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Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Old Jan 10th 2013, 7:58 am
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Default Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Hi All

We moved to WA in Oct 2008 when the exchange rate was 2.4-2.5, so we got the benefit of that when exchanging our GBP to AUD.

When we moved back to the UK, the exchange rate was 1.5 so this worked in our favour when exchanging our AUD to GBP.

We are just applying for a 5 year resident return visa as we are not ruling out the thought of returning to Australia in the next 5 years. For me right now, with the exchange rate being only 1.5, I wouldn't consider the move.

However, if the rate was 2.4 (or ever got to the glory days of being 3 AUD to 1 GBP) and was staying around that, I would certainly be more open to moving back to Australia sooner rather than later.

I wondered what other people's thoughts were on this.......
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 12:40 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back?

Hi,

You posted this in the moving back to the UK forum, but I'm assuming you are referring to Australia, so I've moved the thread for you.

If I've got it wrong give me a nudge and I'll move it back again
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 1:41 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

If I was going to move from one country to another the decision would be made on the basis of many different factors of which the exchange rate would only be one, and certainly not the most important.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 2:15 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Whilst I would have appreciated a better exchange rate when I moved, there is no way I would choose where to live based on exchange rate, no.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 2:27 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by Gill73
Hi All

We moved to WA in Oct 2008 when the exchange rate was 2.4-2.5, so we got the benefit of that when exchanging our GBP to AUD.

When we moved back to the UK, the exchange rate was 1.5 so this worked in our favour when exchanging our AUD to GBP.

We are just applying for a 5 year resident return visa as we are not ruling out the thought of returning to Australia in the next 5 years. For me right now, with the exchange rate being only 1.5, I wouldn't consider the move.

However, if the rate was 2.4 (or ever got to the glory days of being 3 AUD to 1 GBP) and was staying around that, I would certainly be more open to moving back to Australia sooner rather than later.

I wondered what other people's thoughts were on this.......
That philosophy works or does not in your case if you intend on bring your life savings with you.

For me, I left everything financial in the UK when I moved at an exchange rate of about 1.5 and started from scratch in Oz.

I have now been earning Aussie dollars for 2 years now and on todays exchange rate I have as much in the bank in 2 years here than it would take me 5 or 6 years to accumulate in the UK.

So if you are asking the question then my answer is, move, earn Aussie dollars, enjoy the value of the $A dollar, and leave all your pounds in the UK.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 4:09 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by Beoz
That philosophy works or does not in your case if you intend on bring your life savings with you.

For me, I left everything financial in the UK when I moved at an exchange rate of about 1.5 and started from scratch in Oz.

I have now been earning Aussie dollars for 2 years now and on todays exchange rate I have as much in the bank in 2 years here than it would take me 5 or 6 years to accumulate in the UK.

So if you are asking the question then my answer is, move, earn Aussie dollars, enjoy the value of the $A dollar, and leave all your pounds in the UK.
That is what I did too. You just have to optimise the circumstances that you are in and control what you can control.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 4:13 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by Gill73
I wondered what other people's thoughts were on this.......
My thoughts are that the rate is unlikely to change for a very long time indeed, in fact it is best to think of sterling as having been permanently devalued. The inevitable reduction of Australian interest rates over the next few years will of course have an effect though.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 6:12 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Hi, we will be moving to WA as soon as our house is sold here in the uk. We were hoping for a better exchange rate but with the uk economy as it is I can't see it going up any time soon. We will have approximately 180 k pounds to either transfer or leave in the uk. Are we better off to transfer at the current rate of approx 1.5 and earn interest in oz or leave it here and earn next to nothing in the uk banks hoping that the exchange rate will improve . Is the interest rate any good for savings in oz?

Hope I made sense.

Thanks for any input.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 7:25 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

The exchange rate would only be one factor, if we wanted to return to Australia we would do it regardless of the rate at the time. As they say life is too short to worry about this sort of thing too much. If the exchange rate isnt favourable then you just cut your cloth accordingly.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 7:27 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

It's certainly helping!

I know of quite a few folk who would have moved back to UK at some point in their lives but couldn't afford it at the time. One or two have now taken advantage and been able to move but for others the favourable exchange rate came too late.

In general though, I agree, it was a whole raft of things that made the move back to UK right for us and the exchange rate has been the icing on the cake. It's the first time in our lives we have been lucky with exchange rates.
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Old Jan 11th 2013, 11:23 pm
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by becandal
Hi, we will be moving to WA as soon as our house is sold here in the uk. We were hoping for a better exchange rate but with the uk economy as it is I can't see it going up any time soon. We will have approximately 180 k pounds to either transfer or leave in the uk. Are we better off to transfer at the current rate of approx 1.5 and earn interest in oz or leave it here and earn next to nothing in the uk banks hoping that the exchange rate will improve . Is the interest rate any good for savings in oz?

Hope I made sense.

Thanks for any input.
Yeah. Don't sell the house. Rent it out. The UK generally see's a far greater rental yield than Oz. It's only 180,000 pounds. That aint going to get you sweet FA in Oz
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Old Jan 12th 2013, 8:10 am
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by Beoz
Yeah. Don't sell the house. Rent it out. The UK generally see's a far greater rental yield than Oz. It's only 180,000 pounds. That aint going to get you sweet FA in Oz
Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we have to sell the house to fund the move. 180k is left after the move. What is the interest rate given by oz banks?

Thanks.
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Old Jan 12th 2013, 1:39 pm
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by becandal
Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we have to sell the house to fund the move. 180k is left after the move. What is the interest rate given by oz banks?

Thanks.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=savings+rates+australian+banks
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Old Jan 12th 2013, 9:31 pm
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by becandal
Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we have to sell the house to fund the move. 180k is left after the move. What is the interest rate given by oz banks?

Thanks.
It's going to take a massive interest rate for this to be favourable at the current exchange rate. Sounds like you already have your heart set on selling the house and shifting the money, but if I were you, based on the info provided, I would find another way of funding the move - loan off ma and pa, re-mortgage, etc, etc. It was about 10000 pounds for us to move and we didn't do it on the cheap. Seems a little drastic to sell a house over.
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Old Jan 12th 2013, 10:23 pm
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Default Re: Would a good rate of exchange make you move back to Australia?

Originally Posted by becandal
Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we have to sell the house to fund the move. 180k is left after the move. What is the interest rate given by oz banks?

Thanks.
I would not move this amount of money at today's exchange rates, it wouldn't take an exchange rate move of very much to offset any interest income. I would watch and see, you might not even like Australia anyway, so worth waiting from that angle too.
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