Scot_74

I left Scotland when I was 14 and moved to Australia with my parents. I am now planning on returning with my family next year. I have never felt settled here and have always longed to go home. I am finally biting the bullet and doing it! Life is far too short to be unhappy!

My question is.... How does everything work in the UK? Such as:

- House Rentals
- Buying a car
- health
- employment
- taxes
- Schooling

Do you have superannuation like we have in Australia? I know to be eligible for a state pension I must have been a resident for 10 years. I still have well over 20 years of work left in me unfortunately... haha

My eldest daughter is in grade 11 atm. She wants to go to university. I understand she needs to be a resident for 3 years before her uni fees are covered. So I am thinking of coming over sooner rather than later so that she doesn't have a big gap in her education.

We are not sure which area we will resettle in. It all depends on where my hubby can get work. He is working in mining over here atm but has a lot of experience in process work such as refineries and industrial fire fighting.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

scot47

Mining ? In the UK ? Slim Pickings there ! In 1900 the second larget sector in the UK economy. Now away down the list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining...United_Kingdom

Scot_74

I just elaborated on his skill set. He is only doing underground mining atm. He certainly doesn't want to continue. It is a shitty job. Ideally we'd like to get him into the refinery at Grangemouth. Can't hurt to try

scot47

That sounds more realistic. I was living in Fife in the 1980s during the last great struggle of Mining against London. We lost.

SanDiegogirl

Is your husband a British citizen?

If not you will need to sponsor him for a settlement visa.

Scot_74

He is a NZ citizen but his father is English so we are in the process of applying for his citizenship by descent

verystormy

House rentals will depend on if either of you haveba job prior to landing. If one of you does, it shouldn't be an issue. If not, then you will need to show you have cash.

Taxes are about the same as Oz overall.

Buying a car, easy, though be aware you will need to get a UK license and insurance is mandatory here and can be expensive, but second hand cars cheaper.

Education, this is where the Scotland or England bit might be something to think about. Kids in Scotland don't pay fees which saves them tens of thousands of debt.

Jobs, there are lots of options and this will probably dictate where you live. An area to have a look at is Teesside. Lots of processing plants around there still and a large underground mining operation about to open which has started recruiting. Google Teesside potash. For processing jobs also have a look at agg net where there were some ads on there last week for the sort of jobs that might be suitable.

Scot_74

Thank you for all the info!! I will flick him through the websites to look at when he finishes shift tonight. We are definitely looking at staying in Scotland. I'd prefer around Glasgow but if there is better opportunities work wise would consider going up to Aberdeen.

durham_lad

Good luck on the move over. Definitely have a look at Teeside for mining and petrochemical jobs.

verystormy

Aberdeen is not a great choice at the moment as the global downturn in oil has hit it hard. Glasgow is doing well. We live 18 miles south of Glasgow in a picturesque village.

HKG3

With regards to UK state pension, you may want to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions going back the last 6 financial years in order to receive a bigger UK state pension later.

https://www.gov.uk/pay-voluntary-cla...onal-insurance

You may also want to consider opening an UK bank account in Australia before moving back to Scotland. HSBC offers this kind of service -

https://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal.../move-os/apply

The only disadvantage is that HSBC only has one branch in Glasgow.

Brigette

i was under the impression that one could drive (and buy a car) with a foreign license for one year. Has that changed?

BritInParis

You can but there's little point if you hold an Australian licence as you can exchange it for a GB licence very easily and it is much cheaper vis a vis car insurance.

Benson55

Depend son the skill set you have as to what job you can get...no skills is no real job unless labouring etc.
All your questions can be answered from Google, rentals from where you want to live, car sales, schools etc.....

Brigette

Ah I see. Thanks so much. One more question if you don't mind. Is there a driving manual for the UK driver test? I've been looking for one online to study before I arrive (from USA) but can't seem to find one. Thanks

Brigette