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Hey everyone, We have been watching the falling dollar recently and are keen to move our savings back into pounds. They have already lost a bit of value and we are watching it drop further We recently left Aus and see now how the country appears to be slipping a little further into recession/something like that. We are quite inexperienced with all this type of stuff and are not sure whether to wait, or just move it now before it drops more. What should we look out for as warning signs/positive signs? Anyone else thinking similar thoughts? Interested in people's experiences!

Britain should brace itself for a devastating financial crisis, the governor of the Bank of England warned last night. Sir Mervyn King told MPs there was no doubt the banking system was ‘less safe’ than three months ago and might not be strong enough to withstand a eurozone meltdown. He spoke out amid fresh warnings that the UK is set to plunge into a double dip recession. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the economy will shrink in the final three months of this year and the first three months of next. The bleak warnings were a blow for George Osborne on the eve of today’s crucial autumn statement. The Chancellor will be hit by another dire growth warning today when the independent Office of Budget Responsibility issues its prediction for economic performance. The OBR will reveal that borrowing has to rise and that Mr Osborne’s plans to eradicate the deficit by 2015 will be blown off course. The Chancellor plans to recast his goal as something to be achieved after five years – giving him until 2016-17 instead. The one glimmer of light is that the record low interest payments the government is making on its debt mean Mr Osborne will have to find £22billion less over the next three years. The Paris-based OECD think-tank warned of a ‘deep depression’ in Europe and beyond if the single currency debt crisis spirals out of control. It said the break-up of the euro was a ‘devastating outcome’ that would trigger ‘massive wealth destruction, bankruptcies and a collapse in confidence’.

http://www.garp.org/risk-news-and-resources/risk-headlines/story.aspx?newsid=38476 Sorry to be the bearer of bad news...

:arghh: hi queensland, really want to come to gold coast, just waiting for visa's to come back, but getting really worried oh will not be able to find work when we get there because of recession, he is a bricklayer but can do other things too like plastering, tiling etc, hearing that there is no work is getting a little worrying and dont no what to do, any advise!!:skeptical:

What says you, my fellow Aussies ? Australia Will Not Go Into a Recession http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000048631 MON 03 OCT 11 | 11:30 PM ETNicki Hutley, Director of KPMG, says that despite the uncertainty, Australia will still do well because of a strong domestic economy.

I know the recession has affected some more than others, but had an interesting chat with a friend of a friend the other day whilst having a coffee in the town. He was a recruitment consultant but is now a self employed cleaner. We had a good old chin wag and he was explaining to me the why's and wherefore's of what he 'thought' were the jobs that 'may' be a little more recession proof than some others. His list went like this: Household cleaners, (self employed) Dog walkers. Leaflet distribution. Personal trainers. House sitting for pets. Strange old list, and I fully admit that the majority of these jobs may never make the money some expect, but you never know, it could be worth giving it a go if your stuck for something. I have done the leaflet distribution, and in all honesty not a lot of money, somewhere like £70-£200 pound a week, (bloody hard work though) all weathers and thankless, but helped at the time, and kept me fit,:yes:. But funnily enough all of them (exception of one, personal trainer) relate to the fact the vast majority of them require no 'specific' qualifications, learn as you go to a degree, experience , etc. So lets have some useful tips on jobs (big and small) where it may help to bring the pennies in, even if you will never become a millionaire that is. Cheers Tony.:wink:

www.news.com.au . Are we heading into recession ? Should we be worried.?

As most of us know we are in the middle of a so called 'Recession', just exactly what that means I will leave down to economists etc, but what I am asking is this. Just what has it meant to you on a very personal level. I'm not asking for you to post details about your income etc, just trying to gauge what it means on a more personal level. Does the recession mean to you, instead of two holidays a year, you now take only one or even none at all. After all holidays could be classed as a 'luxury', so if this is the case does the recession really have an impact on you. Have you had to defer that decision to buy a new car, new conservatory, new swimming pool, new flat screen TV, etc, etc. I am not saying that the types of things I have outlined aren't important, of course they are, if you have worked hard for such things then it is your prerogative to buy what you want. But to some extent the above are to some extent indeed luxuries, and at the end of the day if we had to live without these things we could, very easily in fact. But has the recession had a more 'real' impact on you and your family. Weekly shop now has to be cut down, keeping an eye on how often you use the car, kids not being able to have new school uniform, if you like the more important things in life. A cut back at work, working more hours, are the more 'real' aspects of a reccesion, I think. Or is it our right to expect holidays, cars, the latest gadget, and when such things are taken from us we feel somewhat cheesed off. I only ask as I had a conversation with a friend of a friend yesterday, and he was complaining that instead of going to the south of France this year, (TWICE) they were only going to go once and make do with a short break in Cornwall after that. But to hear him talk it was as if the recession had dealt him a savage blow and he was VERY disgruntled with the fact that he had to forgo one holiday to the south of France. So on a personal level has this economic turn down 'really' affected you in your day to day lives or has it merely had a lesser impact on the more peripheral issues of our times, materialistic goods if you like. Just wondering because as a family we now have to watch our food bill every week, and day to day we are far more careful with our money, we are not poor, just have to be a little bit more careful. It just seems that a few people I know take one or two holidays a year as a given, the latest wide screen TV, latest car, as if they were a right. As I said nothing against people spending their hard earned cash in any way they want, but at times it does seem that we seem peeved when the more peripheral aspects of our lives are sacrificed because of this turn down. Cheers Tony:cool:

Ok. We got our visa granted Dec 08 then the UK economy went down the toilet. Hubby (works in construction) was made redundant and got new job. Company went under, he got a new job again. Company went under, he got a new job with a rolling contract. His contract is up for renewal for 18 month term depending on the company's financial status next month. It may be the case that we are forced to make a decision soon if they don't get funding to continue with their current project and we will likely head to Oz. If he IS offered the contract for 18 months it means we are committed to being here in the UK and delaying our plans again although it would be a great opportunity as he would be Project Manager on the new contract... Main issues are like everyone else at the moment. We can't sell the house. It has dropped in value and then slightly risen again but none of the houses round here are selling at all at present. Some have been on and off the market in our street for the last 2 years. We have no savings left. We nearly lost the house when hubby was paid off time and again. We were all set to head to Oz with nothing. That seemed totally crazy but it was either stay here with nothing or just go for it. Then the new job miraculously sprung up and changed everything. Now it seems mad to NOT take the new contract as we still have nothing to back us up and can't sell the house... We have a toddler and really want to get to Oz before he starts school which would be possible in any respect. I am wary about taking him to the other side of the world (we don't really have much family support but to go to Oz and have none when we have no money or anything just now seems crazy). Anyway, I only really meant to come on here and get some opinions on the situation as there must be others in the same boat. I am just scared that we stay here and are in the same position (or worse) in 18 months time. I just don't know what to do. Is anyone else still here when they have had their visa's for years??? Think we are just delaying the inevitable... :arghh:

:skeptical:Hi everyone Just waiting for our visa's, but were wondering if there is a recession in queensland, my husband is a bricklayer and just wondered what the work situation is like at the moment, we were going to brisbane if that helps.:smile:

What are your 'alternative' plans if you pull the plug on your move to OZ? For us the Oz dream is over. The decison is made and based on the fact that the UK economy and financial world staus will not recover before we are in our late forties/early fifties - 5 to 10 years. Reasons, we would 'lose' significant assets in house devaluation, exchange rates and all other costs in quitting the UK plus the known and hidden costs of setting up a new life in a country that hasnt been in recession and thus has continued to grow, prosper and get more expensive. Brilliant if we had moved out 3 years ago but now we just cannot afford to 'give away' so much of our life savings. The more in assets that you have, the more it costs! For what it would cost us to get our feet on the ground in Oz we could have a three month holiday in Oz every year for the next 10 to 15 years My question is directed to those who are in the same position as us. Do you have a plan B or C or even D? We have had to think 'outside the box'. Maybe a move to a more pleasant part of the UK (We live in the Midlands). Maybe stay where we are and buy a (small) place in France, Spain, Italy but remained domiciled in the UK until things improve and stabilise with a long term aspiration to leave the UK altogether. Maybe wait for 10 years and hope one of our children settles in Oz and enables us to go the contributory parent visa route. Im interested in how the creative/problem solving skills of similarly affected PIO members are dealing with the issues outlined with a view to growing the list of options and alternative plans. I do realise that our analysis and decisions are based on facts and devoid of the utopia/romantic aspirational elements but the above applies to our specific circumstances which Im sure you understand. Thanks for reading.

U.K. Exits Recession at Faster Than Estimated Pace (Update2) - BusinessWeek Thats gotta be good news..... unless it keeps new labour in power!!!:shocked:

Just heard on the news that the UK is finally officially out of recession, does this mean that sterling will get stronger? Thanks

We are a family of five and live in the Midlands. The children are 10, 9, and 6yrs. Mid 2007 we commenced plans to emigrate to Australia. Shortly afterwards a young close family member was taken seriously ill and we had to postpone our plans. The situation came to the saddest of conclusions in July last year. We recommenced our emigration plans late 2009. Our dilemma is in terms of the costs of achieving emigration now compared to 2007, as a direct result of the recession. So much so that we are seriously considering delaying our plans further. Our costs are roughly 1. Agents fees 1500.00 2. Visa 3000.00 3. Police checks 70.00 4. Medicals 1000.00 5. IELTS 150.00 6. Skills assmnt 400.00 7. Air Fares 3500.00 8. Container 5000.00 Additionally our house is currently worth £85,000 less than when it was valued two years ago Add to that the value of £500,000 at todays exchange rate 1.78 v 2007 rates @2.2 = >£100000. In total nearly £200,000. Has anyone else had to delay their plans for similar reasons? When does it just become too expensive to emigrate. OH says we could have a long holiday in Australia for the next 15 years for the monetary value we would need to sacrifice to pursue our plans at the moment.

All things being well I should have my visa by Christmas (it's a RSMS 119 so has top priority) I was asked by my CO to get the medicals & police check etc in this week which I have now done (by the way anyone filled in form 80 - flippin heck!!) So my mind is now going towards the new year when I will be putting my house on the market with the hope of making the big move with my family next June. When I started thinking about making this big journey the Aussie dollar was 2.65 to the pound and my house was worth £395,000 with a mortgage of £265,000 so by my reckoning I had (albeit on paper) £130,000 of equity @ $2.65 or AUS $344,500 which would have been a VERY nice down payment on a house. But with a recession and a plummeting pound and a year later my house is worth £330,000 leaving me with £65,000 and the Dollar is now $1.75 to the £ so by my reckoning that will leave me with AUS $ 113,750 or approximately one third of what it would have been a year (give or take) ago. Does anyone out there have any words of comfort (except for the 'why don't you stay in the UK you moaning face so and so' variety) Daniel

Is the world-wide recession over? TOP THINK-TANK: RECESSION OVER - City AM It is on the news and in the papers that the economy is growing again and house prices are also rising, do you think it is just smoke and mirrors to make us feel better....I do.:mad:

It was announced last night that Germany and France are already emerging from the recession. We ,here in Britain are lagging behind as usual ,with unemployment to rise to 3 million,before a recovery in 2010 . Signs of recovery in the uk are there though, housing sales up 23% in June. As an aside , i feel Europe through Germany and France will be the global mover in the 21st Century, and will knock the US off top spot. We have some bright minds on this form,in relation to economics ,so i would be interested to hear their opinions

Recession will be over by Christmas, says IMF - Times Online I hope they are right.(But I'm not buying any champagne just yet)

Economy beats the odds AUSTRALIA is on track to defy the world and avoid a recession in 2009, beginning a recovery early next year, in the assessment of more than 20 leading economists. The Age's half-yearly economic survey predicts an economic contraction of a mere 0.1 per cent this year followed by a rebound of 0.6 per cent in the year to June 2010..... .....The Macquarie Group was among the most optimistic of the economists pooled in The Age survey, exceeded only by Melbourne University economist Neville Norman, who expects the economy to grow 1.2 per cent this year followed by 2.5 per cent in the year to next June. At the other end of the scale, University of Western Sydney economist Steve Keen expects the economy to contract 3 per cent this year and then contract a record 6 per cent in the year to June.... 4 July 2009

Prime minister Mr Rudd today admitted that a recession will be inevitable,some expert`s are even saying that the unemployment figure could hit 10% by the end of the year.I thought it was bad all ready look`s like that we`re be booking flight`s home very very soon.

Hi all, have heard that Oz is finally entering a recession. I works in sales/account management. Do you think I will have a lot of difficulty finding work in Sydney? Have heard British experience is like gold-dust over there, but I have just started a new job here which I am enjoying so I am not sure about leaving it to go over to Sydney if there is a prospect of not being able to find any work out there.(my boyfriend has just been offered a job there so we are thinking of moving, but I’m worried I wont find one)

How long this recession???huh..

Sunshine State beats NSW as sickest QUEENSLAND has replaced the usual suspect of NSW as the nation’s sickest state and threatens to drag Australia into a prolonged recession. Queensland has by far the worst budget position of all the states, and its citizens face the sharpest fall in living standards as unemployment is forecast to almost double in the next two years, from 4.25per cent to 7.25 per cent.

Some reassuring news for all us Brits concerned with economic down turn in Aus, figures recently officially state that Australia has manage to keep out of recession. Check out the news links below: Australia not in recession | General | Coast news | thedaily.com.au Australia economy recession | Embrace Australia Admittedly they havent missed it by much but should mean that they get out of the slump quickly so dont lose heart people! :v_SPIN:

Lets hope they are right,IMHO it's a bit early to be making that call but hey I'm no economist,if they are right it's good news. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6472439.ece