joc1966

We have just returned to Adelaide after nearly three years "back" in Blighty. It took ages for the wife to find a job and whilst she loved the place, work, people, the money was crap - GBP16K/yr where a similar job in Australia pays around $60K/yr. Money I was being paid in Australia and moving over disappeared way to fast and the exchange rate killed us. We were lucky Canterbury College accepted our kids as UK Residents an didn't apply the two year wait or pay as an international student rule that usually applies to anyone who has been outside of the EU for more than three years. But there was no other support for them. We are happy to have had the opportunity to give the life a try and had circumstances permitted we would most probably still be there. The biggest lessons we learnt were:- 1. If you have been out of the EU defined area for more than three years you are screwed, your UK Passport and Birth Certificate counts for nothing; you have less rights than the European truckie that's running you off the road because he usually drives on the right and probably bought the licence anyway. 2. You see more of family when you holiday there, they all have their own lives and what with work, etc... 3. If you can do without it, don't take it... International Removalists think you have bottomless bank accounts and pockets.

At this time I am actually regretting signing up to PSS for our move to Melbourne. After agreeing their price and paying I then got a fresh invoice with a whole new set of fees. I replied by saying what I had paid was all I was paying and if they were going to start this game of extra charges they could repay my money and I'd go to another company. Got very apologetic reply and assurance that amount paid was all I was up for. So let them do the job and they finished the pack yesterday. Today I get a new invoice with new charges. Not happy to say the least. One of these charges is referred to as NES Fee charged by HMRC. I rang HMRC and, whilst this may pre-empt their investigations, their help desk said they were not aware of any such charge applied by HMRC especially on personal property. Will wait until the end of the week for a reply by HMRC before I dip into my fast diminishing funds and pay PSS. Regret the ££ tip I gave the packers now!

Juliag by no means be put off coming down under to experience what there is on offer. Our experiences are by no means reflective of the whole. Depending on where your child is on the spectrum will definetely influence what support and ultimately what future can be made. States in Australia all differ on their levels of support and commitment to providing assistance; indeed the State governments seem determined to "go it alone" rather than adopt the federal models that have been proposed. If we were starting out again with younger children I think I would have sacrificed my job and moved to Canberra or Tasmania. When our eldest was in junior primary a team from NSW came to the school. The NSW system had some positives - like one on one assistance! In SA we have had great experiences at Klemzig School for the Hearing Impared - plenty of support and learning to sign certainly assisted ours to communicate (ours are not deaf), and Roxby Downs Area School set up a social skills group. Our experiences have shown that, with preparation, individuals on the spectrum can be very resiliant and accepting of change. We have moved house and schools three times in the last five years owing to my job and they have adjusted well to these challenges. Like with us moving to the UK, the real message is, I guess, that it is better to have tried something than to live with the thought of "what if"...:wink:

Thanks for the advice Bunbury61. Have family spread throughout England and have certainly been ear-bashed by them. I'd be happy to live in some of the less urban areas - we had a ball in Scotland and The Lake District last year and also enjoyed the South-West counties. I have experienced the best and worst a city can offer (:policeman:) so don't have blinkers there. Employment options for us in the first instance will decide on where we would settle. AndyH78 - I hear you, but the latest with regard to area of interest for my son is that they cannot produce enough dedicated employees to meet current demands. No good me wishing for a football star - although slightly better than his father, still not a shine on his grandad who was an apprentice at Millwall in the 50's!! :laugh:

Hello and thanks to all who have responded. Juliag - we have travelled the UK with both our children on two occasions in the last few years and they are both quite enthusiastic about making a long term move. Our eldest has said she intends moving with or without us; not bad for an autistic young adult. Whilst I appreciate your concerns regarding cutbacks etc, it is not much different here. We have mainstream schooled both of ours with Negotiated Education Plans until this year. Throughout their schooling the issue of support has been a major bone of contention. We were lucky that our eldest was diagnosed early and got to experience early intervention. Once they start school the hours of support reduce and the child may not even have any as the support hours includes teacher prep and training time. Year 11 was just too much and we made the hard choice of moving number one child into the District Special Class. This is just one big holiday for her now, no pressure and trips out once a week (maybe it was the wrong choice). I think she has decided that if they are going to treat her as "dumb" then she will act it. Our son is still mainstream and is struggling through a Certificate III in Creative Industries. He will get some credits, but not achieve the whole lot as he cannot put together the written work and they left it too late to talk to us about it. A senior producer on the ABC (TV Network) made the move to the UK because they found it was the only place they could see support and prospects for their autistic child/ren.

Hello, I have a couple of job apps going for London, so might be back to the birth area - Woolwich - or just out side the Greater London area. We are considering other destinations; close to Old Trafford would be good, or maybe the Lake District, but nothing concrete. Alot depends on what / where is best for our children (all explained in my post in the Returning to... Forum). Cheers,

Thanks for the links. We are most likely moving to the SE, maybe around Rochester, if the job I have applied for comes through. Otherwise I'd like to look around Kings Lynn (rels live there)... Cheers,

Hello Everyone, We are looking at making a move to England - for me it is "going home" for my wife it is "an itch that she can't scratch". Looking forward to getting some good advice and providing some insight for others. Cheers! :notworthy:

Hello, My parents moved out to Australia when I was just a babe in arms (14 months old). My wife and I have done several trips to visit family over the years and in 2010 we spent 3 months having a good look around, considering our options. Both our children are high functioning autistic indviduals and we have heard that resources, facilities, opportunities, etc are beter in the UK than here in Oz. :confused: Could anyone confirm this and also give us a run down on who to contact, how to get them into 16+ schooling. Our son is very much into computers and wants to be invovled in game making (xbox, DS, etc). Anyone able to suggest/help with options. Also, how do you get a National Insurance Number? Cheers:policeman: