MartinLuther

Nothing lasts forever.

hwilson

I suspect the GBP will soon start looking attractive to potential buyers, and spark a rise, to hopefully, the mid 1.70's at least.

mbike

We changed GBP into AUD 4 1/2 years ago at 2.54, just after we moved to Perth (it was at 2.35 when we first arrived). It sat in Australian Term Deposits of 6-7% all that time. We just changed the lot back into GBP last week at 1.66, which was our trigger rate, (having arrived back in the UK a couple of weeks after the previous bottom of 1.62 back in May and missed the boat on that one)

I would advise anyone thinking about money transfers to keep a realistic target figure in their head and then change when it reaches that. Otherwise you could be waiting for ever.

FWIW the money was from a house sale and is going back into a house purchase.

I've enjoyed all the to-ing and fro-ing on this thread over the last few months

Cheers

mbike

It's funny when you start working out the relative values of stuff. When I first went out to Australia I took an effective £10k paycut and my employers were struggling to pay even that, but by the time I left 4 1/2 years later I appeared to be earning almost £30k more even though my salary had only gone up a little!

The job I have in the UK now pays more or less the same as I was on in Australia but the conditions are better - and London is a much better place for my particular career than Perth.

The big difference is in accommodation/mortgage costs. We never bought in Oz but have just got a 2 year fix here at 2.99% which will halve our monthly accommodation costs

Agree about travel costs, but I figure I can afford it now we are not forking out $9000 to fly the family back to the UK every year to see family and friends. It all balances out in the end.

lancastrian48

Switzer prog on Foxtel said OZ dollar to continue to climb until xmas.

Scary

paulry

I need to exchange soon but it'll be the bare minimum at the current rate

Budawang

Australia is becoming much like Switzerland which has had a very strong currency for more than two decades. I moved there in the eighties when it was 1AUD for 2SFR. Three years later when I left it was 1 for 1. There was a long term shift in value.

Switzerland has remained attractive to the world's wealthiest people who see the benefits of living in a low tax, stable country as being important. High cost of living is not really an issue for these people. The other group that are attracted to Switzerland are guest workers who stay for a couple of years, earning much higher wages than they would at home, before returning home with significant savings. These people don't buy property, live frugally and save as much as they can.

koalakim

There maybe a shift to just doing contract or 457 work here or not giving up your UK assets the only problem is that if you leave all your money in the UK you're not earning anything on it! House prices are predicted to fall and there seems to be no shift in interest rates at the moment.

They were talking about the UK recovery being very slow and there were mutterings of more stimulus on the BBC website this morning.

It really is a difficult period for anyone considering permanent emigration because of the erosion of your finances. It's not just the exchange rate but some things are expensive out here compared to the UK. It just shows how much things change over a 10 year period as when we first muttered about coming out here rents, housing and cost of living were all much cheaper than the UK but by the time we actually got here and wanted to settle it's all gone skyhigh!

As you know we lost heaps with a bad exchange rate but sometimes you just have to go for it as we've had enough of renting. I can't believe we've ended up with a bigger mortgage than in the UK (although it's small for Oz) whereas if it had been $2.5 we'd have a tiny tiny mortgage here or could have had something near to the "dream home" and or a pool! We're gutted but it's just bad timing and I really can't see it getting any better in the next couple of years as the UK really is in bad shape.

Talking of Switzerland ...I had friends live in Cayman for a while, good salary, no tax and they thought they were going to save loads but ended up spending everything on the cost of living! Now that is one expensive place to live!

Don't forget interest rates in the UK will rise at some point on mortages, the UK has enjoyed very low rates for many years now but I've paid 6-8% in the UK and at one time we were paying 16% - now that was scary!

I wish everyone well you has this decision to make!

Wibble Wobble

This graph really puts things in perspective: http://yhoo.it/bQMJVx

lancastrian48

thestark reality indeed, basket case uk

bcworld

This one even more so:

Swerv-o

It's difficult to see which way the trend is going...


S

mbike

The CBA has just predicted parity with the USD by early 2011. So expect an imminent crash in the value of the AUD.

bingobob777

More QE touted in UK whilst interest rates are predicted to rise at least once, maybe twice in Australia over the next year.

There's only one way it's going and it isn't up, wouldn't be surpised to see $1.5 to $1 by the end of the year. puts me in a right pickle.

About to sell house and plan to be in Brisbane early February, do I leave cash in UK earning 3% or transfer it to Australian Dollars and earn 6%?

I'm moving over on a 4 year sponsored 457 visa and by my calcs tranferring it and earning 6% means that if at the end of the 4 years the rate is <$£2.01 I make money this way, if it's higher than $2.01 I lose money.

Seneca21

Someone on this website who lives in New York explained some time ago that their utilities, property taxes and healthcare alone come to $60,000 USD per year. The US is not a cheap place to live just because you can buy junk consumables for less. Oprah Winfrey's audience will not, however, have to make council tax payments while they are here, only buy cans of coke, etc., which are much more expensive. And that is no bad thing if you ask me.