pixieontherocks

If you know you want to go back I'd do it. I echo other people's sentiments to do it before you have children because then your partner could stop your children returning to the UK under the Hague Convention.

I let fear hold me back for years until my 14-year relationship with an Aussie broke up (2 kids). Going back home in June this year and I'm not looking back. Luckily, my ex is letting me take the children (and is coming too with her partner and their baby).

There are lots of great things about Australia but I'm ready to go back and have my parents, brothers and best/oldest mates around again after 12 years away. For me, the homesickness went up and down but never quite left.

I suppose it depends on when and where you were in SYD, we were lucky to experience the millennium in London, then SYD and grew our family for 10 years in SYD from early 2000 to 2011 with a very high quality of life (park water shore and 15 min bike or 20 min ferry ride to city), back then it was actually is a pretty cool place to work and for kids to grow up and we did one and a thousand things together, from travelling all over OZ by light plane to just well.......fun life with kids..in an inner city kind of oasis. I don't think that's possible now without a few million and to be honest, I don't think the community is there anymore.

 

Moved to Ad-dull-ade in 2012 for family... place is a disgrace compared to well, most other places........ now in East Sussex which we love and is beautiful, Adelaide is a special insidious place, which in retrospect I'm glad we did not like it there as to become accepting and accustomed to such mediocrity would be a very unfair mantle to my children.

 

Kids love it here, well integrated into schools, seasons are what you make of it, they built a snow man last week, been all over europe and then some in the last two years, little sponges..

 

But, to confirm you are right, Adelaide does indeed take the biscuit..

Where are you in E Sussex, Deryans? I'm moving there in June and need some ideas.

Hi Nick, I moved my cash from Westpac to World First's Citibank account and then it's going into my UK HSBC account. No interbank charges to my knowledge, although I could be wrong.

No amount of financial security or sun makes up for missing family and friends in the UK, IMHO.

If you have that nagging feeling that life is 'nice' and you are financially ok but there's still a big, black gaping hole that you can't explain away then it's your heart, your emotions and the lack of deep connections you have in Oz that's causing it. Waiting won't help. Go back.

I've done 11 years here and I'm done (not helped by a horrible divorce situation in 2014 and two kids involved). My ex has agreed that we will all go back to the UK to live in June next year. I love Sydney in many respects, I really do, but it's just not enough.

Update: I moved the whole lot yesterday and got a good rate from World First ($1 = 0.622p). I can recommend them. Easy to deal with. I also tried Torfx who were informative and helpful but they did not offer such a high rate - although they said they would've matched it. It all happened so quickly post-RBA announcement that I just went for it. Torfx also wanted a 10% deposit moved to their bank before I set up a limit order - World First didn't ask for that.

Has anybody used a good broker that they'd recommend to go with? Thanks, Marie.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think moving most or all of it now seems the right approach. Cheers.

[h=2]Moving money back to the UK from Oz[/h]

Hi everyone, I'm moving back to England (in June 2017) from Australia after 11 years to be with my family again. I've just sold my house in Sydney and I'm wondering whether it's worth putting the money into a term deposit here for 8 months or take advantage of the low pound and putting it in a UK account, even though the interest rates seem really low at home.

Does anybody know:

A) Is it better to keep the money in Australia until next year? The best rate I found in Oz was about 2.9% (over 8 months) with NAB.

B) Or transfer the money into my UK HSBC account or another account/term deposit in the UK?

C) Or do something else with it?

Thanks,

Marie