Relocating to country of origin - need a plan
April 28, 2022 11:01 PM Subscribe
Thinking seriously of relocating to my country of origin to support elderly family. I have many questions and need a plan.
I've posted before about my elderly family, who live in my country of origin, and how I would like to be in a position to offer them more support as they age.
I have lived abroad (in the UK) for decades, own a home, and feel worried about uprooting my life and going back to my country of origin (with, possibly, a pet in tow). It's a big move. There are many things to think about.
1. Job: I've posted previously about jobs. Given my expertise areas, I do not think I could find a fully remote job that would allow me to move back and forth between countries, or a job that would allow me a relocation bonus or support. I could probably get an ok job in my country of origin, but I would have to be happy with a significant pay cut. However, as I'd be living with my family, I'd save on rent.
2. My apartment: I own my apartment in the UK. Should I rent it out, or sell it? Selling it would give me a chunk of funds that would come in useful, and it would also mean I didn't have to worry about paying off the mortgage from abroad or the stress of being an overseas landlord, but then I wouldn't have anywhere to come back to. I'd still want to keep a lot of things in storage.
3. Tax/legal stuff: Er... I wouldn't have a clue how to start.
4. Keeping up ties with the UK: I have friends and a network here I don't want to turn my back on. Especially if I eventually move back, I don't want to start everything from scratch. Also what impact would an extended period of time abroad have on my pension and my national health insurance status? Could I still avail of free healthcare?
So as you can see I'm coming at this whole idea from the POV of a complete noob. Are there people who can advise on these things? How do I go about putting a plan together? Have any of you undertaken this kind of major move, and can you share some of your learnings?
Thanks, all.
I've posted before about my elderly family, who live in my country of origin, and how I would like to be in a position to offer them more support as they age.
I have lived abroad (in the UK) for decades, own a home, and feel worried about uprooting my life and going back to my country of origin (with, possibly, a pet in tow). It's a big move. There are many things to think about.
1. Job: I've posted previously about jobs. Given my expertise areas, I do not think I could find a fully remote job that would allow me to move back and forth between countries, or a job that would allow me a relocation bonus or support. I could probably get an ok job in my country of origin, but I would have to be happy with a significant pay cut. However, as I'd be living with my family, I'd save on rent.
2. My apartment: I own my apartment in the UK. Should I rent it out, or sell it? Selling it would give me a chunk of funds that would come in useful, and it would also mean I didn't have to worry about paying off the mortgage from abroad or the stress of being an overseas landlord, but then I wouldn't have anywhere to come back to. I'd still want to keep a lot of things in storage.
3. Tax/legal stuff: Er... I wouldn't have a clue how to start.
4. Keeping up ties with the UK: I have friends and a network here I don't want to turn my back on. Especially if I eventually move back, I don't want to start everything from scratch. Also what impact would an extended period of time abroad have on my pension and my national health insurance status? Could I still avail of free healthcare?
So as you can see I'm coming at this whole idea from the POV of a complete noob. Are there people who can advise on these things? How do I go about putting a plan together? Have any of you undertaken this kind of major move, and can you share some of your learnings?
Thanks, all.
So, Australia’s pandemic border closures meant that we were somewhat forced to test out this scenario for the last 18 months with my husband’s parents so I have some further questions that might help you clarify your situation. I am happy to discuss the particulars of our situation (difficulty level dementia) but I don‘t want to clog things up here as I think a more general response is most useful.
I also see from your past questions that this is something you have been considering for a long time and dealing with in therapy. Working out what to do in the UK is probably lower down the list of tasks as your first project is understanding what your parents actually need before your pack your life up temporarily or permanently. Before you make any decisions about your life I think you need to better understand your parents’ needs and have answers clearly written down on paper rather than buzzing around in your head.
Caring for your elderly parents and offering support as they age is quite a broad statement and I understand that it might depend on the cultures and conventions of your country of origin.
How old are your parents and do they already have a clear plan for how they hope to spend their final years? Is there an expectation that you and any siblings would be supporting them as they age? What kind of support is expected?
Does your country of origin have options for any kind of support at either the national or local government level?
What are your parents current needs? Are they seeking appropriate medical care if available? Are they already infirm or do you want to spend more time with them now while you have the chance?
You say that you would live with them but in the longer term what is your plan? Do you want to help them find a smaller, more appropriate place to live, organise the move into supported care or find a service or employee that will care for them in home or move into the family home to be their primary carer? Do they have funds available to support their later years or would you be expected to financially support them and yourself?
If you intend to be the primary carer are you able to balance income earning work and caring responsibilities that might initially be cooking and cleaning but extend through to 24 hour nursing and personal care? How will you get the emotional and social care that you need?
And very specifically how long do you think they might live for? 6 months, 6 years? 16 years?
Are there other ways you can provide assistance without throwing your own life into disarray?
posted by pipstar at 12:47 AM on April 29, 2022 [4 favorites]
I also see from your past questions that this is something you have been considering for a long time and dealing with in therapy. Working out what to do in the UK is probably lower down the list of tasks as your first project is understanding what your parents actually need before your pack your life up temporarily or permanently. Before you make any decisions about your life I think you need to better understand your parents’ needs and have answers clearly written down on paper rather than buzzing around in your head.
Caring for your elderly parents and offering support as they age is quite a broad statement and I understand that it might depend on the cultures and conventions of your country of origin.
How old are your parents and do they already have a clear plan for how they hope to spend their final years? Is there an expectation that you and any siblings would be supporting them as they age? What kind of support is expected?
Does your country of origin have options for any kind of support at either the national or local government level?
What are your parents current needs? Are they seeking appropriate medical care if available? Are they already infirm or do you want to spend more time with them now while you have the chance?
You say that you would live with them but in the longer term what is your plan? Do you want to help them find a smaller, more appropriate place to live, organise the move into supported care or find a service or employee that will care for them in home or move into the family home to be their primary carer? Do they have funds available to support their later years or would you be expected to financially support them and yourself?
If you intend to be the primary carer are you able to balance income earning work and caring responsibilities that might initially be cooking and cleaning but extend through to 24 hour nursing and personal care? How will you get the emotional and social care that you need?
And very specifically how long do you think they might live for? 6 months, 6 years? 16 years?
Are there other ways you can provide assistance without throwing your own life into disarray?
posted by pipstar at 12:47 AM on April 29, 2022 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the answers so far. I'd really welcome further answers relating to the logistics of a potential international move. :)
posted by unicorn chaser at 12:09 PM on April 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by unicorn chaser at 12:09 PM on April 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
I would keep your apartment and rent it out and find out how to sign on to class 2 voluntary national insurance contributions. It really sounds like you want to go back and keeping your apartment (rent it out and use a management company) and paying into your state pension is the best way to do that. And class 2 contributions are about £70 a month and maintain many of your social security benefits.
posted by pairofshades at 12:43 PM on April 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by pairofshades at 12:43 PM on April 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
You might be able to pay a different class or national insurance voluntary contributions that is less expensive but I think they are closing that option at some point and I just know about class 2 so look into that further but I also looked at your past questions and maybe is it possible for you to take a longer period off work to spend time in your home country to see if it’s really the right decision for you?
posted by pairofshades at 11:00 PM on April 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by pairofshades at 11:00 PM on April 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
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this link may give you some ideas what to bear in mind when considering the possibility of re-entry:
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs25_returning_from_abroad_fcs.pdf
Regarding the legal stuff, a lot will also depend on whether you have British citizenship/ settled status.
posted by coffee_monster at 12:22 AM on April 29, 2022 [1 favorite]