Huggy75

Not in my experience.

Again depends on location - my Oz house as you describe above was approx. 350,000 GBP, whereas UK houses that we're looking at are max. 200,000 GBP. Yes petrol is half price but you don't need to drive such long distances in the UK so a full tank lasts longer, we're filling up only once a week compared to every 3 days in Oz and believe me we are getting out and about.

My husband is an Electrician and will be starting back on 34,800 GBP for 6 months then going to 40,000 GBP after that. It is a difference of 1.50 GBP ($3) less per hour compared to his Aus wage. A lot of the jobs advertised on sites are through agencies which pay much less - my husband was offered the same job through an agency at 22,000 GBP!.

Thanks everybody for your responses. We did the Electoral Roll straight away so that should be sorted. I've managed to get evidence of NCD's from NRMA so that should help with the car insurance. We're starting work in July so are going to wait a few months to settle on this and then start to apply for a credit card etc. We've spoken with the Halifax re mortgage and they said to wait until we have one month's wageslip then we can apply and if it doesn't go through they will appeal it as we had a mortgage with them for 12 years before and we are going to work for reputable companies (NHS & Nestle). Not sure whether we're comfortable with going through an appeal process but we'll see. In the meantime, we'll save, save, save so that we don't have to borrow as much, hopefully.

I'm sure I've read before that if you enter Britain on an Australian passport, it only gets stamped with a 6 month visa, hence the need for a passport to reside. JP's are usually able to verify documents for passports so not sure why it needs to be a British person. Again, I could be wrong though.

I think the OP means that if he moves back he would want to do it before his Daughter turns 11 (I would presume she is now 9), and that he doesn't plan to move until after March once he's done his Citizenship. OP - please remember also that Citizenship takes months to complete (possibly 6-12), so this would leave being able to move back until after at least October 2016. Good luck with your decision, we are all here to try and help.

Hi Bristolman - can I ask what you put on the credit card application when it asked for your previous UK address for the past three years?

I bank with Nationwide and have spoken with two different people who both said no (with a smug smile!). I don't even want/need a credit card - just keep being told it will help with the credit scoring. I've already got on the electoral role so that's a start. Have also tried the Halifax too so far. If you went home two years ago you would have had a UK address on file for at least one of the last three years, right? This is the issue, I put all my accounts in my Aus address as we never thought we would be coming back! With hindsight I should have kept one credit card in my Mum's address with a zero balance - but that's the thing about hindsight isn't it. It also looks like they do credit checks for car insurance too so that could be a problem too!! Story of my life!!

Been back a week now and started making enquiries re mortgages/credit cards etc., going around in circles as have been told they need to see a UK address on credit file for past three years - have been in Oz for six years - was told to get a credit card and spend to show credit on file but then can't get credit card without a credit history! Does anyone know of anywhere that gives mortgages/credit cards in these circumstances?

We were once doing pretty well, both working full-time then bought a house! Fast forward to having our Son and numerous health issues that came along with that together with the rising cost of food/petrol etc., and we simply couldn't afford the lifestyle anymore. Have now moved back to the UK where we'll be able to buy a house for cash, take regular family holidays, no huge medical bills and will not get into debt just to put our Son through school - are you saying we are irresponsible for taking this path? Have you even stepped foot in Australia yet? For most people it is not a place to make bundles of cash anymore, in fact for the most part, people are just about breaking even!

Hi - both my Hubby and I secured job offers whilst in Australia, we were on holidays last November and had interviews whilst there. My Hubby had to have another telephone interview whilst in Australia but just a formality really. The jobs have been held for us. We've just arrived back in the UK and are sorting out the jobs next week - Hubby may have to start the week after but I'm hoping to wait until beginning of next month. We also have a nearly 2 year old and we highly recommend a stopover - we did 3 nights in Singapore. My Son only slept for one hour on the first leg but it was a day flight anyway, he then slept for about 9 hours out of the 13 hour second leg :-)

When we first moved to Australia we saved and paid cash for my husband's first car - it took us 8 months for a $25,000 car.

I don't think Myer will do anything, that's why I'm looking to get rid of them - I think I may have missed the boat though. Thanks for your advice, I will look at the websites you suggest.

Okay, probably wrong choice of word but I was merely stating the point that the rate has gone the wrong way for me quite dramatically over the last couple of months. I'm not aiming for it to be back at the 1.6's, just nearer to or under the 1.9's would be nice again. Feeling slight déjà vu as the same thing happened when we moved out to Oz in 2009 but in reverse obviously. Just trying to weigh up whether to leave it for a short while or take back in the next couple of weeks :-)

Thanks but that's the point - I don't have a broker. Would a UK broker be able to deal with Aus shares?

Mmmm - aaarrrgh I leave on Monday, oh well!! :-)

Oh, thank you - that makes things easier, I guess I'll have to keep an account open in Aus though for the Dividend payments? Unless they can transfer to overseas a/c - I'll look into this bit further. Thanks again x

Hi - As I'm heading for the UK next week my head tells me to start sending our money over so that we can get on with our new life back home, but the rate is appalling and I've already seen thousands wipe off the value over the past couple of months. However, I can't help thinking that the rate should eventually come good again if I was to just leave it for a while longer. I keep reading articles about the movement etc., but to be honest don't really understand it all much. I know it's like having a crystal ball but does anyone have any thoughts/feelings of what they would do in these circumstances?

Hi - I am moving back to the UK next week and forgot about my Myer shares that I've had whilst in Australia. I was thinking I should just sell them in order to not have to fill in tax returns each year for the dividends but apparently I need to do that through a Broker so not sure if I can do it from overseas? Would I even have to do a tax return as I only get dividends of about $30-$40 every 6 months? Has anyone had any similar issues? Thanks

Whilst researching for a mortgage ourselves as we are moving back next week, I've been given timeframes of between 6 months to 3 years before we can apply - I shall be visiting them all in a couple of weeks with evidence of my 50% deposit and see what they have to say then. Apparently they reckon it's because we'll have no credit rating and they can't check Australian credit references.

Are your parents still in Aus? Just to bear in mind that if you do ever have kids you may want to be near your parents :-) In the meantime though I would say go for it, do what you want to do now.

The Thyroid has a lot to answer for! :-)

So far haven't had any negativity about going back, but my answer to anyone who does act negatively towards us will be "at least we had the guts to try it!" :-) I can see how it would upset you being from the inlaws though but try not to let it get to you too much x

Yes, I am a Nurse and yes I managed to get my old job back, it's just for a foot in the door really and they say I can choose my hours so I'm just working 2 days a week. TBH the tiredness really only sets in when I'm working and then dealing with my Son during the nights and on my days off but my Mum has already said that he'll be able to go to hers during the 2 days each week whilst I'm working so that I don't have to deal with him too. If it gets too much, I'll just leave as my hubby is going to a really well paid job and I really don't have to work - I just don't feel ready to give up altogether yet. My Employers are really good too, they know what I've been through so it should be all good. In answer to your question re jobs, I was told when I was interviewed for mine that they are short on staff as they are pushing people up into Management so lots of recruiting there - not sure how it would be for natural health/nutrition though.

Yes, it's an autoimmune condition primarily. I keep saying I might write a book on my experiences eventually just to get it out there - my Psychologist says it would be good therapy for me :-) My Specialist freaked me out a bit ago when she told me that this is mostly diagnosed at autopsy! - I'm a great believer in everything happening for a reason and I believe that I beat the odds with this because I need to be around for my special little boy. We are moving back to West Yorkshire which is where both myself and my hubby were born and grew up and all our family are still there :-)