Hi all,

I really need your help!

My brain is hurting trying to process all the options. Myself, my wife and 3 children (7, 5, 4) are emigrating to Brisbane in Jan 2014, from the UK.

Like most, the furniture will arrive 2 months later. So for a period of about 2 months we will have nothing but the suitcases we've travelled with.

At the moment i'm homing in on the Albany Creek area (though can't be too specific from the other side of the world, but have to go with something to start with and then decide once we are there if its the right area or not - i think??)

Anyway, it's the first couple of months that's concerning me. What's best to do? Cost is a big thing for me. Currently we have no work lined up (recruitment agencies inform me to contact them from December).

So as i see it i have the following options:

1. Rent a holiday home (fully furnished) for 2 months in the area i'm aiming to settle, then go unfurnished when furniture arrives. Pros: settling in to area, kids can go to school, can live until furniture arrives. Cons: very expensive, property few and far between in the suburbs.

2. Go for the typical 6 month unfurnished - Pros: Have somewhere to live in the right area, plenty of options, Cons: can we actually do this from the UK, would i dare sign-up to something for 6 months just from pictures on the internet

2a. With unfurnished, i could then rent furniture for 2 months. Pros: have furniture until mine arrives. Cons: expensive

2b. with unfurnished, i could send some of my key essentials (beds etc) over 2 months before i actually land in brisbane. Pros: have key essentials to live with, Cons: Increase in removals costs.


I can't be the only person with a large young family moving from the UK to Brisbane (or Australia in general).

For those of you who have been in similar circumstances, what have you done and with hindsight what worked, what didn't and what did you wish you did?

All help greatly appreciated.

Not sure if the same rules regarding rentals apply in Brisbane, but in Perth you have to be physically present to secure a rental.

There is another option. Stop over somewhere cheap to stay while your container trundles round the world. We stopped in Mexico for 6 weeks, 2 bed unit on the beach for US$200 per week.

By the way, your container could take a lot longer than 8 weeks.

BB

Holiday rental for 2 months if you can get one! No brainer really. Edited to say, if you arrive in Dec (not a great move IMHO) then you won't have to worry about the kids school because they'll be out of school until Feb anyway

Suggest a combo move, of many different bits in one:

1) Ship your stuff off in advance of you leaving these shores, staying will relatives/friends for a few weeks. You can make this a round robin goodbye set of visits quite easily. 2-3 weeks

2) Travel via some holiday destination, spending a week or two unwinding. 1-3 weeks

3) Arrange a short term holiday let in Brisbane for when you arrive, say 4-6 weeks

4) During this time find a workable unfurnished rental.

5) Move in and hope the furniture isn't too far behind. Personally I'd bet on 3 months, hoping that it turns up in 2.

Don't even think of trying to line up a long term rental sight unseen - it won't work.

We stayed in a short term rental for two weeks. Found a long term rental during that time and moved in after the two weeks. Bought essentials and camped until the container arrived.

I you don't like the idea of living in an empty house, then short term let until container arrives.

Yes, camping inside an unfurnished rental is quite feasible. Rental will have cooking facilities, built in wardrobes and maybe a few other fixture, so you need airbeds, garden table and chairs, a fridge and a set of picnic plates etc.
Otherwise look at caravan/holiday parks.

Holiday accommodation for the first 3-5 weeks, find your long term rental, indoor camping until the container arrives.

We moved from Perth to London 10 years ago with a 1 year old and a 6 year old. It was bloody hard! If I were you I would be looking at renting a park home in a caravan park as close to where you want to end up as possible. School doesn't start until late Jan/early Feb so you'll have a few weeks to get settled and check out the schools. When we first arrived in the UK, Poundland was our best friend! Buy all your stuff from places like The Reject Shop and Red Dot. Worst case you'll need to buy some cheap linen and towels but most kitchen stuff is supplied. Don't forget the sunscreen. We slept on and under the lounge room drapes for the first few days in London because it was a bank holiday (and freezing in Feb!) It was scary at the time but we look back on it with so much fondness now. You will too. Good luck and have fun.

We moved from Canada to the Gold Coast at the end of June. We were assured that our belongings would arrive at the beginning of September. We staying at a holiday park for 2 months until we secured a house to move into. The rental market is very tough. We were competing against 15-20 other applicants and having no Australian credentials we were finding it difficult. We finally had to rent site unseen and only hope that the house was okay. We also had to pay on top of 2 weeks rent and the bond, 3 months rent. We moved in a the beginning of September with basically a cheap lounge, an outdoor table and chairs, mattresses on the floor and a fridge. Along with a supply of kitchen things borrowed from friends and family. We figured a couple of weeks like this and we would be fine even though we had a 3 and 4 year old, roughing it for a couple of weeks was okay.
That brings us to our nightmare........our container did indeed arrive at the beginning of September but we are now in a fight to get our goods released to us. The receiving agent has been completely dishonest in their practices, giving excuse after excuse why we can't receive our goods. If anyone would like the agents name please contact me. Upon further investigation online I find more than 20 complaints about this company with the EXACT same issues. Customs were taking too long, payment needed for fees that we had already paid for in Canada, release papers not received from the other agent. It just goes on and on.
So please don't rely on getting your goods in a timely manner, from all accounts from others that have been forced to use this company (it was just done by their forwarding agent) we will be lucky to see our stuff before Christmas. Please PM me if you want further information as dealing with this company has left us both upset and extremely stressed making us even rethink our decision for moving to Australia in the first place.

Your situation sounds atypical to me.

Most people don't have that much trouble finding a rental and I don't even understand why you had to take somewhere you had not seen or even how you managed that as in most states it is illegal to let to someone that has not seen the place. Never heard of anyone having trouble getting their belongings released either.

I am just saying because migrating is quite a scary prices and I would hate anyone to read your post and be even more anxious about it. You certain,y have been very unlucky indeed.

Bermuda Shorts.....we may have been extremely unlucky but there are at least 20 reviews online about this company that are treating people the exact same way. Moving to Australia from not only Britain but North America, Dubai, Asia etc. We attended no less than 20 open houses for rental homes on the Gold Coast and there were an average of 10 other people looking at the home. Perhaps it's that we wanted a large home and there are not alot available I do not know. I just don't want people (yes I know it's a stressful time, we are experiencing that) to go into things with blinders on. Get all your facts (check online and get recommendations) Our issue isn't with the company that we hired but with the company that they hired. Ask questions as to who they are hiring and do your own investigations. We just don't want anyone to have to go through what we are going through and to just be aware to do your homework.
We don't want to scare anybody, just be cautious.
Bermuda Shorts if you would like the link to the reviews I will PM it to you so that you can see that people are having issues getting their belongings.
PS....we did see the home before signing the lease.

I concur. Very unlucky indeed.

Good luck.

I do remember a couple of people having issues with companies releasing their goods. And I guess overalll most shipping companies have had some bad reviews at times - for instance, the pathetic one I used has been praised by half the people who posted about it, but slammed by the other half.

Are they registered with any industry bodies? If so, your first recourse is to complain to them