Marisawright

Thanks to the recommendations on Sydney. I have found Sydney to be a bit brash and plastic at times (although I admit I have not lived there).

 

... Also, not sure if it is just us or not, but we hardly ever see kids playing in the street here, or many people in the street, which has been the same in the 12 years we have been here - we find this very weird.

.

Yes, Sydney can be brash and plastic sometimes! You won't see kids playing in the street here either - everyone is terrified to let their kids play outside for fear of 'stranger danger', they all get ferried about everywhere and locked in their backyards. There's no justification for it (rates of crime are lower than ever) but the media has stirred up a lot of hysteria.

As for Sydneysiders being friendlier - yes people are sociable, but I've been here over 30 years and I'm sure that when I leave, I'll never hear from most of my Sydney "friends" ever again. Whereas I still correspond with friends I met living in the Victorian bush when I first arrived.

I don't know whether the same applies to other Aussie cities or not. I know one woman who retired to Adelaide, and came back to Sydney a few years later because she found it impossible to make any friends at all.

I'd be saying UK with that list as well! Cambridge certainly ticks all of those boxes! Of the two you mentioned, probably Melbourne but you could look at Canberra - it has about as many non ticks as Melbourne. You might hit a bit of community feel there if you work at it.

I've heard that too. I think it's hard to make real friends in any new country, because people's best friends are generally people they went to school or uni with. You come in as a mature adult and it's hard to break into those circles. Whereas Canberra has a large population of incomers so there are plenty of other people in the same boat.

I think Melza makes a good point. There's always the chance the kids will get disillusioned with the UK and move back, and then where would you be if you'd moved back there?

I second the idea of getting a job if you don't have one already. For one thing, if you do decide to go back on your own, you'll need money - moving countries is not cheap. Do it for six months to a year, then make your decision.

I wondered about Tassie - the cooler the better for me, ex-Scot here from chilly Aberdeen, so I feel the heat. However I'm like the Perth poster - if it's too quiet I get bored. I'd need to be in Hobart if anywhere, and I worry folks might not be "worldly" enough, to borrow a phrase from the original poster.

Dolls Point and areas round there are quite idyllic - bayside, lovely sea breezes, etc. However public transport from there is poor, even going to the city. It's definitely not commutable to the north side.

I lived in Oatley which is in the St Georges area (north of Sutherland). A little gem of a village, 40 minutes train to the city, half an hour drive or train to the beach, close to the river, huge parklands, nice walks, good school, close to huge Hurstville shopping centre. I'd recommend it to anyone working in the city but only if you take the train - while it takes less than half an hour to reach the CBD in the evening, it can take three hours in the rush hour! Again, not practical to commute if you need to go beyond the city.

A good friend of mine born and bred in Sydney has lived in Melbourne for yonks as she does not like the Sydney climate.

What doesn't she like about the Sydney climate? I'm not good with humidity and have often thought about moving elsewhere in Oz to get away from it. I know Melbourne has more "weather" generally but isn't it just as hot and humid at times? I'm also looking for cheaper housing as we want to retire and can't afford to in Sydney, because unlike many Sydneysides we don't have a million-dollar home to downsize from!

If you want vibe and buzz its gotta be Melbourne.

 

Not sure about what you have heard about Brisbane, sounds like they lived in crap suburbs. Humidity isn't often that bad either.

Whether humidity is or isn't a problem is very subjective.

I used to visit my best friend up there at least twice a year. I found the humidity unbearable, and I'm used to Sydney weather so it's not like I'm not used to humid weather.

I've lived in Sydney for 30 years. Every time I go back to the UK for a holiday, I'm shocked at the price of a lot of everyday expenses - a cup of coffee, food in cafes, restaurants and pubs, and the cost of heating bills (air conditioning is needed here in summer if you live Out West, but it's not expensive if you run it properly and it certainly doesn't need to run all day every day). Also, of course, there's less need to pay for entertainment here because kids never get tired of the beach! So there are swings and roundabouts in general expenses, IMO. The big expense is house prices, both rental and purchase - and it's true that in itself can be a killer.

Personally, if your motive is to make more money, I wouldn't come to Sydney. It's a beautiful city, but if you want to enjoy it, you'll want to live in the more expensive inner suburbs, and that will cost. You may not be worse off but you're going to be spending what you earn. Many young families live in the Hills District so if you see yourself as ready to settle down to family life, that might be worth considering - but if you still want the city vibe, or if you want to be able to go to the beach without a three hour drive, you need to stay much closer in.

Don't let anyone fool you into buying private health insurance if you don't want to. My husband is 62 and has never had private insurance. You will never be turned away from an Australian hospital whether you've got insurance or not. You do have to pay for some medical treatment, but having private insurance won't necessarily reduce your bills, because there's always an "excess" to pay.

To give you a couple of examples:

- Two women at my work were having babies.  One had private insurance, the other didn't. They were both delivered in the same hospital and in the same ward, as there were no private rooms available.  The woman without insurance paid nothing. The woman with private insurance had to pay about $600. The reason? Because she was admitted as a private patient, therefore she was charged at private rates, and the insurance doesn't cover the whole cost

-I have regular checkups for colon cancer. When I had my first checkup, I didn't have insurance. ;I was charged a special reduced rate for uninsured patients, $375. Two years later I had my next checkup, this time WITH private insurance. The bill was $750 of which my health fund paid $500.So having insurance saved me the princely sum of $100.

Australians have health insurance because our tax system blackmails us into doing so. If we don't take out health insurance before age 30, we have to pay much higher premiums in old age (if my husband finally relents and gets insured, he'll be hit with a 70% surcharge on his premiums). If you're not planning to stay forever, that won't worry you. If you don't have private insurance, you have to pay an increased Medicare surcharge - but compare what that will cost to what you'll pay in premiums, as it may be less.

Concord would be a lovely idea as it gets you into the inner west (which I think has a livelier vibe) while still an easy commute to North Ryde. I lived in Five Dock and worked there, and it was a painless drive.

People in Australia are very partisan about their city - ask a Sydneysider about any other city and he'll bag it, and vice versa.

Sydney is green, there's lots happening, vast numbers of cafes and restaurants and scope for day trips (Blue Mountains, beaches up and down the coast, Hunter Valley wineries). Public transport is comprehensive and fairly reliable, even late at night (though crowded during the day). There are three big universities. The snag is cost of housing: to get the best vibe and avoid the heat, you MUST be close to the city - no further west than Burwood - and that's expensive. Although Parramatta has a big restaurant precinct, the outer suburbs are more like Perth - the nice areas are too family-oriented and the rest are full of bogans!

Sydney is a pretty brash city - Melbourne has more culture. It's famous for its laneway cafes and restaurants. Melbourne also has excellent public transport, and because Victoria is such a small densely populated state (by Aussie standards) there are plenty of places to visit (gold fields, Daylesford spa, Great Ocean Road, penguin parade etc). Housing is generally cheaper in Melbourne than Sydney. I'm not familiar with the suburbs but again, if you want to get the best vibe you can't be too far out - Melbourne is sprawling.

Brisbane is just a big country town, similar in feel to Perth (but hotter and stickier). I like Adelaide but it is a quiet, refined city - I don't think it would be lively enough for you. Plus there aren't many day trip options.

The snag is that because of the distance, it's going to cost you almost as much to move to another state, as to move back to the UK. So you really need to do your research before moving. You should certainly go and visit Melbourne and Sydney for a few days each. I know it's not cheap flying from Perth but this is a big change you're proposing and you can't afford to get it wrong!

They are UK charges. Perhaps I wasn't clear, God knows I was tired and stressed!

 

 

 

Proof. How do I prove that this stuff was left in my house and not added? Also delivery of household goods was end of November-I doubt they are liable now. I appreciate the suggestion fifi, but you can bet your boots they/their insurers will turn me down because I can't prove it was left.

 

 

 

You're right Cez-UK charges.

 

....................and early this morning (UK-Friday), they have sent me an email knocking £70 off the delivery cost with the statement "does this help?" !!!

 

It IS a ripoff-even close to a scam. Look at some of those costs...currency conversion 10 quid?!!

 

My dilemma now is twofold, I cannot and will not pay those charges, and have no choice but to surrender the boxes:

 

1) I need to approach some sort of watchdog, because:

 

2) I do not know what will happen if I refuse to accept the boxes?

 

It IS like being held to ransom. But I need to find out where I stand if I surrender the boxes.

 

Arrives on the 16/1.

 

One week free storage.

 

.......then £12.50 PER DAY??!! (Have I read that correctly?? It's copied/paste).

 

It's a nightmare.

I've heard of this before. One of my friends forgot a box and her Mum thought she'd be kind and send it on. The contents were all clothing, not worth that much - the fees were about what you've quoted. She told Customs she wouldn't accept the box, they treated it as abandoned and she didn't have to pay anything. But why not just ask them the question?

Can anyone please advise on removal companies?

 

Is there any accreditations that they should have?

Not really. Everyone seems to be recommending Movecube. If you have a really big move, i.e. you need a shipping container, then I can't help - maybe someone else can suggest.

So what you're saying is, your experience in Australia made you realize your discontent in the UK was based on unrealistic expectations. So in a way it still applies, because you know that now, and therefore your original reason for leaving no longer exists. That's what I'm trying to say - that you've got to sit down and work out why you left, and make sure that's not going to be a problem again when you get back.

This may not be relevant, but when I went from Africa back to the UK, I got myself an international driving licence. The African licence was still probationary but there was no provision to show that on the international licence. When I presented the international licence in the UK, they gave me a full licence no questions asked.

May not be so slack now but you never know...

I agree with everyone who says you should stick it out. I know four years seems like a long time at your age, but think of it as an investment in your future. You don't know what's going to happen in ten years, twenty years, thirty - perhaps the British economy will collapse, and you'll be glad you've got somewhere else to go. It will also give your children more options.

Also, don't judge the whole of Australia by Perth. I know lots of people who think it's the best place in the country, but I know others who think it's far too quiet and parochial. It really depends on your personality. My niece, who came to Sydney on a working visa, adored Sydney - but when she got the chance to come back and work in Perth with her employer, she hated it!

Why not leave it in the lap of the Gods? If the sponsorship comes off, make up your mind to make the most of your stay - get travelling, see the Barrier Reef and the dolphins at Monkey Mia, camel ride the Outback etc etc. The time will go faster than you think. You can always go home later if you decide it's all too much. Your partner won't be able to start his own business because he'll have to work for his sponsoring employer, so it can't be "final".

I'm a Scot originally but most of my family are in the south now - Devon, London, Kent. So I'm thinking Bristol, where I lived at one time. No doubt it's changed an awful lot in 30 years and I know there are rough areas - but I'm a real city girl, so I don't want to go to a small place, and I don't want to pay London prices either.

I may be living in cloud cuckoo land, but so far, rents in Bristol look awfully cheap. I should say, I live in inner city Sydney, so I'm paying $500 a week for a shoebox...

Thanks. Sounds like nothing has changed with lease terms, that's what it was like when I was last renting in the UK (30 years ago!). However at that time, I remember most places were let furnished - usually not very well!

There are several other threads about older people returning to the UK. For older people, relocating their investments isn't always practical - but not doing so can result in losing money.

This is how I understood it:

TAX PENALTIES MOVING TO THE UK

1. Any income you earn in Australia (e.g. interest payments, rent on property) is still taxed by Australia, not by the UK. The big snag is that you get NO TAX-FREE THRESHOLD. So where you could earn about $18,000 tax-free in Oz, now you'll pay tax on every dollar.
   
2. If you have a self-managed superannuation fund, its profits will be taxed at 47% (by Australia).
   
3. If you are receiving pensions from Australia (govt. or super), the British Government will tax them as income. Neither of those would be taxed if you were still in Australia, so you'll be worse off.
   

The simple way to avoid (1) is to move all your investments to the UK. However that's going to cost in capital gains tax (which I believe is levied by the UK not Australia, which is confusing??). I have a rental unit which I'd rather not sell as it's in good condition and paying good income, plus the CGT will hurt!

The simple way to avoid (2) and (3) is to cash out your super and take the lump sum to the UK. Perhaps put it in an equivalent in the UK (whatever that is). I have no idea how to avoid paying tax on the government pension.

Anyone want to share ideas on how these issues can be handled? I saw someone mention that they were having their rental paid straight into superannuation to avoid tax? Is this information even right?

I'm thinking of moving back to the UK - not because I hate Australia, but because I've no family left in Oz now, and neither does my husband (who's European). I'm 60, he's 62 this year.

What I'm wondering is, how long are leases on flats in England? I was searching on the net and noticed a 12 month lease referred to as "short term". Are leases in England longer now, like they are in Europe? If so, how long is typical? And is furnished or unfurnished more normal?

The thing is, we're wrestling with the tax and pension difficulties. The sensible thing would be to wait until we're ready to claim the pension, so we can go with full entitlements - but we don't want to wait that long. So we may go for two or three years, then come back and wait out our qualification period for the pension before going back again. So we wouldn't want to sign up for a 5 year lease!

One thing no one has said - I find the idea of buying any property sight unseen absolutely terrifying. Is there a reason why you feel it's necessary? Would it be so terribly inconvenient to rent somewhere first, rather than risk being stuck with a house you hate when you finally get there?

Having immediately regretted the move back myself I would consider your job security and financial position before considering coming back. The grass isn't always greener believe me.

 

BTW -a eureka moment for me was being in England renting an ex council house and scraping the ice off the car in the winter. I thought to myself 'aha now I remember why I emigrated now - doh!!!!'

Very wise words. When you move to a new country, you immediately see your old life through rose-coloured glasses and forget all the stuff that made you so keen to leave! As I said on another thread - if you think you want to go back, sit down and make an effort to remember why you left.

I say this as someone who's contemplating moving back to the UK, at least for a few years. There are good reasons for doing so but I am anxious that some of the reasons I left will still be there!

Because people are forever trying to move forward...unfortunately being on the arse end of the world is a huge backward step for some and coming back to the UK is a forward step. That's the bottom line grass ain't greener for some down under its burnt brown and lifeless.

Usually people who emigrate are discontented with life in their home country for some reason. Then when they get to they new country and encounter a few difficulties, (which they will), they think back to the Old Country with rose-coloured glasses, and conveniently forget all the sh!t that drove them to leave.

I've known quite a few Brits who came to Australia, didn't settle and looked forward to going home - only to come back again. Once they got back to the UK, they remembered what had driven them to leave in the first place. So it's vitally important for anyone contemplating a return, to sit down and analyse why they left, and why they expect it to be any better if they go back.

Of course, if someone was perfectly happy in the UK and only came to Australia because they thought it was Britain with sun and money, then they're bound to be disappointed in Australia and going back is the right thing to do.

(I thought I'd post this here as well as in the general forum. Hope that's ok?)

 

 

The real estate agent says he wants our credit card details when we make the offer and

before negotiation start

s. If everything goes ahead he

says

he'll deduct $1,000 from our account and when the sale terms are agreed he will come back and ask for a deposit.

 

Is this normal practice? and can we refuse to give him call over our credit card like this?

 

We live on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland

 

 

I wouldn't agree. Say if the offer is accepted, you'll give him $1,000 cash to take the property off the market, but not before. if he wants the sale he'll agree.

It really depends how much money they've got. A house big enough for four boys would cost over a million dollars in inner Sydney, even as far out as Strathfield.

Don't get me wrong, I love the inner city too, but it is very expensive for a family.

I think I read somewhere that it's 35 years. Would that be right?

No, that's only if you move back to the UK (or some other country) and want to claim the pension there. If you're still in Australia, the residency qualification is only ten years.