patsmb

TV has gone so will update in a few weeks time and let everyone know if it works -its digital and fairly new plus Costa Lotta so we though we would try it -have a 40ft container so ample space

A 20ft with the car you won't get a lot of furniture etc in ie a full households worth remember too most Aussie cars need modification ie speedo I. Mph and fog light if it has not got one if the car is not type approved in the Uk then it needs to go through a vehicle approval test which is not cheap we have just waved goodbye to. 40ft container with the furniture and the car gets put in on Monday then it's all on its way Pm me if you want some costs and the shipper etc won't name them on site but the crew that have lifted our furniture were brillaint

The working life is 16 to retirement age for Aussie pensions and yes that does count towards a UK state pension ( up until 2001) but you have to be a certain age to claim the state pension in the Uk plus to claim the Aussie retirement pension you need to be in Oz to make the claim Freeme if your Australian disability pension has a severe disability classification then it could paid in the Uk but you need to check that out DLA as it used to be called is not means tested but it's not a permanent pension either it's reclassified every 2 years You won't have any insurance NI contributions for sickness benefits but can put sick notes in so that NI contributions get paid i think some carefull planning would need to be in place before such a big move

Removalists in tomorrow we planned to take one flat screen Tv but some one has now said it won't work any ideas ??

Can any one recommend a good insurer to take goods back to the UK - had a quote from the shipping company but would like to compare etc

We " belong " in the North East and I can honestly say ,we lived back there between 2001 and 2006 that we had no problem what so ever with the national health my hubby had a hip replacement there waited 12 months as he did here in Oz and there was honestly no diference in fact because it was his third hip replacement he was kept in hospital for two weeks in his own room to ensure all was well YOu often only hear the horror stories about both NHS and Medicare ( we don't have private cover ) but in both countries we have had no problems Hubby was treated in a BUPA hospital under the NHS as well as they often use their facilities depending on the consultant

I could be wrong but real estate agents need a licence in SA or they used to and the course was quite expensive ( this might have changed as it's a while since I knew a lass that went into real estate)

There is still the right for abode if you have a British passport but you need habitual residence to claim benefits

To be honest I think the buying and selling process in the UK is a nightmare compared to Oz Contracts are not exchanged until ,normally, a week before settlement We "sold " in June 2001 but the contract did not go through until September after many discussions and headaches to say the least Had a friend recently sold in March moved out in May but did not get into her new home until October because of complications with the chain she was in ONe problem we encountered was our buyers solicitor was not based in our home town and flatly refused to sign off of our buyers mortgage because of a right of way over council land to get onto our drive i found the caveat in the land registry paid around 3 quid to down load it and things began to move then albeit slowly !

Doctors and dentist was not a problem it was when we tried to claim a rates rebate ,my hubby had his Australian disability pension while we were there ( that does not happen now ) The residency test in itself was quite demeaning we had to justify every penny we had spent and despite us selling our house in Oz and taking everything including the car to the UK we were told NO you cant have residency We were asked why we had bought a house instead of renting ?? Answer was to have a roof over our heads that was paid for We were refused because we had left an Aussie bank account and family ie 'children' who were by the way over 40 in Oz I had given all my Mums details when we went through the test as we went back to look after her I did appeal and told the UK pensions people we kept the Aussie account open for hubbys pension to go into - asked did they want me to close the account and drop the pension Was told Oh you cant do that ie drop the pension and claim from the UK so is I said well I think we should have residency then -letter to say yes to residency was in the post the next day

Often too hot to play in the sun in the Pilbara ? You need to do what is right for you and your family ,sad that your Mum is negative about it but for sure they will get over it We are leaving my kids,grandkids and great grandchildren and it will be oh so hard but there comes a time in life when its 'me time " Good luck anyway

yes it does plus time in Oz is counted in with the UK pension before 2002 when reciprocal agreement was ended I did contact the UK pensions overseas office and found out we would if we did no take our Aussie pensions back get full UK pension at the current rate -but they would not clarify what the current rate is ! I rang them to query and they said because we will take our Aussie pensions we wont get the full UK rate we will just continue to get what we get from them now BUT there will be a small increase in that ie 15 quid a week once we are back in the UK Its all given me a headache to say the least but needed to be clarified before we leave !

Just wondering if anyone else has done their own inventory on a word document for UK customs Company we are using has sent me the a form for UK customs as we have self packed all the smaller stuff But if I use that it means printing the forms and hand writing everything in I have added everything to the doc with details of what is in each box as I packed them and numbered all the boxes -see below Would that suffice rather than having to print and hand write I could print my own doc ,sign it and scan ? Cheers for advice 4) CasserolesDishes Serving Plates & bathroom mat

We have no super Rupert as my hubby had to pack in work at 54 because of severe arthritis he was a bricklayer and just could not do any more He is now 70 and we have to rely on full Centrelink pensions plus our UK Pensions which amount to about 80 quid a week Oh has 258 months working life but basically was invalided out at 54 - as I said earlier working life is a phrase you don't actually have had to work to get working life if that makes sense

We are going back to the Uk as really it's now or never because of the change in legislation I was 34 when we emigrated hubby 37 that's how his pension will be a tad short of the requirement of 300 months working life between the age of 16 and truly it does not matter if you have worked or not OH has 258 months working life which equates to 86% pension after 26 weeks But after January it will be the case that you need 420 months or 35 years so we would have both lost out it took me some long protracted phone calls (when I could get through to Centrelink) to get a gist of the system

The remark about checking carefully is spot on and the reason we are leaving Australia on December 27th rather than after January 1st when we worked it out the amounts we would drop in pension if we left after January equated to quite a bit each week IF we go before January I have 301 months working life and will get full aged pension overseas oh has 258 months working life and will get full pension for 26 weeks then drops to 86% if we left later we would both drop in income its taken me something I've to get info from Centrelink as trying to phone their international area is impossible and the offices don't deal with international enquiries etc

It has nothing to do with citizenship it's the residency requirement

Sorry but the living her for 30 years is not quite right At the moment you need to have been living in Australia for 25 years between the age of 16 and retirement it does not matter if you have worked or not From January 1st the residency time is changing to 35 years instead of 25 The Centrelink pension is portable ie it can go where ever you go but to claim it in the first place you must be resident in australia

Has anyone read the stories in the Daily Mail on the test We had the same test in 2001 just to try and claim a rates rebates no benefits worth looking into for anyone going back to the UK

if you can open a bank account it's a start but you will need to wait a while to get a credit rating we went back in 2001 and found it hard as we had been away from the Uk for years whoever after 6 months our bank offered us a credit card and it all went well from there on in

Storms in northen New South Wales so no where is perfect for weather and after all it is almost winter in the UK

Booked for December 27th don't know if I am Arthur or Martha at the minute but will get there Flying Adelaide Dubai Newcastle first time on that route so hopefully it's ok

forgot to say earlier car needs a speedo in MPH and fog light or lights on the rear ,needs to go through an SVA single vehicle approval test if its not a car that has been type approved (Aussie cars ar not usually type approved where as EU cars normally are )Speedo has to show in MPH but it does not matter if odometer does not Our first attempt in 2001 we had to take the car to a vehicle testing station after having a fog light put on the car plus speedo done -guy failed it as he said foglight was too low ! Then had to have bumper cut out and fog light put into the bumper never looked quite right somehow Second attempt guy said he thought the windows were too dark -told him first tester had not said that and he grudgingly allowed it through Hard work so this time someone else can do it !

We are retirees and going back to live in the UK because we find life is 'easier 'there Where we live we have to rely on the car and distance can become a problem In the UK because the terrain is much smaller we will use buses and public transport much more often We do plane to come back to Adelaide on a regular basis so reality is we have the best of both worlds as we can fly to Spain etc from the UK in a couple of hours

People who live in the UK and have never been to Oz think that Oz is Eutopia and always ask what are you coming back for ! Home is where the heart is and if your heart is not in Oz go for it