Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 10 minutes ago, FirstWorldProblems said: Honestly, it's one thing to know it intellectually and another to be faced with it. It doesn't affect everyone, but we do hear quite a lot from people on this and other forums who have struggled with it. Everything from it being such a major hassle that they can't be bothered to do it, and the expense being prohibitive for some, to some really sad tales of not being able to get back in time to say goodbye to loved ones and the very distance exacerbating the feeling of homesickness. It's a very individual thing that varies with a persons familial, financial and emotional circumstances. Might not be any issue to you at all, and it isn't to many. You'll meet a lot of folks here who have hardly ever returned to europe and have no interest in doing so. Australia is their perfect place so why would they leave. Missing friends worries me more than the heat or adjusting to the culture. However, the ‘benefit’ of doing it at this age is that we only have one parent left between us. Most of our major goodbyes have already been said sadly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 15 minutes ago, Blue Flu said: Exactly my thinking. It always amazed me the advertising of beaches in a foreign country as a tourist attraction coming from Perth. There are some great camper vans, and very popular now in Europe with the high price to stay in hotels and the like. I've heard great reports vanning it in Ireland as well as Nordic World. It’s just as expensive to hire a camper as it is to stay in hotels! In Scotland anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 23 minutes ago, FirstWorldProblems said: At risk of making the rather obvious and massive mistake of projecting a holiday experience onto real life........the idea of retiring in the South of France seems absolutely wonderful to me. Nice apartment with a view. Morning walk to the bakers for the most amazing bread in the world each day. Bimbling around the shops and having lunch on the balcony before a dip in the pool etc. Indeed. Also exorbitantly expensive lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstWorldProblems Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 minute ago, Cheery Thistle said: Missing friends worries me more than the heat or adjusting to the culture. However, the ‘benefit’ of doing it at this age is that we only have one parent left between us. Most of our major goodbyes have already been said sadly. I'm sure you will be fine. There's a flip side too. My kids have grown up with my mother in law visiting for 8 weeks every summer. That concentrated time has built a much stronger relationship than she has with her grandchildren who live an hour away. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 minute ago, FirstWorldProblems said: I'm sure you will be fine. There's a flip side too. My kids have grown up with my mother in law visiting for 8 weeks every summer. That concentrated time has built a much stronger relationship than she has with her grandchildren who live an hour away. Well we live 5 minutes from my dad and he collects my girl from school 3 days a week. I’m hoping he’ll come for 3 months at a time (if visas allow) and that potentially we could get him on a parental visa maybe, if we settle. He might not want to come though! And that would be ok. I have made sure he is looked after here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: Am I really being told that Australia is hot and far away? Lol. Sorry, I know you mean well with this. We would of course take every precaution we could against sun damage, I realise it’s a very serious issue. Conversely, we have a problem with vitamin D deficiency here in Scotland. I take supplements daily. No, I'm not telling you Australia is hot. The temperature is NOT the issue. 30 degree heat in Bournemouth in summer is a much lower UV index than Sydney at the same temperature, because of the angle of the sun. And a gorgeous, fresh and cool 20 degree winter's day in Sydney will usually have a UV index of 11, which is "extreme" and will burn you in less than 10 minutes, without sunscreen. That is why the risk of melanoma and other skin cancers is so much higher. It catches you unaware because we all tend to equate temperature with sun damage risk, and that's not the case in Australia at all. Edited March 13, 2023 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Marisawright said: No, I'm not telling you Australia is hot. The temperature is NOT the issue. 30 degree heat in Bournemouth in summer is a much lower UV index than Sydney at the same temperature, because of the angle of the sun. And a gorgeous, fresh and cool 20 degree winter's day in Sydney will usually have a UV index of 11, which is "extreme" and will burn you in less than 10 minutes, without sunscreen. That is why the risk of melanoma and other skin cancers is so much higher. It catches you unaware because we all tend to equate temperature with sun damage risk, and that's not the case in Australia at all. I wear spf 50 on my face in Scotland! Every day even in winter! Edited March 13, 2023 by Cheery Thistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Flu Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Cheery Thistle said: It’s just as expensive to hire a camper as it is to stay in hotels! In Scotland anyway. I was thinking buying like people I know in Germany have done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Flu Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 11 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: I wear spf 50 on my face in Scotland! Every day even in winter! I wear a hat and nothing else, besides sunglasses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Flu Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Cheery Thistle said: Indeed. Also exorbitantly expensive lol. There are places a little further inland still cheapish. I get French property report every month. If Brittany or Normandy was on the desired list far easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 21 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: I wear spf 50 on my face in Scotland! Every day even in winter! Possibly why you need Vit D supplements. Sunscreen blocks absorption. There's no need for sunscreen if the UV index is less than 3, even for someone with sensitive skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 10 minutes ago, Blue Flu said: I wear a hat and nothing else, besides sunglasses. Ah, but you came to Australia late, I gather? Most Australians get skin cancer in later life due to exposure as children/young adults. Especially people my age because when they were kids/teenagers, it was the fashion to get a deep tan. I am very unhappy with the state of my saggy old skin, yet I am constantly being told how lucky I am by Australian women my age, who are envious of my (relative) lack of wrinkles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Flu Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 4 minutes ago, Marisawright said: Ah, but you came to Australia late, I gather? Most Australians get skin cancer in later life due to exposure as children/young adults. Especially people my age because when they were kids/teenagers, it was the fashion to get a deep tan. I am very unhappy with the state of my saggy old skin, yet I am constantly being told how lucky I am by Australian women my age, who are envious of my (relative) lack of wrinkles. Late? I'm born here and grew up in the sun until leaving . It has a lot to do with type of skin, but I find sun inspired activities tone the skin . I'd imagine not too much younger than you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 3 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: Am I really being told that Australia is hot and far away? Lol. Sorry, I know you mean well with this. We would of course take every precaution we could against sun damage, I realise it’s a very serious issue. Conversely, we have a problem with vitamin D deficiency here in Scotland. I take supplements daily. Some of it ‘hot’ some of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 24 minutes ago, Marisawright said: Possibly why you need Vit D supplements. Sunscreen blocks absorption. There's no need for sunscreen if the UV index is less than 3, even for someone with sensitive skin. No, I need vitamin D because of a lack of sunshine/daylight in winter months. You must have forgotten what that’s like. It gets light around 9 am and dark around 3. I use spf 50 on my face in winter and summer to protect from UV damage for anti-ageing as per modern advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 27 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: No, I need vitamin D because of a lack of sunshine/daylight in winter months. You must have forgotten what that’s like. It gets light around 9 am and dark around 3. I use spf 50 on my face in winter and summer to protect from UV damage for anti-ageing as per modern advice. No, I haven't forgotten, but it only needs 20 minutes of sunshine to get enough vitamin D if you have exposed skin, so if you can get out at lunchtime, it's enough. However I have to thank you for mentioning the winter/summer thing. The advice I'd learned was that sun exposure when the UV is less than 2 is not dangerous, so that's the time to get sun exposure safely to ensure adequate Vitamin D (which would be early morning/late evening in Australia). I did Google just now and find a lot of UK sites saying to wear sunscreen all the time, so I've learned something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 23 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said: No, I need vitamin D because of a lack of sunshine/daylight in winter months. You must have forgotten what that’s like. It gets light around 9 am and dark around 3. I use spf 50 on my face in winter and summer to protect from UV damage for anti-ageing as per modern advice. I lived in Africa in the 1960’s, Brunei for 10 years, before living on the Sunshine Coast for the last 20 years and I have very very low vit D, I’m bad at wearing suntan cream, but also luckily don’t burn with only 10 minutes sun exposure. I remember using Johnson’s baby oil sunbathing in UK, in my youth. Despite this My skin is remarkably wrinkle free at my advanced age, So we’re all different,. Good luck with your decision. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 28 minutes ago, ramot said: I lived in Africa in the 1960’s, Brunei for 10 years, before living on the Sunshine Coast for the last 20 years and I have very very low vit D, I’m bad at wearing suntan cream, but also luckily don’t burn with only 10 minutes sun exposure. I remember using Johnson’s baby oil sunbathing in UK, in my youth. Despite this My skin is remarkably wrinkle free at my advanced age, So we’re all different,. Good luck with your decision. I am very slack when it comes to applying sunblock. Always wear a hat and sunglasses and don't go around half naked (apart from swimming) so I've never had sunburn in Australia. I do slap on sunblock on a really warm day if I'm going to be out in the sun for a while otherwise I don't bother. I don't like the feel of it on my skin. I take Vitamin D in the winter. @Cheery Thistle will end up with a much better skin than people who don't bother. Not that mine is that bad - not reached the old leathery, wrinkled type of skin yet. I do get my skin checked annually for skin cancer. So far so good. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 15 minutes ago, Toots said: I am very slack when it comes to applying sunblock. Always wear a hat and sunglasses and don't go around half naked (apart from swimming) so I've never had sunburn in Australia. I do slap on sunblock on a really warm day if I'm going to be out in the sun for a while otherwise I don't bother. I don't like the feel of it on my skin. I take Vitamin D in the winter. @Cheery Thistle will end up with a much better skin than people who don't bother. Not that mine is that bad - not reached the old leathery, wrinkled type of skin yet. I do get my skin checked annually for skin cancer. So far so good. Well it might stand me in good stead for the Aussie job interviews where I have to pretend to be 10 years younger than I am due to apparent ageism lolol 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: No, I haven't forgotten, but it only needs 20 minutes of sunshine to get enough vitamin D if you have exposed skin, so if you can get out at lunchtime, it's enough. However I have to thank you for mentioning the winter/summer thing. The advice I'd learned was that sun exposure when the UV is less than 2 is not dangerous, so that's the time to get sun exposure safely to ensure adequate Vitamin D (which would be early morning/late evening in Australia). I did Google just now and find a lot of UK sites saying to wear sunscreen all the time, so I've learned something. There isn’t sunshine, or not very much at all, for a lot of the year. We have a lot of cloud cover, grey days. It’s just how it is. Some days it barely even gets light in winter, never mind bright enough to get vitamin D, I’m not exaggerating. We have a yellow warning for snow for today and tomorrow. That’s spring for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 23 minutes ago, Toots said: I am very slack when it comes to applying sunblock. Always wear a hat and sunglasses and don't go around half naked (apart from swimming) so I've never had sunburn in Australia. I do slap on sunblock on a really warm day if I'm going to be out in the sun for a while otherwise I don't bother. I don't like the feel of it on my skin. I take Vitamin D in the winter. @Cheery Thistle will end up with a much better skin than people who don't bother. Not that mine is that bad - not reached the old leathery, wrinkled type of skin yet. I do get my skin checked annually for skin cancer. So far so good. Yes same have an annual skin check, clear so far, and my glasses have transition lenses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Flu Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 12 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: No, I need vitamin D because of a lack of sunshine/daylight in winter months. You must have forgotten what that’s like. It gets light around 9 am and dark around 3. I use spf 50 on my face in winter and summer to protect from UV damage for anti-ageing as per modern advice. Seems far too strong in such a climate. Hopefully you are not doing more damage than going without? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 19 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: Thanks, I think it’s good to have a balance of viewpoints. I will seek out some people who have returned to get some feedback from them. A lot of the feedback is borderline negative I’d say. I am not hearing from people on this forum saying they have moved within the past 5-10 years and it has changed their life for the better. There are a lot of posters who made the move decades ago on this forum, some of whom actually give quite out of date information about the visa situation etc. If we sell the house here, we have the deposit and have actually budgeted £60-70k for the move. That includes visas, travel, property deposit and 6 months rent up front, moving dogs, shipping belongings and 6 months living/set up costs. I am realistic. In theory I could get sponsored by WA as a secondary teacher but I’d rather not be remote and I’d rather have a skilled visa and not be tied. Our plan was to hold on to the house initially for a year or 2 to see how we settle, but we need to look into taxation implications. If we sell all of our UK property we would then have a sizeable deposit to put down. Those property prices are high, but nowhere near what I am seeing in the Algarve. I saw a 3 bed terraced townhouse advertised in central Algarve yesterday for rent of 5000 euros a month. That’s almost 10k aus dollars per month. It was tiny with no garden. What has to be remembered here is the context - Portugal is the poorest country in Western Europe with an average wage of 18k euros per YEAR. Yes, read that again lol. This is not Sydney or London! I have looked at rental and purchase prices in our preferred area so we are aware. Regarding ‘England in the sun’ we are not English, so that’s ok! Cannot imagine anything worse and actively avoid Benidorm type places. I have lived abroad before in Corsica (not particularly foreigner-friendly) and Italy. I think you have me wrong when you say I am ‘very happy’ with life in the UK. We have done OK here, we have a nice house, decent jobs and holidays. We have (and continue to) work very very hard to achieve what we have and we have taken risks that others around us wouldn’t/haven’t. I have a growing dissatisfaction with how things are going here - the health service is literally falling to bits (we pay to have private healthcare), education system is severely under-funded (as an ex-teacher I have literally toe-curling stories), taxation is increasing, benefits for self-employed people are being cut massively, Brexit happened and is costing us a fortune, inequality is increasing hugely, town centres are dying an absolute death, we have a housing crisis of EPIC proportions (we are, as I type, housing thousands of refugees in cruise ships, at what cost?), we have proximity to (another) war, I could go on and on and on and on trust me. Most of all, I sadly feel that my daughter actually has less opportunity than I did growing up - if that doesn’t talk to the decline/regression of a country, what does? To me, the UK has always been a dreary shithole, but it was a dreary shithole with opportunity and where you could make a good living. With these 2 things diminishing why stay? I actually feel ‘too good’ for my home country, that’s the truth! I would have jumped ship years ago but my husband wanted to stay and help raise (and pay for) his 2 sons - now that is done I feel we have a last bite at the cherry to experience something else and see if we like it. What you describe about coming home from holidays I can relate to. I have actually cried coming home from holidays in the past!! Lol. @Cheery Thistle in your initial post you stated that 'you have a good life in the UK with a nice house, relatively low mortgage and I have a good job'. Also, it seems that you have a nice family life too, so all in all the right ingredients for a happy life. In subsequent posts it comes across as though living in Australia is something on your bucket list that needs to be ticked, rather than a life-changing way of life you're committed too. However, what you've said above indicates that you've given it a lot more than I gave you credit for, so apologies for being too quick to judge. I appreciate that my experience of migrating almost 30 years ago isn't going to help you much, but I know a couple who arrived fairly recently, and a lad who has just obtained his visa grant. The couple from the north of England emigrated autumn 2020, so they've been here two and a half years now. I work with the lady who is a high school teacher, and her husband is an HGV driver. I'm not sure if that's what he's always done, but he's doing that now. She's late 30s and he's early 40s, so a bit younger than you, but their situation isn't dissimilar given their professions. They were renting for a year but have now bought a property, which is a lot more affordable up here in Cairns. They have two children, 5 and 1. The first year they were loving it but I know they struggled last year with missing family etc, especially with the birth of a new baby. They went back to the UK last Christmas over the school holidays and loved seeing everyone again, but were equally happy getting back to Australia. I think a lot of new migrants need that trip back every couple of years to 'drink from the well', and alleviate those feelings of homesickness. The other person is also a teacher - and a Scot! He obtained his visa grant a couple of months ago and is coming out this September. To give you some idea of the timeframe he started the process in 2019, which was delayed due to covid of course. He had some issues getting the skills assessments done and that also hindered the process, but he got there in the end. I know there were a couple of occasions when thought about throwing in the towel though! As others have said, you may struggle to find a pathway given your current occupations so best consult an RMA. Maybe you could go back to teaching for a couple of years so you can get in on the back of that? Due to the shortage of secondary teachers across Australia at the moment, you probably have a good chance of a success application. Compared with 30 years ago things aren't as great as they used to be, but show me any country where they are. Australia is still the land of milk and honey as far as I'm concerned and if you're willing to work hard, the opportunity you mentioned lacking in the UK will definitely present itself here. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 18 hours ago, FirstWorldProblems said: At risk of making the rather obvious and massive mistake of projecting a holiday experience onto real life........the idea of retiring in the South of France seems absolutely wonderful to me. Nice apartment with a view. Morning walk to the bakers for the most amazing bread in the world each day. Bimbling around the shops and having lunch on the balcony before a dip in the pool etc. That sounds like paradise to me too! 18 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said: Indeed. Also exorbitantly expensive lol. No true. A quarter of a million euros for a decent apartment with a sea view (if you squint). You'll struggle to find that anywhere in Australia. https://www.green-acres.fr/en/properties/apartment/grasse/27135a-18_094.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheery Thistle Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 8 hours ago, Blue Flu said: Seems far too strong in such a climate. Hopefully you are not doing more damage than going without? It’s now recommended even in the UK. It seems some people on here might be a wee bit out of date with their info. https://surgicaloncology.co.uk/dont-forget-to-wear-sunscreen-this-winter/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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