brooks Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 It's all going round in my head: Tho' my daughter lives there, not sure I should give up my life in England. If I do move - conrtibutory, or non-contributory parent visa? What if I pay and I don't like it and want to come home? Also, my state pension will be frozen and my income is limited as it is! I CAN'T sell my house - should I rent it out and wait for things to get better? Should I pay to send furniture over, or buy new in Oz? I own a flat which I rent out - should I TRY to sell it at a 'knock-down' price, or wait till the £:dollar ratio gets better and ... and.... and.... I would hate to get to Australia and find that after all the expense (and loss of either income, or a greatly reduce price on property) I can't afford to live there. Has anyone got a crystal ball to help? or . . . . am I just a whinging Pom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30085 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Hi Brooks Someone will come along with far more information than I can provide on the CPV etc but I believe the waiting time for the non-contributory is years (certainly upwards of 10 years). Have you spent much time there? Could you go over for say 6/12 months to see if it really suits you before you commit to such a huge decision? See what is there for you etc and how you would find making a life for yourself such as groups or activities. When you say you cant sell your house - is that because you dont want to let go of it or just the general market at the moment? It is a huge decision to make so maybe an extended visit would help make your mind up? Good luck with it:hug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 it's all very well waiting for the exchange rate to pick up (which I think will be many years), but even if it does, the property market imo will further decline so you wont be any better off. You've listed a few of your dilemmas, but apart from your daughter, do you have any other reasons to go? have you been before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mallam Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 It's all going round in my head:Tho' my daughter lives there, not sure I should give up my life in England. If I do move - conrtibutory, or non-contributory parent visa? What if I pay and I don't like it and want to come home? Also, my state pension will be frozen and my income is limited as it is! I CAN'T sell my house - should I rent it out and wait for things to get better? Should I pay to send furniture over, or buy new in Oz? I own a flat which I rent out - should I TRY to sell it at a 'knock-down' price, or wait till the £:dollar ratio gets better and ... and.... and.... I would hate to get to Australia and find that after all the expense (and loss of either income, or a greatly reduce price on property) I can't afford to live there. Has anyone got a crystal ball to help? or . . . . am I just a whinging Pom? That line made me think you should honestly stay in the UK, IMO you really have to want to make the massive move to Oz and be 100% sure you are making the right move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Is there any way you could manage a 6 months here 6 months there arrangement? That worked really well for my parents for 15 years when they retired (the exchange rate was more in their favour though IIRC). They built a granny flat on our block so they always had somewhere to stay and they bought a car which stayed here. In that way they didnt lose their pension or NHS rights. At the end of the day they decided that although they liked Australia they didnt want to end their days here and so, at 80, they decided to call it quits on their travels. They dont seem to have regretted it as their lives and life long social networks were there. It is an expensive place to live especially as you wont be able to access any Centrelink benefits (pension) for 10 years and will be living on your UK frozen pension. It also depends on what you enjoy doing with your retirement - if your interests turn to history, theatre, pottering on the allotment, continental travel, etc then this probably wont be the place for you but if you fancy golf or bowls at the club then you should be OK Another thing to bear in mind is what do you do if your daughter decides to move back (not unheard of even for people who have been here for years) or moves interstate and you have uprooted to move here - will you be following her around the country? Good luck with your decision! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 If it was me I would keep what I have and do the holiday option. Its hard enough for young people to migrate but much harder for older people who may be set in their ways. Of course its lovely to be near family but the family are a different generation and I believe we need our own peers and friends around us as we age. There is life after family. My mother in law used to come over for a few months to visit, staying with us then popping over to her other son in New Zealand and that worked well. We are retired and we like our pond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike@Bonbeach Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hi Brooks When we moved over in 2007 we were lucky because at that time the exchange rate was good ie 2.4/2.5 $ to the GBP (can't do pound signs on my laptop), and we sold our flat in St Andrews within a week and at our asking price. I think with things as they are now I would definitely be having second thoughts if we were at your stage. You are correct in saying that your pension is frozen from the date you leave the UK, even my private pension is pretty well frozen. I know we used to be able to save something out of our pensions at first, but with the current exchange rate it is just about zero. People on this website will tell you that Australia is not an expensive place but in our experience, if your sole income is from UK based pensions then it is very expensive, unless you are happy to go shopping at numerous shops and markets looking for the the best options. Having said all that we are still happy to be here living near our son and his family, but if the worst was to happen and they split up or worse then I think we would have no hesitation in returning to the UK. We do have a very good social life here with a lot of Aussie friends and are in a good location. Prescriptions can be expensive along with health cover (which I would recommend you to have), although we have a concession card and most prescriptions cost just over 5$, today Connie's prescription cost 26$. Only you can make the decision, whatever you decide you must embrace that decision fully. Good luck in whatever you decide. Mike and Connie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkin Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 If you are not fully behind the move then I would agree with those that suggest you just have holidays. Actually I wasn't 100% sure about our move, but we spent $2,500 on a visa.... If I were spending $40k just on the visa, I would really need to be sure that this is what I wanted and be totally committed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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