Caroline 72

Four bedroom house for sale in the foothills between Blackwood and Belair. Close to many local schools, Belair National Park, Flinders University and University of Adelaide Waite Campus. We are happy to leave a pre-container arrival survival kit (e.g. double bed, fridge, dishwasher, some pots and pans etc.) and includes a built in electric oven and gas hob. For more details please see here:

So yeah - we have a year or so left on our 457 visa and are thinking about what we should do next - whether to apply for PR or look at extending our temporary visa. Although we are settled here at the moment we are pretty sure that at the end of the day we will want to return to the UK. This is partly, although not wholly, due to the fact that we still have a house in the UK which is in the middle of Wales and which we are unlikely to ever be able to sell. Most of our capital is tied up in that house and so as long as we live in Australia we will have a pretty hefty mortgage. I know that there are pension and tax implications with PR relating to UK pensions and rental income but also someone at work told me that if you have Aus PR and wish to return to the UK at a later date you are unable to take your Aus pension with you. This might be the single, biggest issue that swings us away from PR as our UK pensions have already taken a battering one way or another and we really don't want to lose any more of our pension pot. Does anyone have any knowledge of this?? I have had a read through some old posts and can't see anything about it but maybe I typed in the wrong search terms. I see that some people have gone backwards and forwards between Aus-UK so maybe they have some experience of this...? I'm also still looking into what our visa options are following on from a 457. I'm kind of assuming that we can just apply for another four years. But maybe we can't? We have a while yet before we need to make a decision but I feel that we need to get all the information together soon so that we can make an informed decision. It seems that applying for PR at this point would be the 'natural' thing to do but I think we need to be sure. If anyone else has faced this decision I would be interested to hear what they chose to do. Caroline

Yeah - sorry we couldn't make it - had really hoped to. Bogged down with domestic stuff - v dull . Glad to hear to all had a good time - the weather looked perfect. Hope to catch up again sometime soon.

Hi Victoria Thanks for that - will bear them in mind next time we need to go. All heathy at the moment, thankfully.

Great news. We're also here on a UoA sponsored 457. Does make the process a whole lot easier, which I didn't realise I came on this forum and saw the huge efforts people have had to go through in order to get here. And having a job to come to makes a massive difference. Which Dept will your husband be working in? Hope your move goes well.

It was great fun and a lovely opportunity to meet some new people. Thanks for organising the afternoon Mottie. We had a great time, tho' as usual had to dash off (we're always late for something). So apologies to those we didn't speak to, especially David and Christine - I had hoped to catch up with you. Hopefully we'll get chance another time. Take care all.

Sounds great. So lovely of you to invite everyone. The 13th is good for us. Looking forward to seeing you then.

Hi Christine. Thanks - Sally has been really helpful so I think we should be ok. Yes - we're hoping to make it to the next meet up - hope to see you there. Caroline

Hi Sally Thanks for this - I can certainly believe that it may just be the doctor that we saw that wasn't great. Arkaba is a big practice and the fact that they're open at the weekends is a real bonus. I will pm you with the details

Might be a bit of a stretch for us, but might be useful to know..... Thanks

Hi Just wondered if anyone could recommend a decent GP in the southern suburbs. Anywhere in the region Blackwood-Unley-Burnside is do-able. Went to Arkaba medical practice last week and was not impressed so looking for an alternative. So any suggestions gratefully received. Thanks

Either date is good for us as far as I know (will have to check with the boss tho') Don't mind where. The sailing club was good (free parking always a bonus) but will go wherever.

We had a good time too. Not sure we managed to meet everyone as we had to dash off - husband always has work to do! But it was dead good to come along and I'm really really pleased we did. I was a bit uncertain as I'm not too good with new people but everyone was so welcoming. Cheered me up no end. So thanks everyone and thanks to LC for organising. Would be great to do it again

Hi Just found your forum - what a great resource! My husband and I have been in Adelaide just over 12 months now, and although we've got most of the practical things sorted we're still looking to meet some new people. So it would be great to come along tomorrow and say hello. Cheers Caroline