Celt Down Under

We are looking to downsize off our acreage, and hoping to move closer to the city.

We are on the Mornington Peninsula. Beautiful down this way. How about you?

37 years later this year.

36 years here in Melbourne, and no regrets.

It works out cheaper for us Paul, simply because we travel a lot. I can well understand it if someone only uses a passport once or twice a year. There is no cost benefit then.

If he only has the 30 years of work requirement, and not the 35 years for those born post April 1953, he will get 26/30ths of the full pension on retirement now. Work out how much that is, and see if the gain is worth him selling another 4 years of his life for.

Sure CC. We have dual citizenship even after 36 years here. A matter of convenience for us because we travel so much. Sometimes we use the Australian passport, sometimes the EU passport, depending which is best for the country we are entering. Sometimes the visa fees are a lot cheaper for one and not the other.

Spot on. To us, it seems that time has stood still there. They have not changed. We have.

Not at all. I wonder what made you think that?

We came out 36 years ago, without having visited, and did not "move on". There were 7 families on our flight, all emigrating, and only one family returned to the UK, and that was after about 6 weeks. All the rest are still here. If you have figures showing that most people move on, I would like to see them. If you want to see it as being impersonal, of course you will. If you like many others want to immerse yourself in its culture, its beauty, its vibrancy, its friendliness, you will see a far from impersonal city. Sure it is huge for its population, but it is a city with space, that did not grow upwards, but outwards, and though the traffic system leaves a lot to be desired, I would rather work with what there is here, than face of terrifying commutes on roads in the U.K.

Same here. Think because we are flying with the time as opposed to flying against the time.

I wonder how many years before Australias population exceeds the U.K.

Not me MR. Lived here 36 years, longer than I lived in the UK by a few years. I know which is the best country for me.

Nothing would ever make me move back there to live. It is OK to visit now and again though. Australia is my forever home now.

newjez, I like that image so much, I wish I could have given it another couple of "Likes".

Because of fear of the future with seeing what Thatcher was doing to the working class man, and Australia offered a bright new future, full of hope, and so it came to be.

Even with a car, the $85,000 would not be enough to live a good life on. I would have thought that with it being a company secondment, a wage in the area of $100,000 plus super, plus the car would have been in order. Put it this way. My last year at work before retiring, I earned $140,000, and that was in 2011. Try for more. If not on the wage base, assistance with rent, school fees, medical insurance.

If she is only 3, she would be just about fully Aussie by the time she has completed her first year in pre school. My eldest was 4 when we emigrated, and she sounded full Aussie after a few months in pre school. She did have a strong Welsh accent prior to that.

Born in Dublin, raised in Holyhead in North Wales. Living in Victoria for the last 35 years.

Yup, without the "Lucky" in front of it though. Google it.

Do not start the bidding. Keep out of it until the bids slow right down and they are calling for last bids. If it is still in your price bracket, chuck an extra $50 on top of the last bid, and take it from there. If the agent says that he is only accepting minimum bids of say $500, tell him that your $50 extra still stands. Play your own game, not the agents. Good luck with it. Keep us posted on how it goes for you.

Well done Joji. You have had more this year than we have had in total in 35 years here. Can you please tell me what brand of deodorant you are using. Thought we had tried them all. :wink:

There is a large fruit and veggie place in Fountaingate Shopping Mall that is an independant. Stuff there is well priced, and cheaper than the supermarkets.

How about a trip from Australia to the UK to meet a Great Grandparent who is too old to travel and who has 5 Great Grandchildren here who she has never met?

It may not suit a windowbox, but it sure suits my garden. :jiggy: