Quoll

Or, more likely, not wanting to burst your bubble, safe in the knowledge that he will probably never get a job that he would enjoy. I'd say bets are being firmly hedged.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. I think you're probably imagining some magical paradise whereas what you'd get is a foreign first world country on the other side of the world with much the same problems as now irritate you where you are. Your DH would most likely kiss goodbye to the job he loves and you'd probably struggle to get anything like what you now have. Your kids may never move and you'll likely be one of us with an ever split family. If otoh your agenda is "adventure" (not the "better life for the kids" meme usually trotted out) and you can afford to gamble upwards of £50k for bargain basement starters then protect yourselves with career breaks, renting out your home, trying to keep your kids' place in school etc and suck it and see for 12 months.

Fairly esoteric question - ask your MARA registered agent I'd suggest.

No, not regretted it for one instant but our circumstances are such that we are now preparing to return to Australia (homeless and no longer needed to care for elderly relatives) and I'm not looking forward to it one bit but at least I'm not throwing up at the thought any more. It's been the most amazing 8 years and quite honestly I got my life back - lost almost half my body weight, got fit, laughed and belonged. Just hope I can view the move on to Australia as another adventure. Would do it again in a heartbeat even though 24/7 care of nonagenarians is far from being a picnic in the park.

What country are you resident of? If you are a visitor normally resident in UK then you are entitled to necessary medical care only - not full coverage under Medicare and you should get health insurance. You were only temporarily in NZ who also have reciprocity - but I dunno, did you stop being a resident of UK when you moved temporarily to NZ? And then, were you resident in NZ or just a visitor there? You're not on an aged parent visa if you are on bridging visa a - which you are likely to be on for many many years - you are only temporarily in Australia if and until you acquire a permanent visa, success isnt automatic.

Wish we hadn't taken the calor gas heater, obviously. Wish we hadn't sold the house but had rented it out. If you're a knitter, Aussie wool isnt as good as the UK/US kind. My son packed his bike to UK and is really glad that he did - so, bikes generally get a big tick and helmets are compulsory in Aus (some parts at least) so take them with you if you have them. The rest of our stuff is family memorabilia because we are clearing my parents' house out so there are photographs, slides, sundry documents. Our stick Dyson is a definite take with us, I love it! There are some little things to be aware of like your bedding probably wont fit as bed sizes in Australia are different. You may not get your tv to work - unless you get cable or a set top box (that used to be a biggie but with new smart tvs, I have no idea if they are picking up terrestrial or not). If you have little kids with car seats dont bother. UK car seats for kids arent legal in Australia and neither (though folk often ignore this) are cordless landline phones. If you have electrical appliances which have UK plugs which will be a faff to replace, take with you a UK power board - then you only have to change the plug on the power board rather than getting a never ending supply of adapters. The one thing I really missed from Aus when we came here was the lemon zester - but only at Christmas! We always take our kitchen knives because we are a knife family and have top quality ones. I'm really being a good girl this time and having a second go through of all that I have put aside to take and thus far my dad's collection of later Dick Francis (which I dont have) are going off to Ziffit or the Op Shop because I tend to use Audiobooks these days but DH hasn't culled much despite numerous hints from me (books are cheaper here)

Going through this at the moment - we already have a house in Australia so a bit but we are taking a move cube with all the books and Wool we have accumulated over the past 8 years. Clothes, the DH’s bike, a freezer which is new and, of all things, a tumble dryer which is new. DH has some tools as well and that’s about it. When we moved originally, the DH made a 1m cubed crate and we sent the bikes, kids toys, a portable calor gas heater (totally useless) and a chair that someone had given him. We posted all our books that time.

Kids have to be enrolled before their 6 th birthday and the cut off date for NT is 30 June so if you're child turns 5 before 30 June they can start full time school in the January of that year however if their birthday is closer to that cut off point they may well be advised to hold off for a year for a bit more maturity. But there's no compunction to send a kid to school before their 6 th birthday. You've got plenty of time to get it sorted - however, if you want to work you'll have to pay child care.

There are better beaches pretty much anywhere along the coast. It used to be a joke when people said they were going to live on the GC almost as if why would anyone with an once of sense actually want to live there? Obviously people do live there and seem quite happy but, personally, nah!

So he will start full time school in the January after his fifth birthday. Nice and easy

As long as he has turned 5 by 30 June of the year that he plans to start his first year of full time schooling in the January he should be ok. However if his birthday is c Apr/May/June they may suggest he waits a year before starting so he could be 6 starting school. Remember it’s a foreign country with several completely different education systems and a different academic year (Jan-Dec) usually 9-3 but many schools have before and after school care

You know that his experience pre-degree won’t count.

Yup, renewed ours in 2018 and did the same thing - said I had an Australian passport but needed it for travel and the new UK one arrived within the week

He isn’t “repeating” year 11. He won’t have done the coursework, it’s a foreign country with a different education system! All he will be doing is joining his age cohort and starting a new curriculum in a foreign country. If reports are true from people arriving, he will find it a doddle, wouldn’t worry about it. Don’t even think about trying to start him in year 12 - that’d be like expecting him to do well in A levels after missing the first year of the course

Yup, they are indeed. F-i-L (Changi Vet) and M-i-L were very well treated right across the board even when the M-i-L was widowed. I wish UK would do the same for its vets!

Nope, user pays in Australia. Veterans and some pensioners may get concessions

As long as your son is in Australia in the January of the year he's just turned or about to turn 16 he should be fine. He just needs to do the full 2 years of the yr 11/12 course. If he can't do that then delay your arrival until he's finished A levels. Moving before 16 into the Australian system is easy enough but it gets harder once they've turned 16. A levels convert well into Aus university entrance requirements. Ignore the year level names in the two countries just look at the peer cohort age group.

You could try the old country humour, without letting him know that he creeps you out with a straight look and a "Put a sock in it, that is getting old now!" And walk on by.

Aha, that's a different ballgame! Talk to your supervisor unless he is the supervisor in which case go to the supervisor's supervisor. Is he giving you weird comments in the workplace or are you seeing the stalking behaviour outside the workplace only? How big is your husband and would he be a good street scrapper? (Vicarious protection).

Probably not normal banter especially if he is continually lurking around the sand dunes and your initial "leerily" comment is probably colouring your thinking in hindsight. I'd ask a local friend if you have one - just a "oh I had a weird experience the other day" kinda thing and see if they chuckle and say "oh yes Old George, he's always asking" or if they tell you to run fast in the opposite direction of course. Either avoid the beach if you can, take a dog, take martial arts lessons, carry a can of hair spray or any other personal protection device you may have. If you do see him again, dont engage at all and if it continues check out the local cop shop, they generally know.

It's a foreign country with a completely different education system so he is bound to have missed something in the process, especially because he may well have effectively had one less year of schooling anyway because of the relative start dates in each country (I dont know if he started school in UK or not) . Feedback from most returnees has been very positive in that kids have been well supported when they move to the UK system from Australia and any gaps are quickly filled - on the upside, he will have probably experienced a different way of being taught which (if you believe the Aussies) will have made him a more independent, investigative learner. Now is the time to get him back into the UK system though, leave it much later and you miss the start of examination programs

Yeah, it's the casual walk out to the clothes line that does for you! I got several on my last day in Australia doing just that!

Bummer! Welcome to the Goody Two Shoes club!

No, and is bloody frustrating!!! I've had my tiny sewing Scissors confiscated too! There are occasions when I would have happily whipped out my pocket knife to cut food! On my last trip I fed back to qantas the need for them to test that their meals can be managed with the pathetic cutlery they provide - one meal was tough as old boots. If they "progress " into wooden cutlery I shall be eating with my fingers as I'm highly tactile sensitive to wood in my mouth!

That's why I said it might be out of date! Qld was one of the worst for lack of transfer though!