Celt Down Under

A harsh lesson in life where the saying that a fool and his money are soon parted rings true. Unless the amount was substantial, and a lot more than what the legal fees would be, put it down to experience and move on. You could warn all your mutual friends, so that they too are not parted from their money as easily.

I agree with GGS on the kids veto part. Where do you draw the line on having kids dictating what you want to do in life. Would you ask them before moving anywhere, even to a new town, if they were agreeable with it? They will soon enough be of age to decide what they want to do in life, so will they be asking you if it is OK if they wish to return to the UK? I somehow doubt it.

A pretty lousy attitude to take against poor people who are doing nothing that I would not do if I was in the same situation.

Any shares owned prior to 1985 will be free of CGT when sold.

Got me worried there, so I just went and checked out Mrs CDU's carboot. Nothing in there. We must have missed out. :wink:

It amazes me how naïve some people are arriving here, with all the information needed just a couple of clicks of their mouse away. I think that we were better prepared before arriving here 33 years ago, with information obtained from a month old The Age newspaper that the Commonwealth Bank used to send us from London occasionally.

The words below though short, say much. "When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money." Cree Prophecy

Well said Cathy. Spot on regarding the cutting your cloth accordingly.

I was going to say the same. If you are in a position to be able to go back for a few weeks first, then decide. You may find that after the initial welcome, that it is not what it seems, that your friends have moved on in life, that the family will not always be there for you each day. I think that a lot that do go back are surprised that they feel "left out" to a certain extent. It is not an easy decision to make, and not one that anyone can make for you. Your Hubbys thoughts on 12 months leave of absence is a great idea. He is thinking ahead it seems, and I hope that his company agree to it. All the best to you on what you decide to do.

Type in the search box on here"Elecricians" and it will bring up some threads on here that may help you.

Do not underestimate the value in living close to family. They can give great support at short notice. I am not sure if you have children or not, but an example in our case is that our daughter lives a 6 hour drive from us due to her husbands job. I have lost count of the times that we have driven up there to help out when one of the children are ill, so that they do not have to take time off work to look after them. If they lived closer, it would be so much easier on them, and on us.

Some people have been skipping it for years to survive. No harm in it. I would rather see it used than just wasted. Regarding cafes or restaurants using it, I am fine with that as long as the food is prepared correctly. At times you never know where the food you are eating in caffs and restaurants has come from. Many years ago, went out with new BIL for a meal. He was a chef, and at the end of the meal he had some peas left on his plate. He mashed them up, and sprinkled loads of pepper and salt on them. When I asked him why, he said that many places would reuse the peas etc so he was making surer that they would not be served up to someone else. Agree with Pabs, that the stuff could, and should be donated to homeless shelters, soup kitchens etc.

Ahhhh fish, that is why you never see us Mexicans. We tend to keep a low profile when in redneck country. Afraid incase the sheriff comes along and chucks us in jail. :jiggy:

Bunch of rednecks up there EW. LOL They call us folks from the southern states Mexicans. (South of the border). :wink:

Stop talking sense will ya cobber. :wink:

I have never seen one of the "Fit in......" stickers, but I have seen plenty of "Grow your own dope. Plant a Pom" stickers.

Ringing loudly HH.

I would suggest that if anyone does know Catherine, that they do not pass her details on to Mattis. Get Mattis to PM you his contact details and pass them on to Catherine, and leave it up to her whether she wishes to make contact to reclaim her lost property.

Hi Sam. Try posting the above in the Life In Victoria page. The link to it is at the bottom of this page.

So, you are obviously happy to pay the $9.50 then, just to look cool and trendy. Good on you MR. I am sure that everyone will be impressed by the look. :wacko:

Note that there are at least 2 night markets. One is known as the Ladies Night Market, which Mrs CDU preferred. There is a huge market out at Stanley. You can take a local bus out there for a couple of dollars, and take in the sights on the way, such a Repulse Bay. On the waterfront at Stanley, a couple of minutes walk from the market, are some Brit style pubs where you can get a decent meal. Be sure to take a ferry across to the island from Kowloon. There is a huge shopping mall to one side of where the ferries leave from, right next to the cruise ship terminal. We found it a tad expensive in there, and got out as quickly as we could. If the cable car is open to the Big Buddah, it is well worth taking it for the experience alone. It runs for what seems like miles.

Well worth it then with that small amount. In my case, I did not continue when we left 33 years ago, and I am only allowed to backpay 6 years, which would have only increased my pension by a small amount over what I will be able to claim from next February. If the target is 30 years, I will be getting 16 30ths of the full amount. I am happy with that. :jiggy:

Ahhmmmm, can you send my fee to.....ahmmmmm................nah, just have a drink on what I would have charged. LOL

Yes, when you reach retirement age. As I stated, it will be a % of the total based on the years that you contributed against the years that you could have contributed.

Exactly GGS, unless you move back there, or go on holiday there. As they explained to me, if I give them prior notice of a UK visit, the pension will increase for the amount of time that I am there, and then go back to the level it was prior to me going there. We did not think it worth paying the extra few grand given the small increase in the pension factored in by how long I would have to claim the pension for to get that money back.