A few questions and a little background :)

[Lavers]

3 hours ago, Vickie78 said:

That's fine, I actually held him back when he started school here as that was the advice given for Boys... Stupidly though I realise now as he is well above his peers academically so if we were to move to the U.K I have no doubt he would slot in nicely so don't think that would be an issue. 

Kids adapt quickly so I doubt there will be an issue. 

Majority of schools will be pretty much of the same standard so i wouldn't worry too much about that and also the pension thing....without sounding miserable you have to make it to it first haha also if you paid contributions before 2016 like your mum then you only have to pay 30yrs to get the full state pension.

You do what you think Is the right thing to do and like most people on the forum say the cost of living between the 2 countries pretty much work out the same.

Regarding the renting not sure if you have to pay so much rent upfront although I've not rented for the past 10yrs, but back then you paid a month in advance and your bond was a months rent.

Credit rating will build up quickly over 12months but start with a mobile phone then a credit card (rates will be high to start) but use it to buy your shopping etc and just pay the balance off every month. For a free credit report look at mse credit club it's free and tells you everything you need to know and also gives you the likely hood of getting a certain credit card or loan so you dont effect your credit rating when it starts increasing.

[Vickie78]

51 minutes ago, Lavers said:

Kids adapt quickly so I doubt there will be an issue. 

Majority of schools will be pretty much of the same standard so i wouldn't worry too much about that and also the pension thing....without sounding miserable you have to make it to it first haha also if you paid contributions before 2016 like your mum then you only have to pay 30yrs to get the full state pension.

You do what you think Is the right thing to do and like most people on the forum say the cost of living between the 2 countries pretty much work out the same.

Regarding the renting not sure if you have to pay so much rent upfront although I've not rented for the past 10yrs, but back then you paid a month in advance and your bond was a months rent.

Credit rating will build up quickly over 12months but start with a mobile phone then a credit card (rates will be high to start) but use it to buy your shopping etc and just pay the balance off every month. For a free credit report look at mse credit club it's free and tells you everything you need to know and also gives you the likely hood of getting a certain credit card or loan so you dont effect your credit rating when it starts increasing.

Thank you for your advice, much appreciate it and will take it all on board  

eta: just had a quick look at mse seems to be like the Aussie version called get credit score, my credit rating is great here, but I know it means diddly squat over there. 

Edited July 5, 2019 by Vickie78

[Lavers]

50 minutes ago, Vickie78 said:

Thank you for your advice, much appreciate it and will take it all on board  

eta: just had a quick look at mse seems to be like the Aussie version called get credit score, my credit rating is great here, but I know it means diddly squat over there. 

No problem...just another note though and i'm not saying that you are but have a serious think about the move if its because you are running away from things and hoping for a better life, as it could become a bad move.

[Vickie78]

1 hour ago, Lavers said:

No problem...just another note though and i'm not saying that you are but have a serious think about the move if its because you are running away from things and hoping for a better life, as it could become a bad move.

Not running away from anything, except a longing to be home  

[Amber Snowball]

2 hours ago, Lavers said:

Kids adapt quickly so I doubt there will be an issue. 

Majority of schools will be pretty much of the same standard so i wouldn't worry too much about that and also the pension thing....without sounding miserable you have to make it to it first haha also if you paid contributions before 2016 like your mum then you only have to pay 30yrs to get the full state pension.

You do what you think Is the right thing to do and like most people on the forum say the cost of living between the 2 countries pretty much work out the same.

Regarding the renting not sure if you have to pay so much rent upfront although I've not rented for the past 10yrs, but back then you paid a month in advance and your bond was a months rent.

Credit rating will build up quickly over 12months but start with a mobile phone then a credit card (rates will be high to start) but use it to buy your shopping etc and just pay the balance off every month. For a free credit report look at mse credit club it's free and tells you everything you need to know and also gives you the likely hood of getting a certain credit card or loan so you dont effect your credit rating when it starts increasing.

I have to say I haven’t been able to get a credit score up online for me, as I only have 1 year of address history since arriving back last June. Most sites ask for 3 years. 

Halifax have been fab and gave me a mortgage at the advertised rate straight away. Thought I’d be shafted having only arrived 2 weeks before but no they were great.

I should probably make more of an effort to build my score.....

To the OP you may find if you can show your savings balance you won’t have to shell out 6 months up front, depends on the agent. I spoke to a couple who weren’t that fussed.

[Vickie78]

43 minutes ago, Amber Snowball said:

I have to say I haven’t been able to get a credit score up online for me, as I only have 1 year of address history since arriving back last June. Most sites ask for 3 years. 

Halifax have been fab and gave me a mortgage at the advertised rate straight away. Thought I’d be shafted having only arrived 2 weeks before but no they were great.

I should probably make more of an effort to build my score.....

To the OP you may find if you can show your savings balance you won’t have to shell out 6 months up front, depends on the agent. I spoke to a couple who weren’t that fussed.

Good to know! I don't mind doing it, but it would be nice to not have to  

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, Lavers said:

Regarding the renting not sure if you have to pay so much rent upfront

Credit rating will build up quickly over 12months but start with a mobile phone then a credit card 

You're right that rent is normally a month's bond plus a month in advance, but that only applies if you have a credit rating.  If you have no credit rating, it's six months upfront.  It may depend on where you are - if you're somewhere the rental market is slow, I daresay agents will be more lax.  Where we were in the south of England, agents were totally unimpressed by our (substantial) savings balance, but the rental market was very competitive there so they didn't have to make concessions.

If you read Money Saving Expert, you'll see that building a credit rating doesn't happen quickly, it can take 2 or 3 years.  I had no problem getting a mobile phone when I first arrived in the UK, despite having no credit rating - but I couldn't get a credit card.  After a couple of months, my bank gave me a credit card with a limit of 250 pounds!   I seem to recall that MSE recommends some credit cards that are designed for those with poor credit and suggest using those to build your rating.

Happily, getting a mortgage seems to be tied more to income than credit rating.

Edited July 5, 2019 by Marisawright

[CJT]

1 hour ago, Vickie78 said:

Not running away from anything, except a longing to be home  

Good luck with the move, people only pointing out pension thing as we would hate for you to have an oh sh!t moment in the future.  As long as you know where you stand then all good.  FYI I felt the same way as you and moved back to the UK in 2016 - the thought of getting old out in Australia filled me with complete dread. Fitted straight back in and loving being back.

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, Vickie78 said:

Not running away from anything, except a longing to be home  

That's what I thought.  I sensed that for you and your Mum, it was that feeling that you had never really settled and still think of England as "home".   I think, when someone feels like that, then you've just got to do it - even if it might mean you're less well off financially.   I only mentioned the finance/pension side of things so you can plan effectively.

You'll see  people trying to put you off because we see a lot of people moving back for other reasons, and often they're not good reasons. Some say, "I want my old life back" - that's never going to work because their old life is gone, the scars they created by leaving have healed over and their family and friends have moved on.   Some talk about how Australia has "gone to the dogs", seemingly unwilling to believe that politics and the economy are just as bad in the UK as in Oz.   Others just have itchy feet and will probably never settle completely anywhere.

[Vickie78]

Don't get me wrong Australia has had it's good moments, and I'm not knocking it. It's as you say I've never felt at home here, mum hasn't either and to be honest I wanted to go Home years ago, but then life happened and I met someone, we had kids and then his father passed away and that progressed to him pushing us away and deciding he didn't want to be with us anymore and well quite frankly that was the last straw and my big kick up the arse to go home, nothing else keeping me here anymore.

He doesn't really spend any time with his kids, has given his blessing in terms of signing anything he needs to allow me to get passports etc and so on to take them home and yeah, I'm fully aware it's not going to be the same, or easy or any of that. But the thought of just being back where I belong, that nagging feeling that has never gone away, well that to me is more important than money.  New beginning/fresh start and my time to shine! (I've always put everyone/thing before me). 

[Jon the Hat]

You deciding factor on location is probably going to be getting work.  What do you do?

It is worth noting that trades and so froth don't necessarily pay as well in the UK, so also worth getting online to look at salaries.  Reed.co.uk is the equivalent of seek.com.au

Edited July 5, 2019 by Jon the Hat

[Martinbjulieb]

11 hours ago, Marisawright said:

You're right that rent is normally a month's bond plus a month in advance, but that only applies if you have a credit rating.  If you have no credit rating, it's six months upfront.  It may depend on where you are - if you're somewhere the rental market is slow, I daresay agents will be more lax.  Where we were in the south of England, agents were totally unimpressed by our (substantial) savings balance, but the rental market was very competitive there so they didn't have to make concessions.

If you read Money Saving Expert, you'll see that building a credit rating doesn't happen quickly, it can take 2 or 3 years.  I had no problem getting a mobile phone when I first arrived in the UK, despite having no credit rating - but I couldn't get a credit card.  After a couple of months, my bank gave me a credit card with a limit of 250 pounds!   I seem to recall that MSE recommends some credit cards that are designed for those with poor credit and suggest using those to build your rating.

Happily, getting a mortgage seems to be tied more to income than credit rating.

We only paid one month in advance and a bond. I am sure it depends on the landlord/agent. We got character references from our employers/friends which no doubt helped. 

[VERYSTORMY]

We also only paid one month rent and bond and that was renting in one of the most sought after areas of the U.K.- central Windsor. 

[Vickie78]

21 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

You deciding factor on location is probably going to be getting work.  What do you do?

It is worth noting that trades and so froth don't necessarily pay as well in the UK, so also worth getting online to look at salaries.  Reed.co.uk is the equivalent of seek.com.au

I work in I.T Q.A/Testing etc 

[Parley]

The UK pension seems very low. I don't know pensioners can possibly survive on that.

At least in Australia the pension is about $900 per fortnight and there is no requirement to have been paying any contributions to get it either.

I think anyone moving back to live in old age needs to have a good amount of superannuation and able to have a home paid off or it will be a very miserable existence. No way you could have a good life on 150 quid a week.

[Rosiegirl]

We're hoping move back in around 5 years.  What is considered a good amount of super? I was thinking maybe $500,000 at least for a couple - is this a reasonable amount? Or can you get away with less.  Obviously the more in super the better but what is a good ball park figure?

6 hours ago, Parley said:

I think anyone moving back to live in old age needs to have a good amount of superannuation

 

Edited July 14, 2019 by Rosiegirl

[Lavers]

6 hours ago, Parley said:

The UK pension seems very low. I don't know pensioners can possibly survive on that.

At least in Australia the pension is about $900 per fortnight and there is no requirement to have been paying any contributions to get it either.

I think anyone moving back to live in old age needs to have a good amount of superannuation and able to have a home paid off or it will be a very miserable existence. No way you could have a good life on 150 quid a week.

If you haven't paid in much NI in the UK then you wont even get that will you?

Then like you say if you need to pay for rent then your done for.

[Marisawright]

16 minutes ago, Rosiegirl said:

We're hoping move back in around 5 years.  What is considered a good amount of super? I was thinking maybe $500,000 at least for a couple - is this a reasonable amount? Or can you get away with less.  Obviously the more in super the better but what is a good ball park figure?

If you are planning to move back to the UK to retire, and you are planning to leave before you're receiving the Australian aged pension, then I'd say that's not enough.  The UK pension isn't much and you won't be able to get the Australian one.

If you're thinking of retiring to one of the European countries that lets you claim the Australian pension then I'd say you'll be fine.

[Marisawright]

20 minutes ago, Lavers said:

If you haven't paid in much NI in the UK then you wont even get that will you?

Then like you say if you need to pay for rent then your done for.

Anyone who has to rely entirely on the government pension, whether in Australia or the UK, probably can't afford to change countries anyway.

But a reminder that some people would rather be skint than clinically depressed.  And for some people, living in a foreign country makes them clinically depressed (it's called exogenous depression).  The only cure is to go home. 

When replying to people who're contemplating a return, I always try to assess whether they're just having a "grass is greener" moment, or whether they're one of those people who will always feel like a piece of themselves is missing until they're back on home soil (and I'm surprised how common such people are, and how they often don't realise it themselves until they've been overseas a while and the feeling of adventure wears off). 

Edited July 14, 2019 by Marisawright

[Parley]

1 hour ago, Rosiegirl said:

We're hoping move back in around 5 years.  What is considered a good amount of super? I was thinking maybe $500,000 at least for a couple - is this a reasonable amount? Or can you get away with less.  Obviously the more in super the better but what is a good ball park figure?

 

$500K is definitely more than many people retire on.

It is hard to know for sure because it depends on how long you will live and the sort of lifestyle you will be happy with.

The first priority I believe is to have a fully paid off home. So if you have that and $500K in Super then I think you are in pretty good shape. In Australia at least they say the sweet spot is to have about $700K because you still get part pension and concession entitlement. If you have more in Super eg $1M you lose pension and entitlements.

The rules can change too so it is hard to know.

Personally I think when I have about $800K in Super I'll be happy. Then you can have the overseas holidays and new cars etc every so often.

[Tulip1]

9 hours ago, Parley said:

The UK pension seems very low. I don't know pensioners can possibly survive on that.

At least in Australia the pension is about $900 per fortnight and there is no requirement to have been paying any contributions to get it either.

I think anyone moving back to live in old age needs to have a good amount of superannuation and able to have a home paid off or it will be a very miserable existence. No way you could have a good life on 150 quid a week.

Pensioners that have nothing but a state pension get their income topped up by something called pension credit.  This is around £250 per month. . Pensioners on a low income that rent their home would get it all or at very least a huge part of their rent paid for by housing benefit. They would also pay no or very little council tax. No you probably couldn’t have a good life on it but it was never meant to provide a luxury life.  It was meant to live on and it does that.  

[Tulip1]

3 hours ago, Lavers said:

If you haven't paid in much NI in the UK then you wont even get that will you?

Then like you say if you need to pay for rent then your done for.

No you’re not as if your income falls below a certain amount then your rent would be paid for by housing benefit. If you haven’t paid much or any NI contributions then you would get little or no state pension but you’d just get another benefit with a different name. The uk don’t leave pensioners to starve to death in the street  because they haven’t paid NI contributions, you will always get a certain amount regardless of what name that hand out is called. 

[Marisawright]

3 hours ago, Parley said:

$500K is definitely more than many people retire on.

Yes, but this would be someone going back to the UK late in life, with no Australian government pension and no British government pension either, so that money would be all they have to live on for the rest of their lives. 

It would be a different story if they had a government pension, even a part one, from one govt or the other.

Edited July 14, 2019 by Marisawright

[Chortlepuss]

It’s difficult when you move back to build your credit rating up. When I moved back (for 16 months) I had to apply for one of those dodgy credit cards for high risk people! It had a horrendous interest rate but I put what I could on it, making sure it was paid off each month. My bank (been with them over 30 years) wouldn’t give me a low balance credit card despite me having lots of cash in my account. Good luck with your move home!

[Vickie78]

On 23/07/2019 at 08:35, Chortlepuss said:

It’s difficult when you move back to build your credit rating up. When I moved back (for 16 months) I had to apply for one of those dodgy credit cards for high risk people! It had a horrendous interest rate but I put what I could on it, making sure it was paid off each month. My bank (been with them over 30 years) wouldn’t give me a low balance credit card despite me having lots of cash in my account. Good luck with your move home!

I have read similar around, got to do what we have to do I guess. It will work out eventually. Thank you