dabberoo

Hi There...

I just wanted to use this forum as a bit of a sounding board, and obviously don't expect to receive the answer I'm looking for...

As the title suggests, my family and I (wife, 2 kids + 2 dogs) are contemplating are move back to the UK after 10 years in sunny Sydney.

Reasons for going back vary from anticipating that we can be financially better off in terms of a Mortgage (i.e. the plan to be mortgage free, or pretty close too, hopefully...). We currently own a property over here with a heavy mortgage hanging over our heads. Interest rates are low and house prices continue to increase but there is always talk that one day interest rates will rise as a recession one day will hit these shores. In addition there is always the extended family element in the UK, my wife is also British and we both have parents who are still fit and able to come and visit Oz, having the two young children in our grandparents lives (within somewhat close proximity) is an enticing prospect, but over time who knows what may happen.

We are at a junction in our lives in that our eldest child starts school next year (Oz Feb, UK September). So the dilemma has popped up in that is this opportunity to make the move prior to school and be better off (note - better off is a vague/subjective term used in this context...). We are also looking at a move within NSW as a back-up.

I've scoped out the employment scenario and managed to generate interest in two positions/locations in the UK - South Yorkshire and South West Midlands (Solihull). My current employment over here is quite prestigious in terms of the role plus the work life balance arrangements I have are excellent in terms of providing support to my family. The reason to move is not employment as I am happy where I am (although one of the positions would be of interest to me – Solihull). We do not wish to relocate to our 'home towns' so to speak, but anywhere in the UK is closer to our extended families than Australia…
In terms of the UK work location, we have uncertainty: How do you pick a right area to live, for schools. (We are looking at Ofsted as a starting point)? Demographics for the area…? This is all a desktop study online as we have no experience of the areas being contemplated…

To add to the mix, we have a few jobs round the house that need to be completed prior to the 'for sale' going up as we need to maximise the potential sale price.

So there is our dilemma in as brief as possible. Don’t expect a solution but any pointers would be well received in reaching a conclusion to our/my current Mid-life crisis…

Stay and enjoy what we currently have, too risky of a move, to many unknowns..?

Make the move, 6-12 months from now we will look back and think what all the stress was over..?

Thanks

verystormy

It can seem daunting, but it actually isn't. We spent over eight years in Oz before moving back last year. We went from decision - I had a job offer made - on a Tuesday night to jumping on a plane on the Saturday.


My advice would be to look initially at short term accommodation or a short lease close to where you will work. That gives you breathing time to look around areas for places you would like to live.

Spacecake799

For the schools, we were slightly different with our sons age but this is what we did.
We were in NZ for 6 years. We left the Midlands, my husband didnt want to return, so we watched Location location one night, loved the look of some houses and asked on here about the town. We checked out the school and emailed it and never got an answer.
In the meantime someone contacted me and mentioned another smaller town nearby with a high school. So i emailed them and exchanged some very promising emails.
So we found a house to rent on rightmove and moved there. Never been happier!
Good luck

holly_1948

Housing worldwide appears to be near the top of the latest asset inflation bubble.

So selling now and getting out from under a burdensome mortgage is an opportunity that may not come again for a long time if missed.
But all that only indicates where to move from, the field of "where to" is wide open.

Schooling for primary school age kids is not really much of an issue (within the Anglophone world). It's different for teenagers though. And the earlier kids start learning a second language the better.

brits1

Hi, We returned home after over 12 years in Aus (at one stage I thought it was 14!!!) we returned with two Sons and our Aussie Dog (who thoroughly loves being here in the UK) and yes I was daunted even by the thought of returning...just really the finding an area, colleges, Uni's etc but in the end it was looking back I should not of worried as much but hindsight is an excellent thing to acquire if at all. If having family in your child's life is important then return home, it does make a difference with help and closeness. Our two were little boys when they arrived in Aus and were close to their Grandparents, in Aus our Parents visited and at first wrote letters, then emails, then Skype but it really, really is not the same as having them physically in their lives continually, a decent substitute if there is no other way of course but its not the same. I hope whatever you choose makes you happy, we did well in Aus and our boys were fine but they eventually wanted to return to the UK and we were happy to return as well. Good luck

Novocastrian

Worldwide?? I don't think so.

HKG3

The OP should look into getting Australian citizenship for the whole family if not already done so. This will give the kids more opportunities in the future.

Also - check to see whether your British passport is due for renewal, get it done in good time.

British passport for the kids - once the decision is made with regards to relocation to the UK, the OP should apply for his children's British passports if they don't have one already.