Lpool7

I left oz last Dec and claimed my tax back when I left and got it in March. You can generally claim your tax back (if there is any due to you) early as you have left the country. If you are sure you wont be back for the current tax year, then you should be able to claim for July too, just indicate the years on the form. I phoned the ATO from overseas just to be sure so I would suggest you do that first and they can also send you the form as it cannot be downloaded from the website (for July). You can of course do the previous tax year online.

Hi Mark If I were you I would withdraw your house and rent it out if you can afford to and just go for the adventure in the first instance. This is will give you security that you have something to come back to if it goes belly up but be careful too that it doesnt become a quick exit reason to comeback. Like another poster has already mentioned, just plan well if you decide to go and minimise the financial loss and you will be fine. Good luck whatever you decide.

Thanks Cox's, even though I really wanted to go back to the UK, its also good to know others know how I feel now that I have to return. Hopefully it wont be forever, but at least now I feel (if I can get a job), I can finally move on and just start living, with that lovely little house in Kent at the end!

Yes your are right Jdoe - I have been looking for jobs in Sydney from here. I have decided to go back and have now booked my flight. I think for my situation, where my kids are based in the southern hem, and I need money as have no savings, sydney is a better option and this time I wont be fussy about my job etc. I really want to be able to buy a little house in canterbury/Oxford and if this is what I have to do that's fine. The UK will keep a bit longer and I'm not going to be put off by my age. Thanks for all your responses, and good luck with your moves back.:cute:

Hi All, thanks for the responses. Yes maybe all I needed was to go back properly instead of on holiday to realise my work is better in Oz. I was so unsettled in OZ and NZ for the last 10 years and really wanted to be somewhere where I felt I belonged and to not worry about where I am anymore. Now that I am here "for good" it seems to clarify a lot. There are still the logical reasons to stay, that I am 48 and should not move around anymore, so need to think about that too. Whatever happens though, I still feel I would want to come back eventually, but hopefully to an area I want to live in. Currently I am still in the same area I came from 10 years ago so not the best decision.

Hi All Just an update as I have returned to the UK earlier than expected as I got an interview in the NHS. However, (and I cant believe I am saying this) maybe it is not the right thing for me atm. Pleased to see my ageing parents but they are set in their ways (brother is at home with them) and I dont have any friends here anymore (although I was hoping to make some at a new job here). I knew I would miss the blue sky etc but as I cant afford to live in the lovely areas of Oxford or Canterbury atm, its quite depressing for me. Also the salaries are sooo low (less than half via conversion) that I dont know if its worth it at least for the next couple of years. In my field, the UK is quite ageist so that peevs me off too as I think my experience is a lot better for the jobs I have applied for. The women who interviewed me where quite personal with their questions and not particularly nice (typical older women who have been there for 20 years etc- near my age and thought they were a bit envious of my work in NZ and OZ). I have also found there really is a lot more people than I remembered 10 years ago, although didnt notice them so much when I was on holiday last year. The job was in Chertsey and that was nice but I did find its still depressing if you are on your own. On the plus side, the TV is ace and lovely to go to Sainsburys/Tesco/Asda etc. I think I am going to try and get back to OZ at least for a few years as I dont see why I should struggle money wise and at least have a lot more when I more back in a couple of years or so. It has really made me a lot happier and means I might be able to live in those nice areas when I get back. Good luck to everyone going back.

What a wonderful post! This is so much of how I feel - lovely to have a positive post for those of us going back. Thanks Connie!

For me the main thing is getting colds and flu. I have hardly hardly had a cold in 10 years after I left the Uk, but I know I will catch them quickly - I used to get at least 3/4 a year - bad ones. This is getting me worried but I know its not worth staying here just for that. Just have to be a lot fitter I guess and eat healthier!

Hi Minature, I would be inclined to say let him go asap if you are going anyway. He can then try and make soem friends and orientate himself in the last few months without the pressure of Yr 11, plus he ca get all the info and stuff he needs to catch up on in the summer hols before Yr 11. Mine were 18 and 15 when they left Australia and this is what I would do. Good luck with the move!

Hi Saphire, I felt the same way for 10 years. I have just put on some much weight and its as if I am continuously waiting for something, countless attempts at going to the gym and then cant be bothered. I latch onto to anyone with a Brit accent etc. You are def not alone, lots of us feel the same and hence go back.

Congrats Kerry! It must feel soooo good! I have been watching so many Brit TV programmes and it really hard (Doc Martin, Midsomer etc). Hopefully now you can do the last bit of sight-seeing thing and have some nice pics to take back and say you've been there, done that (like me!).

The difficulty in making real friends, horrible humid heat that drains all your energy, sub-standard beauty salon staff and the fact that so many shops are owned by Asians (would be nice if there was a mixture as nearly ALL eating places are Asian owned) - as a PIO member once said "Australia is a western country in Asia" so true I think.

Moved from UK in 2003 to NZ then Sydney - Moving back March hopefully (if not earlier) We moved over as a family (hubbie and 2 boys). A few years ago split up from my husband of 20 years odd but we are the best of friends. I suppose we came out for the 'forever migration' but I always missed the UK and everything that goes with it. We didnt have the cash to go back often which made it worse. Went back last year for the first time and realsed it wasnt as bad as everyone made out. TBH if I had met someone in Sydney I probably would have stayed (with trips back home) but I didnt and my son want to go to an English Uni so seems the right time ot go back and I am really really excited! I am doing the sensible thing of trying to find a job first though and have had some interest so here's hoping. Someone on MBTUK said that we should look at moves as here and now and not 'forever' and I really like that idea but also that I feel I belong back home. There is also the ex-pat thing as I am trying to decide on an area and that is not easy. What is nice for me (oxford) is probably not the best for my 16 yo in terms of going out with his friends etc. I didnt want to move back to London but may have to for my son for a couple of years. Another good thing (for the women) is I am pleased there will be better beauty salons etc as I find the ones in NZ and NSW are just made up of very young people without much experience and hardly any qualifications. When you wax frequently it matters! I found back home they were so professional and hygienic. The amount of salons I have been to (including Nads in Sydney) where they dont change the paper on the table etc is really high - just a pet whinge of mine.

Thanks for the update JJ. We all have our reasons for returning but its always great to have positive posts from those who have returned. I get worried like lots of others about the doom and gloom but will still return in a couple of months and really appreciate posts like yours as we are so far away. Thanks again and good luck!:smile:

Pleasure and good luck with your new life in OZ!!!

Jojogunne I know how you feel. I lived in NZ for 8 years and have been in oz about 3. The amount of money that is spent is crazy people in the UK would be shocked. BUT its better than not going for me as I see the UK differently and never settled. It has been like a long holiday where you eat more etc. I am so looking forward to being back in the UK and laughing (something I have not done much here). Oz an NZ can both be great for earning more than the UK but am also one of those that is not going back with much at all but I would still have rather have gone and have that totally different outlook to take back with me.

Also my 16 yo really wants to be an engineer but he knows he may not get the grades here because the teachers tend to leave you be and you have to be quite independent and he needs structure etc so I am taking him back to get a better education even if it is the last 2 years of school, I still think he will do better and I dont want to gamble with his future. The older one (20) is already at a US university on a US football scholarship and loving it so that is lovely, but he considers NZ his 'home'. The other thing of course is that 16 yo wants to go to a UK uni so we need to be there 3 years before to pay home fees and 10K more per year is a lot over 3 years !!!

Hi FB Wow that's a long time here! I came over with my hubby and sons 11 and 6 (they are now 20 and 16). We have spent most of those years in NZ and the rest here. We left to give the kids a safer live in NZ and I really feel that worked well and to have a more outdoor life. Having lived in Sydney too I would not say the same for here as I dont think it is safer. Having said that, my kids have had some great opportunities like qualifying as a ref and learning to fish from their mates, although my younger one has not really made close friends in either country and has always considered himself a Brit and wants to go back so we are off next year. I cant stand the heat, I mean what do you do apart from eat and walk slowly!!! My kids have basically outgrown the 2 countries and I really think they will have better opportunities back home as adults. I would do it again though and I think everyone should have the chance to live in another country for at least 10 years because it makes going home so wonderful and gives you fresh eyes on the beauty and way of life back home. It would of course be great to live in both for 6 months at a time but that's the ideal and one has to choose. I am taking a $30k drop in salary and really dont know how I am going to manage with my younger son on the NHS wage but I know I need to go and feel my home again - I have had enough.

Hi WW1, there are lots of us who feel isolated and have done the same as you. My husband is the same, nice guy but I always felt alone with him too. I think if I had found 'the one' here in Oz, I would have stayed but how long can you wait? In the meantime I am doing the same thing, going to work and coming home, talking to no-one out of work - it's demoralising and I just eat and eat, even though I try to go to the gym too. I am now going home and realise that if I am going to be on my own, I'd rather be in a place I call home. I think no matter where you are, if you feel confident and safer you will heal and be happier. Its just making that call and saying enough is enough. I too have given other people a say in my life and happiness only to be disappointed. I think we just need to realise it's our lives and we do matter and should not put up anything that is not what we want if the other person does not make any effort. I hope the future brings you lots of joy as you certainly deserve it XXX

That's so wonderful. I too am returning after xmas in NZ but as a single parent and am scared it wont go so well but i have my parents there and my 16yo really wants to come back with me after 10 years in NZ and OZ. My choice is a great well paid job here or a $30k drop in the UK. We are choosing the UK but its really nice to hear that things are going well for you. Please send more updates when you can, its really useful for us who want to come back. Thanks!

Ha Ha that is so true and had me in fits!!! Maybe some of us going back can meet up and make our own circle of friends in the UK. Its all about having something in common and its a big part of our lives spent in OZ so that would be great.

Sunshine 111 you are so right. So many people tell me I will miss the weather, but after you have 'been there, done that and bought the t-shirt' its not the same anymore. Of course it would be great if the UK had great weather, but we cant have everything and I wouldnt stay in a country till my twilight years just for the weather. In the end it came down to 'do I want to grow old here' and the answer was an easy no for me. But as mentioned, NZ and Australia have given us great opportunities but then the natural time comes to go back. I also wonder if what sort of life and where one lived in the UK makes a difference to who goes back. Maybe...but I am going back to a different place so maybe not.

Thanks Globe Trotta, I have a look at Banbury.

I am like a lot of people who move back - want to live in a place I have dreamed of so somewhere near history, maybe Oxford or near it probably so anyone who knows a good village or town near Oxford, I would really appreciate any advice, thanks!

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!