Quoll

Gosh if that is the best you can come up with for the region around here then we are screwed! At least Crookwell has the sock factory and Robertson has the big potato but none of the others, not even Bowral, are worthy of a day trip in my book even though it has/had a decent bookshop according to my DH and the flowers were pretty enough (Yass, you've got to be joking!!!!).

I had a very cheap 12 month contract with Vodafone because I needed to keep my Australian number. I think it cost me $20 a year but it might have gone up to $30 now. I did that for 8 years or more. Just be sure they say you need international roaming. The bank codes were a pain in the bum to be honest but some banks (ANZ) when I talked to them actually put down my UK number. Others (St George grrrr,) didnt recognise that people overseas might actually have an overseas number but they would, if you call them, put a 24 hour hold on verification numbers being required.

If you've got your Australian passport you can come and go at will. We just had 8.5 yes in UK and returned without issue. We just went on holiday and didn't come back (and some days I wish I hadn't!). Only thing we did when we left was to suspend our private health insurance and so we haven't been slapped with the age loading now we've resumed it.

LOL, I do!!!!

That's where my genes come from so I think that is why it appeals to me so much.

Milk in coffee tastes disgusting though. If I really really cant find cream then I get black but coffee here is so damned strong it needs to be like quarter strength or something

It is great isn’t it?! My granddaughter loves it and wants to go and live in England!!!

Ah you haven’t lived!!!

There are probably better places for coffee but so very few of them serve it with cream (and no I dont want a lecture on how that is unhealthy for you blah blah blah, like they tend to do) and the Coffee Club do - every time I ask!!! I usually ask a place up front if they have cream with coffee and if they say no, then I wander on. Some of them think they are being helpful with a dollop of thickened something and I have even had a small saucer of what looks like whipped cream put down beside the cup. The concept of pouring cream is beyond most of them. Thrilled with the aircon (it's actually ducted reverse cycle stuff so much better than we were anticipating getting!)

Easier to get your passports renewed now otherwise it’s a bit of a faff and you’re on the books as being a visitor for just a 6 month stay. It’s not hard to renew them from Australia.

Gosh, I cant believe how much our lives have had similar events - dont suppose we really are twins (are you a '49-er). None of our moves were really planned either and certainly none were ever "the one to end all others". We started out in PNG, DH decided to go to Uni and Bristol offered. He applied for PhD scholarships and ANU offered then the best place for public servants was still in Canberra. We went back to UK for a holiday in 2011 and ended up staying until March this year, caring for the olds - in my head it's not "forever" but who knows!!! And today I had lunch in the Coffee Club in the Canberra Centre. I absolutely dont think Queensland or WA would ever be in my future - Vic or Tas maybe but now being the proud owner of air conditioning I may never set foot outside the house ever again!

Oh dear. Talk to your OH about how you are feeling and do it now. Unsure where you get the dubious educational future from - I have friends who have had kids and now have grandkids in many parts of the country and whilst I would be a tad anxious about a few places where I wouldnt want to be living anyway, almost all of my mates' kids and grandkids are doing just fine (as is my grandson as far as I can see - streets ahead of his Canberra cousins). I didnt tell my OH, not in as many words anyway and until he complained about the long showers I was taking (I cried in the shower) he had no idea. Once we talked about it we came to an agreeable compromise for the short term and he moved to UK with me for 8 years (returned in March). We are still living in compromise land and as soon as Covid stops trapping me I will be backwards and forwards as long as I can manage it. Look after yourself, it doesnt get any easier with time, unfortunately.

Aha, are you an Anzac Day baby too? I usually joke that that's the only reason I came to Australia, so I would always have a holiday on my birthday! I've missed out on that for the last few years!

Working with kids with autism is going to be pretty specialised and generally you’ll need to be a teacher with a degree. Otherwise you would need to be a psychologist with a Masters. Or I suppose you could be a registered social worker or a nurse - in general, the positions working with kids with special needs (apart from STAs which are lowly paid) are those with registration with some board or other.

Oh so true! I seriously miss Waitrose and M&S! And the village butcher - now that I really really miss! Oh for some Shelford Specials (sausages).

Good to hear then. I just repaid my DH's 8+ years in UK (he really didnt want to go to UK at all) so I get where you are coming from. You should be fine with triathlons! Cant help with the lovely villages and historical properties although the Southern Highlands is probably more villagey than other places you are likely to hit. Sydney could well be an unpleasant culture shock though. As long as she has her British citizenship before you leave just in case she fancies returning at some point!

I thought that mentally I was fine until I wasnt depressed any more and realised just how mentally un-fine I actually was. I was using all the mental health tricks in my toolbox to make it through every day as a matter of course. I agree though, one of the lightbulb moments for me was knowing that I wasnt Robinson Crusoe and it was OK to talk about it. All the best to you, hope it gets better!

You'll be fine! Just have a quick one liner to reply - like "yes thank God I escaped" or "have you ever actually lived in Australia??" or "been watching a lot of Home and Away have you?" I found that most people did a bit of a double take once they've asked the usual inane question and not got the response they anticipated.

Didn’t you have a say in that decision?

Never thought it would be forever. Quite liked it for the first 10 years, got distinctly “meh” about it for the next ten and absolutely loathed it for the last 10. Have reset the clock since we returned in March - back to the “meh” stage. I had thought that with both my parents now gone there might be the capacity for more liking but, quite honestly, the spark is still not there and COVID, stopping me from going home for a sanity hit isn’t helping. But when we arrived in 1979 it was planned to be just another adventure in life - I married an Australian but never intended to live here forever.

Having just sort of done it, I can attest to the expense although we didnt do the whole move everything and then move everything back. The cost of the basic moving has been chilling enough and to think if we had had to sell a house in Aus, move all our stuff then do the reverse would have been eyewatering. Just moving us and a move cube back has been expensive enough and we havent had to buy a new house (just finish renovating the one we already owned and had part renovated before we left!)

It may be because you weren’t the primary applicant and that secondary school teachers aren’t that much in demand as a critical skill. I guess the question may also be why as a “mental health practitioner” (psychologist? Nurse? Psychiatrist?) weren’t you the primary applicant and will you be eligible for registration in your field.

Only “necessary” medical cover though but of course if they’re pr then it’s irrelevant. I think that’s a potential trap if anyone is expecting to reside on the reciprocal agreement for any length of time. Emergencies and acute illness no worries. I remember someone a few years ago who was caught because an investigatory procedure was deemed elective but, obviously, not in the mind of the person. Fortunately they discovered that their employer had taken private insurance for them so the procedure was covered. It’s a gamble if relying on the reciprocal agreement long term.

Your medicare coverage depends on your visa. If you have a permanent resident visa then you are covered by full medicare as soon as you register for it. If you are only temporary then you will be on a reciprocal coverage or temporary medicare. Register when you are out of quarantine and have a permanent address otherwise you will be faffing about changing addresses. YOu'll need a permanent address to get a child into school

Yup, that’s what we did. Just covered the journey because we’ve got Medicare cards. If you haven’t got Medicare (and possibly private health too) get a longer cover to get yourself set up. You don’t actually subscribe into Medicare - it’s taken out of your pay and rather depends on the visa you arrive on. If you arrive as a PR you get full Medicare coverage but if you’re only temporary you get the basic reciprocal cover and additional private health may be sensible.