Brisbane Susan

Also, please really think about the type of climate you would like to live and work in before deciding on Melbourne or Brisbane, both of which are lovely cities but in completely different ways. It is one thing to say "I like heat", but living and working in temperatures that can get up to the mid to high thirties (C) with 100% humidity in the summer months can be quite challenging. I live in Brisbane and I struggle with the heat and humidity of our summers here (my husband less so) and I have often found that even the born and bred Queenslanders struggle with it. However, the winters in Brisbane are lovely and mild. If you want to live by the beach then yes, as 'partnership' says, the northern suburbs of Brisbane will give you that. Just be aware that the long, long, sandy beaches that most of us come here for are 45 minutes to one hour south of Brisbane (Gold Coast) or 1 hour to 1.5 hours north of Brisbane (Sunshine Coast), depending on where you are situated as Brisbane is a river city. The sea is never far, but in some parts of Brisbane is more harbour-type sea than sandy beaches. It would definitely be best to keep your UK home if you can possibly afford to until things are a bit more settled with your visa situation and to see if Australia is the right fit for your family. Marisawright always gives such sound advice as above on these issues. Wishing you all the best with your plans.

My husband and I are temporarily living back in England. In October last year, both of our elderly parents in England collapsed within days of one another. We knew we would have to return and it was decided that I would fly out first as my Dad was the sicker of the two parents. I then had to go through applying for permission to leave Australia, which took a week. I flew out at the end of October, with my husband staying behind to find someone to look after our two dogs, sort out the house, lend the car to the kids etc. Unfortunately I was greeted at Heathrow Airport with the news that my Dad had died whilst I was mid-air, which was pretty devastating. I just thought I would post this as an encouragement to be better prepared than we were. We knew our parents were becoming more frail and of course we could do nothing about the restrictions imposed upon us by the pandemic, but we weren't ready and in retrospect, we should have been. I have always kept enough for two air fares in a separate savings account, but it wasn't nearly enough. We don't know how long we will be here as my mother-in-law is still sick and deteriorating but not quite at end of life yet. We don't want to come back to Australia, do two weeks quarantine and then have to turn around and come back again, so we have decided to rent here and stay for most of this year. Fortunately my husband is retired and I have very understanding and supportive employers who have allowed me to take long-term unpaid leave. Some of you may be lucky enough to be able to stay with family or friends but that was not an option for us as the three sets of people we would usually stay with were all in the middle of their own house moves! We have rented a one-bedroom flat on the East Sussex coast, close to Brighton. We are paying 1,200 pounds per month but that includes water, internet and came partly furnished. I looked at several rental properties and to be honest, once the rent drops below 1,000 pounds per month, in this area the accommodation becomes a bit more 'student-orientated' (smaller, studio flat, not very well kept etc). Considerations to factor in include : Council tax - for us this will be 433 pounds (Council Tax Band B), TV licence (168 pounds for 12 months), mobile phone plans, internet/Wi-Fi, power bills (very expensive over here and not many deals available due to many electricity companies folding), food is comparable in cost to Australia. Eating out is more expensive here. Deciding whether to be a tax resident here or in Australia (if this happened to you, would you need to work to support yourselves or could you afford to stay here perhaps for several months without working?). Parking - where we are staying, nearly everything is either on parking meters or you have to apply for a residents parking permit, a winter wardrobe (coming from Brisbane, I had to buy lots of winter clothing including coat and boots). Naturally there were layers of paperwork around having to rent and we had to prove our identification and earnings/savings/income. If you are working you may need to get a letter from your employer if you cannot provide previous renting references (we are home-owners in Australia and had not rented for many years). My husband estimates that it is about 50% more expensive to live here than in Australia. Public transport costs, particularly on trains, is very expensive. I applied for a Seniors National Rail Card, which was well worth getting as it saves me up to 1/3 on fares. Electricity and petrol 30-50% more expensive. It is not as easy to get face to face medical consultations here although we were very lucky as we signed up to a local large medical centre and were accepted straight away, but I believe that it is not always that easy to get in somewhere. My NHS number was out of date, but I discovered that on registering with a GP, they generate your new NHS number if required. GST is 10% versus VAT being 20%. Moving the Australian dollar to England was a reasonable rate, which we transferred in smaller blocks as we needed it. On a lighter note and between all the sorrow and life admin pertaining to our parents, we have managed a few beautiful walks, enjoyed some cosy pub dinners, open fires, carveries and various treats such as my favourite chocolate. It has been wonderful to catch up with our adult children who live here after not seeing them so long due to covid and we are determined to make the most of our unexpected time here and have already re-joined the National Trust and English Heritage. We are fortunate to be able to frequently borrow our adult children's car so do not intend to buy one whilst we are here. I hope that this post helps someone on this forum who may be facing a similar dilemma to us.

That is a fantastic idea. Thank you so much for suggesting – and for the example link. We had talked about a caravan, but this sort of thing is much more homely and less likely to blow over in a gale ha ha! Again thank you very much that is very helpful information.

Hi Bridgeman, Yes, we are in Brisbane but are having to look at caring for our elderly parents, one of whom has become quite sick. Our kids/grandkids are here. We are just trying to work out what to do. This must be a common problem. Unfortunately, it is not possible to stay with said relatives due to space restrictions. Lots of friends have offered to put us up, but we would prefer our own space.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who lives some months in Australia and some in the UK. I am looking at ways to do this. Do you rent/house-swap/buy and then rent out for the months you are not there? What do you do car-wise? Do you have to submit tax returns for both countries? Any advice and tips would be appreciated.

Unfortunately, Australia seems to not recognise many qualifications and prefer to issue their own. I know a medical professional who had to study and pay for extra modules to make himself Australian qualified. He then moved interstate twice and each time had to satisfy the state regulations. Yep, that meant more study and more money - all from someone with 25 years experience!

Hi Diane, how do I find your blog? Do you have a link please? Many thanks.

I will be interested to follow your journey. I am in a similar position - loved my life in England, came here with husband's job, my adult kids all feel very happy and settled here, but I would prefer to live in England and visit here. Please keep in touch and let us know how it works out for you.

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading your post. It was well written and thoughtful. I am so pleased that you have found peace in your life at last. It would be lovely to hear occasional updates from you!