Australia

[Flute56]

About 13 years ago I went to Sydney to stay with some relatives. I was not keen on Sydney as I found it to busy. I am from the UK and live on the outskirts of London. Fast forward to this year and this month. I decided to go back to Australia but to a quieter place so I decided on Perth. I have to say that I absolutely loved it. I wasnt staying with controlling relatives so I could do as i wanted. I only spent two weeks in Perth but that was enough to tell me that I wanted to go back. The weather was gorgeous, the people were friendly and it was very easy to get around on bus and train. Since returning, Perth is all I have thught about and all I want to be in. I realise going on holiday to a place is very different from actually living there. Someone said to me that if my life in the UK was wonderful then I would not be dreaming ot Perth and they said what makes you think that my life would be any better in Perth than the UK. I would have to start all over again and make new friends. At least in the UK I already have friends and I think there are more benefits to living in the uK like the NHS and I live in a council house so although i rent, it is very secure and I have lived in this property for 25 years which is very well maintained, I am also aged 60 and most people move abroad when they are much younger.

I do not know how to get over this feeling of Australia is wonderful and the UK especially living close to London is not. I have never liked winter, hate snow and ice and would not get any of that in perth or. I have not seen a great deal of England never been to Devon or Cornwall and once many years ago i travelled through the Cotswolds and thought it was nice. The other thing i want to ask it has anyone heard of anyone moving to Australia and then thought what on earth have I done and returned home to the UK. When I was in Perth I met a guy from London who said he was bored with his job etc and decided to try his luck in Perth and he said he loves it and has been there for 10 years now and has no regrets

I just wanted to rant. I am currently saving up to go back to Australia next year and maybe doing some more of perth and a few days in Adelaide

glad you had a great holiday. Are you thinking of moving to Australia? I’ve only travelled there not lived but I guess you’d have to look at your budget carefully as I don’t think it’s cheap and also see if it’s even possible to emigrate. I wouldn’t give up a council house lightly, but if you feel you want to change your life, maybe see if you could exchange and move somewhere else in the uk.

Like you say, you haven’t been to many place in England. Why don’t you try somewhere like Devon or Cornwall, you’ll get a more relaxed lifestyle than London, beautiful beaches etc.. Perth is a long way and very far from friends and family. I have heard of many people who have moved over and come back, it’s very different living somewhere to visiting for a holiday, although Perth is wonderful I’m sure. I’ve just googled though and apparently Perth gets more rainfall than London, although it will be warmer rain!

Not to put a downer on you, but I'm not sure whether you would be eligible for a visa. (Unless you are already PR?) www.immi.gov.au
Australian government likes younger taxpayers who will contribute for a good few years before taking money back via health and pensions (which are mostly private- state is means tested)

It's really nice that you're working on your hopes and dreams and that they make you happy

There is no expiry date on your dreams nor do they have to make sense to someone who hasn't got your experience or lived a second of your life. Thank you for sharing your hopeful story 💓

I think it's roughly something like a over a third of UK emigrants to Australia end up returning within three years. But to be honest I'm not sure how successful you'd be obtaining a visa at 60, you'd probably need a lot of money in the bank to be accepted. As you say, you've got secure council housing where you are, which is not something you'd want to chuck away really, especially as you're heading towards retirement years. Sounds like maybe you just need to jig your life up a bit. A week in the the Canaries in January is an easier escape from the miserable winter weather than heading off to Aus!

I moved to Perth ten years ago when I was in my forties. I absolutely love it. Nowhere is perfect of course but its a wonderful place to live, clean, beautiful with a wonderful Mediterranean climate. Someone said it rains more here than in the UK, well maybe but its all in winter, the rest of the year is sunny and dry. As for moving here, at your age I think your only hope is to marry an Aussie, unless you are very rich I think the visa cut off is 45. Also, not everyone loves it, although I only know one family who went back and that's because they couldn't get a permanent visa, they really wanted to stay. Anyway, check your eligibility before you dream on, you might have to settle for just holidays!

What eligibility do you have to live in Australia? Do you work in a skills shortage industry? What about retirement funds? Pre-existing health issues? I know someone younger than you who looked at Australia and they couldn't qualify for anything other than a visitor's visa.

Just agreeing with what a few people have said. Would you be eligible to apply to live here? My Sons partner came out last year so she had the partner visa . She can live here permanently now . The visa wasn’t cheap either . I’m in Melbourne, not Perth, but I have been to Perth and it is a lovely city. What ever happens and what you decide ,good luck.

I'm also wondering if you'd be granted permanent residency with the information you've given.

The geographic isolation and the sharks would give me pause for thought!

It's certainly very beautiful (and close to other places of great beauty), and while my Perth colleagues often complain about the weather it seems pretty good overall. If you like your summers very hot.

I would not be going near sharks! The geographic location would not be an isue. When I was on holiday in Perth a couple of weeks ago I met a bloke who was younger than me. He said he lived in England and hated his job and decided to move to Perth. I said how long have you been living in Perth and he said 10 years. I guess from the way he was talking, he is not married and he looked in his 40s. He said he has no regrets about moving to Australia and is very happy. I also know a woman who is acrually older than me who originates from Perth who emigrated to the UK and lives in London. I think she moved here 30 years ago. I have no idea what brought her here because all her family live back in Perth as do her friends but in the time she has lived here she has made friends and from time to time members of her family and one or two of her friends from Australia have come over to visit her. My friends would not have the money to travel to Australia and three friends have told me they could not travel that far to visit and one family member said they would not have the inclination to visit Australia because it does not interest them. Fair enough, there are countries that I have no interest in visiting, but I have been thinking that living in England means I am close to other European countries to visit which are nice. Where do Australians go for a foreign holiday? New Zealand?, Malaysia, Tonga? The choice is limited unless you want to travel very far to America or Europe.

Perth people go to Bali a lot, as its close and cheap. Lots of interstate travel too, and lots of places to holiday in WA, but going to Bali is cheaper than holidaying at home.

Where do Australians go for a foreign holiday?

Wherever they want😵‍💫. You go wherever you have an interest in visiting. For some that’s the US (although I believe that has decreased a lot after Trump initially hit in), for others places in Europe, or the UK or anywhere really. At present most of my colleagues seem to have gone to Japan this year. No idea why though, seems one comes back, says had nice time, would recommend it turn everyone books? Thailand is always popular with Aussies. Apart from Japan recently though, most people i know here manly have European holidays. For those not wanting to splash the cash for that they seem to have really short get-always in Fiji.

All of this aside, do you have PR, and if not how are you eligible to come and stay permanently? Age is not on your side even if you are in a wanted occupation list, and no offence but if you are in a council house that tends to rule out the only other avenue which is presenting a huge bank balance and buying g your way in. Or marrying and spousal Visa, do you have an Australian spouse/partner?

Well ,if we want to go Europe or America , we go . Yea , it’s more flying time but you plan and save as in any holiday. As for where we go , I’ve been to a lot of Asian countries. They are amazing and you learn so much from their cultures . Most are also great value for your buck . Have you inquired about your visa eligibility because it seemed you were thinking of immigration. ? Just curious .

I am from Perth and emigrated to England just over 15 years ago. My family are all in Perth as well as some friends and I travel back occasionally. But honestly compared to living in the UK, Perth is so dull.

However I suppose if you are after warm weather it's got that in spades. People holiday mainly within WA, in SE Asia and the eastern states. Any further and it's bordering on a long haul. From Perth, Beijing and New Zealand/Pacific Islands like Tonga are about equidistant flying time.

Cost of living is huge in Aus, and if you are working that's fine as the good wages cover it, but if you are looking to retire there it could be extremely pricey. There is also a housing crisis so rental accommodation will not be easy to come by and house prices are crazy for anything near good transport links. The urban sprawl is unreal and for most places you definitely need to drive to get anywhere.

I don't mind going home for a visit, but am always happy to leave as nearly everything in my life in the UK is better, but your mileage may vary.

God - whenever there is an australia thread , there is such silly comments from people who have never lived or even been here.

health care - it's great.
sharks, spiders, dangerous animals - not a big daily issue - seriously!!!!
it's so far /where do you holiday - Perth have added 12 new direct flights in recent years.
it's expensive - true but wages do balance.

Anyway , unfortunately I don't think visa is possible at your age without a child sponsor. I sponsored my parents and it was incredibly expensive due to their age and took a long time.

For foreign holidays from Australia, Asia and the Pacific, usually.

I get it OP, went to Perth 3 years ago and fell in love with WA, going back soon. I'd move tomorrow if I could in my early 40s with a decent paid job here, sadly neither me or DP have a desirable skill set nor the money so it'll be holidays for us. I'll keep playing the lottery in hope.

As others have said it is unlikely that you will get a visa unless you have hundreds of thousands in the bank.
we lived in Perth for a couple of years and returned to the UK for family reasons.
Perth in my opinion is a large sprawling housing estate that is broken down into suburbs most with their own school/shops etc.
There is no doubt that knowing it is going to be warm
a dry for months on end is lovely and the ability to plan social activities around this is nice.
However the other side is that it is boring as fuck, you have to wait forever for a decent band to play, subjective I know,
I met so many people who were “trapped “there as their children were settled and they couldn’t either emotionally or financially return to the UK.
while wages are better do not be fooled into thinking this does not match the cost of living.
Free healthcare is good because so many people choose to pay privately therefore less demands on state services.

As a family we do much more outdoor activities in the UK as it was often too hot to do things in the summer, mental
I know. I remember a woman I worked
with told me to get up at 5am to do my gardening!

I am glad we gave it a go bit much happier close to
family and friends

I never said I went to Perth 3 years ago. It was 3 weeks ago. My uncle emigrated to Camberra in the 1940s and remained there until he died 10 years ago. I went to visit him and he said he missed England but would never return because he was in his 80s and had 5 children living in the Sydney area and several grandchildren

Immigrating in the 1940s was a different kettle of fish to doing so now. Have you looked at visas? Are you even able to consider Australia realistically?

Whilst in Perth the average price of a restaurant meal was 22 dollars which when I translated it to pounds was roughly what I would pay for a meal in a restaurant in the uk. Also shoes are roughly the same price as I was looking for a pair of shoes. Perth bus is free which is not what London buses are and the price of a one day train pass which also includes the bus is10 dollars 50 which I thought was quite reasonable and you can take as many journeys as you want for that

Why are you avoiding the questions on your eligibility and visa ?

I noticed that too.

Also, $22 for a meal? Maybe if you get a simple main with no drinks or anything else, in my experience.

I live in Perth, it's fantastic no doubt. I've lived in both the north and south of England as well, so can compare.
It has a lot of positives- awesome weather, relaxed vibe, plenty of job opportunities, fantastic wages, friendly people, the fastest growing city in Australia and you can see the investment. A lot of money in this city for sure. Yes buses all free within the city centre and the public transport system is clean and efficient. There are a lot of shows, festivals, music events- much of it is also free and we make the most of the weather for evening concerts etc.
I would double check those prices for meals though... You might get a burger and chips for $22, but a decent main course would set you back more like $35 to $50.
If you are working here and earning AUD you will be fine. As a comparison I earned £24k at the top of my scale in the UK (admin) and for a similar role I was earning $90k (now have moved on to 120k pretty easily).
Yes we holiday in Bali, Lombok, Thailand, Singapore, Langkawi, Vietnam etc, and we have lots of direct flights further afield EG to Barcelona and London (Istanbul coming shortly), China, NZ, Dubai, Hong Kong. I go to South America once a year, North America once a year and Europe once a year pretty easily.
I would say go for it, you won't regret it! ❤️

when i was in perth the average meal in a restaurant was 22 dollars which converted to pounds is what I pay here. Also I was looking for shoes and calculating the cost in pounds is also what I pay here for shoes