RockHopper

Hi Kristine

How is the house selling going? do you have the Visa? what about removals and the Cat? We are also bringing our daughter (19) and our furball Ragdoll cat, are you having your cat looked after by an agent or shipping the cat yourself. What will you be doing in Canberra and where do you intend living?

Regards

Steve B

Kristine

Hi Steve,
I'm going to be working for the family Service unit as a family worker/ supporting families with issues. At the moment due to lots of factors (employers side) I have been advised to apply for a 1066 visa - which is a temporary long stay business visa (lasts four years) - then when I get out there to apply for permanent (employer sponsoring). This is okay for me as have no kids etc, so don't have to worry about schooling fees etc. 1066 forms have gone off to employer who is processing and no just waiting to find out when they want me to go!

Precious cat is biggest worry!!! I am using Golden Arrow shippers who have a really good reputation on here and who were very helpful. If you look on thread listed today about cats you will find their contact details.

The house selling - agggghhhhhh, have had quite a few viewings but as yet no offers. I endeavour to remain positive and tell myself that it will all fall into place at the right time.
Removals - my partner works for a logistics/shipping company so I am going to use him as he knows what he's doing and I haven't got a clue!!!

How does your daughter feel about the move?

RockHopper

Hi Kirstine

Sounds like you have a good plan and awaiting the bits of the puzzle to fall into place. I have heard of Golden Arrow and yes they sound good, have you had a quote for the move, would be interested to know how much it will cost. As for removals it sounds as if there are about 3 good companies that people on this forum have used.
My daughter realy wants to get to Oz, although she has completed 3 A levels she has decided to do another 1 this year, her college is sorting things out so she can take her final exam in Oz, so a move in Apr would be just right only a couple of months left of the term and mainly study time. My daughter wants to go to UNI probable English/Media degree if they do that in Oz.

Regards

Steve B

Kristine

Golden Arrow have quoted £804.00 to get puss to Oz you then have to pay quarantine fees at the other side which at the moment are $650.00. It's not cheap - but for me its worth it.
Plus the fact that I can pay for puss from my relocation expenses!

RockHopper

Does the cat fly on the same aircraft as yourself or does it go before or after, just thinking of making a stop over for a day or two if it does not have to travel with the owner. I can claim some expenses back, but only those incurred on Oz side and I think I can only claim about $250 for the cat, but it's better than nothing. Will you be able to fly out business class? when you go and have you decided which carrier to use. I think we will use Singapore Airlines, flilghts at the moment are about £360 for April flying.

Regards

Steve B

Kristine

Cat will be leaving after me - this is due to fact that employer putting me up in apartment for first month (no cats allowed) so my mate is going to drop her off at Golden Arrow for me - more trauma for cat!!! She'll then do her 30 stretch in quarantine and I can hopefully pick her up once I have found accommodation.
Quarantine people have the cats flight details and they pick them up - so it shouldn't matter if you stop off somewhere.
Don't think I'll be flying business class - more likely to be in the hold!!
I'm not planning any stop (bar the ones you have to do) hate flying with a passion!

RockHopper

Do you know where you will be staying in Canberra? will you rent for a while before buying?
The main reason I may have a stop over is that my wife is worried about this Deep Vein Thrombosis condition, unfortunately when we had our daughter she had blood clots and nearly pegged it. So maybe an idea to have a break in between the long haul. We would love to go business class but at about £12,000 for 3 people I dont think so. Much better put it towards a house.

Regards

Steve B

Sungold

HI Kristine, Steve B,

SOunds like you two are a bit ahead of me organisation wise but then its only me to fly out first and the family/cat will follow.

Which are the three shipping agents you are referring to Steve?

My employer is putting me up for two weeks in a hotel, will pay some moving expenses (not for cat) - I have to get three quotes and then they will tell me the maximum they will pay for! They prefer to use Wridgeways, Allied Pickfords or Grace but I havent got to that stage yet.

Not sure what I will do re renting yet. I'll have about about 7 months by myself so will either get a one bed furnished flat or share (although its been a long time since I did that in my student days). Then I will try to rent a four bed house for teh family in an area with good schools where we can buy a house once we have found one we like.

Hopefully Kristine your 1066 will go thru quicker than my ENS sponsorship - have you done your meds yet? I was going to go through that route but then after reading Jeremys comments on temp vs permanent visas on this forum I persuaded the company to sponsor me stright away. It will be a lot cheaper for health insurance and I cna buy a house no problem without getting authorisation from the investment authorities in Oz.


Are any of you taking a freezer with you? I ask as we have a very good energy efficient DAnish made chest freezer and it would be shame to sell it. Not sure if it can cope with the higher temp in Oz thats all after reading some comments here. All our other electrical goods (TV, wash machine dishwashwer etc are on their last legs so they are not worth taking). We'll take just about everything else once we have had a huge clearout of the loft and garage - its amazing what you accumulate in ten years of owning a house.

What was with your question about light bulbs Steve in your first post? I havent even thought about that one.

Time to go and stop rambling....
Steve J

Kristine

Hi Steve,
I tried to respond to this post earlier - problems with pc at work!!
I have no idea where I will be staying employer putting me up in accommodation for first 3weeks or so, but no clue as to where that will be. i'll do that in first instance, then either stay with my friend and his family or look at either renting place on my own or sharing. Sharing will be a bit strange as have had my own place for seven years, but may be good for the first couple of months til I get to know the place.
I'm not surprised you want to have a stop over - just remember the support tights and asprin too!!!

Kristine

Hello Steve J,
Ramble away - its the best place to do it on here!!!
I had my meds done a while ago - when first looking at ENS visa, but at least they have been done, so thats all in order for when I apply for permanent once i get out there!! Can just add it to the mountain of paperwork I have collected already!!! (although keep having to hide it all when i have viewings - what a pain!)
In terms of what I'm taking - I would say absolutely everything as I have no where else to put it - I live in Brum, but all family in glasgow and dont think my dad would appreciate his garage being filled with my tat!
I understand what you mean about sharing! its been a long time since i shared with anyone, but think it will be a good idea in the short term!!
Keep in touch.
K

RockHopper

Hi

When it comes to moving we were thinking of getting quotes from PSS, Crown and a local company. I know that I can claim for removals from when the stuff hits Australia to Canberra and I know I will get a week or two accommodation fees back. We have already cleared out the attic/garage and have decided to take most of our furniture, providing it fits into a 20 foot container, we will probably go for an unfurnished house to start with and buy a mixture of new and some second hand furniture until ours arrives. Thankfully we can live any direction around Canberra as our daughter has recently passed her driving test so no ties to certain areas.
My question about light bulbs was concerning the fitments and would they be suitable for connection on to the ceilings, I realise they have the same voltage but unsure of connections. Basically we were deciding whether to take all our fitments in the house, but we have now decided not to bother.
Question for Steve: St Neots is that near Bedford, I think we can remember it from when we were posted to Henlow.

Regards

Steve B

Sungold

Yeah, St Neots is halfway between Bedford and Cambridge (where we both used to work, me in the former and her in the latter) hence a house in the middle. I've no idea how much stuff you can get in a 20' container but I guess I'll find out when we get quotes. I was thinking of PSS, Crown and Grace for quotes. They say its better to get international companies rather than locals in case something goes wrong and you have to make phone calls back to the UK at 3am to try and sort things out!

I played tennis against you guys in Henlow once and had sandwhiches in the officers mess afterwards. Small world.

Steve J

RockHopper

Hi Steve

My wife Brenda was asking where abouts your wife comes from in Germany and how come you managed to get together.

Regards

Steve B

Sungold

Now thats a long story thats probably best saved if we meet up in canberra!

Briefly, shes from Munster and we met in St Louis USA working for the same company. I ran out of visas had to come back to teh UK, proposed before I left US, went back to get married (she had to stay in US to finish her studies) and then we eventually met up again here (which is not where she would have wished to be by choice). Hence very happy that we are moving to Oz.

How about you and your cross cultural experiences? Salty liquorice and all that????

Steve J

Kristine

Hey two Steve's,
My partner works for a global shipping company (bases all over UK) if you want some advice on containers and how much fits in - I can PM you his details - he said he's more than happy to answer any questions!
I'm trusting him to ship out all my prized possessions (well the ones that wont fit in his garage!!!)
K