Huggy75

Hi Huggy75, I am also a nurse and my husband is an insurance broker. I will have just had my 2nd baby when we move back so I would ideally be looking to not work for a year or so when we get back so we've agreed it's very important for hubby to find work before we go back to take the pressure off! I know that our areas of work is very different, for example moving here I secured work almost a year before we landed in Aus and hubby was told to wait until we moved because people would want a face to face interview! That was 5/6 years ago now so I hope that things have caught up and he is able to find work this end, else we will have to decide whether to take the plunge and risk it all or close the door and settle here! I've heard good things on PIO regarding the UK economy and employment and we've definitely seen an increase of advertised jobs in insurance in our hometown compared to 3 years ago, so I'm quietly optimistic!! I'm hoping worst case will be hubby flying back for interviews without me to secure the work?!

We decided we were going to take the plunge whether we found jobs or not, after all I think I would be much happier working in my local supermarket near my family than sticking it out in Aus just for a job. As soon as we mentioned it all to our families, the floods of support came in and we knew they would look after us in the interim. My hubby nearly did have to fly back sooner than me for interviews etc., but it all came good in the end. Good luck with everything, I'm sure it will all work out for you too :-)

Oh you poor thing, what a time you have been through. Do you mind me asking what your medical condition is? So pleased you are moving back to where you want to be and have support.

 

I am a great believer that with breakthroughs in medicine and the healing power of feeling happy and supported, we have a chance to overcome almost anything. Medicine and natural health combined

together at times can beat many odds.

 

I guess when I started the above thread I was prob feeling a bit emotional. And maybe had a glass of wine!

 

The interesting thing for me is we are not going back to UK for family. My family are kiwi (obviously) but my daughter is English and my in laws are English. However I have lived in England on two separate

occasions, still have many fantastic friends over there, and we are never going back to NZ to live. Only to visit. So my choice to work in for hubby's career is to stay in Australia or go back to England.

 

Well England wins by a country mile. So I think if you have the chance or choice or reason to live where you really want, then life can be to short, and we should all go for it.

 

I hope you have a great trip back and I hope your condition continues to improve. Would love to hear what your impressions are of England once you are back. At least here now in Brisbane, it has got cold. Yeah.:wubclub:

Hello again - my condition is Lymphocytic Hypophysitis. Basically my Pituatary Gland went haywire whilst I was pregnant and it wiped out all my hormones, stopped my body from producing cortisol (essential to maintain a blood pressure) and stopped my thyroid from working, so now I have to replace them all with medication/patches etc. I'm in agreement with whoever said that they feel they will be better once they are back home - when we visited last November I remember being able to get through the day without my usual nap that I always seem to need here in Australia, I also slept a lot better too - maybe it was because family were nearby, that's what I'm looking forward to again.

Sigh. I guess it is said so often that people start to believe it. There are no planned cuts to the NHS, just more plans to invest over and above inflation, same as every year since 2010. In any case, David Cameron does not run NHS Scotland, it is devolved. I am sure you would have no trouble picking up work.

Yes, exactly Bungo! When I enquired about a job back at my old place within the NHS in England I was more or less asked when can I start. My bosses told me that they are pushing lots of people up the ladder into Management thus creating lots of jobs at the bottom, so they now have a recruitment drive every month or so to get new staff. I guess when the recession was at its peak there may have been a slowdown on training new Nurses maybe. I have a job to go back to which has been held open since November :-)

RMac - not sure on the process for Australian Nurses getting NMC registration but I just re-registered and it was just a case of getting references from various people that I worked with/for here in Australia. It did take about 3 months to process though so I would look at this fairly soon too if you're wanting to work straight away. Subscribe to http://www.indeed.co.uk and it will send you job vacancies in Scotland each week - this is how I found out my old place was recruiting again. Good luck x

Sorry to hear about your condition, but I will add how very brave you are and good luck for the future in the uk. We won't be far behind you in moving back after 8 yrs here.

Thanks beach pig - it has been a heck of a struggle over the last 2 years but I do feel both myself and my husband have come through it as much stronger people and we now know where we need to be as a family.

Hi Kiwiinaus - we are moving back to the UK next week :-) We are partly going so that my 21 month old can grow up with his family but also so that I have more support with my illness. In short, I was diagnosed with a rare medical condition which occurred due to pregnancy and the week after giving birth I nearly died. I spent the first six weeks of my Son's life in hospital whilst my husband did a great job looking after a newborn and visiting me everyday. It all hit home during these weeks about how hard it was being at the other side of the world with no family or friends to visit me in hospital or pop round to see if my husband was coping. Anyways, 21 months on and I'm better than I was but will never be 100% again, the condition has left me needing several medications each day just to keep me alive with emergency injections to take if I relapse. There is not a huge amount of research out there about my condition but from what has been found the prognosis is about 10 - 15 years to live (I was 38 when diagnosed). So in answer to your original question, yes we are moving back due to health implications. We just need the support and I need to live out my days where I can hopefully be stress-free (i.e. not worrying about how my husband will cope with work/looking after our Son if I get ill again). Don't get me wrong I'm not all doom and gloom about the prognosis thing because it's such a rare condition that is not able to be fully measured, I'm now just of the mind that if I am to go before my Son finishes High School then I want to live life to the full and be around people who I feel safe with and also plan for that time if it ever comes too early, I tell myself though that I cheated death this time, so I have plans to make sure I'm still around for my Son in his 20's/30's :-)

Flights booked - 3 weeks tomorrow, 1st June - we're off!!!! ✈️

Eeeek! 10 more sleeps :-)

oh that sounds promising!! Can I ask what line of work you and your husband are in and how did you find gaining employment this end in the UK? My HB and I are hoping to move back in Nov but we want him to secure work before we get on the plane as we will have a newborn and a 2yo!

Hello LostMyWay - I'm a Nurse & my hubby an Electrician. We went back for a holiday last November and before we went there was an advert popped up for Nurses in my old job and they were having a recruitment drive whilst I was there, so I applied to see what would happen, anyway long story short - got offered an interview and offered a job on the spot, they've said I can choose my hours and I've just to get in touch when we finally get back as they have me on the back burner so to speak. My hubby just enquired at a place he used to work at as a Contractor as he still knows a lot of the people there and he went for a chat whilst we were there too, then has had telephone interviews whilst back in Australia and offered the job too - in fact they rang him the other night to see if he could start on the Monday after we land back!! What does your HB do? It's definitely a good feeling to know there are jobs to go to. Good luck with your move

Hi Huggy, Firstly, sorry to hear that you have health issues. Wow 3 weeks - not long! Great time to be heading back. I am quite envious that you and your husband are both on the same page with regards to going back, it must make it a lot more straightforward. Mortgage free would be great - are you selling property here in Aus and do you mind me asking which are in the UK you're going to?

Hi, yes I'm happy my husband is with me on this too although when I first told him he wasn't so sure (I was pregnant at the time so he thought it was my hormones), but he said at that time that if I still felt this strongly after we'd had the baby then we would move back. A trip back home last November cemented it for him too. So you never know, there is hope. We sold our house in May 2014 in preparation for the big decision - the house was too big for us to manage and was getting expensive living in the country. We are moving back to Halifax in West Yorkshire - not the most exciting place, but it's home for us and that's all that matters :-)

Take care xx

No you were clear, just difficult to answer depends on how much you want to enjoy the place, that's why I said take more cash than you think you may need and what you do not use change to UK money, you will lose on exchange rates but it would be relatively small amounts in the scheme of things, a travel card would be a little more costly (and involved depending on whose card you use) in converting the loaded S$ to UK pounds and would be probably be worse than just changing cash. for example if you take $2000 and only spend $1500, that's $500 left, say you lose 5% on exchange dealings which equals a $25 loss ( or say 10 quid). Try googling up some prices like meals (at your hotel as well), transport, both airport/hotel transfers and the underground. You could also go on the 'trip advisor' forums and see what is said or ask the question there!

Good luck

Ah yes, Google and Trip Advisor - good thinking, I'll do some research! I guess I should have just asked if its an expensive City to visit or not - but then that could be viewed differently also. Thanks again everyone :-)

If this is just a one off visit never to be done again, then just get Singapore cash at this end and any left over change back to UK Pounds when in UK. not the ideal way financially but it is only a relatively small amount so will not be too much to worry about.

Otherwise think about loading a travel card.

Have a safe and enjoyable trip.

Yes, it is just a stopover on the way to moving back to the UK for good. Hence why I just want to take cash. Just wondering how much would be a reasonable amount for 3 days, i.e. $500, $1000, $2000 or more? Sorry if I didn't make myself clearer.

A pre paid currency card then?

Just got rid of one - don't want the hassle of trying to close it from the UK

Thanks Rammygirl - however, I won't have a card to use as we are only keeping one account open in Australia for the time being and we don't have a card with that one.

Hello Indecisive and welcome to the forum. My experience is that we have been in Australia 6 years and now have a 21 month old Son. My Husband and I both had the long discussions pre-pregnancy and felt that we were strong enough and happy enough to have a baby in Australia, however things changed for one reason or another (mainly health issues for me post-pregnancy) and we are now going home to the UK in 3 weeks time. We realised that we too wanted our Son to grow up with his grandparents and cousins etc, and that I need the extra support due to my illness. Yes, I think you are correct in that you could possibly be mortgage-free back there too, that's what our research is telling us also. Unfortunately I can't give any advice on what to do about your OH's reluctance as I feel very lucky in that my Husband is ready to go back home too. But I would say that a lot of talking, hopefully without arguing and weighing up the pros and cons would be the first step. Also, possibly take a holiday back there as a family to help your OH see how much family would help with the baby. Good luck with your decisions.

Could I ask who you have quotes from? We are looking at options and think we will sell or give away a lot of things. Main reason is cost of transport and then possible storage problems in UK. TIA

We are using Overseas Packers & Shippers, they are holding our things in Australia for $16.50 each week until we are nearer to having a house in the UK. Once we get a house we'll ask them to send the stuff a couple of months before completion, hopefully to prevent needing storage in the UK.

Not sure where on the forums to post this so admin please move if need to :-)

We are having a 3 night stopover in Singapore on the way back home (UK), we've only ever transited through the airport before so really unsure as to how much money we might need for that length of time. Hotels paid for which includes entry to lots of attractions so would just be needing meals and extra for shopping (won't be going overboard though). Does anyone have any thoughts? Thanks

Flights booked - 3 weeks tomorrow, 1st June - we're off!!!! ✈️

Imapla - I hear what you are saying, I read your post and thought it was mine - our feelings are so similar! :-)

Hi Miley - 8 weeks, how exciting :-)

Strangely enough we did book our flights on Friday and we're off in 3 weeks - I'm so excited and feel like a weight has been lifted, I'm actually starting to enjoy my time left here, even with all the sorting out to do :-)

Good luck with your moves too, keep us updated as to how you get on.

We're taking more but still only in a 20ft container. When we came out the container was only half full, but this time we think it will be full - we do have an added child and all the furniture/toys etc., that comes with that :-) I've been trying to sell stuff but most people don't want anything unless you're giving it away and the stuff we have are still good as new so not willing to give away just yet.

Hi Yorkies84 - My husband and I are from West Yorkshire and have lived in Brisbane for 6 years, however, we are moving back to Halifax in 3 weeks time and we cannot wait. We also have a 21 month old toddler and feel that he will have a much happier life back there with his grandparents, aunties, uncles & cousins etc. We have both secured jobs already so there is definitely employment out there. I'll be sure to put an update on here when settled about how we are finding things. Good luck with your decision - sounds to me like you feel it will be the right one too. :smile:

Thanks everyone, I thought as much but can't help worrying when someone puts a spanner in the works! I guess she's probably meaning it's for those who haven't purchased a passport already - that would make more sense

Just when I thought I knew what I was doing, my friend mentioned today that I might need a Certificate of Citizenship for my Son who was born in Australia even though he has dual citizenship and both Australian and UK passport. Has anyone heard of this? Thanks

Getting both passports is a pretty simple process, I applied for my Son's around the same time as each other and they came back within a few weeks. Alternatively, your Daughter will be able to apply for her own Aussie passport when she turns 18 if she wishes to come back, so you really only need to get her the British one for now. As Quoll said, you don't need to fill in MN1.

It depends on the lender and some do require 3 years, others a year but with a deposit over 35% you would have no problem & there are lenders that will give you a mortgage with less.I am self-employed and had been back less than a year and was able to get a Halifax mortgage with a 15% deposit (despite being told by two mortgage brokers they couldn't help me!)

Thanks Lady R - my current Bank are still adamant at 3 years, however, I had a mortgage for 12 years with the Halifax (and worked for them for 8) prior to moving to Australia so I think I may try them again when I get back.

Stay for citizenship, a year will go by quickly if you keep yourself busy. I wanted to go 2 years ago but stayed to get citizenship and now find myself going back in 6 weeks time!

I think you would have no problem whatsoever. Did you maintain a bank account in UK? If so, maybe see what they can do first.

Hi Bungo - yes we maintained a bank account for the whole time we have been here and all our money will be going back into that account. It was with that same Bank that I did the enquiries, that's why I was quite taken aback.