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Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by Mary Kay
(Post 10693412)
Thank you all for taking the time to reply.
Like some of you have said, I need to make list of the pros and cons - and I need to do this, before I talk to my children. I know already, that they are going to tell me it's the wrong decision ..... I can move in with them etc. etc. I don't want to do that . That's why, I need to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I've always had a valid British Passport but have never worked in the U.K. therefore I do not qualify for a pension if I return (nor do I qualify for one here, as I am not a S.A. Citizen). I've looked at all the U.K. Gov. websites and I'm confused with the benefits thing, so I'm just going to ask some questions: 1. What does £400 plus housing benefit mean ? 2. What is a Housing Association rent and support ? 3. When you talk about pension credits, would the 12 years my husband contributed in Holland be of any value ? 4. I've been told that different areas have different benefits - is that right ? 5. I've also been told that the further North you go, the better the benefits, so, would Scotland be better than England or Wales ? 6. My friend's ex husband returned to Liverpool some years ago, he was allocated a small house at a reasonable rent, by the Council - is that still possible ? You are all lovely people here :starsmile: |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Jasper123....I think we have always made the point about money being the one factor that makes moving to the UK much easier. If you have the money you can afford to move out into the countryside or to areas which are less populated.
Aries....I am so sorry to hear about your sister that must be really hard for you but at least you are home with her. Your heart condition is there anything that can be done for it. Cheers....You are correct about Bus Services...It all depends which area you live in. A few years ago they started to cut back on services to villages and rural areas. In some places buses only run twice a week into towns and were my sister lives outside London they are every few hours but not dependable. In Lancashire close to Preston they have a good bus service. It just depends. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by aries
(Post 10702466)
The CBD and North Adelaide form an oasis surrounded by parkland before the suburbs begin, a genius of design. Unfortunately some of the old architecture has been demolished to make way for modern buildings, not always bad, but sometimes verging on criminal. Did you have time to visit the Monarto open-range sanctuary south east of Adelaide? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarto_Zoo The area was once destined to be a new town near Murray Bridge en route to Melbourne, but the idea was scrapped. Lovely to have wild animals roaming there instead of wild teenagers :thumbsup:
PS: I'm reminded that I should visit Paignton Zoo this summer, it's only 4 or 5 miles from where I live. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
I remember Gawler when we arrived in 1973 & it was a nice country town but now it has become very busy. It would get very hot there due to being far from the coast.
Adelaide has kept far more of it's old buildings than Perth did. That is one of the reasons I prefer the City of Adelaide. They have had temps of 29c & now a bush fire in the hills in SA & it's late Autumn. We would like to go back to England as you did Aries but our family is here now. And I don't think my OH would put much effort into overcoming the culture shock. We went back in 1977 for 18mths, everywhere looked grey & depressing & we came back. It's only now in retirement that we feel we might have made a mistake. But who knows how we would feel now if we had stayed. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by feelbritish
(Post 10702918)
Hi MaryKay, I am a little late here as have been extremely busy but have just read about your situation. I am going to offer the other side of the coin advice. I probably know more of your situation than others here being from South Africa myself. Although from Cape Town I spent a lot of time working in Durban. I feel so bad for you and think when the chips are so down sometimes you do not see the wood for the trees so to speak. You said you had friends in Henley and it is an area I know well because I moved to Marlow in 98. The first thing was that when I left SA I had sold a house, taken my pension and a company retrenchment package (although 51% went to the government :eek:) and was in upper management in my field. So I had means, bought a house and found an excellent job! I do not think I would be happy in England with no money, despite all these benefits everyone says you get because it will not be in an area like Henley. When I first moved to UK I was probably the most lonely person around especially after the first 6 months which was exciting buying house and learning my job and area. I am now much older and we want to move back from Canada to UK mainly to be closer to family. My thought is that I do not want to die one day an old lady all alone in some home with absolutely no family around! My OH and I would move back to Cape Town (which is very different I know to the rest of SA) but feel we are at the moment not sure of the direction of the country as you said! Most whites probably think that an Arab Spring or African spring is coming and are very negative because they hold onto their past lives instead of looking forward (they also keep reading all the bad news all the time). That country is no more! I am not sure what advice to give because whatever you do is going to a hard road but imagine that road without your children and grandchildren? Can you not rather move into a government sponsored retirement complex (there are quite a few in Cape Town I know) in your old town of Gonubie where you were happy? It is not that far from EL. A lot of these kind of places give you a small batchelor flat and charge you a percentage of your income. The house you have you could rent out as part of your income with your other small investments and perhaps find out if you can go with the government medical. I know it is a shock to a lot of white folks and more wealthy people to have to sit all day at a clinic but my friend's parents live in Robertson and they have very little to live on and use the local hospital. From the sound of your posts it seems you are disappointed with your children and your move more than the country. My mom had the same situation. My sister and her two children lived with her and after a long time of reflection my mom finally left my sister in the house paying rent and moved into a retirement complex nearby. She told me that she was more lonely at home with my sister and the kids because they were just so busy. She is now so much happier and has a wonderful social life and my sister makes an effort to visit with her and invite her "home" and the grandchildren phone her and come and visit whereas before she was "just there" and they never thought about it! I think before you do anything drastic you need to chat to your children. Can they not sell the house and buy you a small apartment. investing some of the money and then they will inherit that investment and apartment? I cannot think of anything worse than struggling in the UK. I have a couple of SA friends who are doing just that and they have been working there in high paying jobs for years but have either lost their jobs or become ill and because they have more than 6000 pounds in savings or a home they cannot get benefits. It may take a long time before you actually get any benefits and because you have not lived there most of your life, you may not qualify for much in this time with the new rules coming out. As others have said you need to make a list of pros and cons on actual facts. Start writing to these government dept in UK asking them what you can get. Do you intend to work in UK? Can your family visit you regularly every year and would you be able to return to EL for visits. This is what you also have to look at. Feel free to PM me if you want a chat! xxx
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Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by trottytrue
(Post 10703038)
Jasper123....I think we have always made the point about money being the one factor that makes moving to the UK much easier. If you have the money you can afford to move out into the countryside or to areas which are less populated.
Aries....I am so sorry to hear about your sister that must be really hard for you but at least you are home with her. Your heart condition is there anything that can be done for it. Cheers....You are correct about Bus Services...It all depends which area you live in. A few years ago they started to cut back on services to villages and rural areas. In some places buses only run twice a week into towns and were my sister lives outside London they are every few hours but not dependable. In Lancashire close to Preston they have a good bus service. It just depends. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by black swan
(Post 10703043)
I remember Gawler when we arrived in 1973 & it was a nice country town but now it has become very busy. It would get very hot there due to being far from the coast.
Adelaide has kept far more of it's old buildings than Perth did. That is one of the reasons I prefer the City of Adelaide. They have had temps of 29c & now a bush fire in the hills in SA & it's late Autumn. We would like to go back to England as you did Aries but our family is here now. And I don't think my OH would put much effort into overcoming the culture shock. We went back in 1977 for 18mths, everywhere looked grey & depressing & we came back. It's only now in retirement that we feel we might have made a mistake. But who knows how we would feel now if we had stayed. With sunshine, everywhere looks brighter and more cheerful, but this morning it is raining again. At least there is a small hole in the clouds where the sun is trying to shine through, so perhaps the day will improve. It is marvellous to be here on a nice day, however your OH might well have problems again if you returned. Life is different for everyone depending on your financial position and where you live. It is the same in Oz, nowhere is perfect. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Aries, the retirement village that your Sister lives in looks very nice. It looks as if they are all separate units. I think it is a great way to go especially if you are on your own.
I have heard a lot about the high price of electicity in SA . . . Said to be the highest in the world. My daughter has to ration when she can put the aircon on or she gets huge bills. Here in WA it is almost half the cost per unit. I have just had solar panels put on the roof so that next summer we can keep the house at a comfortable temperature without worrying about the cost to us or the environment. Once it's evening & you look forward to sitting outside & then the Mozzies come out too! Aries, did you not get dual citizenship so that you would have the choice to return if you ever wanted to? Earlier you mentioned a timeline of 18mths remaining. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by mikelincs
(Post 10703164)
One of the reasons why we have just moved, the small town we lived in had a bus every 30 mins, where we are now, buses pass the nearest stop around 20 times an hour in each direction, giving us a much better service, also we are just a couple of hundred yards from the rail station and the coach station.
It beats me why local governments don't subsidize bus transport to the hilt - you can get close to 100 people on a double-decker bus, and it runs cheaply, on diesel petrol. Instead, we have cars buzzing past every few seconds in the morning on their way to Glasgow to work. I'd definitely catch the bus to work, except I have to catch it at 6:20 or something stupid like that, in order to get to work more than an hour early, because the next one gets to town about 10 minutes later than I need to get to work on time. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by black swan
(Post 10703244)
Aries, the retirement village that your Sister lives in looks very nice. It looks as if they are all separate units. I think it is a great way to go especially if you are on your own.
I have heard a lot about the high price of electicity in SA . . . Said to be the highest in the world. My daughter has to ration when she can put the aircon on or she gets huge bills. Here in WA it is almost half the cost per unit. I have just had solar panels put on the roof so that next summer we can keep the house at a comfortable temperature without worrying about the cost to us or the environment. Once it's evening & you look forward to sitting outside & then the Mozzies come out too! Aries, did you not get dual citizenship so that you would have the choice to return if you ever wanted to? Earlier you mentioned a timeline of 18mths remaining. I didn't notice exceptionally high electricity prices in SA, but of course my age concession reduced it. I never sat out in the evening because of the mozzies, I preferred to sit inside, and unfortunately my sun-room was too hot in the summer. I have a three year time limit to return on my Permanent Resident Visa because I didn't naturalise, and I've now been here 18 months. I can't envisage returning to Oz even though the thought is attractive, there would be too much stress selling, moving and buying all over again. Age, health and finances are big factors in these things. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by mikelincs
(Post 10703164)
One of the reasons why we have just moved, the small town we lived in had a bus every 30 mins, where we are now, buses pass the nearest stop around 20 times an hour in each direction, giving us a much better service, also we are just a couple of hundred yards from the rail station and the coach station.
This morning I took a bus to Fareham, a village about 10 miles away, right in the heart of the Hampshire country, I left home walked to the bus stop (5 minutes) I just missed a bus so I waited 10 minutes and another one came along, they have a nice open air street market there, and they have lots of stalls selling lots of different things, I stopped at a stall where they were selling burgers and stuff, but there speciality for today was written on a big black board, roast hog roll, and I was watching them make em, there were a lot of people lining up for this delight, this guy was just packing this really lean thick sliced pork on this bap roll, so I watched him make a few of them and then I just couldn't resist it, as it was lunchtime and I was a bit peckish anyway I went to the back of the line to get one myself, big WOW!!! oh boy it tasted so good, a little english mustard and absolute heaven Hmmmmm :) £3.50 And then I toddled over the road and saw another long line of people who were buying pallets of freshly picked strawberries, they were picked in the village next door called Titchfield £2.00 per palet, so I just had to get to the back of that Line too ;) took a couple home so me and mum have a treat, the co-op is the best place to buy (REAL thick cream) so will do that too!!!! So getting back to Buses, as trotty said it all depends on where you live, in my area the service is second to none, but in the last year the buses have gone through a lot of cuts in service, especially in small village and country areas, The comment I made in an earlier post yesterday about the importance of bringing enough money home when folk make the move, well of course its better to have as much as possible, but on the other hand lots of people have come home on very little and still got settled and contented, I think in those cases though a lot of luck comes in handy, and also support from any family would be good, even if its only a little encouragement, and also we can learn from the people who have lived here all there lives, I was not suggesting that anyone should delay coming over just cause they dont have enough money, life is far too short for that, and we all deserve to be happy, I came over with just $5,000 USD but I dididn'tave to find a place to live, so for anyone in any circumstance I wouldn't suggest coming home with any less then that!!! just my thoughts, But for all those who are in the planning stages, I would like to say this, whatever you have to do to make it happen and make it work, whatever you have to go through once your over here, it is for sure worth all the effort, Ive been home for two & half years now, and it did take some time for me to settle down to the new life here, but once I did it felt just right to be here, Once you stop comparing the U.K. to your adopted country then it gets easy, But we all do that at first I think, just except that your home, and its different to what you left behind all those years ago, dont expect the UK to be perfect in every way cause its not, its got its problems for sure just like everywhere, but on the whole my feelings are that its got one hell of a lot going for it, wicked weather but so what, when the sun decides to shine through the clouds you sure appreciate it even if its only for an hour --- or two :) I'm 68 next month and without a doubt I know that I will never leave this land again, oh I will go on holidays now & then, but I know now that this is where I belong, and this is where I was born, and this is where I shall die, right here in Portsmouth, I was gone for almost 40 years, but I cant even begin to express the feeling that I have now I'm finally home, it just feels right!!! Take care, and good luck everyone, Rodney. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by jasper123
(Post 10703960)
Yes its the same story Mike, in Portsmouth, the bus service is fantastic here, I use the buses all the time, I go to a lot of different places, to the seaside, to the country areas, I visit a lot of lovely little villages within 5 to 20 miles from Pompey, there all so cool :) and whats even more cool is that I have a free no restriction bus pass :D you got to love it !!!!
This morning I took a bus to Fareham, a village about 10 miles away, right in the heart of the Hampshire country, I left home walked to the bus stop (5 minutes) I just missed a bus so I waited 10 minutes and another one came along, they have a nice open air street market there, and they have lots of stalls selling lots of different things, I stopped at a stall where they were selling burgers and stuff, but there speciality for today was written on a big black board, roast hog roll, and I was watching them make em, there were a lot of people lining up for this delight, this guy was just packing this really lean thick sliced pork on this bap roll, so I watched him make a few of them and then I just couldn't resist it, as it was lunchtime and I was a bit peckish anyway I went to the back of the line to get one myself, big WOW!!! oh boy it tasted so good, a little english mustard and absolute heaven Hmmmmm :) £3.50 And then I toddled over the road and saw another long line of people who were buying pallets of freshly picked strawberries, they were picked in the village next door called Titchfield £2.00 per palet, so I just had to get to the back of that Line too ;) took a couple home so me and mum have a treat, the co-op is the best place to buy (REAL thick cream) so will do that too!!!! So getting back to Buses, as trotty said it all depends on where you live, in my area the service is second to none, but in the last year the buses have gone through a lot of cuts in service, especially in small village and country areas, The comment I made in an earlier post yesterday about the importance of bringing enough money home when folk make the move, well of course its better to have as much as possible, but on the other hand lots of people have come home on very little and still got settled and contented, I think in those cases though a lot of luck comes in handy, and also support from any family would be good, even if its only a little encouragement, and also we can learn from the people who have lived here all there lives, I was not suggesting that anyone should delay coming over just cause they dont have enough money, life is far too short for that, and we all deserve to be happy, I came over with just $5,000 USD but I dididn'tave to find a place to live, so for anyone in any circumstance I wouldn't suggest coming home with any less then that!!! just my thoughts, But for all those who are in the planning stages, I would like to say this, whatever you have to do to make it happen and make it work, whatever you have to go through once your over here, it is for sure worth all the effort, Ive been home for two & half years now, and it did take some time for me to settle down to the new life here, but once I did it felt just right to be here, Once you stop comparing the U.K. to your adopted country then it gets easy, But we all do that at first I think, just except that your home, and its different to what you left behind all those years ago, dont expect the UK to be perfect in every way cause its not, its got its problems for sure just like everywhere, but on the whole my feelings are that its got one hell of a lot going for it, wicked weather but so what, when the sun decides to shine through the clouds you sure appreciate it even if its only for an hour --- or two :) I'm 68 next month and without a doubt I know that I will never leave this land again, oh I will go on holidays now & then, but I know now that this is where I belong, and this is where I was born, and this is where I shall die, right here in Portsmouth, I was gone for almost 40 years, but I cant even begin to express the feeling that I have now I'm finally home, it just feels right!!! Take care, and good luck everyone, Rodney. ~Monique |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by perthhomeschool
(Post 10703988)
How lovely, Rodney. I got all misty when you said this is where I was born and this is where I shall die. I know for sure that I want to go home before my time comes so my ashes can be scattered across my homeland. So happy you are doing so well. And how is your dear Mum? Feeling better, I hope. Take good care, Rodney. Hope we shall meet in the not too distance future.
~Monique Thanks!!! Mum is doing as best she can, she has pulmonary hypertension, and a few other things wrong with her, she gets puffed out just by walking a few steps these days, but she doesn't require so much looking after now, and so I can get out and live my life too, I hope you are doing OK, yes Im sure one day we will meet. Rodney. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by mikelincs
(Post 10703164)
One of the reasons why we have just moved, the small town we lived in had a bus every 30 mins, where we are now, buses pass the nearest stop around 20 times an hour in each direction, giving us a much better service, also we are just a couple of hundred yards from the rail station and the coach station.
By our house in the suburbs there are daytime buses every 20 mins to town, evening buses too, and from there numerous options to other places, city or countryside, by bus or train. As much as I like the countryside and can imaging living the rural life and can afford to, it would mean total reliance on a car and I don't want that. Yesterday we went into deepest Norfolk by bus, did a 3 mile one direction walk through woods carpeted by bluebells and wild orchids, emerged the other end for a pub lunch and picked up the return bus at a different stop. By car there would have been traffic to deal with, less freedom of walking route and probably only two halves of beer instead of two pints, the compromise being the need to stick to a bus schedule and take longer on the journey and I can live with that. |
Re: Over 40's Moving Back and Catching Up
Originally Posted by J.JsOH
(Post 10704368)
Public transport is high on our priority list for places to live. DW doesn't want to drive in UK, although she did daily for work commute in US. We have a car for convenience where buses don't go but use it only once or twice a week.
By our house in the suburbs there are daytime buses every 20 mins to town, evening buses too, and from there numerous options to other places, city or countryside, by bus or train. As much as I like the countryside and can imaging living the rural life and can afford to, it would mean total reliance on a car and I don't want that. Yesterday we went into deepest Norfolk by bus, did a 3 mile one direction walk through woods carpeted by bluebells and wild orchids, emerged the other end for a pub lunch and picked up the return bus at a different stop. By car there would have been traffic to deal with, less freedom of walking route and probably only two halves of beer instead of two pints, the compromise being the need to stick to a bus schedule and take longer on the journey and I can live with that. Your walk in the woods sounds absolutely delightful, and something I am very much looking forward to. Yesterday, I was having a bit of cabin fever from being home all day the day before with a nasty cold. I had the urge to just go for a lovely walk - but this is Florida,and it was 85F, with similar humidity, and flocks of love bugs in the air. I gave up on the idea altogether, as the thought of walking in the mall instead was not in the least appealing :frown: |
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