NORTHERN New South Wales' Tweed River and Scotland's River Tweed have three things in common.

The first is Marshall and Joyce Pagan, who moved to Australia from Dumfries, south of the Scottish Tweed's source, more than 40 years ago and have now retired in Banora Point.

The second is green, rolling hills, a moist climate - if warm in Australia and cool in Scotland - and location near a border.

The third is conflict, though Mrs Pagan said the difference was Queensland-NSW conflict was settled on the sports field, while the Scottish-English variety had been more often settled on the battlefield.

Mr Pagan said in feudal times it was often asked, 'which country do we pay the taxes to this year?' as border towns would change hands so often.

"Marshall always wanted to come to Australia; I kind of held him back," Mrs Pagan said.

"We used to come here every year for a holiday, and said one day we'll retire here.

"We love Scotland, don't get us wrong' but we're Aussies - we've been here so long this is our home."

The Pagans are "living the dream" being retired in Tweed where there is "so much for retirees".

"There's never a need to be bored," Mrs Pagan said.

"We've almost annually visited home (Dumfries) over the past 20 years.

"I visit my 95-year-old aunt in Scotland, who lives independently, in her own home, with no help - she's one of those stoic women of that generation."

When the couple moved to the Great Southern Land in the 1960s there were more opportunities than in the old country, she said.

"There were much better opportunities for people to make something of themselves, to work hard and get ahead."

And they did: Mr Pagan worked in purchasing, as a supply manager, while his wife was assistant director of nursing at Wesley Hospital Brisbane, and director at a Perth hospital.

She said it was possible the Tweed River had been named after the River Tweed but could not be sure.

"One of the things we thought was quite quirky was the rivalry across borders.

"Here we take it out in sport, of course, but back home it was quite bloody battles.

"Australia has changed a lot since the 1960s, and so has the United Kingdom, and both countries are becoming very multi-cultural."

She and her husband said illegal immigration, particularly, was not so much of a problem here when compared to the UK and other European nations.

"With the world being in such a troubled state, people are escaping difficult situations.

"We grumble here about refugees, but it's just a drop in the ocean."