Marisawright Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I'm posting this for myself more than anything, just to get my head in order. Any comments welcome though! We've almost decided to go back to the UK. Tax on investments was the biggest obstacle but, thanks to someone on these forums, I realise I'd always planned to sell my investment property one day - so it makes very little difference whether I sell now or later. Selling now will avoid the biggest tax penalty. Tax on other Aussie investments (bank) would be only 10%, I can live with that. The downside is that we'll have to wait until the property is sold, as I can't risk being classed as a non-resident for Capital Gains Tax. The second concern was pensions. Under current rules we won't be able to claim our Aussie government pensions at all - but barring accidents, we'll have too many assets to claim the pension till we're in our 70's anyway, so we've decided to cross that bridge when we come to it. A lot can change in regulations in that time. We would also be taxed on any pension we got from our superannuation, but we won't have to decide what to do with that for a few years yet. On the plus side, I'll be able to use some of my Australian work record to qualify for the full UK pension, which I'll get from the day I'm old enough. The last concern was cost of moving. What if we move, and hate it? Relocating a household can drain one's savings, as everyone here knows. We've decided to deal with that by having a "soft launch". We already have a storage unit which will fit most of our belongings, so we'll pack it to the gunwhales and travel as if we're going on a year's sabbatical. That should be easier in the UK than in Australia, as it's far more common for flats to be leased furnished. If, after a year or two, we decide we want to move permanently, then we'll come back to Oz - we'll probably want to make a visit anyway. We can then arrange to move our belongings over (and dispose of what we don't want). On the other hand, if we've had enough by then, we can come back and we haven't burned our boats. It all sounds very logical. Why, then, am I so reluctant to get on with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 You have been in Australia a long time - the person that moved there in 1985 was probably very different to the person you are now and the country you left will have changed a lot too so it is perfectly reasonable to have anxieties and that is probably what is holding you back. The tricky thing I guess is working out whether it is natural anxiety and to feel the fear an do it anyway or whether that nagging voice in side should be listened to. Your soft launch plan goes some way to mitigate the risks - it is what we originally planned to do, have a 'working holiday' in the UK for a year and then decide where we would rather be. We would have kept our house in Australia rented out and moved back for a year to orchestrate a permanent move home if that was what we decided. We didn't consider if that would have had CGT implications but as we would have been living in the house when we sold it & for 3 of the previous 4 years I presume not. In the end we were so certain moving back was the right thing that we just went for it. We did keep our house plans so we could re-build it if we decides to move back Could you make it an even softer launch, don't sell up yet and just plan for a years sabbatical in the UK? It means you would have to return for a while but maybe that would get you over the impasse? @fizzybangs did something like that - I know she had pension challenges too. Would you be moving back to Scotland? Is there anything I can do to help? When we move next month we will be renting out our house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I am not completely convinced about our move back to the UK. We don't want to/can't really afford to ping ping so it IS a really big decision, even though we are moving "home". The trouble is, after almost 11 years home is also here in Brisbane. I KNOW I am going to feel torn and wonder if we did the right thing, despite viewing it all as an adventure and being excited by the travel opportunities, British culture, time with family etc. I think some reluctance is normal and you have been here (and been happy here) a long time so that would only exacerbate those feelings. In some ways it's tough being happy in both places as there is no sense of relief/immediate belonging on arriving back in either place which can make it hard to truly feel you have done the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) Could you make it an even softer launch, don't sell up yet and just plan for a years sabbatical in the UK? It means you would have to return for a while but maybe that would get you over the impasse? @fizzybangs did something like that - I know she had pension challenges too. Would you be moving back to Scotland? Is there anything I can do to help? When we move next month we will be renting out our house We sold our house two years ago (major problems with a leaky roof and a psychotic neighbour) and didn't buy again because we were contemplating a move - so it wouldn't make sense to keep our rented house. The only reason we haven't made a decision before now is that my husband had a skin cancer scare and no sooner had we got over that, than I found out I needed a major spinal operation - which I had done in October,. I just got the final all-clear from my surgeon yesterday that I can go back to normal activity, provided I don't want to play first grade rugby league (in which case he'd advise me to wait another three months). :yes: We're looking at moving to the South of England. My youngest sister and her family, two of my nieces and one of my nephews live down South, and my older sister keeps threatening to move from Aberdeen to be closer to the grandkids (plus she misses the weather there and her husband is from Surrey). However we are thinking of spending some time in Scotland before we take on a permanent rental! Edited July 3, 2014 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 I am not completely convinced about our move back to the UK. We don't want to/can't really afford to ping ping so it IS a really big decision, even though we are moving "home". The trouble is, after almost 11 years home is also here in Brisbane. I KNOW I am going to feel torn and wonder if we did the right thing, despite viewing it all as an adventure and being excited by the travel opportunities, British culture, time with family etc. I think some reluctance is normal and you have been here (and been happy here) a long time so that would only exacerbate those feelings. In some ways it's tough being happy in both places as there is no sense of relief/immediate belonging on arriving back in either place which can make it hard to truly feel you have done the right thing. Aunt Agatha, I think we're pretty much in the same place - and we're even looking at the same places, as my preference is to go to Bristol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 How funny if we both end up Bristolians (is that a word?) When will you make the move? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 How funny if we both end up Bristolians (is that a word?) When will you make the move? We need to get the investment property sold first, so that will be the big decider. It's a Defence Housing Authority property which means it may take a while to sell - it has been a brilliant investment for me, but apparently a lot of people are put off by the high management fees Defence charges, so they can stick on the market for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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