Christopher_John_Hurley

I was born in Wales then my family migrated to Australia when I was 14 (1970). I became a a Financial Controller and CPA in Australia but hated my job. I looked at many alternatives as I got older such as script writing and short film production, (even Amway!!), but could not find a viable alternative as far as interesting and rewarding occupation versus income production.
My daughter put me on to teaching in a foreign country and I ended up teaching English in Shenyang in the North East of China and have never been happier.
I was so happy I bought an apartment with a large chunk of my retirement savings.
Then I found out that to obtain the Foreign Expert certificate (which is required to get a work visa) you must be under 60.
I asked around and found quite a few older foreigners working in China who faced this issue.
The solutions offered were: marry a Chinese woman (but I believe it is a kind of resident visa not a work visa) set up a business (a business visa does not have an age limit but does not allow you to work)
Or join a university or school where the owner/manager has good relationships with government and can overcome these rules.
None of these seem to be good as a long term solution. (and I really did not want to get married just to stay in China!!)
I have both an Australian passport and a British passport so I thought maybe returning to my roots might be the answer.
Some family members in Wales tried to dissuade me saying that the UK is not a good place to come back to at my age unless I have money and a place to live. They advise me to stay in China as long as I can.
What do you think? Should I try coming back to the UK? Is there a place for a n over 60, ex accountant ESL teaching wannabe film maker (and song composer!) in the UK?

MoshiMoshi

Hi Christopher, welcome to British Expats.

How do you plan to support yourself financially if you do return to the UK? Do you have a pension that can be drawn here? Savings?

As in any country with plenty of English speakers, ESL is not especially well-paid here. At least, not unless you have more specialized qualifications and can work at the uni or business level. The regular ESL job market is mostly based in London, Oxford, Cambridge, and other uni towns. Not sure how much there is in Wales.

Editha

If you are thinking of retiring to the UK, I'd suggest spending time travelling in the UK first, to decide whether it is your cup of tea and whether you can afford the lifestyle you want here. If you are thinking of working, then ESL is poorly paid and you might struggle to find an accountancy job at your age, since you've never worked in the UK before.

robin1234

From your narrative, CJH, I would surmise that you have an Australian old age pension coming up in a few years time ... ? Also, you say you invested a chunk of retirement savings in a flat. Is that easy to sell and recoup savings, or will you take a major loss on that if you leave China?

Property of course is high in the UK, but there are plenty of places where you can buy a small flat or even a terraced house for very little. (80k? 140k?) Now, the general perception is those are not nice towns or not nice neighborhoods, but another perspective is that supply and demand means that some perfectly livable places have cheap property....

I would say that if you can buy a small property and have a state pension on the horizon, the UK is a good place to retire for a British citizen. You have the NHS, and also significant benefits for senior citizens such as the bus pass. If you can find a job (any job) then you'll be building up your NI contributions for a partial British state pension, too.

cyrian

Between the minimum £3.77 and £113.10 per week.
You need 30 years contributions to get the full pension.

formula

It's 35 years.

Editha

Even if you haven't got a state pension based on NI contributions, there is the Pension Credit, which guarantees a minimum income for people over state retirement age.

I don't know how it compares with what is available in Australia.

At the top of the UK forum homepage there is a link to a Wikilinks page which lists useful websites for over 50s returning home: Over 50's MBTTUK Useful Links/Info : British Expat Wiki

I confess that all of the entries were compiled by yours truly, but they do include a lot of useful information. I particularly recommend studying the Age UK site which has barrowloads of useful information about living in the UK in old age.

quoll

The age pension in Australia isn't a pension as most people know it - it's a means tested age welfare payment. There are residence requirements and it isn't much as people are expected to have superannuation to see them through. I'm not sure that Aus would be a great option either TBH.

Looks like you'll have yo move somewhere though and I guess on balance you'd go where you have the best support network, unless you're loaded!

Christopher_John_Hurley

Hello Moshi Moshi and thanks for your welcome and welcome reply!...and for going right to the heart of the problem. I want to support myself financially with some kind of job. But I have no idea what kind of job so it is difficult to search online as most searches involve specific jobs. I fully understand that an ESL position would be scarce as hens teeth and although my qualifications are acceptable for CHina I would assume they would be insufficient for professional status in the UK. (I am old enough to remeber the 'mind your language' TV series and downloaded it a few months ago! such innocent fun! though grossly racist!) As another member pointed out although I have a lot of experience working in accounting the UK rules would be different and I have been out of circulation for over 5 years and hence out of touch. Then of course there is the fact that I have passed my use-by date as far as employable age is concerned. I doubt if I would qualify for a UK pension as I left the UK so long ago. Even if I did I doubt if it would amount to much so I dont think I should rely on either that or any Australian pension I might qualify for. I do have some savings and investments in Australia but not enough for fincial independence and I need to preserve them as long as possible. BUt I could try checking out the Uni towns and seeing exactly what qualifications they require.

Christopher_John_Hurley

Hello Editha and thanks for your comments.
I understand that ESL teaching would not be well paid. Also it would be a different kettle of fish to teaching in China. But at least it is something I could do... if there is any kind of demand. The last time I travelled around the UK was something like 1995 so I imagine things are different now. I have heard a few ex pats in China complaining about how the UK has gone to the dogs, how bad the government is and how expensive it is and so many areas are not safe etc etc. They actively discourage me from considering this move so I am aware of that this possible move will be a big challenge. I do plan to take a trip to the UK at some point but I want to see if I can set up some opportunities to check out before I do....which is why I joined this website to get some feedback/ideas from people who have actually done it

Tirytory

I've just left Swansea- that's a university city with some very nice beaches etc. Wales is a reasonably cheap place to live (relative to other places in the UK) and I think the welsh are very welcoming and of course I'm not biased at all

I guess you just have to work out how to support yourself! Sorry that one I can't offer any advice on but Wales is good!

Christopher_John_Hurley

Hello Robin 1234
Yes, I assume I will qualify for some kind of pension from Australia. But, as with many governments, they are increasing the amount of reasons for them to reduce the amount or not pay anything, such as convoluted means testing. So I have not bothered to factor this into the equation... however now that you put it in this context that I realise that I should at least find out how the land lies for qualifying for any degree of pension from Australia. You also point out that I should also check out the prices for flats and town houses relative to what I might be able to realise from my apartment here. The difficulty would be getting the money out of China as there are many restrictions about this... So that certainly gives me something I can start researching... and stop stressing.. thanks a lot ;-)

Christopher_John_Hurley

Hey what button did I push to get here??? Anyway... thanks for the heads up... I am not sure if you mean I need to contribute for 30 years to get anything, or 30 years to get the 113.10

Christopher_John_Hurley

Ok... will do... looks like I have a lot homework to do!!!!

Christopher_John_Hurley

Ok, I think I am getting the hang of this now... I see you know your stuff. Yes, Australians are expected to fund their own retirement although that does not stop the government from looking at ways to get their pound of flesh from that too... looking at ways to get tax contributions etc. I completely agree returning to Australia is not an option I want to consider.
Not just for financial reasons.
The big sea change of moving to China has changed me. I had to evolve in order to adapt to being 'an an english teacher/standup comedian' rather than a mild mannered studious accountant...come script and song writing wannabe film maker!
So emotionally and psychologically I would find it very difficult to go back to my old life there.
I will try and stay in China as long as possble but you are right I will have to move somewhere at some point.
My theory is that Britain would be a new world to explore rather than go back to an old one. Unfortunately I am not 'loaded', I do have some money...but not enough to be financially independent. So I do need to find some way to earn money to pay the bills.