miw54

Hear hear - there are enough foreign criminals in the UK already, let her stay in Oz !!!!

This just reminds us all of how different we are and that the experience of uprooting yourself from your homeland to move across the world is not easy. Those who do it and settle easily are lucky. I suspect there are more people who have, at some time, felt like Beachbum. I love Oz and know that it would not rank as one of the best places in the world to live if there wasn't something great about it. However, I too have had my moments of hating it and so has my OH. We have always had the attitude that nothing is for ever and when we have felt the need to return to the UK, we have done so (but always ended up back in Oz). Hence we have become the archetypal ping pong poms. We first emigrated 30 years ago and there is no doubt about it, that Oz has changed in that time. It is far more expensive, jobs are harder to get and yes.... it does rain. The trouble is, when you are unhappy there you don't have the same structures around you as in your homeland and it can feel desperate. There has been lots of good advice and sympathy from some of the posts here and that is what is great about this forum.I hope Beachbum can give it a bit more time and explore more of the country. We chose eventually to live on the Gold Coast and think it is wonderful. Whatever,she needs to share her feelings with her OH so that at least they are out in the open and they can plan together what to do about it. Good luck is what I say.

Yes. As long as you are living in the UK you can claim for those years too. You will need to fill out a form provided by the Pension Service (email: tvp.internationalqueries@thepensionservice.gsi.gov.uk). We had our group certificates and a letter from a relative and friend confirming that we had lived out there during the years we were claiming for. I also have a private pension but that does not matter. If you are resident in the UK the basic state pension is not means tested. Hope this helps.

I am in Lancashire (up north) and it is 13 degrees today. I was colder last year in Sydney winter time.

Yes - its true, my years in Oz up to this date were counted towards my UK pension. All you have to do is provide evidence of this from work and from someone who will verify that you were living there. Also, we did pay some additional contributions for a few years shortfall that we had. We are now entitled to the full pension.

:hug: Steak pudding, chips and mushy peas !!

Better still - send them all to Oz, loads of room there !!

We just took out one week's normal travel insurance to cover our journey out there. Not sure if this is any cheaper than taking out one way.

This is naïve - the Calais migrants already have safety in France and could apply for asylum with eventually becoming European citizens and thereby gaining the right to travel to any European country legally. They just want to circumvent the normal procedures for economic benefits of the UK and are not real refugees. Genuine refugees would be glad of reaching anywhere where they were safe. No-one can blame anyone for wanting a better life but it is not possible for small countries to absorb millions of people just because this is what they want. More needs to be done to improve the quality of life and stamp out the corruption, dictatorships and power wars in those countries from which people want to leave. No easy answer but it requires all civilised governments to get their heads together and their finances to help people have a better life in their homelands.

Hi Would they settle for a 12 month trial ? Sometimes it is the thought of leaving forever that puts people off. However, if you treat it as an 'adventure' it can be less daunting and, once there they might embrace the lifestyle and end up loving it. If not, you will be able to return to the UK but preserve your residency visa for a retry later on. The only thing would be not to burn your boats and perhaps rent out your UK home whilst over in Oz so that you have something to return to if it doesn't work out. Its such a shame that you have got the visas that many would give their eye teeth to have but not to use them. Alternatively - leave them all behind and go yourself !!:wink:

Best piece of advice so far. If you compare the two you will always find a benefit of one that has a contrasting downside in the other. Two completely different countries, both great but both with their challenges. :wink:

How sad to hear that Cilla Black has died. I feel she has been there all through my teenage and following years. An absolute icon. I bet there are a lot of tears in Liverpool ..:sad:

Have done it 5 times too. Just love both countries and cannot stay exclusively in one. Unfortunately, you like us, will never be rich unless the Lotto numbers come up ! I find every move back ( whichever direction) always exciting. Mad but happy. :rolleyes:

Thank you kindly for your responses. It is a bit of a minefield but the sites provided above have been very helpful.:smile:

Medical problems in transit would be the greatest worry. If the plane had to land in a country that does not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK/Australia then you could be looking at thousands of dollars. My friend's sister went over to the UK from Oz and did not have insurance. Sadly she died 3 days into the visit but her family back in Oz wanted her body returned there. It cost around £4000 to get her back and Qantas would not allow any of the relatives from the UK to use her return ticket to travel with her body. I just wouldn't risk travelling without insurance as you never know what happens.:no: Better to regret doing something than to regret not doing it...

Hi Does anyone know if there is such a thing as 'sheltered accommodation' in NSW i.e. where elderly people can have their own place but within a supervised setting? If so, is this privately or state funded and how is it accessed. Sorry for so many questions at once ! Thank you

We are serial ping pongers and have moved back and forth 5 times for long periods and twice for short periods. No unhappiness or dissatisfaction, just a great love for both countries. We have accepted that we can't stay in one exclusively from the other. Yes, it is expensive but we'll do any kind of work that is available and we always seem to manage. Been in Oz for the last 5 months and now we are planning to go back for UK summer and no doubt back again here before Christmas. Every trip is exciting although the plane journey is a bit of a b.........d.?

As a perpetual ping pong Pom I can sympathise completely with you. Today I spent my time on Manly beach watching the surfers, swimmers and families all having a great time and felt really privileged to be able to enjoy it. However, having also just seen photos of my grandaughter in her Christmas play in England, I felt sad that she wasn't here to share it too. When we are in the UK we always travel over to Spain and France - so easy and so cheap. This helps compensate when I am missing the Aussie sunshine. I don't believe you can find everything you want in one or the other. If all our family were able to be here with us, I suspect we would be more than happy to call Australia home but this is not possible so our hearts will always be in the UK. That said, we always enjoy our time in the UK. There's good and not so good in both. The key is to remember that as it is so easy sometimes just to focus on the good things you are missing. Hope all turns out well for you.

Hi again We have a Foreign Currency Account with the Commonwealth Bank and when we transfer the money from UK we do it in £ sterling so that we don't have to use the UK bank exchange rate. We can then leave it in the FCA until the time is right to change it to Australian dollars. There is no charge for this and the Commonwealth also give an excellent rate of exchange similar to what you would get with any of the other trading companies. It might be worth asking your Australian bank if they operate anything similar. Other than that, what about using Moneycorp ?

Hi Thank you so much. We would not be looking for a mortgage but wondered if you needed things like birth/marriage certificates etc. which we probably would not have with us. Passports and driving licences are ok.:smile:

Hi We bank with Nationwide in the UK and they have advised that we can transfer money by SWIFT directly to our bank in Oz and there is no limit at all. It costs £20, regardless of the amount sent, which is deducted by the UK bank and the Commonwealth charge $11 for accepting the international money transfer. You can do it all yourself on line as long as you have the receiving bank's SWIFT code. Hope this helps

Hi Can anyone tell me which original documents you need when purchasing a property in Australia ? Thank you

Hello We have lived in both Brisbane and Sydney. The latter is more expensive but a great place to be. We lived in Glebe, right near Glebe Point, which is excellent for being near to the city but with a lovely community feel. Plenty of social life too. It is expensive to buy there now but there are places to rent. In that area too there are suburbs like Annandale and Balmain. We also lived for a time in a suburb called Kogarah which was about half an hour commute to the city. What we liked about Kogarah was that we could walk down to the sea front in 15mins. There are plenty of units in that area so finding rental should be ok. Avoid the most westerly suburbs. Hope you find something and enjoy it.:smile:

Hi We use a TomTom satnav but have downloaded both UK and Australia maps. We take it with us both ways - no need to have different devices.

I think you are well on your way to being a ping pong pom. Both places are great and when you are in one you will miss the other. Its the life I lead but it is always a great feeling going back and forwards. Just make sure you always keep hold of property and enjoy !:smile: