fourcorners

When we returned from Canada in late 2008 we had no jobs to go to. We lived with my Mum initially and my partner took a couple of weeks to find work in that area. It took me 4 months but there are far fewer geology jobs available in the UK and I didn't have to get a job immediately. I enjoyed hanging out with Mum for a bit and helping her with her property renovations! In our work international experience is seen as a major advantage so was certainly a bonus, but I guess that depends so much on your field. Now we have a baby on the way we'll definitely try and sort work for my OH before we return, or at least line up some interviews. I know my old workplace was keen to have us but that's our safety net and we want to explore other possibilities first. Definitely paid off visiting my old office to catch up with the colleagues when we went back on holiday in April, the first thing my boss said to me was 'there's some jobs here if you want them!'. Nice to feel wanted!

First came out here to Kalgoorlie after I finished my Masters degree. As part of the degree we came to WA on a field trip visiting various mines around Kalgoorlie, Perth and Bunbury. One of our old lecturers was working at the Superpit at the time and mentioned he was on the look out for a geotechnical engineer, and I thought that would suit my OH when he graduated. They flew him over business class for a week to interview (those were the days!). A few months later we had 457 visas and moved down here. We had never dreamed about living in Australia, we made the move purely on the fact we could both easily get jobs here and needed to get some experience under our belts. I didn't apply for anything until we arrived but it only took two weeks to find a job. We stayed 18 months that time before my OH got an opportunity to do a Phd in Vancouver. Hated Vancouver, we lasted 9 months there before returning to the UK in late 2008 (great timing for the GFC!). We had ups and downs in the UK for 3 years, but by the end our situation was great - we had a house in Cornwall, both had good jobs, loved the lifestyle there. Just one glitch, my OH's first major contract involved him doing FIFO to Karratha! He did that for 10 months before saying sod it, too hard, and making plans to move back to Australia. Gained some more 457 visas, both had jobs before we moved, and arrived in Kalgoorlie again on 1st October 2011. We chose Kal again as we could both get well-paid jobs easily, had lots of friends here and both get to be at home every day. Kal isn't that bad, I know a lot of people really look down on the place but it has a great community feel that just isn't there in say Perth (going by our friends experiences). We came out again with the aim of paying off our UK mortgage, taking advantage of those lovely exchange rates. Now they're shifting the wrong way and the incentive to stay is becoming weaker and weaker. Particularly with me expecting our first child in April it makes the pull of home that much stronger. We just have to line the right jobs up back in the UK and get our timing right and we should be good. By April we'll have paid off 90% of the mortgage and have some savings in the bank so pretty much mission accomplished. Just can't see us being happy here long term and don't want our children to grow up thinking Kalgoorlie is normal! Just booked a couple of weeks in January in Melbourne and Tasmania, can't wait to avoid some heat and have one last holiday as a couple before our little girl arrives and life changes forever!

I agree with Quoll, for some (like us) ping ponging has worked well and has never been a mistake. Each move you learn more about yourself and what you want from life. And what suits you brilliantly now may not always suit for ever. Been back in Oz 2 years now and none of my family have been to visit this time. Plus it's at least 2-3 days travelling not to mention darned expensive to go back. Your sentence 'you can always visit England but Australia does have its lifestyle benefits' may well be true for some people, but for others the opposite is true: You can always visit Australia but England does have it's lifestyle benefits.

We ping-ponged, and are now heading back to the UK for a second time in 2014. Our moves have largely been driven by work. But I never felt settled in Australia the first time and that hasn't changed the second time around. But then we never viewed or wanted it to be a permanent thing. I really enjoyed being back in the UK but my partner's work life balance was horrendous especially when he started a contract FIFO to Karratha, that's when we said 'enough!' and decided to head back out here for his career. Now it looks like more options are becoming available in the UK and with our first baby due in April we're really looking forward to being closer to family again. The only difference second time around is that it was easier and more straightforward to sort everything out on arrival and 'settling' happened quicker. But then the novelty did wear off sooner as well and it turns into same old same old. My partner gets itchier feet than me and can't wait for a change of scenery. I'm hoping he can get a job with a consultancy where he can travel to wild and remote places, I think that will help his wanderlust a bit! The lifestyle here is not ideal for us, there's only so much 'round the BBQ' conversation about cricket/footy/soccer/rugby we can take. Costs of travel to see other parts of Oz are inhibitive, so you end up doing the same weekend trips, camping, fishing etc, which is nice but I can't envisage being happy with that for another 20 years! I think actually Australia suits people who like routine, and like to stay at home a lot. It's been an excellent move for us in terms of our careers but there comes a point when jobs aren't the most important thing in your lives.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on!

Not everywhere Fifi, ours close at 6pm weeknights and are not open at all on a sunday. Because everyone tries to squeeze in shopping between 5pm and 6pm on a weeknight or god forbid a saturday, the shops are hellishly busy and it's enough to give everyone trolley rage! Particularly on the run up to Christmas it's a nightmare.

Don't be sad. Just imagine how you would be feeling if you were still in Australia with your Dad in the same situation. At least now you can go and visit him and as Pom Queen says, have Christmas at theirs. Doesn't really matter where you are for Christmas.

Kills two birds with one stone! We have found that the best way to sell household stuff if you're not in a rush is to use our local buy/sell group on Facebook. The Kalgoorlie one is very busy and we've sold quite a bit through there. Garage sales are also popular but we haven't done one of those yet, maybe nearer our moving date we may do that.

I feel the same about being torn between saving money and being able to see some more parts of Australia. If we have our sums right we will have saved enough to pay off our UK mortgage by the time I give birth to our fist child next April. However I really want a holiday just the two of use before then, and time is running out! So we've made a deal where any cash from items I sell can go towards a holiday, then it won't feel like we're eating into the mortgage savings. Unfortunately I'm sure any money I do make is rapidly being offset by the increasingly demoralising exchange rate but hey ho. I've already raised $1000 so we could afford a camping holiday no problems somewhere not too far away (e.g. Albany or Margaret River but we've already done these areas). But I'd like to aim a little higher and see some parts I haven't been before.

Hey Incata I really feel for you. Hope you tried to make the most of your birthday and enjoyed your big mac! Sounds like a really unpleasant place to be in and you must feel pretty demoralised at the moment. I am probably pointing out the obvious here but try not to make any big decisions while you are still reeling. Allow a little time to pass but by all means discuss all the options. When faced with dilemmas like this we like to draw up lists of pros and cons for each option. You've had a really frustrating experience in Australia so far so I have no doubt you are starting to feel totally 'over it' right now. I hate that 'lost' feeling and have had it a few times myself since being in Australia. It sucks! Don't be afraid to talk things over with your husband so you both know how you both feel. He probably already knows you're feeling pretty down after being fired (I think anyone would in that situation). I have found it always helps to talk things through with my OH, sometimes it can be difficult but in the end it always helps make you feel better. At the end of the day you may have dodged a bullet with that company. They probably had a reputation to begin with which may explain why they couldn't find anyone before you came along. Plus if the HR sector is that small in Perth then other companies may also be aware of that reputation and you may not be disadvantaged as much as you fear. Your ability to find another job may not be in question here. Moreover the question is do you have the desire to find another job here in Australia? One final thing is you shouldn't consider yourselves lucky to have a nice house and that your husband has a well paid job. I would say luck probably has a very small part to play in things, and you've both worked very hard to get where you are and made plenty of sacrifices along the way. I do truly believe that people make their own luck in that way. So if you have the dream, whether that's in Oz or elsewhere, have confidence that you will be able to achieve it, and treat every experience, no matter how crappy, as a stepping stone towards that dream.

We're on track to pay off our GBP150k mortgage off by the time I turn 30 next year. I am really proud of being able to achieve that but it's been damn hard work. We rarely indulge ourselves, and the mortgage is the only debt we have. I think the key thing is that we get far more satisfaction from paying down our debt than from buying the latest gadget or a new car. Yes material things are great, but the buzz they give only lasts a short time before you need another indulgence. Whereas paying down debt gives you long lasting benefits. Not so much fun, but then once we've paid off our house we can have much more fun!

Just be aware that if you need to get a mortgage, expat mortgages secured on overseas income are quite hard to get. Many banks stopped doing them in about January this year. Even though we already had a mortgage in the UK which we had heavily overpaid, we couldn't draw down on that at all when we wanted to buy another property. We did discover that Barclays were doing expat mortgages but you needed to be borrowing over 100k and have a substantial deposit, plus the rates weren't great. If you are a chain free buyer, as we have been with both of ours, and the property is also chain free, then the process is generally much quicker and relatively stress free. It also means you can negotiate harder on the price as the seller will be more likely to go with you as you'd be chain free. The only stressful part of our first purchase was having to get some mundic testing done, which shouldn't be an issue if you're looking near London.

I was going to mention this too! I remember reading about it when my English friend and his Armenian wife were thinking of going back there to live. He has since got a job in Kazakhstan so he won't have to worry about it for a while (but one day he will...). Fancy a stint in the south of france?

If you did move to Perth (as someone else suggested) to have your own place how often would you end up seeing your family in the Pilbara? You might only end up seeing them slightly more than if you lived in Scotland! It kind of sounds like your family are holding you ransom to a certain extent. It's not really fair to ask you to live in a very expensive area, with no great job prospects for your husband, so that you end up feeling forced to live with them. I would write a list of pros and cons for each option. Pros for staying sound like spending time with your family, and your family getting to spend time with their grand children. Pros of Scotland mean your husband can work in a job he likes and support you if you guys want another baby, plus you won't have to work full time. You'll have to weigh everything up altogether and figure out what's best for you, your husband, and your children.

I think there is an element of luck in renting but good tenants should be rewarded. We landed on our feet with our rental and have been there 2 years, just signed for another 6 months. We've had two rent reductions from an initial $495, then $450, now $420 per week. Most of that was because they've sub-divided the block so we've lost most of the garden but we hated caring for the lawn anyway! They have done two inspections in 2 years and have addressed concerns we have had (like the builders hopping the fence to use our hosepipe and water on the building site - we weren't very happy about that!). They haven't been the best at sorting some lesser maintenance issues but then we haven't nagged about these. I'm very glad we haven't bought here, we just won't be here long enough to ride out any potential storms in the local housing market. Plus we have 2 houses in the UK that we put any spare cash into and don't want to spread ourselves too thinly. I agree with Bobj, best to buy and pay off as quickly as possible - any overpayments can make a substantial dent in the interest you pay. We've reduced the amount of monthly interest we owe massively and hence renting here doesn't feel too bad when all balanced together.

We used to do day trips as I was at school in West Yorkshire. Long day but made it cheaper! We went on longer field trips to the Isle of Arran with school, and then with uni I went to the Lake District, Dorset and the Isle of Rum in the hebrides. Loved all of them but Rum was probably my favourite. But Whitby always has a special place with me as it was probably there that I really got into geology, I even used to go up there with Mum and sis on weekends fossil hunting. I still love going out and trying to find minerals and fossils, much more interesting than what I do day to day!

Was in Scarborough just over 2 years ago for the racing at Oliver's Mount. Even if you're not into motorbikes, well worth a trip as you can get so close to the racetrack! When we lived in West Yorkshire we would head over to Whitby quite a lot, and I did a couple of geological field trips there with school fossil hunting. Still have some of my ammonites from Runswick Bay.

Yep, proper Cornish pasty although the ones we make at home do stave off the cravings. Nothing like eating one on a Cornish cliff top though. Wensleydale cheese. I have found a farm which makes 'Caerphilly cheese' which has the right flavour but not quite the right texture, its Denmark Farmhouse http://www.denmarkfarmhouse.com.au plus they make awesome fudge (highly recommended!) I miss proper soggy style chip shop chips and mushy peas, and a decent Indian. Last time we were back we went into Morrisons and I particularly enjoyed the 60p custard tarts and a bottle of Frijj chocolate milkshake! Another indulgence was visiting Caudwells Mill in Derbyshire where they have a fantastic vegetarian cafe. I just love their Homity Pie, must make another of those soon. My partner can't tolerate bread very well but we do like beans on toast. He asked me to get potato waffles as a bread substitute but it seems they are unavailable here in Coles/Woolies/IGA.

Sorry fensaddler, wasn't you. I just rechecked I got an email saying NickyNook replied in the thread and asked the question about capital improvements but it seems to have disappeared from the thread now. I don't think the UK tax situation is that complicated from the point of view of an expat with one or two rental properties. I have found it easy to navigate without the help of an accountant. Just trying to help others who don't want to pay an accountant to do what is within the grasp of most people.

Makes me very happy about Cheltenham and Glos mortgages. I rang them up, paid a 250 pound fee to get consent to let, and our application was accepted. No change to our interest rate which is now a very pleasing 2.5%. There are only a couple of clauses such as not renting for more than 12 months on a single contract. And being 457 visa holders we have paid no tax on our UK rental income, for us it works out better if we hold off becoming permanent resident as the few benefits of the Australian tax system vs the UK mean we would probably be worse off. I was reading that you can claim costs of visiting your rental property overseas, but say if you go on holiday for 2 weeks and visit the house for one of those days, you can only claim a proportional cost of the airfares, i.e. 1/14th. Similarly you can claim the cost of one nights accommodation if you have to stay somewhere near your property. So unless you have multiple properties it's hardly worth the effort. Fensaddler you can't claim depreciation on capital improvements on a UK property in the UK tax system. I think the Australian tax system is set up far more to encourage buy-to-let investments and therefore property development in general.

Reading the ATO publication on rental properties: http://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Income-and-deductions/In-detail/Investments,-including-rental-properties/Rental-properties-2012-13/ Under the Repairs and Maintenance section on page 12, it says: However, the following expenses are capital, or of a capital nature, and are not deductible: - replacement of an entire structure or unit of property (such as a complete fence or building, a stove, kitchen cupboards or refrigerator) - improvements, renovations, extensions and alterations, and - initial repairs, for example, in remedying defects, damage or deterioration that existed at the date you acquired the property. Example: The Hitchmans needed to do some repairs to their newly acquired rental property before the first tenants moved in. They paid an interior decorator to repaint dirty walls, replace broken light fittings and repair doors on two bedrooms. They also discovered white ants in some of the floorboards. This required white ant treatment and replacement of some of the boards. These expenses were incurred to make the property suitable for rental and did not arise from the Hitchmans’ use of the property to generate assessable rental income. The expenses are capital in nature and the Hitchmans are not able to claim a deduction for these expenses.

Don't you worry Peach, I've done my research. That's how it works in the UK tax system when you lived in the property previously (whilst the work was being carried out). The property becomes a 'rental business' from the date your first tenants contract starts. Besides, you can only claim for maintenance and repairs, not improvements. It depends if the OP's 'hefty repairs' were just repairs or whether they were improvements.

You can't really offset repair/maintenance costs from before the property was let out. I didn't include any of the refurbishment we did to our house on our tax return as it was carried out before the property became a rental property (i.e. when the first tenants moved in). Same with any mortgage interest we paid while finding a tenant. So it's not really a 'loss' that you can now carry over.

There are tons of threads on here about claiming super back, one was started a few days ago. Basically if you a permanent resident you can't extract it until retirement age. If you are temporary (i.e. 457 or working holiday) then you will be able to. Mods should we make one of the super threads a sticky so people can read that before starting a new thread?

It all depends on what visa you have. If you have a 457 visa or some other Temporary visa, then you do not have to declare any foreign income on your Australian tax return. If you are a permanent resident, then yes you do have to include your UK property on any Australian tax return. I am surprised it will take you several more years for the property to turn a profit if you are renting it full time. Even in our first year of renting our house out, and it was empty for 3 months while we found a tenant, it still made a profit. Just make sure you're not including your capital repayment on your mortgage as a 'loss', it is only the interest on the mortgage which can be viewed as an expense (sorry if I'm pointing out the obvious!).