Mini2005

My husband and I moved to Adelaide on a permanent visa in 2005 and in 2006 I transferred a Legal and General Personal Pension over to Australian Super.  We lived there until 2010 when we decided that we would return to live in the UK.  We had both built up fairly substantial amounts in Australian Super accounts which are obviously still with them as we were not allowed to transfer them back until retirement.  I am finding it difficult to find out what happens when we retire in the UK - do we have options? 

Can highly recommend Mark Feldman at Reynella. Not sure of cost as its a couple of years since me and my husband saw him. Works miracles though.

If it's any help to anyone, I used to work for a company that manufactured specialist coatings including pool paint. Topline Paint, 33 Aldershot Road, Lonsdale are the manufacturers and they also have an outlet in the city - Shipway Spescoat. They do counter sales at Lonsdale and they give expert advise on this subject if anyone needs it.

You do feel safer but this sort of thing also happens in Adelaide too. Our neighbour was robbed in Colonnades car park at 2pm in the afternoon. He was attacked by two youths who slashed his arm and stole his wallet.

Yes it is. I take thyroxin and all my scripts are free.

I love it when the time difference is only 8.5 hours. Means we don't have to rush on a Sunday morning to ring the mother-in-law in Adelaide.

The time difference changes to 9.5 hours this week and then goes to 8.5 hours next week.

We used HIFX both for transferring UK to Aus and then transferring back when we returned. Service and exchange rates they offer are hard to beat in my opinion. Moneycorp is similar I believe but haven't used them so can't comment.

My husband's photocard expired whilst we lived in Adelaide. When we returned to live in the UK, I rang DVLA and asked them what we had to do. They said just get a new photo and send in the paper licence to renew the photocard. The actual licence doesn't run out but you have to renew the photocard.

I can certainly tell you one to avoid in Aldinga. Better not say the name on here, but message me if you want the name. I visited the kennels beforehand and had recommendations from friends but I almost cried when we picked our dog back up. Will never use kennels again if I can avoid it.

You should check out the medical side of things. I believe you are only eligible for free NHS if you are resident in the UK . Check out www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Entitlementsandcharges/OverseasVisitors/Browsable/DH_074374

We had a PR visa (Regional Sponsored) as my husband's sister and family have lived in Adelaide since 1998. Our daughter had just turned 13 when we went out there. My husband's mother also moved to Adelaide a couple of months after on a Contributory Parent Visa. She is still over there and would come back if she could face all the upheaval again. It did cost a lot to get the visa and move over but the rate was $2.40 to the pound when we went. When we came back in 2010 the rate was $1.65 to the pound so our house proceeds bought us a lot more pounds. After all that, we have no regrets about going over there for 5 years because we would always have regretted not giving it a go. It was an adventure and has made us appreciate the Uk a lot more than we did before. I would still tell anyone to give it a go.

In our case there wasn't one main reason. We both had jobs and a beautiful house etc. Weighed up all the "for and against" reasons and then asked ourselves did we want to live there forever. Answer was no. Been back in Uk for 18 months and definitely made the right decision for us.

Government figures don't usually tell the whole story but I don't envy the kids these days wherever they are!

Apparently it's North Adelaide that is 30% but the average figure for Adelaide is 23.4% according to SA Government Workforce Data.

I don't have any magic answer on how to "get over it" because I've been in your position. Just give yourself time to make the decision and weigh everything up including all the "what ifs". You may find that those feelings dwindle away but at least you will be as sure as anyone can be when making the decision. Everyone seems to get a little hung up on the weather but that means nothing in the scheme of things. If your family is happy in a place, it makes no difference whether its sunny or raining. The UK is a great place but it has its problems which may or may not affect you directly. I have been very lucky and work in a specialist company that has just had its best year yet. I think an awful lot depends on your area of work and if you can research the specific situation that would help you decide what to do. Whatever your decision, take some time and good luck

Hi there,

 

Is there anyone here who has returned to the UK with teenagers of GCSE or A-Level age? Hubby (Australian) and I (Brit) are wondering how we would go if we moved to the UK with our kids (currently aged 12, 11 and 9) in fourth year of secondary school (i.e. half way through GCSE course), or at age 16 without any GCSEs or equivalent (because there are no exams at age 16 in Aus).

 

I tend to think that you would not be able to sit A-levels if you had no formal qualifications at age 16. Hubby says "nah, they'd have to take it into consideration that you've come from Australia". Who's right?

 

Cheers

We returned to the UK after my daughter had completed Year 12 and had her SACE. The decision to return to the UK was made halfway through her Year 12 but we told her after she had finished passed (big shock but she was overjoyed!). Not sure how it would work if you moved over before completing SACE. We contacted NARICs to obtain the equivalent UK qualification to SACE and this was certified as 'A' level, which I don't think is actually the case as I believe the UK A Level is a high standard then SACE.

On our return we contacted our local college who invited her to an interview where they examined her SACE Certificates and subsequently offered her a place doing the A levels she had chosen. They checked her previous results against her chosen subjects to ensure she was a suitable candidate. Taking just anyone onto their courses doesn't help their statistics as their failure rate increases. She has since fantasically well and is considering a Business Studies degree.

In my opnion, saying that all UK education is bad is like saying that all Australian education is great - just not true. My daughter was educated in the UK until the age of 13 when we moved to Adelaide. She got good grades in Adelaide but I don't believe the education is overall any better than the UK. There are some fantastic schools and teachers in the UK just like any other country and they don't get the recognition they deserve. Having seen both sides, I know the system could be improved, but I know which one I prefer.

I would make some enquiries with the area you would be moving to and ask what the best timing would be for your children. If you can find out what the options are you can then make your decision based on that. Good luck.

We were insured with Allianz in Australia between 2005 and 2010 and when we returned to the UK in 2010 we got our insurance through Direct Line and they accepted our full no claims from Allianz. There is a lot of hype about the insurance increases but to be honest mine and my husband's car insurance is pretty much the same as it was in Australia albeit on a smaller engine car. I had 1 1.8 Mitubishi Lancer in Australia and I have a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 in the UK (I am 48 too which helps). I don't do half the mileage I used to over there so I tend to spend less on petrol too but that's just my personal situation, I work locally and family live locally.

Our move back to the Uk

 

We left adelaide mid August after much debate & consideration.

We were there more or less three years & they were great! We didn’t love Australia or hate it just wasn’t home.

We always planned on giving it two years but gave it a bit more, we had a beautiful house & our son was in a brilliant school so we felt we had ticked all the boxes & given it our best shot. There was always a feeling of it was a house & not a home & although we don’t have a huge family it was friends & familiarity that we missed the most.

We always felt that Australia was ok for now but not forever & after hearing so many stories of people living there for 20 years & regretting not returning we didn’t want to become one of those statistics.

We haven’t stopped smiling since returning home our son has fitted back in with all his friends, I walk everywhere now which I missed being able to do in Adelaide. The things we used to moan about in the UK are still here but we now realise nowhere is perfect & home is where the heart is! We had a fantastic experience living “Down Under” but so happy we came home too.

It's a awful feeling being in Limbo it's nice now we can just get on with life rather than having the whole 'will we or won't we' debate!!!

 

Just our side of the story everyone is different & I know there are plenty of people that get off the plane & nerve look back :0)

 

Jo

Been back in UK for a year and a half now and no regrets at all. We felt exactly the same as you and now appreciate the UK so much more after 5 years away. We lived the dream and then decided, like you that we didn't want to live there forever. No regrets about any of our decisions and enjoying Yorkshire again.

We've got ants too - getting the house sprayed on Saturday for spiders so hopefully the ants will be less of a problem after that also?! Apparently if you have black ants you're less likely to get white ants - don't know if it's true or not...

The spider spray should be the same chemical as would be used to get rid of black ants but it will only act as a barrier. If the ants are already inside the house i.e. in wall cavity, it will not kill them. Black ants do eat white ants but only if their paths cross. It is possible to have both in one house.

Hubby was Senior Technician at Allstates Pest Control at Glandore until we returned to UK last year.

Didn't offend me or upset me at all - just seemed people get edited for lesser comments. As you say, maybe it's more of an offensive where I come from.

Ok MDB just to keep you happy I've edited Barbaitch comment (hope you don't mind Barbaitch) to remove all reference to Julia's roots (and I mean that word in the aussiest possible way!) and have edited Stevo's comment to make sure he got the dead royal slapper's name right!

 

FWIW I don't mind Julia - I think she's doing a tough job in a still predominantly male world, but she should have bowed or curtsied to the woman who is still - like it or lump it - her monarch. She is atheist but still lowers her head during the Lord's Prayer at the opening of parliament after all. If you want to be given respect, you need to give it out and she failed on this occasion. Good old GG though - looked elegant, poised and polite. Now there's a lady who was brought up proper....

A lot of editing been done on this thread but really don't think "dead royal slapper" should be used by anyone on a public forum, where you liked her or not. I'm not usually too fussed about language used in banter, but that really is a bit strong in my opinion.

I can speak from our own experience of living in Adelaide for 5 years and then returning to the UK. We both worked in jobs where there were some friendly helpful people and other not so much - just like the UK. It isn't paradise but as everyone says, nowhere is paradise. We loved some things about living in Adelaide and hated others - just like the UK. We achieved everything we set out to do when we moved to Adelaide but after 5 years there we made the big decision to come back to the UK. We certainly don't feel like failures for coming back. We would have been failures if we hadn't gone in the first place. Don't let one person's experience put you off, everyone is different.

My daughter went to Wirreanda High School with no problems from 2005 and graduated at the end of 2009. Some of the teachers were fantastic, some not so great (just like any school). You will hear good and bad about most schools. My friend's daughter went to Reynella East High School and she told me some hair-raising stories about behaviour there and yet a lot of people say that's a great school. My boss's son went to an expensive private school and was bullied until his parents withdrew him and sent him to the local public school. There's an element of idiots in all schools and it's very hard to decide when there are everyone's different opinions.

Good luck. Hope everything goes well for you and your family.