Marisawright

The question was published and answered

Moneycorp or Transferwise

How does he propose to enter the country?

Homely.com.au has a section on suburb profiles which is a good place to start

Why does he want to do that? What advantages does he think that will give him?

At your age, it's a tough decision to make, because no doubt the pension age will go up and up, and so many things can change before then - so for all you know, it could be money wasted. On the other hand, it's cheap IMO, and you'll hardly miss it now - but if you're unlucky enough to have a few reverses in your life, you could be very glad of that extra pension in your old age.

It's not a question of it being bad or good, it's a question of whether it's right for you or not. It's a very individual reaction. You'll either feel at home or you won't, and it has nothing to do with logic! so long as you both understand that and are sympathetic and open to each other's feelings, you'll be fine. Being independent of family is good because it removes one big stumbling block that a lot of migrants can't get over.

NSW is the state with the largest population, but Victoria comes a close second - and that population is packed into a smaller geographical area with more big towns. So Victoria has more job opportunities than any of the remaining states. Being the capital city, Melbourne has the most jobs - but on the other hand, competition for those jobs is also stiff. And the commute to city hospitals from the outer beach suburbs will be an hour or more. Geelong is the next biggest city. It's good for young families because it's more affordable than Melbourne but still has good schools and all the amenities of a big city - and unlike Melbourne, it has some good beaches near the city! The hospitals which struggle to recruit staff are the ones in inland towns and cities, because Australians do love their coastal lifestyle. Bendigo and Ballarat are two examples which are still close enough to the coast to visit on a weekend. Or you can go all the way to the NSW border along the Murray River - Albury Wodonga for instance. They won't give you the beach lifestyle, it's more of a "tree change", but you may find it easier to secure a role there initially.

...so they come back infected and infect everyone else. And it's not just the elderly they should be worrying about. There's more and more evidence that even if you have only mild symptoms, there's hidden damage that will come back to bite you later on - and that's at any age. I'm not going to quote statistics because the studies are ongoing so the numbers change, but it's getting more and more worrying.

What are the work conditions on your visa? If you have work rights, you can start your own business. If you do not have work rights, you cannot.

Do you pay tax of any kind in the UK on it?

I think you're right that it takes a couple of years to feel really settled, but I strongly believe that if someone really hates it, then there's no point in persevering that long. If a country is fundamentally not right for you, then you're probably going to know in the first year or so. The trouble with giving it 2 or 4 or 5 years is that your life gets entrenched. You've got jobs, bought a house, made some friends, and the happy partner is saying "but this is a great life, why would you want to go back?" The homesick partner can see the logic and feels like they have less and less and less of a leg to stand on, so they don't feel they can argue - but it doesn't change the fact that they're getting more and more desperate and quietly crying themselves to sleep at night.

I am an immigrant but when I migrated, I had no expectation that I was entitled to bring parents or other family to join me, and never attempted to do so. TBH, I had no idea how many people did feel entitled, until I joined these forums a few years ago.

I suggest you do the calculations. Work out how much 4 years rent will be. Now work out the cost of the extra stamp duty, FIRB fee, rates for 4 years (which you don’t pay when renting), conveyancing fees and finally, interest on the mortgage for 4 years (bear in mind that the bulk of your repayments in the first few years is nearly all interest - you’ll need to find a mortgage calculator to work it out) Which one comes out as cheaper? It’s often a myth that rent is money thrown away,. Some would argue that the house will be increasing in value during those 4 years but in the current economy that is less likely. Buying a house with a citizen won’t get you off the hook, it would need to be legally in her name - so effectively you’ll be gifting her the money

AIG is an insurance company so it should not have been surprising. Insurance companies make most of their profits by using premium money to invest in the stock market. The difference isn’t negligible

Contact the employer yourself, find out the correct person to speak to and let Immigration know

A visa can be refused at any stage before the final grant

Great to hear. Folks back home have had it tough. They deserve a break - literally! I think they're mad. Time will tell

Exactly this. The bottom line is that it's members of the family who made the choice to separate, and it's not the government's job to accommodate that. For British families where the children have moved to Australia, there is an easy solution if they're missing each other so much - the children can move back. The idea that Australia gives them "a better life" or "a brighter future" is just rubbish, as evidenced by the many families who have moved back and are delighted to have done so (you can find plenty of them on the forums here). Life in Australia is different, not better or worse. I do sympathise with people whose children have married an Aussie, because one set of parents must lose out - and it's always the British parents, because there is no visa for Australian parents to move to the UK. I also sympathise with migrants who have escaped from dangerous or poverty-stricken countries, because it's natural to want to bring your parents to safety, too. But it's the same the world over - all countries want skilled migrants, but they don't want the burden of extended family. That's the way the world works.

I'd be surprised if companies like Moneycorp or Transferwise are at risk of going bust. They're not money lenders or investment bankers, they just transfer funds around the world.

It does, but on a short term visa, you would be unwise to buy a house anyway

Where?

It’s probably more than 7%. In most states you’ll pay about three times the usual rate, plus the fee for FIRB. Probably not a good idea to buy as you’re not guaranteed to get PR and you won’t recoup those extra costs if you have to sell

The line, "the husband/wife is reluctant to move, but I'm sure he/she'll just love Australia" has been responsible for untold misery. If there's one thing this forum has taught me, it's that for the majority of people, the sense of "belonging" that comes from living in your own country is far more important than the superficial trappings of "the good life" in Australia. To be a truly happy migrant, you need to be a nomad (like me) - otherwise, no matter how good life is, there will always be a lurking sense of "something missing" which taints everything. It's broken up a lot of relationships! I'm sure it doesn't apply to Wanderer Returns, though. Provided there's a community from his wife's home country where they're going, she'll no doubt be fine.

A lot of people selling their Airbnb investment properties perhaps