I'm finding the logistics and organisation pretty daunting. There's so much to do! Does anyone have some kind of check list of things (or at least a few tips) that the average person should remember to do when making the big move?

What should I remember to cancel? How many people/organisations have to be informed in advance? How much stuff should I take out there? Should I sell things on ebay now and buy replacements in Oz? The stuff I do want to take - how do I get it out there? Where will I live? Where can I live in Brisbane on AU$65,000? My new company will fund my interim accomodation for the first four weeks (up to AU$1600) so this is not a pressing matter but it will have to be sorted eventually. Where should I get a car from? Do I really need a special international permit or will my UK driving licence be fine for the first few months? Health insurance- should I just get a years worth of travel insurance to start with? How long will my jet lag last? 24 hours? 48 hours? How long a gap should I leave to get my bearings before starting at my new job? Two days? A week? Should I stick with HSBC (I know there is a branch in Brisbane) or sign up with Westpac or something?

All this and more...

I don't expect answers to all these questions, but a bit of guidance would be great! Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me out here. :smile:

 

Things i can think of that may help, But others will probably also post information as well.

Inform Income tax you are leaving,
make sure you cancel regular bills, (sky, telephone and stuff)
you have three months to change driving licence. (international driving permits are only a translation of your Uk licence, not needed).
Obtain refferances from banks, mortgage providers, copies of bank statements, this can help when applying for rentals. Its easy to open a bank account here, you just need passport and driving licence (photo ID). or you can open one in advance, but you will still need to provide id when here to have it activated. HSBC in Brisbane will not treat you as a customer, even though its the same bank, they are not conected to UK branches (some have had bad experiances trying to get money from HSBC, even after sorting things out). So you would need to sort that before you come if you want to stay with them.

Jet lag varies from person to person. I arrived at 7am, went to bed at 10pm and awoke at 4am, i was fine from then on. everyone is different.

Sorry cant advise on costs of rentals in Brisbane, that will depend where in Brisbane you will be working, how far you want to travel and what type of property you want to rent., prices can vary from area to area

 

Thanks Colin! What about shipping stuff out there? Is it worth the cost? I'm thinking of selling some of my stuff (like home gym equipment) and buying new things out there.

 

I did not ship stuff, I suppose it depends on what you have and the value. White goods seem to be dropping in price and seem to represent good value at the moment. Some ship and it saves them spending a lot of money when they get here to replace their household goods. some sell everything and buy new when they get here, so i supose its a personal choice. But if you are kitting a full house, it will take a big bite out of your budget. If you decide to buy when you get here remember that you do not pay the shop price, you have to learn to haggle to get the price down.

Two days ago i purchased a new computer (mine finally died). So we decided to go for a complete new system and see what sort of deal we could get.

Computer $800
19" flat screen monitor $300
web cam $44
Headset $30

We also decided to get a decent Tv, so we got a 32" HD with dvd player built in. $800
The sales man said well thats $1974

I looked at him and my wife said, "he is waiting for you to give us a reasonable price".

In the end we paid $1450 and got a 3yr warrenty thrown in as well. So if you go shopping here, definatly ask for discounts, and the more you buy, the bigger the discount.

 

Hi Brisneyland

So many questions!!! Sounds like you are panicking a bit!!! Take a deep breath!!!

It's really up to you what you want to ship. Why don't you get a few quotes to find out how much it will cost to ship your stuff and decide from there. You may decide it's very expensive to ship it all. You can pick up a home start package from somewhere like Fantastic Furniture for around $1000. Have a look online what it offers and see whether that might be a better option for you.

Interim accommodation - are they booking that for you? $1600 is not a lot for 4 weeks, so you may need to subsidise that a bit.

Have a look on Realestate.com for rentals. Figure out what budget you have and go from there.

What sort of visa are you coming on? If it's PR then you will need and Australian driving licence. Easy to do - just swap it over! If not, you can just use your UK one.

Health insurance - depends on your visa. Does travel insurance cover you if you are living here, rather than holidaying here? I am not sure - you need to check. If you are on a PR visa then I would not worry too much about health insurance. If you are temporary, it may be a condition of your visa that you have health insurance. Not sure - you need to check.

Yes, your jet lag may last 24, or 48 hours or a week, or two weeks. Everyone is different.

Hubby started his new job on the Monday, after we arrived on the Saturday.

Banking - we are with Westpac and quite happy with them......but others, I am sure are happy with other banks.

Love

Rudi
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