Deejee

Hi Deejee. yes we were in a similar situation as yourself. we have been living in Sydney for over two years now. I can honestly say it is the best move

we have ever made. We both have a uk state pension and i have a small NHS work pension. I am 64 and my hubby is 70. He has a Partime job packing shelfs in woolworths its only a couple of hours a week

I work two days a week. We have bought a furnished one bedded unit For $300,000. In Crows nest which is a very good area. We have a bulkbilled doctor and it goes straight to medicare, so we dont pay anything. Medication after 2 years for a script (if you are 65 or over) is $5.90. Before that we used generic medication. We have a great life we are carefull with our money. We dont have a car, as the transport system is great, we can travel all day by rail bus or ferry for $2.50 a day. You will get a seniors card shortly after you arrive, we use this for our travelling we get coffee cheaper ect. We have also had some very cheap holidays curtesy of scoopon voucher. so living in Australia can be as expensive as you want to make it. There are loads of things you can do that is free, you have the sunshine, and i have my gorgeous 4 grandchildren that i see almost every day. Our quality of life and our health is so much better here. Deejee we also started with the 103 visa and then changed to cpv. Best of luck in your decision, i know it is very hard, I even had 1 of my daughters telling me how we would never manage in oz, and all the other scare stories. All i can say is it has worked for us, and we are living the dream with our children and grandchildren. Best wishes Phyllis

Thanks for your lovely post, it has boosted my moral and given me some hope. I still believe that where there's a will there's a way. I know this may sound like a silly question but is the $5.90 for each item on a script or all the meds? Regards Deejee

Hi Deejee,

 

I've been living here since September and our situation is slightly different as we both work. However, I find that by shopping around, things are not quite so expensive as we first expected them to be. This includes food as well as medication. I take tablets for microvascular angina every day and took my script to quite a few chemists. I now buy a months supply for $15 despite being quoted up to $30 for exactly the same capsules. I have to see the Dr every 6 months and the out of pocket cost for this is approx $35 a visit under Medicare. that gives me approx 15 minutes with him and is much more relaxed than the appointments I had in UK which were in and out with a full to overflowing surgery. Blood tests and X-rays have been free too.

 

If I can help with any other questions, feel free to ask. Yes, this can be an expensive, lengthy old process but I don't regret a single penny so far. Seeing the grandchildren and our daughter regularly and feeling the sun on my back is priceless!

 

Kim

Hi Kim

Thank you, I found your reply very encouraging, I have no more questions at the moment but it's nice to know that I can ask if need be.

cheers DeeJee

Thank you Linday, yes I was aware that our pensions would be frozen, my OH keeps reminding me of this all the time!! It was helpful to know about the Seniors report, it has certainly given me something to think about, but I am not giving up hope yet.

Thank you Fisher1, I will suggest your idea to my OH, do you know if there is a reciprocal agreement with Medicare if we applied for the new 5 year visa after we have applied for a 103, we would of course still take out some sort of medical insurance. I am not giving up hope yet.

Thanks for the quick reply, it looks like Hubby was right:mad: I was wondering if we should apply for a 103 and then change it if circumstances altered, if we did that would we still be able to visit on a tourist visa?

Hi All

I have been a member for quite sometime and after reading through all the posts several times on this thread and realising what nice friendly and helpful people you all are I have finally plucked up courage to participate and post some questions to you.

My hubby and I are both 66, retired and drawing full state pensions and a small work pension each. Our only son went out to Australia in 2009 on a student visa, returned home after a year then within a couple of months went back, again on a student visa. Whilst there he met the girl of his dreams and moved in with her. Both of them then came over to England and lived with us for 10 months during which time he applied for a De Facto visa, they went back to Australia, he on a tourist visa, until his tempory DF visa was granted, he just popped over to New Zealand to collect it. That was in March 2012, and hopefully his permanent residency will be granted in October this year.

We have visited Oz several times over the years, and now that our Son is looking to live there permanently, I would dearly like to be there as well, we have no siblings and both sets of parents are dead, so apart from very good friends, we have no ties in the Uk. But I have one big problem, my OH doesn't think we could afford to live there on our pensions, we would have very little left By the time we have paid for a PCV etc, even after selling our house, also we are both on meds for high blood pressure and Hubby is also on Warfarin he seems to think that private health care and meds would bo cost prohibitive and also we would probably have to find somewhere to rent as our son and partner are sharing a house with his partners sister.

Just wondered if any one on the forum were in a similar situation financially and health wise and if they were managing to make ends meet.

Cheers Deejee