InnerVoice

A UK law degree won't let you practice law in the UK either, without additional study. You need to complete the Legal Practice Course (solicitor) or Bar Training Course (barrister), followed by a training contract / pupillage, and also pass all the professional exams. Many non-law graduates go into law without doing a law degree, as they complete a one-year graduate diploma in law. Doing a law degree from the outset only saves you one year on the whole process of becoming a solicitor or barrister compared with graduates in other fields.

I can't imagine life without a swimming pool but I haven't been to a library in over a decade. I still read as much, but it's either online or on the Kindle.

That puts a different spin on it, and if that's their intention then you're definitely going to want to get them PR or it'll be very expensive. Good luck, and hope you can find a way.

That echoes my memories of March in the UK. You've just had 3 months of winter weather and there's this (false) expectation that there will be some nicer weather in March, but there never is. There are usually more wet days in March and April, so it's just cold, wet and miserable most of the time. At least in January you sometimes get some nice, crisp winter days when it's cold but sunny, so perfect for winter walks.

January and February are the hottest months in Australia, followed by December, although March in Queensland is hot by comparison with your average UK summer.

You can't compare UK and Australian houses - they're like chalk and cheese. Our houses are built with a completely different purpose and lifestyle in mind.

Virgin are our equivalent of Ryanair, or Virgin Blue as they were known originally. Before that Qantas had a monopoly and airfares - even domestic - were hellishly expensive. Right the way through the early noughties, until I moved back to the UK in 2008, I used to book a return ticket from the UK as they were about half the price they were in Australia. I'd always have the return leg of a flight when I was in Australia, but this was back in the good old days when you didn't have to pay to change the date, so you could easily move it back or forth if required. JetStar are just Qantas's budget operation, who were launched to compete with Virgin. You're never going to get anything as cheap as Ryanair or EasyJet over here because we just don't have the numbers to make it viable.

The simplest solution (if the 190 is no longer an option) for the child that wants to go is just get a WHV. Given their age there are likely to be other opportunities for permanent migration in the future in their own right - if after spending some time here they decide Australia is right for them.

It's almost 30 years since I first came here as backpacker and I definitely migrated for the lifestyle and not the financial opportunities, although I appreciate everyone's motivations are different. I still find work a terrible inconvenience! Everything was so much more chilled back then, especially here in Queensland, although I think life up here is still pretty good compared with other parts of Australia. The globalisation effect you mentioned in your first post hasn't really happened here (probably not enough people to globalise), and most of the brands or chains we do have are distinctly Australian. I hope you can get your RRV, but if not it's great that you're in a good position financially and can spend some quality time here in your retirement. Good luck with it all.

Yes, if you're an eligible family member. I would reach out to one of the registered migration agents on this site for some professional advice. Who qualifies as an “Eligible Family Member” under the 491 subclass Visa? To be eligible to sponsor a 491 visa applicant, the sponsor must be: 18 years of age or older; usually resident in a designated regional area of Australia; an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen; and an eligible relative of you or your partner. An eligible relative can be one of the following: a parent a child or step-child a brother, sister, adoptive brother, adoptive sister, step-brother or step-sister an aunt, uncle, adoptive aunt, adoptive uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle a nephew, niece, adoptive nephew, adoptive niece, step-nephew or step-niece a grandparent, or a first cousin In determining whether the sponsor is usually resident in a designated regional area of Australia, the Department will consider the sponsor’s actual physical residence, that is, where the sponsor physically sleeps and has their usual abode. Source; https://www.noborders-group.com/news/491-family-sponsored-visa-australia-requirements-points

Well done @Cheery Thistle - next stop, the lucky country!

I think your own analysis of your circumstances and also of the challenges of moving back to Australia are spot-on. It sounds like you've made a good life for yourselves in the UK, and your main impetus for returning to Australia is the grass is always greener scenario – or as people refer to it these days, fear of missing out. I don't want to sound harsh but your retirement idea is pretty much a non-starter. You would need your daughter to be interested in migrating to Australia, have the skills to migrate, and then obtain permanent residency even before you could even start the process of obtaining parent visas. It would be decades from now and the costs involved would be astronomical. You'd be much better off spending that money on some nice long holidays that knock a big hole in the British winter.

I don't think it's financially irresponsible taking out a mortgage at any point in your life, as long as you can afford the repayments. I was in my early fifties when we bought our current home, and I won't pay my mortgage off until 83 - which obviously is never going to happen. We will sell the property well before then and downsize to a smaller house or apartment. There's always the possibility that you could find yourself in negative equity but Australia has never had a major property crash, and given the current housing shortage that would seem unlikely in the foreseeable future. This isn't intended to be financial advice, but as Tulip said all the time you're renting you're paying somebody else's mortgage. Unless you only intend to stay somewhere short-term, renting simply doesn't add up if you can afford to buy. You mentioned that you and your wife are both one good incomes, but didn't have much of the deposit saved. It's possible to get a 95% mortgage, albeit with higher interest rates, so I don't think you would need a $100,000 deposit. I've never understood the Australian obsession with mortgage brokers, and other advisers for things you can do very easily online these days. When we bought our property I liaised with a mortgage broker a friend recommended, but all the mortgages he offered had poorer terms than what I was able to obtain with my own bank. I guess the difference is where they make their cut. I appreciate this doesn't address your main dilemma about whether to stay in Australia or return to the UK, but either way you're likely to be better off financially if you can own your own home. You will also feel a lot more settled about knowing that you have a place of your own, which you can do with as you wish.

That's what I thought when I first looked at it, but the chart is misleading. Tassie is all in red which makes you think it has higher UV than the rest of Australia during summer, but red is lower than purple on the scale, so Tassie has the least UV in both winter and summer. It's just not a very well thought out colour scheme - you'd expect red to be the most extreme, wouldn't you?!

@123Family thanks for sharing. There are many posts on here where you find yourself trying to fit the pieces together but you've provided the full story, although I didn't pick up on where you live now? I was thinking regionally - you don't need to supply your full postal address. You mentioned you were happier living in a cooler climate and a more rugged environment, so I was wondering if you'd considered Tasmania? It isn't Scotland/Ireland, but it would certainly tick a few of your boxes. If it's more about lacking a sense of belonging and Scotland feels like home for you, then there really is no quick fix for that. I'd start planning your move back, but bear in mind things have been really tough over there since the pandemic and financially it could be a struggle. Good luck with it all.

True, but death still seems to be a pretty common feature if the Ukraine War is anything to go by! I've two friends - one of who served in the Falklands and the other, in the first Gulf War - and neither are doing well mentally, or ever will. You had a lucky escape.

It sounds like you've got your hearts set on returning to Oz and you mentioned that you have trades behind you, so you'll have no difficulty finding work over here. You're still at a good age to emigrate, your son isn't that old it will cause a huge disruption to his education, and you've already experience Australian life - warts and all. I'd be asking myself what have we got to lose? However... You also mentioned in your original post 7 years ago that "I don't think I could have children and then take them away from family", so clearly this is something you're going to need to reconcile - both with yourself and your family. I'd be inclined to have a chat with everyone first, explain how you feel, and see what kind of reaction you get. They may be more supportive than you expect.

I've no problems with a) b) and c), but I think I'd find; d) shooting at folks I have no disagreement with, a bit of a struggle!

That's pure conjecture, but if we're having guesses then mine is that the kids are unhappy in their own right. It sounds like they've swapped a great lifestyle in Australia for a fairly average one in the UK, not to mention leaving established friendship groups behind. We don't know how old they are or what they are like, so we can't really judge how much it has affected them. It sounds like the OP's husband made an incredibly selfless decision in agreeing to return to support his wife and her family, and is clearly very frustrated that no one is happy.

How do you know this? You might well be correct, but the OP hasn't said that. What they did mention in a post 3 years ago was that they were applying for Australian citizenship, so one assumes that they all have that now, so there's no barrier to them returning in that respect. It sounds like everyone is unhappy being be back in the UK, even the OP, who thought she would be happy - and they haven't even done a British winter yet. Personally I'd be looking at the logistics of returning to Australia while they still have the impetus. They wouldn't be the first family to 'ping' to the UK and then 'pong' back here straight away, and they certainly won't be the last. There's absolutely no shame in it. Maybe they should give it a while longer and see if they feel more settled in time, but if they don't then they shouldn't leave it too long before trying to return. The likelihood is that housing is only likely to get more expensive and unaffordable over here when compared to the UK.

I like Perth, but I prefer Brisbane. Perth is just as hot, if not hotter, but unlike Brisbane doesn't get humid in the summer. It's a dry heat, which many prefer. There's also a direct train from the centre of Perth to Cottersloe, from which it's a two minute-walk to a (stunning) beach. If you don't have your own transport, you will find getting from Brisbane to the beach expensive and time-consuming, and in practice be limited to the northern end of Gold Coast (unless you're prepared to stay somewhere overnight). The public transport connection from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast isn't great, so you'd struggle to get there and back for a day out. Of course, if you are going to buy a car at some point (which would be a wise investment), that negates everything I've just said. If you haven't been to either Perth or Brisbane before then why not do a two city recce? - fly to Perth for a few days, on to Brissie for a few, and then back to Tassie. You are going to blow some cash, but makes a lot more sense than heading off blind and hoping for the best. Unless you can pay 6 months up front you're going to struggle renting an apartment (from a reputable agent) without proof of employment, and references. There's something of an accommodation crisis in SEQ at the moment (well-covered on the news over the last couple of years), so you will be up against many other prospective tenants - most of whom will already have jobs. If I was you I'd work out what you priorities are and draw up a plan of action before you leave Tasmania.

That pretty much sums up my own experience of Brisbane life, although I haven't lived there since 2012. I too was a 'Northy' and lived in Paddington, Red Hill, Toowong, and more lately in Hamilton. At the time these places were relatively affordable, but not these days! I liked the fact that the northern-western suburbs are quite hilly and you get amazing views of the city in some places, not to mention cool afternoon breezes. I haven't spent much time in Brissie since then, but I went there last year for a conference. It was on a Thursday and Friday so I stayed over the weekend and visited some of my old haunts. It seems much busier now than how I remembered it and there was definitely more going in the evenings - although I was there Thu/Fri/Sat night. I'm normally in bed around 9.30-10pm and up at 5.30am, which is earlier than I'd like, but if I wasn't I'd miss the mornings which are the best part of the day up here. Not having Daylight Savings Time is the 'curse of Queensland' I'm afraid, and I don't think that's ever likely to change!

Getting back on track... Accommodation in Brisbane is by no means cheap, but it certainly isn't as expensive as Sydney and Melbourne. It's hard to pinpoint where the centre of Brisbane actually is, but when I lived there I used to think it was Central Station. It's the main transport hub and is also located quite centrally, as the name implies. Brisbane CBD has plenty of bars and restaurants, but they're quite spread out and generally close quite early, except at the weekend. Fortitude Valley is the main nightlife/ entertainment hub in the city, although Southbank and Caxton Street in Paddington can get lively too. Kangaroo Point is residential, although it happens to be the home of the iconic Story Bridge Hotel which is very popular, especially on Sunday arvo. Most of Brisbane's suburbs have distinct centres (shops, restaurants and amenities), but nothing that you'd describe as a 'mini-city' or even a town. The suburbs with larger shopping centres tend to be a bit more developed - places like Mt Gravatt, Chermside, and Toowong, spring to mind. Brisbane has an excellent public transport system so even if places are too far to walk you'll have no problem getting around. In recent years there's been a lot of investment in cycle paths so if you have a bike or an eScooter, you'll be in your element. I'd suggest coming up for a few days and doing a recce, and if you are concerned about the 'hot weather' then visit during the summer months so you'll know what you're in for.

Maybe because the discussion didn't start with 'the Queensland weather doesn't suit me', it started with Queensland is 'too hot' and/or 'too humid', so making a generalization based on one's own opinion. During the 6 months I lived in Melbourne I found the number of grey days rather depressing, although I never say to anyone don't go and live in Melbourne, the weather is terrible.

How can I put this diplomatically? Most people tend to feel the heat more as they get older and start carrying a few extra pounds - not that I'm saying that applies to anyone above - but I've noticed it myself (gained about 10kg in the last 10 years). I see people from time to time who fit a certain demographic and think, oh dear, you really don't look happy! From @Ollie2212 post it sounds like they are a youngish couple (I'm guessing in their 30s) and S E Queensland would be a great choice. They work in hospitality so they'll easily find work in the holiday state, and it doesn't sound like there's anything holding them back. If they don't like it they can always return to Tassie at a later date, or try somewhere further south. I thought Newcastle was an excellent suggestion, and one of the places we've been looking at for a future move.