Collie

Hey John, I assume you are coming as a backpacker? A couple of tips, late Nov - end Jan can be tough to find work in the cities, with the build up to Xmas and Summer holidays, things tend to go very quiet so if you are looking for work when you arrive, either come earlier or mid Jan Perth is struggling for work at the moment and is damn expensive for booze (very important for backpackers :)) most people do a stint in one of the cities (mostly Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane), work and save money to travel It gets hot & humid up north in summer, many people do NSW, Vic, SA during summer and then start heading north in winter (from about April on - basically follow the sun and temps of high 20's to mid 30's). Having said that Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide can all experience 40+ days in Summer too. The main backpacker circuit tends to be the East coast of Australia, Sydney to Cairns. Popular backpacker spots/attractions along the way - Byron bay, Noosa, Hervey bay/Fraser Island, Airlie beach (whit Sundays), Cairns. Back in the day, I did a surfari trip from Sydney to Byron which was awesome - camping and surfing at different spots over a week. Great way to meet fellow travellers and see off the beaten track. Another circuit is the Great ocean road (Melbourne to Adelaide or vice versa) Other atrractions - Uluru - Kings Canyon, Darwin as the gateway to Kakadu national park Lots of providers doing organised trips and tours which help you meet people, Traveller Contact point is a good place to check out options, it's in the Dymocks building on George st in Sydney (near the QVB) That's it off the top of my head. Enjoy it, you'll have a blast

That's a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. Need some more detail to be able to answer accurately How many people are looking to migrate? Are there kids involved? Where are you looking to move to ? What visas will you be on? (school fees in many states on a 457) Have you jobs lined up? Are you shipping furniture? Have you friends/family to stay with initially? Will you need a vehicle or 2? (eg no kids and living inner Sydney/Melbourne, probably not, use PT and car share schemes) What lifestyle do you enjoy? (eg Inner city, by the beach is more expensive then rural) There have been a few similar threads before (probably in the money section). Depending on the answers to the above, I think you would be looking at $40-60k to set up your life in Aus for the first year. If you have no need for a car, that comes down a bit and if you have jobs to go to, it means that you will have money coming in straight away. The 1st 3-6 months can be expensive as you are in temporary accomodation, have a lot of one off costs and may not have an income for a while.

c.6% yield - not bad at the moment. Good luck

Absolutely, espeically if it has been on the market for a while but you want a good relationship with your landlord so a cheeky 10% under asking may be worth it. I rent privately from the owner, he was open to a lower rent, I asked him to put aircon in which he did so I think I am doing ok. It was a reasonable rent for the house to begin with, he comes every fortnight to do the gardening and any minor issue gets resolved quickly. He is happy to have a good tenant and I am happy with a low maintainence nice property in a great area.

I think you would have to redraw against your AU mortgage first and then use the cash as your deposit. If there is already a mortgage on your Melbourne home, you will struggle to get a 2nd mortgage on it from a UK bank or any bank TBH (which I think is effectively what you are trying to do). The level of "equity" in your home depends on the market, eg if the market crashed, the equity will diminish (& vice versa). So you need to do it as 2 separate transactions, redraw (or refinance) In Australia. Then transfer the AUD to GBP for your UK purchase. I think your OH's plan is wise btw. Why not rent for the 1st year in the UK to settle and make sure that you are committed to it first? You can always redraw or refinance the Melbourne property down the line when needed. The GBP is expected to continue to fall in value in the next year also.

Both great cities IMO. Do a pros & cons list for each, it should help clarify your thinking. Barca may be harder to integrate into due to language (start learning catalan). You need to compare salary with cost fo living so you are looking at the net position. Barca will be a lot cheaper to live in than Melbourne so you may be able to afford to take the lower salary. How important is it to you to maintain your Australian PR (and maybe get citizenship)? Realistically, if you chose Barca, it is probably goodbye to that. It would be awesome to be able to visit the Nou Camp regularly though.

Not much between them as the 2 market leaders. CBA for me for the quality of their online/app banking. ING Direct worth a look also and allow you free use of any ATM (with some minor conditions)

It depends what you like in your suburb. I really like the Freo vibe too. Perth is struggling at the moment workwise (hope you have something lined up), the silver lining is that rents have come down a lot and there is a lot of stock available so you should have no problem finding somewhere and can probably afford to be fussy, maybe even ask below the asking. price. Lots of break leases happening too as people move East or overseas. I'm in Mount Hawthorn which is just NOR, very easy to get into the city or down to Scarborough, Trigg for the beach. I really like it, nice village within walking distance and a bit more nightlife close by in Leederville when needed.

Good luck Andreas, I can't speak for Adelaide or Canberra but Perth is doing it quite tough at the moment with work hard to come to by for nearly all trades. Many people in Perth are moving or commuting to Sydney and Melbourne. There is a lot of construction work going on in Sydney at the moment with 3 very large public projects underway (WestConnex, NW rail and Light rail) Also things tend to get very quiet nearly everywhere in Australia (except tourism) in Dec and Jan as it is Xmas and then the long summer holidays so many people go away. It can be hard to find work from about mid Nov to Australia day (Jan 26) when things start picking up again. I know you say that it would prefer a smaller city but for a young person exploring Australia, you may find Adelaide, Canberra and even Perth very quiet. There is a large backpacker scene in Sydney and Melbourne and then people tend to head north up the East coast to/of Queensland in the cooler months (April - Sept). Personally, I don't see the attraction of Canberra at all for somebody visiting (although I had a few good nights there in my youth). For me Australia is about the weather and beach lifestyle which you will not get in Canberra. Good luck and have a blast.

Unfortunately it is not not that negative. Perth is doing it very tough currently and the job market is very competitive, it seems to be across the board too. I know a few qualified professionals who have been out of work for a year and many others now do FIFO to Sydney/Melbourne. I moved over from Sydney earlier this year and I am now coming up on 6 months without work (qualified accountant). I think I'm going to start my own thing next month. Trades seem to be a bit better but rates have dropped significantly (30-50%) on a few years back. Re cost of living v London. Your rent/property will be cheaper (silver lining of the recessions - rents dropping and plenty of choice). Your day to day living, leisure and socialising will be more. Very expensive to go out for a few drinks or meals etc. (+20% on Sydney). I struggle to remember when I have been able to buy a drink for <$10 in anywhere half decent (bowling club is cheaper but a bit grotty) Sounds like the OP is moving no matter what and if they have a year's living costs (I'd say $50-$60k + whatever you want to spend on a car) then they should be ok but be prepared for a long wait to find work. Good luck

It depends but most likely. When were you born? Where either of your parents a British citizen at the time of your birth? Should be able to check online on a UK Gov site

You may be waiting a while. The GBP is expected to continue to weaken as The Brexit debacle unfolds. The GBP:AUD is down about 20% since May 2016. What if it falls another 20%? I think a few of the investment banks are expecting a further 10% depreciation by 2018 (v the Euro but will follow through). Interest rates are pretty low so you are going to earn SFA on it. Your risk is with the F/X rate. If you plan to live and work in Australia for a long time, it may be worth bringing some (most of it) over. Try and pick your timings with an rise in the f/x rate ($1.62 at the moment - anything >$1.65 I'd move) If you plan to return to the UK in the future and don't need the money in Oz, then leave it there.

Glad that you have decided to put any potential move off until after the baby the born. IME the healthcare in Australia around maternity care was top class, couldn't fault it at all. Focus on the baby now and I wish you & your husband a happy and healthy pregnancy.

RE agents will always try it on. Once they realise that you know your rights under the law they back off. FO - is a less polite version of Feck off That's BS, 5pm viewings are very much a thing as most buyers are at work. he just doesn't want to work late.

Just saw that you are in Sydney. This is covered under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 so is fairly up to date. Fair Trade NSW covers this and their website is ok AFAIK

Check tenants rights for your state on google. I think you are only obliged to allow them 1 window per week. Most agents normally show on a Sat or mid week evening. Some do Sundays (which is better IMO as less competition) Offer them 5pm on a Weds/Thurs , 3pm on a Sat. or 11am on a Sunday. They should only need 1/2 hour max. Then tell them to FO. You are entitled to quiet enjoyment

Do you qualify under the new proposed rules? ie Lived as a PR in Australia for 4 years.

Ok, I don't see what you are arguing with in my post. The double taxation agreement is relevant as they are resident in 1 country and will have income from another. The poster will be UK tax resident & domiciled (after living in the UK for 5 years) and will be assessed under the UK tax rules at that time. If they have not lived in Australia for 5 years, they will not be tax resident in Australia. That is pretty black & white.

39 is probably a short queue. Try them 1st thing in the morning. I think it depends on where you apply from. I know in Perth, that there is a big backlog, 6 months to be notified of a date for your test which could be another 6 months away. My cousin's family applied Oct 2016, got notified about their test in May 2017 which will be in November 2017 and then it may be another few months to their ceremony.

Well, speaking as an accountant, (albeit not a tax expert), the principles of a Double taxation agreement should stand. Once their super kicks in, the poster will be tax resident in the UK and will liabile for tax on their worldwide income. They will be given a credit for any tax withheld in Australia against their UK liability. If the credit is greater than their laibility, they should receive a refund. The lump sum element may be more complicated, however the principle is that you will not pay tax twice on the same income.

Australia and the UK have a double taxation agreement. Any tax paid in Australia will be credited against any UK liability and may even lead to a refund if tax has been overpaid.

No, that is not how it works. The Hague convention is primarily to do with international co-operation in the case of Child Abduction, recognising and enforcing the the court orders of another jurisdiction. There was quite a famous case a few years back where the family were living in Italy (Australian mother, Italian father), the mother brought the twin girls (think they were about 13) "on holiday" to Brisbane and then refused to return. The father sought and was granted a recovery order. The AFP removed the girls from the mother's care and returned them to their father. One of the TV channels did a follow up story on them last year. the 2 girls are 18/19 now and love their lives in Italy. Not sure if they have a relationship with their mother. If one parent refuses to sign a passport or allow reasonable international travel, the court can overrule them. They are more likely to do this when the destination is a signatory to the Hague convention. I saw this happen last year. 15 year old boy, living with the father. Didn't talk to the mother (not sure of the history) and the court were trying to help repair the relationship with counselling etc.. Father's family were going on a cruise (grandmother's birthday or something and all the extended paternal family were going), Australia to Australia but via some of the south pacific islands. Mother refused to consent to the travel or sign the passport application. Judge managed to talk sense into her (stop her further alienating herself to her son) but did threaten to overrule her and grant an order to the father to get a passport without the mother's consent. Anyway, this is little off topic for the OP. Just correcting erroneous information that would only further add to her anxiety.

Well that is not true mate and a pretty scare mongering statement. The Hague convention is a good thing in this case. If the UK & Australia were NOT signatories, your comment above could apply. But they are signatories. The Hague convention is an international agreement dealing with child abduction. If the OP were to abducate the child and not return from the UK, her husband can look for recovery orders and the UK and Australian systems co-operate. Because of the Hague convention, if it got that bad, the OP would be able to bring the child to the UK, just that she would need to bring the child back unless the husband agreed to the child moving permanently (and even then, sometimes the courts allow it). Anyway, that is getting way ahead of the OP's position. i re-iterate my original advice, go get professional help. A MHP means that Medicare pay for it, it is all just counselling and seeking counselling can not be used against you. The OP has said that she suffers from anxiety, pregnancy exasberates anxiety. Talk to a professional and use the professional to facilitate the conversation with your husband.

Never lived in Cairns, only visited. I'd be very surprised if they have traffic jams though. Cairns is not a city but a medium sized town.

Sorry Quoll - I completely disagree. I agree that the name is offputting but a referral for a Mental Health Plan just gives you some sessions (6-10) with a trained counsellor funded by Medicare. Looking after your mental health doesn't mean you are nuts, it means you are strong enough to ask for help to deal with something that is troubling her. Don't let the label put you off. The OP is dealing with anxiety and a professional is better placed to help her deal through the issues (whatever the outcome) than the untrained people on an internet forum (no disrespect to anybody).