rvaria

Just priced two similar specification Dell laptops, UK price was £579, Oz price was $1,399. Will say that electric goods were cheaper in Singapore if you are going to do a stop over there.

Just make sure your phone is unlocked, this may cost up to £20 if its not. Any laptops are definitely cheaper in UK but be careful of warranty. My sister took a Dell laptop out with her and Dell confirmed warranty is global but more recently a friend was going to buy a Asus laptop and they said warranty was European only.

Anything in WA, didn't find much in the way of financial sector in Perth ?

Deutsche bank has 1,000 employed in Australia in Sydney and Melbourne. I suspect they have very little in the way of back end IT, only local helpdesk support. Same as the company I work for, around 15,000 IT employees globally, 99% of our Asian IT is in India and China.

why ? OP - there are a few job sites online that will provide your answer.

I don't know if it makes any difference but which country are you from ?

I can't comment on the issues you are having settling and with your family but just as a reality check, I can't believe that University in the UK will be cheaper. From what I understand, you will be classed as a foreign student. Unless you have some sort of scholarship then expect course fees of £15k to £22k for non-medical courses (they are closer £35k), then another £6k in college fees (smaller universities won't have this) and another £10k to £12k in living expenses. So potentially £40k PER YEAR.

Have a read of this, http://www.which.co.uk/money/retirement/guides/applying-for-probate/diy-probate/ As I said it is possible if its a straight forward will (again assuming they left a will). The more assets they have and the more complex the will the harder it gets and OP's sister challenges the will then things can get very messy. I've seem it happen before and that was with a family that was on good terms before it started.

A solicitor is not mandatory even if you are not in the country, all the information is out there online. However it would be beneficial especially with complex wills. With time zone differences it could be a pain chasing people. I would expect solicitor fees to be between £5k and £10k depending on complexity and this will be deducted from the estate. As I said in my original post, OP really needs to find out if her mother has a will at all. I know from experience that people, especially women from an older generation may not. And if OP is worried then she really needs to talk about this with her mum while there is time. Better still, involve her sister in the conversation.

While its all very easy to say forget about it, I have some questions. Does she even have a will ? Who is listed as the executor ? Is the property jointly owned with your father ? In the event there is no will then it depends on if your father is still alive and still married ? If not married then estate will be split between you and your sister. As others have said in this situation I would probably not involved and sign over your half to her. Your sister may well insist on getting this legally done in which case you will need a solicitor to do that. If there is a will then obviously your mum has some wishes as to what happens to the estate. As you say it could well be that everything has been left to your sister in which case there is nothing further to be done. If you have been left anything then the process will need to go through probate and this will take a while. Again you will need a solicitor for this, especially if you are not there. There is more information here, https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/overview

What sort of budget ? Buying or renting ?

Just flown with Singapore Airlines (who now fly T2 at heathrow btw), from Heathrow to Perth. They codeshare with Virgin but it was cheaper to book through Singapore Airlines unless you have Virgin points or something to use up. Very, very good airline for kids, good selection of child friendly movies and TV (they had Frozen so my little one was happy, lol), they had children's headphones (I had taken my own ones plus adaptor, didn't use them), good food for kiddies and could ask for snacks at any time and they got served first, but make sure you pre-order their meals. As mentioned above, Changi airport is very good. Again plenty for kiddies to do and just unwind a bit. Did a night flight on the way out but due to out of control family on row behind didn't get as much sleep as I hoped. Had the A380, which was very quiet and smooth and had a little bit more space than the A330 we had on the second leg. 5 hour stopover turned out to be a good idea as we managed to unwind. Singapore to Perth was a measly 5 hours. Kids suffered from jet lag a fair amount when we arrived at 6am. Way back, left at 6am then only 50 minutes in Singapore. Kids stayed awake the whole journey except the last 2 hours. We landed at 7pm local time. One day off and everyone was back to school / work. Very little jet lag that time except everyone woke up at 5am the first couple of days, lol. For time about the plane, we've done quite a few long haul flights (family spread all over the world) from baby stage upwards and I pretty much echo everything that Quoll said. Great advice.

Of course you are your children's priority but as some point that will change and I would expect my children's priority to be their partner, not me.

And I have to disagree with you. You setting an example for your kids that you should be a priority over their future partner.

I am wondering why you are still with this guy if he abandons you like this. Unbelievable.

Pembrokeshire. Tons to see and do for all ages or just chill and relax. Miles of sandy beaches, friendly people, great drive, reasonably priced. What's not to like.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/K%C3%A4rcher-SC1-020-Multi-Purpose-Steam-Cleaner/dp/B00AEMEJUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421071367&sr=8-1&keywords=karcher+steam+cleaner Hands down the best cleaning product we have is a karcher steam cleaner. Does everything from work surfaces, tiles, hobs, ovens, BBQ, showers, taps, sofas, curtains, windows (streak free and dead quick), just about anything you can think off. I would be careful about flooring. Its fine on tiled and laminated floors but most websites say not to use them on hardwood. However karcher say they are fine on hardware as they don't use much water which they don't. Most of the websites are pretty restrictive about what you should use on a hardwood floor. http://www.lowes.com/projects/repair-and-maintain/caring-for-hardwood-floors/project

Family ? On your own ? What time of year ? Any particular interests ?

In the UK, my kids primary school asked for them to get a ipod touch for year 5 (9 years old) which they used throughout year 5 and 6. School supplied and cost was £120 including the applications and insurance which we paid over the 2 years and the kids get to keep them after they finished primary school.

Is there no option to sit tests to see which is the most appropriate year. My son is 11 and his birthday is in the first week of July so he will go from being one of younger ones in his current year to older ones but will need to repeat a whole year.

that is true, I guess I am just wary as in the UK I've seen friends lose their property or having to re-mortgage for even longer term in the financial crisis of the last 7 years. No doubt people can pay it off, mine should be paid off 10 years early but I didn't borrow a huge multiplier, I think at the time it was 2.5x my income. Pre-crisis people where borrowing 6x or 7x their income. These days most banks lend maximum 4x your income or 3.5x joint income and ask for 30% deposit. Also in the UK, I don't think you are allowed to take out a mortgage whose term ends are retirement age.

A year might make more sense

Just watched the Perth one, nice to recognise a lot of the places they visited, lol. Seemed to base a lot of their sums on maximum earning potential rather than starting salaries. Also they seemed happy to take on a 30 year mortgage even though the guy looked in his mid to late 30's. Finally I do have a question. They keep insisting on wanting a pool but everyone I spoke to on my recent visit said a pool could cost $1,000 a month to keep running ?

As a IT worker, looking around Perth I found blue chip IT jobs a lot more scarce and pay was definitely worse.

They did make some valid points but two things. First as the man mentioned, the salaries quotes had a lot of variance from starting level to potential level. He seemed to base his sums on the lowest level, she seemed to keep mentioning the highest level. Second, and this is something that is completely their own choice, they were happy to start a 30 year mortgagee. He looked in his mid 30's so he will be over 60 by the time the house is paid off. Plus we don't know how much they factored in for holidays, etc.