Anyone done the living in Australia AND UK (6 month here 6 months there ish)and got some advice?

[The ette]

Having spent the last 14 years living in Sydney (we are both originally from the UK) we are looking to spend a period of time here and sometime there .. initially thinking 6 months split. Or a trial for 3 months this year more next year ....This is due to elderly parents and grandchildren in Scotland. My husband has his own business that can be remote, so work would only be an issue for me. I guess we'd love some thoughts about how others have made it work? Such as how do two homes work? Buy/rent?? Getting short term work and setting up again in the UK, Doctors, mobiles Internet et etc. We still have banking in the UK thankfully! Thinking London or Edinburgh. Probably heaps we haven't thought of!!! Any input?

[starlight7]

Its ok when you are youngish but as you get older you might find the journey too long . I guess that would decide itself though. A friend did similar- 3 months uk, 9 months Australia but after about 9 or 10 years he went to live permanently back in the uk- not that he wanted to but his wife did.

[Amber Snowball]

Would there be tax issues? Y’know in terms of where are you resident?

It sounds fab!

[Gbye grey sky]

1 hour ago, The ette said:

Having spent the last 14 years living in Sydney (we are both originally from the UK) we are looking to spend a period of time here and sometime there .. initially thinking 6 months split. Or a trial for 3 months this year more next year ....This is due to elderly parents and grandchildren in Scotland. My husband has his own business that can be remote, so work would only be an issue for me. I guess we'd love some thoughts about how others have made it work? Such as how do two homes work? Buy/rent?? Getting short term work and setting up again in the UK, Doctors, mobiles Internet et etc. We still have banking in the UK thankfully! Thinking London or Edinburgh. Probably heaps we haven't thought of!!! Any input?

One of my first concerns would be tax complexity.  I think an even split would be problematic as it would help to have primary residence in one or the other.  Long term there are pensions, inheritance tax etc issues to consider.  A long chat with a suitably qualified accountant plus a financial advisor would be essential in my view.

[The ette]

Yes, that fight is LONG, we do it twice a year at the moment so that would be a saving in cost and time! 

The tax issue we'd need to investigate, my husband would be paid here in Aus - so main issue would be conversion rates I suppose. 

[ramot]

52 minutes ago, The ette said:

Having spent the last 14 years living in Sydney (we are both originally from the UK) we are looking to spend a period of time here and sometime there .. initially thinking 6 months split. Or a trial for 3 months this year more next year ....This is due to elderly parents and grandchildren in Scotland. My husband has his own business that can be remote, so work would only be an issue for me. I guess we'd love some thoughts about how others have made it work? Such as how do two homes work? Buy/rent?? Getting short term work and setting up again in the UK, Doctors, mobiles Internet et etc. We still have banking in the UK thankfully! Thinking London or Edinburgh. Probably heaps we haven't thought of!!! Any input?

I have 2 examples that might help.

Although not the quite the same scenario I lived between Brunei  and England for 10 years  due to my husband’s work, but our children were in UK, only joining us for holidays, it was always temporary.but I never quite felt I lived or quite belonged  in either. There was this continual feeling of having to readjust between 2 sets of friends and lifestyle. A silly annoying thing for example was going to use something in one house and realising it was in the other.

Our original plan when my husband retired was to live 6 months in Australia and England. When the time came I knew I needed to make one place home. 2 of our children followed us to live in Australia and have married and made Australia home. Our oldest son will never leave England, and our only 2 grandchildren are there, so it’s important to see them lots.

We have been going back for about 3 months every year for over 14 years. It was very difficult to get a rental for less than 6 months originally, but Airbnb makes it easy now.

It isn’t a cheap option by the time you have paid airfares and rental. Also it’s tempting to go off for a holiday while there. Something many People find when back in UK is that you seem to do all the visiting. We usually rent a 2 bed flat as we like our own front door, with an open invitation to friends to stay. Hardly anyone does, I have no idea why. Also we find that we have to totally fit in with our sons family commitments, often seeing less of them than we anticipated. Obviously we don’t live in their pockets, but they are the main reason we go back, best I don’t bring my DIL into the post, but her parents are local and take priority over us.

After over 27 years of flying between 2 countries its getting harder now we are older, and we are both very used to flying,

We do own property in England, but even though it seems a good idea to rent it out while not there, the reality is that it’s a hard decision to ask good tenants to leave, it’s a very expensive option to leave it empty.

So it’s a personal decision, but I know we made the right decision staying the majority of the year in one country.

 

 

[Tulip1]

I agree with what the others have said. I think it would get too much going back and forth, certainly for most people it would. The tax issue would need to be discussed with an expert as I’m sure there would be some problems there. I’m sure they can be dealt with but you’d need guidance to get it right. As for getting temporary work, depends what you do/would be happy to do. If you have good office/secretarial experience, there are many agencies who have lots of temp work. Other work areas are available too. Again that area needs guidance on as to how you get taxed. I’m not sure where you’d stand re the nhs. For example if you live in Oz you can’t just turn up in the UK and get nhs treatment. If you needed treatment a week after you’ve arrived could you prove you are resident? I think in general someone needs to be habitually resident in one country. It may make things easier to do a 7month/5 month split then you are mostly in one country. An expert could confirm all this.  One thing I thought of, for some doing that would mean they’re not really settled anywhere. Many people are members of clubs/have regular groups of people they do things with. That would become harder I think. Some you could just dip in and out of but I think many people wouldn’t bother making the effort if they were up and on the move again months later. In principle it sounds lovely, I’d happily escape the British winter for a few months. Good luck with it all. 

[Tulip1]

17 minutes ago, The ette said:

Yes, that fight is LONG, we do it twice a year at the moment so that would be a saving in cost and time! 

The tax issue we'd need to investigate, my husband would be paid here in Aus - so main issue would be conversion rates I suppose. 

But if you’re working there and here where would you be taxed?  Alan from Go Matilda is a tax accountant and he does have a good reputation on this forum. 

[Tulip1]

12 minutes ago, ramot said:

I have 2 examples that might help.

Although not the quite the same scenario I lived between Brunei  and England for 10 years  due to my husband’s work, but our children were in UK, only joining us for holidays, it was always temporary.but I never quite felt I lived or quite belonged  in either. There was this continual feeling of having to readjust between 2 sets of friends and lifestyle. A silly annoying thing for example was going to use something in one house and realising it was in the other.

Our original plan when my husband retired was to live 6 months in Australia and England. When the time came I knew I needed to make one place home. 2 of our children followed us to live in Australia and have married and made Australia home. Our oldest son will never leave England, and our only 2 grandchildren are there, so it’s important to see them lots.

We have been going back for about 3 months every year for over 14 years. It was very difficult to get a rental for less than 6 months originally, but Airbnb makes it easy now.

It isn’t a cheap option by the time you have paid airfares and rental. Also it’s tempting to go off for a holiday while there. Something many People find when back in UK is that you seem to do all the visiting. We usually rent a 2 bed flat as we like our own front door, with an open invitation to friends to stay. Hardly anyone does, I have no idea why. Also we find that we have to totally fit in with our sons family commitments, often seeing less of them than we anticipated. Obviously we don’t live in their pockets, but they are the main reason we go back, best I don’t bring my DIL into the post, but her parents are local and take priority over us.

After over 27 years of flying between 2 countries its getting harder now we are older, and we are both very used to flying,

We do own property in England, but even though it seems a good idea to rent it out while not there, the reality is that it’s a hard decision to ask good tenants to leave, it’s a very expensive option to leave it empty.

So it’s a personal decision, but I know we made the right decision staying the majority of the year in one country.

 

 

Sums it up perfectly. 

[ramot]

21 minutes ago, ramot said:

I have 2 examples that might help.

Although not the quite the same scenario I lived between Brunei  and England for 10 years  due to my husband’s work, but our children were in UK, only joining us for holidays, it was always temporary.but I never quite felt I lived or quite belonged  in either. There was this continual feeling of having to readjust between 2 sets of friends and lifestyle. A silly annoying thing for example was going to use something in one house and realising it was in the other.

Our original plan when my husband retired was to live 6 months in Australia and England. When the time came I knew I needed to make one place home. 2 of our children followed us to live in Australia and have married and made Australia home. Our oldest son will never leave England, and our only 2 grandchildren are there, so it’s important to see them lots.

We have been going back for about 3 months every year for over 14 years. It was very difficult to get a rental for less than 6 months originally, but Airbnb makes it easy now.

It isn’t a cheap option by the time you have paid airfares and rental. Also it’s tempting to go off for a holiday while there. Something many People find when back in UK is that you seem to do all the visiting. We usually rent a 2 bed flat as we like our own front door, with an open invitation to friends to stay. Hardly anyone does, I have no idea why. Also we find that we have to totally fit in with our sons family commitments, often seeing less of them than we anticipated. Obviously we don’t live in their pockets, but they are the main reason we go back, best I don’t bring my DIL into the post, but her parents are local and take priority over us.

After over 27 years of flying between 2 countries its getting harder now we are older, and we are both very used to flying,

We do own property in England, but even though it seems a good idea to rent it out while not there, the reality is that it’s a hard decision to ask good tenants to leave, it’s a very expensive option to leave it empty.

So it’s a personal decision, but I know we made the right decision staying the majority of the year in one country.

 

 

Reference the tax situation, in our case as we only got PR last year and all our income comes from UK, we were taxed in UK. We are in the process of sorting it all out now, and it’s not simple, but our circumstances are probably different.

Alan Collett an MA who posts on PIO is also a tax expert and knowledgeable about the tax situation. I wouldn’t presume to give any tax advice as everyone’s situation is different.and I know nothing except time spent in each country could be relevant as is domicile, resident, ordinarily resident etc 

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, The ette said:

The tax issue we'd need to investigate, my husband would be paid here in Aus - so main issue would be conversion rates I suppose. 

Actually, the main issue is where you would be regarded as legally resident.  It doesn't matter where either of you is paid, it's where you're legally domiciled that decides your tax liability.  It could get complicated if you're doing 6 months in each country and have a home of some kind in both places.  A consultation with someone who's knowledgeable about cross-border tax would be absolutely essential.

[ramot]

1 hour ago, ramot said:

Reference the tax situation, in our case as we only got PR last year and all our income comes from UK, we were taxed in UK. We are in the process of sorting it all out now, and it’s not simple, but our circumstances are probably different.

Alan Collett an MA who posts on PIO is also a tax expert and knowledgeable about the tax situation. I wouldn’t presume to give any tax advice as everyone’s situation is different.and I know nothing except time spent in each country could be relevant as is domicile, resident, ordinarily resident etc 

Also we have a Will in both countries as we have assets in both, trust me it’s complicated, inheritance tax doesn’t help. We are trying to simplify and organise everything, as we are eligible for citizenship this year and don’t know if that changes our UK liability . If it works in our favour to have nothing left in UK reference inheritance tax then that sounds like a plan, but we don’t have all the answers yet, and I don’t want to post anything incorrect.

[AliQ]

On 23/02/2020 at 07:15, The ette said:

Having spent the last 14 years living in Sydney (we are both originally from the UK) we are looking to spend a period of time here and sometime there .. initially thinking 6 months split. Or a trial for 3 months this year more next year ....This is due to elderly parents and grandchildren in Scotland. My husband has his own business that can be remote, so work would only be an issue for me. I guess we'd love some thoughts about how others have made it work? Such as how do two homes work? Buy/rent?? Getting short term work and setting up again in the UK, Doctors, mobiles Internet et etc. We still have banking in the UK thankfully! Thinking London or Edinburgh. Probably heaps we haven't thought of!!! Any input?

Love the idea, but I would find coordinating the day to day issues every six months too irritating these days. It was hard work setting up life back here in the UK once, never mind having to do it again and notify a change of address every six months. 

If your circumstances allow, I'd suggest a trial of living here first. It's been an eye opener for us !

Good luck with your decision.

 

[The ette]

Thanks, everyone, some great points made here, really appreciate the insight. I think we need to consider where is the base (home) and how much time to split between the two, once we've investigated tax, residency options etc.  

[Chortlepuss]

I’m really interested in this as hope to do similar. I’ve written off the idea of splitting time between Aus & UK properties - too difficult to leave one unoccupied - trouble is bulk of my income will come from UK and assets in Australia and UK. I want to visit the UK for at least 3 months of year. Living in Brisbane so choosing when to go in the year is tough - Spring UK is sublime but not sure how many more Brissie summers I can bear. Would Jan/Feb be better in UK or Brisbane (I never thought I’d have to ask myself that!) Current thinking is to sell UK house, upgrade my Aus house and try to get a house swap or house sitter and furnished rental in UK I would prefer to retire in UK but kids are in Australia and one in particular needs us around. It’s tough! 

[AliQ]

14 minutes ago, Chortlepuss said:

Would Jan/Feb be better in UK or Brisbane

Jan / Feb in the UK is a tad grim, we're here now. Obviously the weather varies from year to year but we've found it so so cold and dull. 

Having said that, we like wrapping up in layers and getting out for a walk, then getting a drink in the local pub sitting by a real fire, now that's nice

[TBD]

On 23/02/2020 at 10:49, ramot said:

Also we have a Will in both countries as we have assets in both, trust me it’s complicated, inheritance tax doesn’t help. We are trying to simplify and organise everything, as we are eligible for citizenship this year and don’t know if that changes our UK liability . If it works in our favour to have nothing left in UK reference inheritance tax then that sounds like a plan, but we don’t have all the answers yet, and I don’t want to post anything incorrect.

Do I understand right - you have two wills, one in Australia and one in the UK? So will have (or try to have) two separate estates, one in each jurisdiction?