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Time to pack your bags and sell up


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but remember, there's usually an age limit to go to Oz, I think it's about 46 or so, and also if you go before your pension age then your State pension will be paid at basic rate with no increases, you're stuck with the same income.

Not wanting to put a damper on it, Oz is a beautiful place, but it's worth knowing that state pensions won't be increased when you're living out there.
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[quote user="nectarine"]but remember, there's usually an age limit to go to Oz, I think it's about 46 or so, and also if you go before your pension age then your State pension will be paid at basic rate with no increases, you're stuck with the same income.

Not wanting to put a damper on it, Oz is a beautiful place, but it's worth knowing that state pensions won't be increased when you're living out there.[/quote]

There are other downsides too, it has lots of things that bite and kill you, plus there are a lot of Australians there........[:P]

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I have probably said this before, but our plumber moved to Vancouver Island last year, if we were  younger that would have been a tempting prospect.

I hear they love it, but that after years of self employment he finds it hard to slow down to the pace of working, which is slower than he is used to.

Wanting to be within striking distance of family has always stopped me really hankering after Australia, New Zealand or Canada...I guess I just don't have enough wander lust.

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[quote user="powerdesal"]
... it has lots of things that bite and kill you, plus there are a lot of Australians there........[:P]
[/quote]

And the two might not be mutually exclusive either [:-))] 

My bestest friend will probably bite and kill me for saying that, the next time I visit her in Sydney.

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So , did anyone watch the program ?

Is it me or has the format changed ? A place in the sun used to be couple looking but not buying ....no pressure.

But in this one It seemed Amanda was putting pressure on them to buy and using the estate agents trick of showing the best last.

ps the baby is due Valentines day [:-))]

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[quote user="Russethouse"]

I hear they love it, but that after years of self employment he finds it hard to slow down to the pace of working, which is slower than he is used to.

[/quote]

We have friends in Canada who emigrated there over twenty years ago.  Despite having worked for the same employer for most of his time there, he still has only 2 weeks paid holiday a year and works twelve hour days and Saturdays.  They wanted him to work Sundays too but he flat out refused.  House prices there have plummeted too so its certainly no Nirvana.  Oh and they are caught in the non indexed pension trap so expect to work until they are 70+ - he's 65 now so finds the long hours really hard.

As an aside they live in Alberta so have snow usually from September through to May.  When we spoke to them over Christmas it was 38deg below - too cold for me.

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We had some guests staying with us just before Christmas from Alberta.  Apparently they are desparate for just about any trade, skilled or not and are doing promotional fairs in the UK to get people to move there.  He also said that it had been -30 for several days before Christmas.  Minus 3 here is cold enough for me!
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Thanks Krusty, I wondered when the Baby was due, well it will be definitely a girl!

Although France will be more expensive for us Brits, we must not forget that houses are still much cheaper also the tax d'habitation and fonciere. I have calculated that our holiday cottage in France costs us as much as keeping a Campervan (roadtax, service, insurance and yearly habitation check!), so that is still very good. So I think I will keep my holiday cottage in France rather than buy one in Dubai!

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But at the end of the day, surely it is the very special French way of life that has attracted us above everything else?

Friends of ours are trying to make my wife and me feel envious because they are now planning an extended holiday in Australia and they feel sorry for us because our maison secondaire (one day to be our home) keeps us financially locked into France. There is nothing that would cause me to swap places with them - nothing at all!

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[quote user="Mel"]

Friends of ours are trying to make my wife and me feel envious because they are now planning an extended holiday in Australia and they feel sorry for us because our maison secondaire (one day to be our home) keeps us financially locked into France. There is nothing that would cause me to swap places with them - nothing at all!

[/quote]

Ahh but you could always do a house swap with someone from Australia or anywhere in the world, Having a holiday home in France will not mean we will always have to have ALL our holidays there.

You could be the envied then!

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That's what we do - next year we are off to NY at Easter - cheap return flights at Ā£230 each and no accommodation costs.  In the summer we are going to PEI, Canada (swapping cars as well as homes) and then a beach house in Spain for October half term -  again cheap flights courtesy of Ryanair.

In 2010 we are off to Rio (for carnaval!) and then to the Caribbean  (4 bed house with private pool 5 mins from the beach).  We were worried that buying in France would commit us to holidays there to the exclusion of anywhere else, but far from it - we now struggle to find holiday time to visit France!

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Having spent a long time in Australia last year touring about I found the wine was expensive the tax on it is the reason. i suspect their wine is cheaper for us to buy in the UK ...the decent stuff anyway As much as l like the country I chose to look at most of it from the air on 7 internal flights ...its too boring attempting to drive the distances involved getting around .

My family in Australia have been cut off by floods ..seen roofs taken off in cyclones and overcome by the heat to the degree that they have been unable to function without expensive running aircon day and night Then the things that bite andsting and cockroaches big as matchboxes fly in.My wife grabs them in toilet paper and flushes them down the loo .personally I would just let them fly out again when they want to .You check the patio chairs when you sit down ...a spider might bite your bum ! Lovely palm lined beaches but nobody in the sea without wearing a stinger suit ..frightened to go in..We did not worry about sharks we were advised there were none ....the crocks had eaten them all !.....Its a lovely country alright ..but ..its not England in the sun .I prefer being in the UK and France now I am getting on and like my comfort . The Chinese are buying Australia at the moment the shares in mining and the huge farms in particular ..I would advise anybody to read The Australian newspaper on line to get a real picture if how the place runs ...and how dodgy the politicians are ....It is not like in the TV shows .... give you a week then wave a flag to decide where you spend the rest of your days ..life can be tough there ...
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One of my best friends from school days moved to Aus last year (his wife hails from there and wanted to go home). He popped back for a visit last year and saw my brother. When asked what it was like there he answered that it was exactly like Sevenoaks, but hotter and the houses were further apart. I've never been to Sevenoaks, but I can't say his enthusiasm was exactly infectious. Plus, from what I've heard, I'm not sure I'd get in anyway with my less-than-simple ethnic origins.

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In numerous discussions I have had with Aussies and Kiwis living in the C.I or UK, of which there are many, they all give the same reason for leaving Australia and that is culture and career opportunities. In that in The UK they have Europe on their doorstep, which thanks to the likes of Easyjet, means weekends in the Cities of Europe can be had for a few euros airfare. Whereas in Aus they feel cut off, in that travelling anywhere outside Australia takes hours and is therefore expensive. To put distances in perspective, getting from Sydney to Perth is comparable to London to New York.
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I have heard the same thing, Sprogster.

I had an Aussie colleague for a short time and, when I happened to mention that we were off to Rome for the weekend, she said that that was the sort of thing you couldn't do in Australia.

She thought it fantastic that we could just hop on a plane and have a couple of days in, say, Paris or Amsterdam and be in a different country, eating different foods and experiencing a different culture.

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I have heard the same thing, Sprogster.

I had an Aussie colleague for a short time and, when I happened to mention that we were off to Rome for the weekend, she said that that was the sort of thing you couldn't do in Australia.

She thought it fantastic that we could just hop on a plane and have a couple of days in, say, Paris or Amsterdam and be in a different country, eating different foods and experiencing a different culture.

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