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I really thank you all.

I think a move could make up happy, just need to get my head straight with finances. I go from thinking, no, just stay and keep earning the higher salary and just making the UK a holiday destination to flipping to no, actually Ben, just try to sort out finances first and move. II've spent a bit of time reading lots of stories on this website. Wonder if all the people fully settled when they moved back. Maybe people settle and then don't write anymore. Hard to know what the right thing to do is. Stay or go. Go or stay. Do you think, on balance, people who feel like this, in a similar situation should always act on it?

That's the plan. Thanks mate

That does make sense now. Just had another 'one' removed so anything that helps stopping the UV get through I'm keen to hear.

This is good to read. Cheers Inner Voice. I understand what you're saying and I found it encouraging to read about a mortgage at an advanced age. It's been very hard to save due to my wife only PT and rent eating up a lot of pay. But I don't want to come up with excuses, just a plan. Thank you.

Thinking about it all. I suppose my actual question is, is it financially ignorant to take out a (lowest as possible) mortgage for a (most likely) small home at our ages. Next year. Very small deposit. I imagine we'll be working until late 60's anyway, unless we receive a miraculous windfall.

Cheers Marissa. Sorry to hear about your husband. Sounds more challenging than I've experienced but the UV can be a nasty bugger if not treated with respect. I did previously look up the BOM charts and watched Tassie by changing the month. Interesting it's an extreme spot in summer against other States. I had researched VIC but think the housing cost there is astronomical, higher than where we are. Lovely countryside, seen when visiting my uncle Thanks tea4too for the warm welcome. You write well and positively. I think I've added my comment to possibly the wrong section. Still figuring out how to steer this thing. I will have a good gander. You've put that so well 'drifting'. That's me and this situation to a tee. Five years of sand blowing in the wind. The least worse option, I like that also. You give good advice. It's a hard decision to make because i just don't know the outcome, which option would be the mistake. It's easy to bottle it up and stay. The sand will continue to blow. Thank you for answering all. It helps to have advice and write it down. Cheers, Ben

Cheers innervoice. You managed to get all the way to the end of my ramble. You make sense. Hadn't considered Tassie, will research. Possibly even more issues with UV? That may be an incorrect memory of mine. Thanks mate.

Jeez that was longer than intended. Cathartic getting it out.

This will be long so apologies in advance. I just want to give the full picture. I'm probably rambling. I'm Australian, grew up on a small hobby farm in NSW and travelled/casually worked a lot in Oz. After, I spent six years in Scotland and slightly longer in England (am a UK passort holder). My wife is half Irish/Scottish. We met in Northern England and married, our son is 7.5. My career has mainly been in administration (mainly public/govt.) I've never had any issue obtaining work and still have a lot of contacts in the UK. My wife has worked in libraries, tourism places, archives etc. She is currently middle-management where we live. I am 46 and my wife is 47. Sadly I no longer have any family except an elderly uncle and one cousin in VIC. Not close, but pleasant when we very rarely meet up. My wife has a tiny family in the Borders (just a mam and much younger brother left) and although they get on well there's a big age gap with her brother so not hugely close. Okay, so the introduction is finally over. I loved living in the UK and my wife and I enjoyed visits to Australia. My wife loves the warmth and 'openess' of Australia. I'm suffering from years of sun damage and prefer Spring/Autumn and even winter in the UK. I was the driving force to move to Australia at the time and we obtained a spouse visa for my wife. We researched, planned, obtained a job and moved 2018. Felt lucky, it was very smooth. My wife was happy and keen to move (we felt ready for a change) and has a role she enjoys in Australia. Her salary is better here, albeit food/housing/clothing etc. is high. She can only work PT (job share) due to lack of childcare for our son/no friends family. Sorry again, this is a bit long and well done if you're still reading. To now get to the point. I would like to move back to the UK, possibly Ireland or Scotland. We loved our woodland/countryside walks in the UK, went out in all weather, but now don't go out a lot due to the very high UV and sun/heat. We just don't enjoy it, hate the high UV. July is the only month we feel ok to go out in the great outdoors and that's one month in 12. Feel Trapped. Everyone else seems to live in the outdoors. I get it, the way I used to live growing up. No way is right and no way is wrong. I feel more strongly about this due to now suffering years of sun damage. We sold a tiny flat a while ago in Northern England, rented for a bit and used the small equity to move here. Approx $35,000 including her Visa, flights and a ridiculously huge container (most of which was not needed and we will be selling, won't be taking back). Stupid, trim it and don't do this. We've not managed to save much in Australia and can't see us being able to afford a house here. We thought with higher salaries we would save more however housing, food, medical, LIFE is expensive and it's been very hard to save. Our ages are late 40's. We thought things would be more rosy in Oz. Had done our research but costs have grown and grown. Rent eats a huge amount. I feel like we're paddling. Going nowhere, in circles. I feel like we would be better taking our savings, moving next year very frugally to the UK/Ireland aiming for at least one of us having a job lined up and trying to get housing as soon as possible. I've spoken to UK contacts and there's work. We can stay with my wife's mam for a while. My son can have a granny. My wife and I can't figure out how to save the minimum $100,000 in Australia most mortgage advisors have said we'll need here. Every year the house prices go up and up. Our rent has gone up over a $100 a week and will most likely rise next extension. We can't earn any more. I feel so torn. I feel like I'm failing my son. I want to give him a stable home, his 'own' room where he can have whatever colour he wants on the walls. Put posters up. I feel like I'm not providing. My wife is fine with the move to the Scotland now but wasn't keen at first. I dropped it, tried not to mention it too much but given lack of savings, high costs and her own research, she's OK with moving back. I've tried even harder to be positive around my son. Never mentioned my feelings around him. Given him my time and we have fun. He constantly tells everyone he's Scottish and says to my wife he wants to live there. He's 7 though and left so young, who knows what's he's really on about haha. We've not settled where we live (think a very large rural location about two hours from a capital city) and despite having good close friendship groups in England, and Scotland we feel like outcasts here. People here are, on the surface, friendly, or, rather, indifferent, not horrible. But it seems no-one needs/wants more friends, perhaps it's our age. We're just your 'average' nice friendly family, interested in others, help out at school, chat when able and not pushy or over-eager but nothing seems to lead anywhere. We have extended & tried. I feel lonely, nothing I'd admit in real life. I miss our UK mates and kids. My wife does too. You don't move for mates but you just don't know what it feels like when you don't have this any more and no family to speak of. People change/life moves on but we're all still in touch a lot with our UK friends. Visits and vid calls with the kids included. We don't have big expectations, we'll live our own life and they theirs, but know we'll hang out from time to time. Better than 'nothing' here. It's lucky I guess my wife, son and I are very close, have a laugh and really enjoy each other's company. I suggested my wife could choose somewhere else less semi-rural with more childcare options in Australia but she said she doesn't want to do that. It's stay here or move internationally. My wife says the house deposit you need in the Scotland is less compared to salaries we could earn (we're only looking at small, older semi-detached/terraced in semi-rural Scotland). We understand housing has gone up there too but, from researching not as much as a jump here. I do know cost of living has risen in the UK. I don't feel at home in the country I grew up in. How weird is that. I know we earn more here, but how the heck do we raise the deposit. I know people will say nothing is wrong with renting but we just want our own small place. We also want to spend a lot of time outdoors like we used to. I'm massively worried about making the wrong financial decision. We're not in our 20's/30's and have a young kid to think of. We are thinking of us as a family. It's not horrible here. We have jobs, my son seems happy in school. Do I just snap out of it and accept this is our future/reality. Renting, no social stuff but higher salaries. Advice from anyone? Admit I feel pretty lost. Thanks, Ben