mattyearle

Hey,

My wife and I received our Visa's last year and activated them last September during our honeymoon (to Aus). I recently started work for a UK based company which has an office in Sydney (Baulkham Hills) and they are going to transfer us over there in early June.
My wife is starting to get stressed about the logistics of the move, especially finding somewhere to live!
I thought we would be able to rent a house/flat over the internet and literally get the keys when we land - but it is fast becoming apparent that we won't be able to do this!

What did other people do for accommodation when the first landed in Aus? We will have a small amount of money play with and I will have work.

Also we need to ship some personal items from the UK to Aus - does anybody recommend a company?

-Matt

Katherined0

There are many serviced appartments throughout the city so I'd recommend using one of these for a couple of weeks until you get yourselves settled.

If you're working at Baulkam Hills I can recommend Parklea holiday village which has some nice quality cabins for a short term let
http://www.sydneygateway.com.au/

We also stayed here for 10 days while we were sorting things out (found parklea quite a long way out TBH -- but we werent based near Balkham Hills) http://www.riverview.com.au/

Or to be in the thick of the action with a long commute for you but a fab view of the harbour....
http://www.sydneyservicedapartments....WestSuites.htm
Friends of mine are staying here at the moment and it's a great location with one of the best views in Sydney!

mattyearle

Thanks - I'll have a look at those!

verystormy

I would ask your company to provide a short term rental for you, which we have arranged with our. For shipping things, try this
http://www.allfreight.co.uk/excess_b...pping_home.asp

I dont know if you have come across the rentals web site, but have enclosed anyway

domain.com.au
realestate.com.au

Good luck

Helen-17

Hello there. I arrived a month ago. My husbands company sent us out. You are quite correct, you can't secure a long term rental online (and you would not want to!) We could not believe how bad some properties were when you looked at them in the flesh so to speak. Things were not always as they appeared online - some had really bad access (steep driveways leading onto busy roads just off a bend etc). Anyway, as soon as we had a good nights sleep, we hit the net again, and started to get a feel for neighbourhoods. Syndey rental is crazy. There is a huge demand for rental out here, so landlords pick and choose. My suggestions for securing a long term rentals are:
1. Bring copies of your passport, letter of employment, bank statement, last mortgage statement or reference from landlord whichever is appropriate to you. You will need these to go along with your application.

2. If you can find a property where the estate agent is prepared to give you a private viewing - that is super. If you view it and like it - go back to the estate agent (having kept all the copies as in point 1 in your car) and fill in the application form there and then. With any luck - you will secure your property. That is what we did. The norm in Sydney is to have an "inspection day" where the house is open on a set day at a set time for approx 15-30 mins. People race around the property, grab application forms off the estate agent, and race off to fill them in and hand them back in. I think it is hard to secure a place this way as there is so much competition. The first place we saw was like this - we offered $100 per week above asking price, but there were about 40 other applicants and we did not get it.

It is crazy, but you will get there. Are you bringing any pets over? We brought two cats, and I am so lucky we found this place that would accept them. With the landlords able to choose, to find a decent place which allow pets is not easy.

Good luck!

Pinkie

Hey Matt

We rented a holiday let for the first couple of months we were here which was in the city (we're in Adelaide) so gave us a good chance to get to know the area plus had all the bits and bobs we needed day to day, cutlery etc. Even if you ship all that, it's unlikely you and it will all arrive at exactly the same time! It also just took a lot of the strain off trying to find somewhere over the internet, you can only get so much of an idea of an area like that and being here is very different much of the time. It is a bit more expensive to do that way but IMHO very much worth it.

As for shipping, we used Anglo Pacific and they were very good. A search on this site will bring up many stories about most of the agencies but my personal experience with them was very good and they were good on cost too. Most importantly though, everything got here in one piece!

Good luck with it anyway

andrew4

On the removal front both Doree Bonner and Robinsons seem to get good recomendations so may be worth contacting them..

Good luck in the search

Jacque

Hi Matt

You will love the Hills area- plenty of places to consider staying for short term accommodation. Try Quest apartments at Baulkham Hills also this site look at Parramatta in particular, as it's Sydney's satellite CBD and will provide you with more choice

www.stayz.com.au

I second the idea of a holiday place- even if you wanted to look up some semi rural places near BH such as Dural and Kenthurst you may be able to find something tranquil for the same cost as a small Parra unit, and it's much nicer and quieter and still a short drive to BH (15-20mins)

Best of luck with the move enjoy the Hills!