trottytrue

Cheers...So true but like you say it doesnt matter who it is they still mess with it.

In the UK people find a way around how much they can get. I know quite a few who have recently sold their homes and given the money to their children and then applied for council homes and benefits. You just have to know how to do it.

Its such a pity we cannot all do our best as individuals for our country whether rich or poor.

Celticspirit

That's quite shocking :-(

mikelincs

Could cause problems though as they usually want to see bank statements for the last 3 months when you apply.

aries

My total health care was certainly better in South Australia. During the past 16 months I've needed to use medical practices and hospitals in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire and Devon, and my experiences with these is that the NHS is poor and in meltdown putting patients in danger. I am sure many people are satisfied, but have they known anything better? The only aspect I can praise is the ambulance service.

Next week I am having an angiogram so I hope this one is an improvement on the last.

I didn't return to Britain for the NHS but to escape Adelaide's summer heat and to be nearer to family. Sadly my sister in Lincolnshire has recently been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and doesn't have long to live. The hospital procrastinated and procrastinated in giving her tests, and then it was too late.

Trying to sell my flat here and making a big move back to Adelaide would be too stressful for me, and because of my Australian Permanent Resident's Visa, I have just 18 months left to return. Nevertheless I also have to remember the reasons why I left Australia after living there since 1960.

I am getting used to living in run-down Britain with its narrow, traffic-clogged streets and inefficient services, but I would not have returned here if my rose-coloured holiday views of life "back home" had not been a factor.

black swan

I live in Western Australia & my daughter is in South Australia. I have not lived in the UK since 1979 so cannot compare health care in both countries. However I never hear complaints about the health care here. One has a choice of joining a private health fund or being a Public patient. If Public then you wait awhile longer but if it is urgent then you will get treatment almost immediately.

My daughter has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a few days she had an ultrasound, also an MRI which costs over $700 but as a public patient she has not had to pay anything. Fortunately she is in the early stages will have surgery within a short while. Certainly people who are pensioners or low income earners do not have to pay for treatment. I'm not sure if higher income earners pay a portion of the costs after getting a rebate from Medicare.

If you are a high income earner it pays to be in a health fund or you will pay a higher tax. All working people pay 1% of their wages towards the Medicare system .
Aries . . I am very sorry to hear about your Sister. I have read every post on this thread since the beginning & took special interest in you because you left Adelaide after so long. I also dislike the hot summers & miss England but it's swings & roundabouts I suppose. Adelaide & Perth summers are very similar.

J.JsOH

Yes, it appears that some are so well able to squeeze in all the right places .
We have a debtor with a County Court judgement against him but the bailiff gave up on trying to collect because, as the bailiff said "the guy knows all the angles to avoid paying"

J.JsOH

I'm sad for you, your words match what I often feel and are the other side of the coin to those that come back and seem to enjoy and thrive in this environment.
Please accept a hug.

sallysimmons

My brother tried to get on the list for a council house when he was unemployed. The waiting list in Leeds is years long and his only option was going to be a really tawdry and filthy B&B. We all lent him money to save him from ending up there.

The fact is that council housing was sold off in the 80s under Thatcher and there is now not enough for all the truly needy people, many of whom live in squalor. But demonizing benefits claimants is how rich and powerful people distract the rest of us from what they're doing.

Another fact is that benefits fraud actually accounts for 0.8% of the total benefits budget. 0.8%! That's what some people spend their time and energy worrying about.

Aries, you make a great point about people having unrealistic expectations. For anyone reading: If you like your life where you are, be very sure that things will be better for you in Britain before you move home. This is a beautiful country if you can afford to live in a nice, uncrowded area and a comfortable home, and if you have a good network of friends and family. But it's all relative to what you left behind and what's important to you. One walk in the countryside here can heal my soul and make everything alright, but it doesn't have the same effect on everyone.

People who get all caught up in how wonderful every aspect of England is when they're living somewhere else definitely have on rose colored glasses.

aries

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter, fortunately she has received tests very quickly and is also being treated quickly. I received very good care at the current Royal Adelaide Hospital adjacent to the Botanic Gardens, a lovely location, but the new RAH being built at the other end of North Terrace will be an eye-opener with 800 single rooms. Unbelievable for a public hospital.
http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wc...laide+hospital

Germany has marvellous health facilities, but to gain full advantage expensive insurance is necessary. This has prevented me from moving there permanently, pre-existing cardiac problems hike the premiums up enormously. However I suppose all health services have their shortcomings, and we all have different experiences.

My eldest sister lives in Gawler (for the uninitiated it is about 25 miles north of Adelaide's CBD), and to access A & E services at the small hospital there, a fee is payable, an account being sent by post.

aries

On the plus side of moving back to Britain . . .

Supermarkets are much cheaper.

Telephone and broadband are much cheaper.

I am nearer to family and Europe and don't have to come back for 3 to 12 months to make it worthwhile.

I can have boat trips in South Devon without it costing an arm and a leg. Only £2 return to Brixham, or a day trip to Dartmouth and up the River Dart on "The Fairmile." http://greenwayferry.co.uk

I am not being debilitated by the summer heat any more. I saw a heading in the Daily Express last week saying that Britain would be sizzling in 79 degrees on Monday, that's only 26º C. In Torquay at the moment (noon) the temperature is 14º C and a gale is blowing!

However despite the lower cost of living, I am not saving any money as I could in Australia, and of course interest rates for savings are pathetically low. Good for people wanting a mortgage if their income is up to it.

black swan

Aries I do envy you being so much closer to interesting places you can visit. Life is easy here in most instances but rather shallow. Drive hundreds of Klms & just another beach. After 40yrs sunshine is not important anymore.

We go to Adelaide twice a year. We always get the train out to Gawler . . nice hotel there that serve good meals. Often fancied living there but it would be far too hot there.

Our daughter had her baby at Royal Adelaide Hospital. She had a lovely room overlooking the Botanic Gdns. Went in as a public patient & with no costs at all.

I suggest that if you want to keep up with Adelaide on the net read pomsinadelaide. Or the local paper called Adelaidenow.

Irish Guinness

I can honestly say that I am over the heat in Adelaide this year.it's Autum and we have not seen any rain to speak of,just so hot and dry !!!

I also loved Perth, but again way to hot,don't get me wrong I love the sunny days but not the high 30's and 40's

My favourite time of year in Oz has to be Autum and Spring...just beautiful,except this year

jasper123

Sally, How very true these words that you wrote here are, I agree and this is how I feel too,

Everyone that are still in there thinking stages have a lot to think about before making the big decision to come home and try a new life in U.K.
Everyone's circumstances are completely different, even when you add up all the pros and cons, its altogether different when you actually come home for good!!!
People who are retired like me and have a modest retirement income have a lot less to think about, especially if like me are coming home to a family home, living with someone who you actually get along with,

hence not having to find a place affordable to live ---- which can be hard work and very daunting,

But then you have all the expats who are still in there working stage of life, that are coming back home in droves with little or no family here, and no home to come to, and very little money, This is called REALLY doing it the hard way!!!
They have to try and find affordable rental right away, and try and find a Job ---- not easy!!!! and then all the other settling in stuff that has to be taken care of, its not at all easy!!! But all of you that have done it, I respect and admire,

but I will say that I myself would not have come home if I had not been of retirement age, but thats just me,

One thing that is very important and I know this has been talked about before, Its Money!!!! IF people come home with enough money to tide them over for a long time then all these problems like finding a place to live and finding a Job will be a lot more easy to do when you know that you have a nice healthy nest egg in the bank,
So how much would you need, well me thinks ---- figure say at least 6 months apartment rent say £600 per month to be on the safe side, 6x600 = £3600, then say another £3600 for food & bills & incidentals, so £7200 for six months would be OK ------
But if I were coming home cold and homeless and Jobless, I woulwouldn'tl comfortable unless I had enough money to last me a whole year, so I would have to double that to £14,400
Just saying thats all!!!!

Best to calculate how much money you will need for a year by using the high end ----- rather then the bare minimum, ---- peace of mind to know that you will be alright if you cant find a Job right away is very important,

One does not want to be running around like a chicken with his head cut off worrying how to survive!!!!
Rodney.

black swan

Adelaide's forecast was 29c yesterday & it's the end of Autumn! I will be going there in July & it will be very cold if the same as last year.

Perth does have mild winters which I look forward to. Just wish they lasted longer.

Pollyana

Quite a lot of our Aussie posters are Adelaide based now too

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=54