johnaross

Thanks for all the good luck wishes - they mean a lot at this stage. Re the NHS I never meant to knock it because prompt medical care free at the point of delivery is such a credit to the UK. The pressures recently with immigration from with the EU has put them under strain and politicians of all flavours have not been able to resist meddling. Our australian health system is great but it is so expensive. Even with private health cover and a health card you would not believe how the bills have mounted up. We have the money at the moment having just sold the house (to move to the UK!!!!) but it is just not right that there are people on limited means having to bear the burden of financial worry on top of life threatening health problems. Some of the gap payments above the medicare rebates from specialists and some pathology companies are just plain greedy. Not that I begrudge any one the money right now. All a matter of perspective.

Thanks starlight7 will just have to be a little laid back and see what happens.

Thanks pablo. Yes, I would think the UK is still good when it comes to life threatening problems but once you get on the medical band wagon in one country it is difficult to move. Not giving up hope at this stage and planning for a holiday in the UK later in the year. Shame the people I booked a cottage from for a few months were too insensitive to refund any of out substantial deposit. But hell it is only money.

I have not been on the forum for the last few months. We had expected to be in England in April. Come January this year the wife was one week off handing in her notice, house sold, removals on alert and just about to convert our money on the great rates and opened a UK bank account, temporary accomodation booked whilst looking for a house. Then doctor says the magic words - don't like the look of that xray. Many scans later plus PET scans biopsies and just started the treatment for the big C. Not quite as planned then. I must say I was devastated how quickly months of planning a scheming can just go out of the window but there you go. Should have returned last year when I was hale and hearty. Just started chemo which destroyed my white blood cells so efficiently I have just finished 7 days in hospital with an infection and in isolation. Locked in a 9m by 5 m room 24 hrs a day for 7 days is just torture. I am so used to daily exercise etc but could not even go out into the corridor. If you have seen Tigers in small cages in zoos marching up and down you get the picture. But luckily the white cell count went up this morning and now back home - yipeeeeee. This is the same home we sold and now have to rent back from the new owner!!! In about 4.5 months of 3 weekly cycles of chemo and daily radiation for six weeks there is a pretty good chance of a cure. Here's hoping. Then do we go back to cold England and creaking health system or stay in Oz. Heart is back home even after 30 years here but might just end up moving to Tasmania as a half way house. So the moral of this sad tale - if you want to go home go because, as with me, it can all evaporate in a flash.

This is a link to the proposed 2014 changes to the AWLR 35 year rules. It appears to say anyone out of the country before 1/1/2014 will not be affected. http://www.humanservices.gov.au/corporate/publications-and-resources/budget/1213/measures/international/10555

Thanks to everyone who replied to the question. Sounds quite reassuring so tick that off.

Miss Walking every morning along the side of the beach. One good friend Great coverage of English football on Austar Fly screens (supplementary miss over the three) Not miss Crap sausages any sport with oval ball Parochialism

Has anyone experienced any difficulty in registering with a GP when returning to UK. We plan to buy a house in Lincolnshire but will be looking for temporary accommodation initially. But as luck, or bad luck would have it, I have just found out I will need to see a doctor pretty quickly when I get to the UK. Therefore the plan is to register immediately in the area we are staying. Does anyone foresee any problems with that plan.

Are you sure of your facts caronandrod. This post seems to differ http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/moving-back-uk/91470-australian-drivers-license-uk-driving-license-2.html (see post by Christopher who claims to have exchanged his P1 for a full UK licence). It would not make any sense if it was any other way. The driver has passed a full driving test in a country the UK has a reciprocal arrangement with so whether local state laws dictate the using of a P plate or not should not come into it. Obviously if the test was passed in an automatic a similar restriction will be on the UK licence. Maybe the confusion is over terminology with provisional meaning learner licence in the UK.

When the wheels of bureaucracy catch up they will claim the money back some don't spend it just yet. As for tax they will not chase you because they probably owe you money.

Hello Tina. Very difficult decision to make but after making clear in your own mind the reasons for leaving the UK still do not exist, and bearing in mind you are splitting with your other half, it might be best to put the 6 months down to experience and resume life back in the UK with the support of friends and family to handle emotional and practical problems arising from the marriage breakdown. If the reasons for leaving the UK still exist then perhaps seek marriage guidance and see if you can get to the root of the marriage problems. As for the children they will probably be happiest where you feel happy and secure. Take time and give you self some room to make the right decision.

Good point Rupert. In psychological experiments subjects can withstand pain easier and for longer if they have control. Remove control and the pain threshold decreases. This would be analogous to the decision to leave for the UK being perceived control and therefore homesickness being less or better withstood (pain).

Probably the best plan is to make sure you and your husband have Australian Citizenship, return to England for 12 months and see if you can be rediscover a good life in the UK. If after that time you are unhappy have a heart to heart with your husband and see if you can make a joint decision to come back to Australia to give it one last try. Maybe try another part of Australia such as East Coast NSW or even Tasmania to retain some of the seasonal pattern of weather reminiscent of the UK. As for the children they are adaptable at that age and as long as you and your husband are rock solid they will be happy either way.

Thanks for sharing that information Emmie1968. The more people who are named and shamed makes it better for everyone. I hope your suspicions are groundless and all turns out OK in the long run and if not your insurance is better at providing a good service than the removalist. Fingers crossed for you. Has anyone got any good experiences to balance up the thread?

Been here 18 years and every thing we do is still English related - eg watch UKTV, read exclusively English authors, watch UK football on Foxtel, go to Europe for holidays and feel chuffed when we can buy the Daily Mail or Express (how sad is that!!!), do English crossword puzzles sitting by the river, have Xmas cake with icing and snowman on top. The list goes on. Enjoyed the opportunity to live in Australia but increasingly feel a lack of connectedness so why not retire back to the mother country? Will be doing that next year if this damn house sells. Already reduced it by 56K and willing to sell for a cool 75K less than we paid three years ago and still no offers after 25 viewings. Lovely house but buyers are just thin on the ground around here (Banora Point south of Gold Coast).

If you have good jobs in Australia and good friends there seems no hurry to return. Why not, as much as you can, research the job opportunities in the UK and if you can through the grapevine line up a job before you return so much the better. It is difficult with a young child to consider chucking away a guaranteed income but if you are genuinely not settled maybe your medium term plan, with good planning, should be to go home before your child enters the education system.

Want to return but if it was 1994 again we would still come to Australia. No mistakes just a change in priorities.

It's the Olympic Games opening ceremony's fault. My wife has always said she would never want to leave Australia from the moment she stepped into Australia through the arrivals door at Brisbane International 18 years ago. Suddenly it all changed and she realised she wanted to go "home" and she missed the UK. I have always been British at heart and even the podcasts I listen feature the UK newspod news rather the abc am and follow football via five live football and the 5 live football phone in. Pretty well every podcast I listen to comes from the UK including Friday night comedy, Desert Island Disc, the Archers etc etc. So when my wife suddenly had an attack of homesickness it was a no brainer to do the research and work out the viability of a permanent return. So now the house is up for sale and off we go. But the wait is a real killer because you end up in a no mans land with no way of making plans for the UK and no point in making long or medium term plans in Australia.

Definitely get three pin otherwise you will not have an earth for those appliances that require an earth. Good idea to bring a few four plug extension boards and just change the English plug to an Australian one then you can plug in four appliances at once (assuming they are not high load appliances such as irons and hair dryers etc).

When I went to a Justice of the Peace in Australia to get my Australian marriage cert copied he mentioned that the Australian Government only recognizes the official marriage certificate which shows the witness names and signatures.

Good luck. Pending sale of house we will be joining you. Right now dark thoughts "the house will not sell" "maybe the house will not sell for 12 months". Once the decision is made you just want to get on with and move.

Thinking of returning home after 18 years when the house sells. I had the thought wouldn't it be wonderful if someone in England was coming here and was worrying about buying furniture etc. We could come to an arrangement that leaves behind a fully functioning home with furniture etc ready to move straight in and start your new life. Of course it never really happens like that in life. But just in case here is the link http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-banora+point-111853535.

The culprit deserves a double life sentence. Not the type of life sentence we get in Australia or the UK but a true American style "life means life" sentence. About the only thing the Americans have go right. Not that it will help the victims or their family but it could deter the next culprit. The police should also toughen up their regulations on pursuit. In this day and age is it really necessary to chase these idiots to track offenders? Surely the interests of other road users must be paramount.

Hi Zee This paragraph on the ozexpats.com website is interesting "When a person goes overseas their rate of Age Pension is paid according to their Australian Working Life Residence (AWLR) or years in Australia between the ages of 16 and Age Pension age. A person who has resided in Australia for 25 years between the ages of 16 and Age Pension will get the full means tested rate, less any add-ons; while a person with less than 25 years will get a proportionate rate. For example, if you have lived in Australia for 10 years between the ages of 16 and age pension age, your proportion would be 10/25 multiplied by the normal income and asset tested rate of Age Pension. This rate change, however, does not occur until a person has been outside Australia for 26 weeks. This is because all Age pensioners can go overseas temporarily for 26 weeks regardless of their AWLR. According to them there are currently 60,000 expats being paid an Australian pension abroad so it looks like it is possible. If you go to a country with reciprocal social security agreements such as Ireland you can even claim you pension from that country once you have been resident there two years. Centrelink is the only arbiter that can really give definitive answers. If you do find out any firm details please let me know because I am also thinking of applying for my Australian pension before I leave (hopefully house for sale first viewing this weekend!!). At the moment I am over pension age but fail the income test because my wife works. I get a reduced UK pension being out of the country for about 28 years and not paying stamps.

If you can prove you are leaving Australia never to return you should get it back less tax. But if you cannot prove that the super will still be held in trust for you when you reach the preservation age so it is still your money and hopefully earning money