy aimed at all overseas account holders.

In this case they aren't toddlers, so it might be wise to consider their feelings before making a decision. You don't have to wait until they're adults to respect their opinions.

Contrary to the above comments, I'd be more concerned about how another move so soon would affect the children's well being rather than the disruption to their education. 'Children are resilient' is a very general statement, and indeed many are, but some really struggle with change. No one will be better judge of how they will fare than you. You don't feel a sense of belonging, but are unsure whether you want to move elsewhere in Australia or back to the UK. I'm sorry that you don't feel settled here, but I'd seriously be weighing up the pros and cons before making another move. Having worked so hard to get where you are, I'd be asking myself can I grow to love my current life before I gave it up.

What didn't?

The first question is subjective, but in my opinion the answer is 'Yes' because if the house sale falls through at the last minute and needs to go back on the market, you still have a place to live. It's what I did, but fortunately my mum was still alive at the time so I shipped my belongings once my house was under offer, and moved in with her for a few weeks until the sale completed. It was over Christmas, so she was quite happy to have me around. I'm always wary about commenting on anything to do with tax and would recommend taking professional advice, but as a general rule you're usually not subject to CGT on the sale of your primary residence if you were residing in it for at least 90 days in any tax year, prior to leaving. https://www.gov.uk/tax-live-abroad-sell-uk-home

Surely Drag Queen Drag Racing is only just around the corner?

I believe that UK banks have an obligation to inform the HMRC if a customer is no longer UK resident for tax purposes, which means writing to any who have permanently changed theirs to an overseas address. I often receive letters about this requesting proof of identity and tax residency (certified copies of ID documents), which I generally file under 'bin'. I assume that if the bank doesn't hear back from me they will report exactly that to the HMRC, so they've done their job. However, it must be creating considerable work and expense for them so you can understand why they'd only want to retain high value accounts. I expect more banks will follow suit in future.

Sorry to hear that and I agree, it's very inconvenient. My wife had a Barclays current account and I had a Barclaycard, so they've just gone down the swanny. Fortunately I've several other UK bank accounts to fall back on. My wife thinks I have some kind of money laundering operation going on but I just took advantage of all those deals they were doing 10-15 years ago, when they were throwing money at you to open a current account, or switch. Anyway, that doesn't help you much but here's a couple of ideas... You could try switching your Barclays account to another UK bank via the USwitch website. They don't specify that you need to be a UK resident and I guess it will depend on whether it's permitted by the bank you want to switch to, but at least you have a regular income, which is usually the main hurdle when it comes to opening a new current account. Worth a try. https://www.uswitch.com/current-accounts/#current-account-deals An alternative, as Marisa mentioned, is to use Wise. I've been using them for over 5 years and their service has been excellent to date. They provide you with a UK account number and sort code that you can make payments from and to. You can also have your salary or pension paid into the same account, which gets over the problem of needing a UK bank account to receive private pension payments. Once the money is in your Wise account, you can transfer it directly to your Australian bank account (transfer fees apply). Hope this helps.

@Bobj that's an impressively-low weekly grocery bill, although I recall you're a talented fisherman so I'm guessing you never buy fish?! We installed 7kW solar just a couple of months after we moved in and likewise have never had a bill over $50, although we've also received rebates during the summer quarters so it's pretty much averaged out to net zero. You have to feel for those back in the UK who're now paying thousands for their gas and lecky.

Glad you've clarified that. I was thinking it was a toss up between a submarine and a UXB!

Ouch! I feel your pain. The annoying thing is we could've remortgaged for 5 years at a slightly higher rate, and that would've taken me up to 60 (and retirement) when we plan to downsize and relocate. I guess like most we didn't expect interest rates to rise quite as rapidly and by so much in a relatively short period - you live and learn! We're also quite frugal in most respects (last night was the first time we've eaten out this year), although I do like me overseas trips, and still looking forward to visiting Japan and South Korea at some point. The main concern from our perspective would be if there's property crash, and we get considerably less for our house than we would if we sold it now. I think you're making a wise decision to sell one of your properties by the end of the year.

We were fortunate enough to remortgage for 3 years when interest rates hit rock bottom in 2021, so we still have another year's grace. At the end of that period I've calculated our repayments will increase by at least $1,000/month if interest rates stay at the same level. Based on our combined income we can stand it, although it will mean an end to overseas holidays and a few other luxuries. We also have the option of selling our property and downsizing because we have a decent amount of equity, but my concern is for the financial security of many Australians who're already living on the edge.