louise

All perfectly normal, it is definitely the fear of the unknown.

BRING EVERYTHING you can, honestly what it costs you in shipping is nothing compared what it will cost to replace, if it works and it will survive the journey, bring it.

Good Luck, it was me 6 months ago, OMG where did that go

dottyann

Yes next week! Scared to death, although I know what we are going to coz we lived there for 5 years, its seems harder this time somehow! Feeling pretty sad today

Words of encouragement anyone?

Jon77

I still slightly disagree with this point, but I wont argue the point here as it would be a very lonely argument on my part.

I guess it depends on how much you have built up over the years, what you are used to / attached to and the standards you want. I am not attached to any of our furniture, the value is very low and the condition poor, some of it second hand UK furniture.

I still believe it is possible to move over to Australia and set yourself up at very little cost. You wont get much of a choice of course and they might not be the latest trends.

Personally I would have no issues with buying the majority of things second hand and making do. But there again I am a tight Yorkshireman and frequent charity shops for lots of things

brits1

Oh yes, we had sold our home gave up our jobs and with about 4 weeks to go I just did not want to go...lol....it's just nerves and you'd be one of the very few who did not have any doubts.....that's natural....keep all major paper work with you don't ship as you might need them when you arrive....I would take all my quality belongings, we did and we were glad of it....we did not take the beds though bought them in Aus.....if you have anything like a fax machine don't bother taking it as the phone lines are different. Remember to obtain your tax file number asap and contact centrelink asap as with the first you cannot work without it and second you might depending on your visa be able to claim family support for your children...(like family allowance here)...not sure which state you are heading off to and if you have friends there but check on the area's....people on here will be able to help you....we moved loads of times (we did not know a sole in Aus...)before we found a good area with good schools....but you don't need to worry about that now...just take each day as it comes, if you can do a stop over...it is worth it as travelling outside of Aus can be expensive..plus it will be something for you to look forward to as well......good luck and best wishes on your adventure

brits1

It might be because you know what you are going back to and in some ways it's not such an adventure as the first time...BUT remember it gives you a good "head" on knowing where the "Pitfalls" (if there are any) are and knowing how to avoid them....your feeling sad...a lot do when they leave somewhere they are familiar with....nature at it's worst...lol....good luck and you'll be fine...

NomandNat

Hello again
Just wanted to thank everyone that posted advice for me a big thankyou as it is really appreciated! Still not sure about taking our furniture though as for example the suit is 17 yrs old but still in pretty good condition and as for the white goods the fridge freezer has starting leaking..........or maybe its crying due to us leaving ...........lol
Surely for £3500-6000 we could have some nice new furniture in Oz.............

I had to laugh at the reply about buying some thick socks...............lol I have them already as I live in Scotland.

Please keep anymore advice coming as it doesn't just help me but others aswell..........................

Cheers

Nom & nat

Jon77

Depends on how handy you are as well. I rather like 'doing up' old furniture and can turn my hand to many things, even potentially make a profit. Personally the thought of spending over £3,000 on sending what we have now to Australlia would make me sick.

shuffers

We validated our 175 VISA in August and OH was offered employment during the trip which has been kept open until Jan 2011. Quotes to ship cats, furniture and car all in - 9 year old son with tentative place reserved for new school year at a good school. One problem. OH now says he doesn't want to go................... all sorts of reasons, doesn't think we can afford it ( job offer was $ 110k plus syper ), likes our house and his job in the UK etc etc

The compromise we came to was that we will rent out our house and go for 6-12 months initially. He now says he is still not happy with that but I don't want us to have regrets in the future.

Any advice or anyone in similar situation.

brits1

Depends on what you want or like as regards to 3500 etc....our Leather Suite cost us $2,500 and that was in a sale....Fridge/Freezer cost us $1,200 again in a sale....personally I would not take anything that was on last legs so to speak....maybe buy new here and take it over if you are already having a container....or price things over the internet...have a look at Goodguys, Harvey Norman, Retrovision on the internet, even Kmart have "basic" white goods now. I know in WA they do not have Argos,Tesco, style outlets, they might have over in the Eastern States, Good Guys are the best bet but like anywhere else you have to shop around. I must admit I do find electrical goods here in the U.K cheaper and more choice but that's all swings and roundabouts.....if you took new items from here would the warranty's cover them etc?......good luck....you'll be fine...and socks..lol...you can buy warm thick socks in Aus,

myrtle1

Just think long and hard before making the move - yes, there is a job offer already which many people don't have the security of (us included), but if there are concerns now, I would be wary of making the move .......... We were fully committed with no pangs from the word go but our last weeks in the UK and the first few in Oz were packed full of stressy issues. It's worth considering whether you will both be committed and strong enough to deal with these if there are niggling doubts. Could you not forgo this job offer and spend time thinking this through more carefully .... with a view to making a decision without the added pressure of a time deadline. These are just my thoughts .... good luck with your decision and your plans

shuffers

Thanks for your good advice. One of the 3 cats may not pass AQIS import permit either now.........its all going horribly wrong but we'll get through it

pomerz

Love the bricking it quote.....havent heard that fo so many years

We have 88 days left and are worried sick but thats mainly due to the fact ihave yet to get a job the rest is all falling into place....its like a rollercoaster getting faster n faster and i for one wont be getting off just yet afterall i have waited in line this long.....hang on in there everyone and be lucky

saxtonj

It's natural to feel nervous about the move, but if you've done your homework ont he place and come with eyes open, there's no need ot be nervous. It's fantastic out here. We've been here a year.

I was very confident all the weay through the process, it was only in the last month i started getting nervous without realising it. I got gastro exxasperated by stress. but it settled pretty much after landing. I didn't think i was stressed but Doc's kept telling me it is so....

When we moved we shipped everything we had and boy was it worth it. I remember seeing a few comments and posts before on here and there were figures of around $30k to fill a house out here, way more than the $6k - $8k it'll cost to ship.

our shipping was a little cheaper a year ago, about 2500 pounds (no pound sign on this laptop)for about 90% of a shared container.

If your stuff is of decent enough quality and not falling apart - bring it.

It's normally all the little things you don't think about that really start to add up. Think about all the kitchen utensils and how much it would cost to replace. Not sure where you're heading but here in Perth i find Kitchen equipment (especially good quality stuff) VERY expensive. A good quality pan (ScanPan) will set you back about $300. and that's just one. Again depeneds on the quality of stuff you want.
We just bought a suite for the theatre room, that was $5k - you can pick up cheaper and more expensive.

We did manage to equip three bedrooms (as we didn't have much spare bedroom furniture to bring out) with a queen bed, two side tables and a set of drawers in each bedroom for $4.5k, but that was the cheapest set in the showroom on special offer, and with money knocked off.

Then think of dining tables, outdoor sets, tables, tv units, rugs, ornaments, furniture, lounge suites etc.

it all adds up.

I'm not one for going to garage sales etc and having peoples cast offs. If people want rid of something, but if you are I'm sure you could fill your place full of stuff for a cheap price.

there was a feature on a tv program out here about a woman who kitted out a bedroom and a family area for about $200 or soemthing, but it was all garage sale, roadside throwaways, re-upholstering etc. I thought it looked a bit mish mash myself. But depends what you're in to.

Good luck with the move whatever you decide. It's a great country, with greta opportunities for those willing to give it a good go.

saxtonj

Good luck Pomerz. Its fantastic out here in my oipinion.

Hope you like the heat if you're heading out here in December. Coming from about 0 degress to about 35 - 45 isn't easy!!!!!!

Don't worry about work, if you're in construction, there's loads of building work going off out here. You should be sorted pretty quickly. I've been here a year had 3 jobs (had to find one I liked) and offered 4 so it's quite bouyant i reckon. Depends on what industry you're in but you should be alright mate.

al150n

We've been here 4 weeks today so I can remember those last few weeks in the UK very clearly. We're still waiting for our stuff to arrive but are already wishing we'd shipped a lot more than we did. It is a very scary thought to leave everything you know to start again. We are lucky we have friends here, without them & their help I think the first couple of weeks would have been a hell of a lot harder.

I will agree with others who have said say your goodbyes before you get to the airport. We were staying with father-in-law for our last week so it had already been arranged that he'd take us to the airport. My sister said she'd like to come down as well to see us off which I couldn't say no to. In the end my nephew also came down along with my 2 eldest boys & my eldests girlfriend. It was lovely that I could be with my family until the last minute but it was horrendous saying goodbye & I didn't want to let go of my boys. I was crying so hard I could hardly breath & I can still see my son standing watching us go.

Alison x