Shigella Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I'm an Aussie expat who has been living in the UK for the past 6 or 7 years. I was traveling around the world when I met my British hubby and because I had no ties in Oz at the time it was easier for us to settle here at the time. We have always intended to move back to Oz at some stage and now the time has come to start planning. At the time, after organising a visa, I just packed a suitcase and got on the plane. DH already had a house, car and job so moving was easy. Now we are a family of 3 (with another on the way!) so it's going to be a much bigger operation. We have a lot to learn about the best way to go about this: jobs for both of us, which location, cars, house (we're planning to rent for a while because house prices in Oz are still outrageous), nursery and of course transport of all our 'stuff'. It seems such a logistical nightmare compared to when I moved away! We're not planning to move for 2-3 years so luckily have some time to plan and are looking forward to learning much from everyone here. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Hello and welcome We are in a similar situation as you only I am married to an Aussie but we only have the one child and are hoping to have another before we move back to Aus. He settled here in the UK with me initially as he was the one with the least ties to anything solid. But we've always planned to go back to Aus when the time was right. My hubby is from SA and we'll be heading back to Adelaide somewhere in the next year or two. No major rush but at the latest we want to be there for term 3 of the 2013 school year so our son can have 1 or 2 terms at school in with his peers so we can assess if that is where we leave him or if we move him up a year. He'll have already done 6 months more than them by this point but we want to give him every chance and he'll be one of the oldest in his year if we do it this way, rather than putting him a year above and him being the very youngest and being a bit behind potentially. He'll be young enough that he should adapt easily enough to schooling, that is the hope at least. Also means he does a whole school year here, has a summer holiday and then off to Aus to start afresh Anyways, am sure you'll see me around. Look forward to hearing how it all goes and happy to help where I can. Cheers snifter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePoppy Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I'm in a similar situation too. I'm British and my husband is Australia and has been here near on 10 years. We went to live in Australia in 2002 when I got my de facto spouse visa. Ended up in Brisbane, but we realised we'd been happier in London with jobs, friends and my family close by. We married in QLD and came back to the UK in 2003. I was granted my permanent residency even though I wasn't still in Oz, but have had to get a Returning Resident Visa to be able to go back. So bear in mind permanent residency for Australia is not the same as indefinite leave to remain in the UK. It does not give you the right to come and go as you please, so I will be definitely be looking to become an Australia citizen once we've settled. We have two children, both born in the UK. I appliced for citizenship by descent for each of them soon after they were born. They have Aussie passports too, as we went back for a holiday to see family and we were told if they're Aussie citizens they can't be granted tourist visas in their British passports! So we're sorted visa wise. But yes - it is so much more complicated when you're bringing kids too ... and all the extra belongings it entails. Hoping to go before the end of the year. My husband has found a job in Melbourne, but it's a long way from his family in NSW. We'll miss the support of having grandparents close by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jtrd Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I'm in the same situation too - I'm the Aussie and have lived here for 12 of the last 14 years. We got married in Aust while hubby was on a fiance visa and our first child was born there. We then moved back here (my choice) before hubby got residency :frown:. Since we got back here 10 years ago hubby has been trying to convince me to move back and this year he won. We also have another child now who is British born but Aust by decent, so both kids have Aust passports :biggrin:and we are just (not so patiently) waiting for hubbys visa. I'm from Adelaide too, but we won't be going back there. I think we will probably be in NSW as hubby will have a job there. Best of luck with your journey, hope all goes well. Tracey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shigella Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 Thanks for the warm welcomes! It sounds like our situation is fairly common - no surprise really. I look forward to hearing how your moves are going and hope you will all share any obstacles or solutions you come across. My hubby has just started working on our financial plan. We've been watching 'Wanted Down Under' and have been a little spooked by how many of the families seem to be worse off financially in Australia. Of course, for us there's a lot more to it than money so we are determined to find a way to make it work. Good luck everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Welcome everyone, it looks like there are a few of you in the same situation. Hope everything works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna1 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 We emigrated 18 months ago, with 2 children. I am from the uk but my husband is an aussie! The move was a lot of hard work, but it all came together in the end! And we have all settled relatively easily ( although I am sure we will always miss our family and friends back in the uk!). which to be honest has been a bit of a surprise, as i really wasn't convinced I could cope so far from my family with 2 young children, I have been very impressed with the facilities over here for children though, and the schools and Kinders really do seem very good! I am however determined to get Australian citizenship in 6 months (ish) so all the family can travel freely between the two continents In The future! Good luck with your planning, and feel free to ask any questions about our move :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 My hubby has just started working on our financial plan. We've been watching 'Wanted Down Under' and have been a little spooked by how many of the families seem to be worse off financially in Australia! There are a number of discussions around the forum about this show not being really reflective of actual living costs, or living for that matter. Also how to best go about working out a true conversion rate, not go from the ones the banks/exchanges/TV show uses etc Honestly, don't take that show as being much use for anything other than showing you the scenery and having a peek inside some Aussie houses :tongue: I just keep reminding myself that in the UK its the ££ that is important to us. Once over in Aus, living and working there, it'll be the Aussie $$. We'll live within our means once there, won't matter a jot what the exchange rate is or what we left behind financially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shigella Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 .... Good luck with your planning, and feel free to ask any questions about our move :-) Thanks Lorna but you should be careful or you'll be inundated with questions! DH's parents are in Devon (3hrs drive away from us) and my Mum is back in Oz, though not in an area that we would be able to settle in because it's an area full of retirees and there is no work for us. So we are used to managing without much help from family. I know that they'll miss us but they know we have to do what's best for our family. On the other hand, my brother an I both live overseas with our families so I think Mum will be delighted to have some family a little bit closer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shigella Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 There are a number of discussions around the forum about this show not being really reflective of actual living costs, or living for that matter. Also how to best go about working out a true conversion rate, not go from the ones the banks/exchanges/TV show uses etc Honestly, don't take that show as being much use for anything other than showing you the scenery and having a peek inside some Aussie houses :tongue: I just keep reminding myself that in the UK its the ££ that is important to us. Once over in Aus, living and working there, it'll be the Aussie $$. We'll live within our means once there, won't matter a jot what the exchange rate is or what we left behind financially. A few times while watching it we've said to each other 'It's almost like they're trying to convince people NOT to go to Oz!' :tongue: You are quite right about thinking in the right currency. When I first moved here I'd mentally convert the price of everything and was in a constant state of shock :eek: at how expensive everything was. After a while I just accepted that I was earning pounds and paying pounds so the conversion was irrelevant. We're doing our financial plan purely in AUD, based on actual (realistic) anticipated incomes and actual costs (as much as we can pin down). We're not doing a 'comparison' sheet with what we have here because at the end of the day it just doesn't matter. As you say, we live within our means here and we will do the same there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacoonkitty Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Hi all, i too am an australian wanting to rwturn home,,,i have been in the uk for 22 years, moved here with my mum when i was 10 so now at 32, i want to go back with my uk fiancee...hes not so keen but all my family are there in sydney and my dad has said we could live in his lovely house...it has plently fo space and he said he would give us one of his cars..(bomb or not its still wheels!!) so im trying to get my other half to see the positive side to moving...i dont know what i will do if he doesnt want to go..as im not happy in the uk anymorre and wish he would come and see how much nicer the country is...as someone rightly sadi above yes the cost of living is higher but you get paid higher wages to match it so it kind of works out that your the same in the end...i juts want us both to have a better quality of life and a nicer outdoors life, im so sick of the crappy dull skys making everyone feel depressed with noting to do as its too cold to go to the beach...sydney is where i wanna be. i hope everyone else gets on well too!. x :chatterbox::cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePoppy Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Sounds like it would be an easy move. Have you not taken him to Sydney on holiday? Surely he'd be convinced after a visit! Hi all, i too am an australian wanting to rwturn home,,,i have been in the uk for 22 years, moved here with my mum when i was 10 so now at 32, i want to go back with my uk fiancee...hes not so keen but all my family are there in sydney and my dad has said we could live in his lovely house...it has plently fo space and he said he would give us one of his cars..(bomb or not its still wheels!!) so im trying to get my other half to see the positive side to moving...i dont know what i will do if he doesnt want to go..as im not happy in the uk anymorre and wish he would come and see how much nicer the country is...as someone rightly sadi above yes the cost of living is higher but you get paid higher wages to match it so it kind of works out that your the same in the end...i juts want us both to have a better quality of life and a nicer outdoors life, im so sick of the crappy dull skys making everyone feel depressed with noting to do as its too cold to go to the beach...sydney is where i wanna be. i hope everyone else gets on well too!. x:chatterbox::cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacoonkitty Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 yeah i know, we will have it easier than alot of people do when emigratingas i am lucky to have my dad out there in a lovely house... !!...thats for sure!!....im even doing all the paperwork for my fiancees visa ..(he has proof read and signed it of course) and all he really has to do is save up some of his money ( as i am )until march next year and them come out there with me !!....l.o.l.....i wish we could go on a holiday there first to sydney !!!...but we cant afford to pay for this aswell , as it will eat right into our savings ...and we need all the cash we can get !!..this is the problem u see as we dont own a house here to sell and so will only have a few thousand pounds to take with us and at the most we will only have £10000 by march,..we would go out for a few weeks to check the place out first before commiting to the visa costs...but we cant afford it !!!...its a real shame but i guess that the price of the (recce flights £1600) will be the same as the visa price so its one or the other!!..and the only thing holding chris back from being happy about emigrating is his blooing job !!!...i wish he could go out to check first...it would certainly make things alot easier and ease his mind...i told him i too am making sacrafices...but i am tryting to keep positive about it the whole time for us both... of course its easier to stay here in the u.k...but i hate it here now...and australia has to be better than the u.k.....surely !!!.....as this place is getting worse by the minute :unsure:!!!!. sure it has its good bits but the bad out weigh the good in my eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lorna1 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 We're doing our financial plan purely in AUD, based on actual (realistic) anticipated incomes and actual costs (as much as we can pin down). We're not doing a 'comparison' sheet with what we have here because at the end of the day it just doesn't matter. As you say, we live within our means here and we will do the same there. So true, my husband is in the IT industry and earning more over here comparatively, so our overal standard of living is about the same as it was in the uk, lol! It's worth remembering though that there are much more free facilities over here for families! The public playgrounds are sooo much better than anything I ever found in the uk, and most parks offer free BBQ facilities. Also although food is much more expensive, we have found we spend less on petrol and utility bills In general (although telephones and Internet packages do seem a complete rip off!). There are good deals to be found if you shop around a bit though! Places like Big w and kmart are very good value for homewares etc when you trying to get started ;-) Also, just a quick thought if you have not already looked into it, used cars are very pricey over here compared to the uk! I often wish we had shipped our car over when we moved over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacoonkitty Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 hiya, yes i heard that the used cars were pricey, i gessed we would need around $5000 for a little run around (nothing swanky just a set of wheels )...my father said i could use or possibly even keep one of his cars (an old geep)...they are older but a car is a car...so thats all that matters and a big bonus for us to start with !!..i guessed that to compare the cost of everthing in the u.k to the cost of everything in australia woud be daft as the cost would be more in some areas and less in others as you say...but the australian minimum wage is higher so it kind of seems like it will level out to be simler .in the u.k on my holidays and days off i can never seem to find anything to do, and we always seem to do the same things...cinema and gym, and the Same resteraunt !.........most of the people seem to orientate around drinking and geting drunk and wasted on a weekend and my partner and i simply dont go partying every weekend and dont drink alchahole very much at all..so we wanted a better quality of life with more variety of things to see and do and sydney seemed to have that.....the u.k seems so samey all the time...!!!..i look at the beaches in australia and lovely weather and i imagine that on a weekend we could have barbeques at the beach or in parks as you say , invite friends over to do the same or to go out in the lovely weather on the beach and swim and enjoy the wildlife and country...rather than staying in out of the cold and rain and dull skys , i see a better ocean with more than juts one beach to visit that is beautifull of nearby ..so an offer of valiety of places to go which seems so nice seems more...i juts hope i am right....i havent been back to sydney for a long while about 9 years but i do remember being at the beach ALL the time when i lived there before 22 years ago and also remember my mother doing to same and always doing sometghing diferent...snorkling , scuba diving, body boarding , dinner, partys and so on...but in the u.k the beach is pretty rubbish and its normaly too cold to get in anyway...so a quality of life is essential for me as i feel so lost and restless right now. :daydreaming::chatterbox::wacko:..sorry about this rant.l.o.l. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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