InnerVoice

You can definitely get a mortgage with PR. I don't think maternity leave would be affected because that it a right everyone has under employment law, so assuming you were legally employed you'd be entitled to it. Here is a list of PR entitlements taken straight from the Immigration & Citizenship website. Hope this helps... https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/permanent-resident/entitlements As a permanent resident of Australia, you generally can: remain in Australia indefinitely work and study in Australia enrol in Australia’s national health scheme, Medicare apply for bank loans to buy property sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible travel to and from Australia for as long as your travel facility permits. attend free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program work in New Zealand You may also qualify for other government benefits and services. Unlike Australian citizens, a permanent resident generally cannot: have an Australian passport vote in Australian Government elections unless you enrolled (as a British subject) before 26 January 1984 access student loans join the Australian Defence Force obtain ongoing work in the Australian Government return to Australia from overseas without a valid travel facility (you do not have automatic right of entry to Australia)

@palmtrees I totally relate to this. I went back the UK for 3 years (2008-2011) because I was also missing 'home' at the time, and knew my mum and older relatives wouldn't be around for much longer. Fortunately I was already a citizen by then and I also had a government job to return to, so it was an easier decision. However, after a couple of years I knew I wanted to return to Australia and I've been happy here every since. Your dilemma is that if you start a family in the UK there's no guarantee that you'll be able get back to Australia in future, and the reality is that you'll probably just stay in the UK. If you think it's a hard decision now, imagine how hard it would be to leave that established support network behind when you have a young family? Conversely, if you have a family here, you're not going to be able to go back to the UK very often 'for a fix' as you have done previously. I think the best approach is to imagine a scenario where you have to stay in one country, forever - with no opportunity to ever return to the other one. If you can answer that question from the heart then you'll be able to make this decision.

So how many times have you lived in Australia already, and if you don't mind me asking - apart from your sponsorship ending - why did you return to the UK ?

You can add Latitude to that list. I have one of their credit cards and have received 3 phishing texts over the last couple of days, so I guess the crims already have my phone number

Having children is a life-changing experience and involves personal sacrifice, so their lives will change radically wherever they live. Yes, they would have more of a support network in the UK, but then Australia is just a great environment to brings up kids. For a start, there's so much you can do here that doesn't cost anything (or costs very little).

I was last back in 2018 and couldn't believe how much the country had gone downhill. I was used to seeing homeless people in Manchester, but they were prevalent in much smaller towns and most were clearly drug addicts - very sad. A general aura of negatively seemed hang over everyone I met. I went to visit one of my friends in hospital - now that was really grim. People in the ward next to us crying for help, but not enough nurses to attend to them. After a week or so of visiting people, we were happy to be boarding that plane!

Jump, definitely jump! Well I would if I was in your shoes. If you're going to start a family soon then you'd be better doing that here (Australia), or it's going to be more complicated, more expensive, and not to mention exhausting to migrate afterwards, so I wouldn't let that stop you - and at 28 you're still a spring chicken!

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

That's a great attitude to be moving forward with. I spent my first 9 months in Sydney back in 1995. Got a job straight away and loved it initially, but it didn't take long before the novelty wore off. It was a rat-race even back then and I always seemed to be in a rush, stuck in traffic etc. Even though I was on a good wage, I was never going to be able to afford a property anywhere near the city. I also found Sydneysiders to be rather snooty, which I've never found elsewhere in Australia - not even Melbourne. A good friend was getting married in the Lake District that summer and I was invited. I'd ummed and erred about going given the cost of the flights and that I'd use all my annual leave in one go, but then he asked me to be his best man so I had no option! I knew that I didn't want to return to Sydney so I jacked in my job, and headed home. I had the best summer ever; the wedding was fantastic, the Olympics and Euros were on (and not in the middle of the night). I spent lots of time with friends and enjoyed doing touristy stuff in the UK, which I'd never got around to when I lived there. But by the end of the summer I'd had my fill and I knew wanted to return to Oz. When I arrived back in Australia 4 months later, I drove up to Brisbane and have been in Queensland ever since. People would say 'hello' to you in Brisbane when you walked by them in the street back then, even in the CBD. Sydney isn't Australia just like London isn't the UK, so keep that in mind should you decided to return. I hope it all works out for you.

@Cobs_Ahoy I've only just read this thread, so I'm glad you're looking at your return to the UK positively. You're moving back to a beautiful part of the country at the best time of year, so there will be lots to look forward to. Returning to Australia in the future is probably the last thing on your mind right now, but then they don't call us ping-pong Poms for nothing! I went back to the UK for 3 years, but I've been back here for 12 years now. When I moved to the UK I kept my Australian bank accounts open and credit card, as well as my Medicare card and Driving licence up-to-date. It cost me very little, and made life a lot easier when I returned to Australia. I used a friend's address, but I believe you said you had a sister in Melbourne. I'm sure you will settle back in the UK... but just in case! Unless you're particularly attached to your furniture, I'd flog the lot before you go. You'll get more money than you would in the UK, and no return shipping costs. Good luck with it all

I'd get used to that if you're moving here!

Fair point, although those of us who've gone off on a tangent have previously made a positive contribution to the thread.

Investing heavily in developing nations' infrastructure, and then crippling them debt so they are forever in China's servitude is more their style.

I'd agree we shouldn't be too complacent about China as they clearly have designs on the Asia Pacific region. You can see them annexing the odd island here and there whilst no one's looking, but I find the notion that China will attack Australia unprovoked is preposterous. It's just media concocted nonsense to keep the newspapers moving because rarely anything worth reporting ever happens here. Why on earth would the Chinese invade Australia when they can simply keep on buying it? Putin is a different matter. He's madder than a box of frogs, and only Newton's laws of motion and death are likely to stop him. My fingers are firmly crossed for the latter, although he seems to be in good nick for his age. Thankfully we're getting some shiny new submarines to keep us all safe, so we can rest easily in our beds once again.

Sadly the 'unthinkable', buried at the back of our minds for decades, has moved somewhere nearer the middle in the last 12 months. Responses from both sides to various incidents have been measured up till now, but that could all change in a moment's insanity. We can only hope for a peaceful resolution that will end the bloodshed and allow the Ukrainians to rebuild their lives and their country, whilst not conceding too much to Russian demands. Unfortunately, that isn't looking very likely at the moment.

I think you'll find a similar time frame over here for some jobs, so maybe start applying for jobs a couple of months before you leave. I'd enjoy that period before you restart work - it never lasts long!

It was about 10 years since I did this so prices will have changed, but the company I used were excellent and very competitive at the time. You can haggle a bit too, once you have a few quotes and you've decided who you'd prefer to go with. https://www.pssremovals.com/international-removals-cost-calculator

I went to Slovenia and Croatia back in the 70s, when they were still part of Yugoslavia. I remember my parents saying how cheap it was compared with the rest of Europe, although it was also quite backward as I recall. I guess they've moved on a lot in the last 45 years, and since joining the EU. Although given what's happening in Eastern Europe at the moment and the Balkans' reputation for instability as a region, I don't think I'll be moving there anytime soon.

Unless you have a very good government pension scheme in the UK, you won't be missing out by moving to Australia. Employers here have to pay a mandatory 10% of your salary (that's on top of your salary), into your superannuation, which is far more generous than most employers in the UK. Queensland government employees get 12.75%, and 18% if you're a police officer. You can also receive your UK state pension here once you get to retirement age, although it will be frozen in terms of the rate and is taxable.

I've seen a fair chunk of Western Europe over the years, excluding Scandinavia, which I know I won't be retiring to! Spent a couple of weeks in Corsica back in the early 90s and although it was beautiful, it's not a place I'd go back to. The roads were terrible and the infrastructure was clearly in need of investment, so I can imagine some things would be expensive there. When I last visited France, which was about 5 years ago, I thought the supermarkets were on a par with the UK - maybe a little more expensive, but better choice than Austria, Germany and Switzerland, where they seem to have an obsession with cheese and sausages! Spain seems good value for property but the high rate of tax would hammer my pension income stream, so I think it would be out for that reason. Northern Portugal looks like the best bet at the moment, although again we'd need a visit, as I've only been around the southern half.

You mean everything is expensive if you're a tourist. Fortunately we never eat out, so that's something we wouldn't miss. The French and Italians love to fleece the tourists, even those of their own nationality - they don't discriminate! I'm not sure if I really want to retire in Europe. Maybe it's just a fanciful idea and once I went there, I'd hate it. I know it will seem so busy when compared with here, which is something I wouldn't really like. We will have to go on a reckie at some point, just as you are doing

Good for you! October is a great month to visit as the weather is (usually) quite settled across (most of) Australia, and not too hot.

Sorry to learn about you mum and husband, but glad the latter is okay now. Life events of this nature are often the catalyst for positive change. Whilst no one wants to lose their parents, having ageing parents on the other side of the world is always a worry until they've passed on. I lost my father when I was young, well before migrating, and my mother was in good health for many years until the end, which thankfully came quickly and she didn't suffer. We talked at one point about her moving over but she was very happy in the UK, and enjoyed visiting on three occasions over the years. I'd suggest this might be the way forward for your father as the retirement visa process here is notoriously long and expensive, whereas a 3-month tourist visa is ideal for knocking a big whole in the British winter. Renting your UK house out is a great idea (it's what I did for many years) as you've got that safety net if things don't go as you planned, but be mindful that you may need to pay capital gains tax on the proceeds of the sale if it's no longer your primary residence. Good luck with it all, and keep posting how you're getting along

That sounds like paradise to me too! No true. A quarter of a million euros for a decent apartment with a sea view (if you squint). You'll struggle to find that anywhere in Australia. https://www.green-acres.fr/en/properties/apartment/grasse/27135a-18_094.htm

@Cheery Thistle in your initial post you stated that 'you have a good life in the UK with a nice house, relatively low mortgage and I have a good job'. Also, it seems that you have a nice family life too, so all in all the right ingredients for a happy life. In subsequent posts it comes across as though living in Australia is something on your bucket list that needs to be ticked, rather than a life-changing way of life you're committed too. However, what you've said above indicates that you've given it a lot more than I gave you credit for, so apologies for being too quick to judge. I appreciate that my experience of migrating almost 30 years ago isn't going to help you much, but I know a couple who arrived fairly recently, and a lad who has just obtained his visa grant. The couple from the north of England emigrated autumn 2020, so they've been here two and a half years now. I work with the lady who is a high school teacher, and her husband is an HGV driver. I'm not sure if that's what he's always done, but he's doing that now. She's late 30s and he's early 40s, so a bit younger than you, but their situation isn't dissimilar given their professions. They were renting for a year but have now bought a property, which is a lot more affordable up here in Cairns. They have two children, 5 and 1. The first year they were loving it but I know they struggled last year with missing family etc, especially with the birth of a new baby. They went back to the UK last Christmas over the school holidays and loved seeing everyone again, but were equally happy getting back to Australia. I think a lot of new migrants need that trip back every couple of years to 'drink from the well', and alleviate those feelings of homesickness. The other person is also a teacher - and a Scot! He obtained his visa grant a couple of months ago and is coming out this September. To give you some idea of the timeframe he started the process in 2019, which was delayed due to covid of course. He had some issues getting the skills assessments done and that also hindered the process, but he got there in the end. I know there were a couple of occasions when thought about throwing in the towel though! As others have said, you may struggle to find a pathway given your current occupations so best consult an RMA. Maybe you could go back to teaching for a couple of years so you can get in on the back of that? Due to the shortage of secondary teachers across Australia at the moment, you probably have a good chance of a success application. Compared with 30 years ago things aren't as great as they used to be, but show me any country where they are. Australia is still the land of milk and honey as far as I'm concerned and if you're willing to work hard, the opportunity you mentioned lacking in the UK will definitely present itself here.