Pugwall

One of the best swimming spots in Cornwall I used to live in Port Navas on the Helford, it is lovely round there!

I've been swimming every day since lockdown, but its not exactly warm we're lucky to be surrounded by creeks and beaches, so with a bit of planning its easy to head somewhere with hardly any people! Are your family just there for a visit or are you thinking of 'ping-ponging' back over there?!

That's the benefit of dual citizenship isn't it – the ability to choose between the two countries based on your current interests/requirements. And it entitles us to live in NZ if we wanted to – my sister lives in Auckland and when we've visited it does seem like a lovely place. Definitely feels very different to Australia though; mostly in a good way. I don't think we'll be upping sticks to move back to the southern hemisphere anytime soon, but never say never! I wish you all the best if you do decide to make the big move again. Whereabouts in Cornwall are you? I work in Falmouth, my wife works in Truro, and we live near Stithians Lake – which is far enough from everywhere to feel very remote, but still close to lots of facilities and great beaches.

That's great to hear you've also made the move from NSW to SW England, and so good to know that you feel like Devon offers some similarity to your Australian lifestyle. We certainly feel that way about Cornwall. We have been to Australia a couple of times to visit our friends and family since moving over here, but unfortunately the likelihood of us doing that again any time soon seems slim indeed. Curious to know; what are the things you miss most about life down under?

I found this forum extremely helpful a few years ago when we first started thinking about 'upping sticks' and moving from Australia back to the UK. Just thought I'd post a quick reflection after coming back on here to read some of the posts after a very long time . We came to the UK in 2016 so have been based here for over three years now, with a couple of trips to Sydney in-between to see friends and family. I’ve been interested to read perspectives in relation to the incomes which one can achieve in the UK versus Australia. As a comparison, our annual household income is currently £90k+ here in the UK, whereas in Australia it was $230k+ (the currency conversion at the moment suggests £90k = $170k). We are doing broadly similar jobs, which clearly generate a lower income in this part of the UK but that simple metric isn’t sufficient to make any value judgement. During our six years in Sydney we lived in a freestanding house in Mcmahons Point with water views, and that wasn’t cheap. We enjoyed all the benefits of living in the heart of an amazing city, but we also 'enjoyed' all of the related costs. We now live in an old stone farmhouse in Cornwall, surrounded by open fields and grazing animals, and without wishing to state the bleeding obvious, the pace of life is slower, and the general cost of living here is significantly less than it was on the lower north shore of Sydney. If we had swapped like for like, leaving our busy lives in Sydney for living and working in central London, I am sure we would be still be earning (and spending) more. However, that wasn’t an option which featured on our radar, as we’d enjoyed that busy city life in London from 2002 to 2010, then Sydney from 2010 to 2016. We still love London (and many other cities) for regular visits and have lots of friends who couldn’t live without the cultural stimulation that goes hand in hand with the urban surroundings of any metropolis, but our hearts and minds feel very content in the UK countryside. We’re quite prepared to deal with the sometimes wild weather, so for us Cornwall manages to combine some of the best of what we enjoyed in Australia: an outdoors-oriented lifestyle, beautiful beaches and creeks, lots of surfing, sailing and watersports; with many of the best attributes of the UK – stunning countryside, great walking and open access to much of the countryside, wonderful village communities and a strong sense of pride in its history. At the same time, we love Australia, we became proud Aussie citizens, we’re glad to have Australian passports, and we’re captivated by its natural landscapes, the wildlife, the history and the exciting and diverse contemporary culture. We fully intend to spend time between the UK and Australia for the rest of our lives (although we're aware that external factors may force us to rethink this). At the moment, we feel that living and working in the UK with semi-regular trips to Australia in order to catch up with family and friends seems to be the way forward. As we get older, or if things change in a negative way for us here in the UK, we’d be very happy to live in Australia again, but it’s highly unlikely we’d want to live anywhere urban, even if Sydney is regularly hailed as the world’s most liveable city. We’re grateful and fortunate to be in a position where our skills and interests open up various options in front of us. I wish anyone who is thinking of making a move the best of luck, and encourage you to do whatever your heart is telling you.

Sounds strange – I recently closed a Commbank account over the phone as I am now based in the UK. It was no problem at all, they were very helpful.

Only annoying thing is that DVLA won't return your Aus licence to you...so if you're back in Aus at some point you'll have to pay for another photocard!

It's a straightforward swap – you'll just send your Australian Licence to DVLA and they'll issue you with a full UK Licence. 'Red P's' means you've passed your driving test and won't have to redo here. You can drive here using your Australian licence for up to 1 year, before swapping.