Grass greener?

[Gary H]

Hi all, long term lurker used this forum 5 years back to research aspects of move.

Spent 5 years in FNQ now, following on from 18 months in uk previously spent 18 years living in Asia as an expat. So very used to being away. Wife and I have lived in 6 countries including UK and here.

We moved to Oz after business and lifestyle in Asia mostly Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore just got too hard. Australia seemed perfect, first world and ability to own land house etc. Inbetween the big move spent just over a year in Uk in a new area away from where we both grew up, left as we grabbed the opportunity for oz

I love my work here, recognize lots of opportunity for us both, live very comfortably and have no financial issues at our current level of lifestyle. In short, life seems perfect. but.......

I am willing to give it all up and try Europe based back in Uk which I left at 22, QLD has surprised me.

Beautiful yes, but cannot stand the heat anymore, cannot swim at 95% of places, over bitey sting things when out bush. We are not soft we lived at one point on an island for 12 years intermittent power, floods, typhoons, dengue etc etc

Social dynamics are stuffed, it borders on a socialist system IMO

I struggle with the culture here banter sucks, booze, redneck mentality, I have found my own views becoming changed after an incident with local drunks (indigenous) Cairns has a real issue with transient interants, yet stand up for yourself your in the wrong as I found out.  Was told wasting our time trying to charge them you, however, have used profanity in public and was cautioned. Yet I was racially abused, spat at and had items snatched from me on the way to work by 4 males in police presence at 8am

The nanny state mentality is really grinding me down, we have considered moving interstate for climate etc, but that would mean a change in work direction in which case may as well go anywhere.

Recently applied for citizenship, told upto 2 years now due to that muppet Dutton and his changes.

So Uk it is, everyone thinks we are mad. Personally, I can't wait for the cooler climate, history everywhere, access to Europe, proper friends again, and access to my ageing parents. Accept that our housing will be vastly different, Uk has its own issues, work well no idea at present. We plan to see out the present work contract, give it another year for citerzenship so at least we have options.

Interesting times ahead, but change is living I guess. No kids in tow, a dog to move who is literally my best mate here (wife aside)

Any tips ?

 

[Marisawright]

You've given it a good try and I can understand why you want to leave.  I'd just say, don't judge the whole of Australia by where you're living now.   

I couldn't live in many parts of country or outback Australia because of the redneck/bogan mentality, but I love living in Melbourne.  I can't stand the heat now either, in fact I struggled even in Sydney - but I find the Melbourne climate very comfortable, and Tasmania would be even more so.  

However, aging parents are an important consideration, and there's no doubt that access to Europe for holidays is a huge attraction of living in the UK.  

Tips?  First, double-check the waiting times for citizenship where you are - it's one thing to stay long enough to qualify, but then you may have to stay up to another year to take your citizenship ceremony (you're not a citizen till you attend the ceremony). 

The big hurdle to be aware of, is you may have no credit rating now, so be prepared to pay six months' rent upfront to get a place to rent.   Don't close your Australian bank accounts or cancel your Aussie credit cards as you'll need them for a while.   You'll be able to "open" an account on day 1 by fronting up at a bank with your passport - they will even let you put money in it.  However, you won't be able to withdraw a cent until you've had a bank interview and provided proof of residence in the UK (e.g. rates notice, electricity bill).  You won't get an overdraft or a credit card at first, either. 

I like Moneycorp for transferring money.  If you join through these forums, they don't charge fees.   There are others and you can compare rates, but you're not likely to save more than a few cents and I found Moneycorp easy to deal with. I particularly liked being able to ring up and talk to a real person who knew their job, not just a call centre twerp.

[bunbury61]

4 hours ago, Gary H said:

Hi all, long term lurker used this forum 5 years back to research aspects of move.

Spent 5 years in FNQ now, following on from 18 months in uk previously spent 18 years living in Asia as an expat. So very used to being away. Wife and I have lived in 6 countries including UK and here.

We moved to Oz after business and lifestyle in Asia mostly Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore just got too hard. Australia seemed perfect, first world and ability to own land house etc. Inbetween the big move spent just over a year in Uk in a new area away from where we both grew up, left as we grabbed the opportunity for oz

I love my work here, recognize lots of opportunity for us both, live very comfortably and have no financial issues at our current level of lifestyle. In short, life seems perfect. but.......

I am willing to give it all up and try Europe based back in Uk which I left at 22, QLD has surprised me.

Beautiful yes, but cannot stand the heat anymore, cannot swim at 95% of places, over bitey sting things when out bush. We are not soft we lived at one point on an island for 12 years intermittent power, floods, typhoons, dengue etc etc

Social dynamics are stuffed, it borders on a socialist system IMO

I struggle with the culture here banter sucks, booze, redneck mentality, I have found my own views becoming changed after an incident with local drunks (indigenous) Cairns has a real issue with transient interants, yet stand up for yourself your in the wrong as I found out.  Was told wasting our time trying to charge them you, however, have used profanity in public and was cautioned. Yet I was racially abused, spat at and had items snatched from me on the way to work by 4 males in police presence at 8am

The nanny state mentality is really grinding me down, we have considered moving interstate for climate etc, but that would mean a change in work direction in which case may as well go anywhere.

Recently applied for citizenship, told upto 2 years now due to that muppet Dutton and his changes.

So Uk it is, everyone thinks we are mad. Personally, I can't wait for the cooler climate, history everywhere, access to Europe, proper friends again, and access to my ageing parents. Accept that our housing will be vastly different, Uk has its own issues, work well no idea at present. We plan to see out the present work contract, give it another year for citerzenship so at least we have options.

Interesting times ahead, but change is living I guess. No kids in tow, a dog to move who is literally my best mate here (wife aside)

Any tips ?

 

Yes from someone , who came back , and lives and works in some of the roughest and idyllic parts of england , sometimes in the same day .

Heres my advice 

1 - choose very carefully where you live , close to family , but not in their pocket 

2 - in my opinion there are 2 englands 

Urban - which can be quite dodgy 

Rural and semi rural ,which can offer a fantastic lifestyle IF you have good schools ,  doctors and hospital , shops and ( in my opinion ) a good rail link., which can then take you anywhere .

3- london and europe is the big one for me - we have done so much of it since coming back - priceless memories

DO IT -'but research where you are going to live , carefully

[Marisawright]

4 minutes ago, bunbury61 said:

in my opinion there are 2 englands 

Urban - which can be quite dodgy 

Rural and semi rural ,which can offer a fantastic lifestyle IF you have good schools ,  doctors and hospital , shops and ( in my opinion ) a good rail link., which can then take you anywhere .

I think that's true, which is the opposite of Australia, I think.   

[Gary H]

Agree, when back for that 18 months we were semi-rural, New Romney, with the eurostar 20 mins away. Its that lifestyle that's drawing us back. Very different from where we grew up in Uk Tilbury which to be blunt is dire, violent and grim as it gets.

 

[LKC]

Completely agree with Bunbury61! We moved to rural Scotland, which is absolutely perfect for us, but we are in easy reach of good transport links (roads, buses, trains) to both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and of course beyond by air.

Work out EXACTLY what it is you want (in terms of lifestyle, jobs, affordability of housing etc), do your research, and you will find the perfect place.

[VERYSTORMY]

Agree with the rural living comments. 

We also moved to rural Scotland. 

We live in a very picturesque village in a very rural area. We have no shop or anything, but do have a village hall. The hall has a cinema where movies are shown and we take our own snack and drinks. It does a range of parties such as Hogmany and others with traditional Scottish music where the entire village basically drinks too much and dances the night away.

We are surrounded by amazing countryside with an ancient woodland with spectacular waterfall. 

At the same time, we are only two miles from a very pretty nice market town that has everything (a small sainsburies and a small Aldi, two excellent craft butchers, a excellwnt fishmonger and a amazing greengrocer, oh and a special mention to the maddest iron monger. We are only half an hour from Glasgow, which today is a brilliant modern city. 

[LKC]

Just now, VERYSTORMY said:

Agree with the rural living comments. 

We also moved to rural Scotland. 

We live in a very picturesque village in a very rural area. We have no shop or anything, but do have a village hall. The hall has a cinema where movies are shown and we take our own snack and drinks. It does a range of parties such as Hogmany and others with traditional Scottish music where the entire village basically drinks too much and dances the night away.

We are surrounded by amazing countryside with an ancient woodland with spectacular waterfall. 

At the same time, we are only two miles from a very pretty nice market town that has everything (a small sainsburies and a small Aldi, two excellent craft butchers, a excellwnt fishmonger and a amazing greengrocer, oh and a special mention to the maddest iron monger. We are only half an hour from Glasgow, which today is a brilliant modern city. 

Sounds similar to where we are, in terms of facilities, VS!  We have a village hall, and I have spent a good few nights drinking and dancing frantically there! I'm actually on the village hall committee now, because I've loved how welcome we've been made to feel here, and feel like I want to give back to the community that has taken us in its arms. My OH and I have actually separated since we moved back to the UK, but I wouldn't consider moving away from our village for a second, even though my family are down in the Midlands. It has been the best move I've ever made. The kids are settled and happy, I'm settled and happy, ex is settled and happy, and life couldn't be better 

[grizzly111]

Gary, your observations regarding Australia are entirely correct. The further North you go, the worse the boganism gets. As I've mentioned previously, Australia is a very young country and does not generally suit those after culture and deep history etc to be honest. Furthermore you have to really like the hot, humid climate (especially in QLD & NT), not be phased by biting insects and have armor for skin vs UV. (Regarding UV - don't underestimate its effects esp. for your children - this is why indigenious peoples are exactly that - their skin is so well adapted to life in Oz naturally!). At least the life in Oz is pretty laid back if you want it to be. But again it depends on your definition of 'laid back'.

The observation that in Oz the more rural/regional areas are the worse areas is an interesting one being the opposite of the UK. I'd have to agree.

I'm in a very similar situation to you. HOWEVER Australia doesn't appear to be offering what I'm after. I have decided that a recon trip back to the UK for a few months initially will be best.

[bunbury61]

On 01/03/2019 at 07:29, Marisawright said:

I think that's true, which is the opposite of Australia, I think.   

A lot of people are leaving the urban areas  - but not emigrating now .

Numbers of british people leaving the u.k for sunnier climbs, is dropping .

When I say leaving , I mean they are moving to other parts of the u.k .

In the pub last night , a lad I know ,who is part of the furniture in the pub , he is always in there .

He has suprised us all , he is moving to woolacombe in devon.

[bunbury61]

Just now, bunbury61 said:

A lot of people are leaving the urban areas  - but not emigrating now .

Numbers of british people leaving the u.k for sunnier climbs, is dropping .

When I say leaving , I mean they are moving to other parts of the u.k .

In the pub last night , a lad I know ,who is part of the furniture in the pub , he is always in there .

He has suprised us all , he is moving to woolacombe in devon.

As I have said many times previously , you can have a fantastic , peaceful life in the u.k ,if you choose correctly 

[grizzly111]

37 minutes ago, bunbury61 said:

As I have said many times previously , you can have a fantastic , peaceful life in the u.k ,if you choose correctly 

That's essentially what I'm after. Any pointers?

[Amber Snowball]

1 hour ago, grizzly111 said:

That's essentially what I'm after. Any pointers?

When I did my reccie back to the uk in 2017 to decide if I really wanted to come back I fell for Shropshire. Not densely populated but quite accessible to other places.

Unfortunately no work that suited me came up, so I have settled in Frodsham in Cheshire. Love it. I am within 30 -45 minutes of Liverpool, Chester, Manchester. I can visit Shropshire from here!

It’s a market town and seems to be a thriving place. Housing is more expensive in terms of the north west but very affordable in comparison to the south east!

Depends what you do for work I suppose as to where you need to be.

I’m originally from West London so a different area for me.

Good luck with your decision wherever you end up!

[Quoll]

I came back to Cambridge because that’s where the olds are. Lovely area but eye watering expensive unfortunately. It’s rural enough but close enough to everything you’re ever likely to need. Our village has a good community thing going on as well. No hills if you need some undulating in your life but that’s my only niggle. However, we’ve been all over the place and I’d say you’re spoiled for choice, there’s lots of places I’d be happy to live in.

[bunbury61]

2 hours ago, grizzly111 said:

That's essentially what I'm after. Any pointers?

This only my personal opinion -

Not tbe south east - too busy, too expensive 

Not the south coast either 

If it was somewhere central , or north  it would be somewhere rural or semi rural - 1000s of places , and close to all facilities and services.

I can travel 30 miles from brum ,and its like going back 50 years ( shipston on stour , south of stratford , has just been voted the best place to live in the midlands )

If you want to go really rural in the midlands,for instance ,parts of herefordshire and shropshire offer that .

 If it was coastal it would be devon ( exeter is a nice town , with an airport)- but again parts of south devon are busy - for me parts of cornwall are just bit too far 

Scotland - wales ???? - I should imagine , parts offer a fantastic lifestyle ,as long as you are witbin easy reach of a big town or city - and good motorway links ,and an airport , for those cheap european trips away.

Iam sure someone will be along with a different opinion

[bunbury61]

27 minutes ago, Quoll said:

I came back to Cambridge because that’s where the olds are. Lovely area but eye watering expensive unfortunately. It’s rural enough but close enough to everything you’re ever likely to need. Our village has a good community thing going on as well. No hills if you need some undulating in your life but that’s my only niggle. However, we’ve been all over the place and I’d say you’re spoiled for choice, there’s lots of places I’d be happy to live in.

Spoilt for choice is spot on quoll

[bunbury61]

1 hour ago, Amber Snowball said:

When I did my reccie back to the uk in 2017 to decide if I really wanted to come back I fell for Shropshire. Not densely populated but quite accessible to other places.

Unfortunately no work that suited me came up, so I have settled in Frodsham in Cheshire. Love it. I am within 30 -45 minutes of Liverpool, Chester, Manchester. I can visit Shropshire from here!

It’s a market town and seems to be a thriving place. Housing is more expensive in terms of the north west but very affordable in comparison to the south east!

Depends what you do for work I suppose as to where you need to be.

I’m originally from West London so a different area for me.

Good luck with your decision wherever you end up!

Spot on amber - it looks like you have chosen well 

 

[Amber Snowball]

13 minutes ago, bunbury61 said:

Spot on amber - it looks like you have chosen well 

 

I think I have! Just coming up 6 months in my new place and have to say I’m not sure I could have done better on my budget. Early days but it feels good!

 I followed your advice from ages ago and avoided the M6 corridor although I am not far from it here.

So between advice from you and watching escape to the country it all worked out!

[LKC]

4 hours ago, grizzly111 said:

That's essentially what I'm after. Any pointers?

Well we ended up in Scotland, and absolutely love it here. We are a bit to the west of Kinross, in a lovely village, and have it all! Great friends and neighbours (we've not lived here before, so they're all new), great community, great schools, easy transport links to Edinburgh, Glasgow, down into England, up north into the Highlands, reasonable housing costs (there are houses in our village worth almost £1million and houses worth £150,000 - everyone just mixes together), great facilities in nearby towns...you really do feel out in the countryside, but so near to everything that Edinburgh and Glasgow have to offer.

We looked at what we didn't want first (near London, Kent, Midlands, East Anglia, South West, Wales) and then looked at what we did want (in terms of job prospects, housing affordability, transport links, good schools...), and then looked at actual areas and narrowed those down based on our criteria. I did a HUGE amount of research, and it seems to have paid off!

[grizzly111]

Thanks for the replies. Yes I would preferably want to avoid London & the home counties due mainly to cost. My goal would be to live (mainly) off investment income so I would need to budget carefully at least to start with for the first year or so. Likely will rent for the first 12-24 months. Get a part time/casual job. Council rates are dear in UK!

Once the market turns around in Australia my plan would be to sell off all property & just lead a comfortable life really. This could take years by my estimations and is dependent on many factors. 

Lots to consider but all replies are much appreciated!

[Home and Happy]

10 hours ago, grizzly111 said:

Thanks for the replies. Yes I would preferably want to avoid London & the home counties due mainly to cost. My goal would be to live (mainly) off investment income so I would need to budget carefully at least to start with for the first year or so. Likely will rent for the first 12-24 months. Get a part time/casual job. Council rates are dear in UK!

Once the market turns around in Australia my plan would be to sell off all property & just lead a comfortable life really. This could take years by my estimations and is dependent on many factors. 

Lots to consider but all replies are much appreciated!

We hated it down there...the heat,  the isolated location, culture etc the whole thing was awful for us.  Been home 10 years now and loving it.  U.K. is far from perfect but for us there is no better place to be. The only advice I have is  ...Get a plan and go for it.