Catchley30

Hi all

After many years of planning the move we've finally sold our home and handed our notices in at work. It's all feeling very real now although exciting. We will be moving in July on a 175 Visa but will start applying for jobs before we go.

As there is so much experience on this site I was hoping to receive some of your top tips on moving to Sydney... what to do before/ when you first arrive etc. also, any links to checklists that people have found particularly useful.

Many thanks in advance.

Catchley30

Beoz

Go to the beach. Enjoy

paulry

Congratulations and welcome to BE!

quoll

Usual tip, but too late now - don't give notice, take a career break and rent out the house.

Find a job will be priority number1!

Good luck!

spuddyo

Take time to look at many areas in Sydney, and choose the one which you think suits your lifestyle best. Living somewhere you really like makes a huge difference, there are plenty of places in and around Sydney which would make you wonder "why did we come here?".

Have fun, try not to compare Australia prices with UK ( just accept that it is what it is ) and try not to head back for a family trip for at least 2 years.

carolinephillips

Before arriving have massive declutter- sell, donate and chuck out stuff. Open a bank account that you can activate once you arrive here. Book a central hotel for a week so you can walk around the CBD and surrounds and get oriented to Sydney life. If you can, book a holiday accomodation or something similar for a month to give you time to find somewhere to rent. We found one in Manly, so OH took the ferry to Circular Quay each day. Commuting with a difference!

Say your goodbyes to everyone before you go: have a party, but don't let close relatives wave you off at the airport- you want to get on the plane looking forward to life down under, not tearful and regretting leaving close ones.

Have a stopover for a couple of days if you can in somewhere like Singapore. Enjoy your last holiday for a while!!

On arrival, get bank accounts and medicare cards sorted first, then relax for a few days, take in the sights, have lazy morning coffees/breakfasts at Manly and in the CBD, and have a glass of champagne at the Opera bar. Be a tourist while you recover from jetlag. Once that is done, then get job hunting and scouting out areas to live.

Wonder at the rugged up locals while you sit on the beach in your t-shirts.

And good luck!!

Bermudashorts

Probably best to do your own checklist, just brainstorm and write evertyhing down you can think of and then tick it off as you go.

I don't think there is much that is immediately pressing on arrival. Other than the tax file number, I would apply for that as soon as you get here. I enrolled with medicare pretty promptly too, but there was no particular need, didn't use Medicare / see a doctor for a good 18 months afterwards.

Your driving licence would need swapping over within the months, but I wouldn't rush to do this straight away, in fact I would wait until you have found where you will be living so you can put your permanent address on the licence.

Beoz

I will second that.

bourbon-biscuit

Well, given they have already sold their house and given notice on their jobs, what use is that advice apart from to make them feel anxious?

Pollyana

Could be useful for future readers....

Bernieboy

Go dunk yourself in a brew ))

commonwealth

July can be cold in Sydney, you might think it's summer!

old.sparkles

That's a bit rude!

Kapri

We arrived in July 2013. It's a good time to arrive as holiday lets are cheaper, as are flights. It also gives you winter to settle in and acclimatise, ready for action in the spring

My advice:

Have a holiday on the way. It's one of the best decisions we made.
The last few weeks in the UK were very emotional. Lots of goodbyes and tears.
We got dropped at the airport by one person - we didn't want the emotional goodbyes at the airport.
As soon as we checked in our luggage, it was holiday time!
We spent 3 nights in Los Angeles and a week in Fiji and by the time we arrived in Sydney, we were relaxed and happy.

De-clutter before your shipping leaves. We whittled our stuff down to a 20 ft container load, and there are still boxes that we haven't opened yet!

Have an idea of where you want to live, but don't stress too much about finding somewhere from the UK. You won't truly know where you want to live until you arrive. Book 3 weeks holiday accommodation then go to lots of home opens once you arrive.
Looking for a rental in Aus is very different to the UK. Each property will have an open, which only lasts about 15 minutes. You will be viewing with other people. If you like the place, make sure you fill in an application straight away. Have copies of your bank statements as that is all they care about. If you have job offers, take copies of those too.

In the early days, go exploring and say yes to every invitation. You will meet people you hit it off with and people that you don't. The sooner you make friends, the easier it is to settle.

If you feel homesick, try to ride it out. Whatever you do, don't surround yourself with other homesick people. It makes it worse.
Remember, everyone passes. Things will be unfamiliar at first but eventually it will all slot into place.

Be prepared for how expensive everything seems whilst you are converting your UK sterling. Once you're earning Aussie dollars it won't seem nearly as bad!

Enjoy the experience

Pine Cone

I've just downloaded to medicare card application forms and it says you need a permanent address. But given most people stay in temp accommodation when they first arrive, how do you deal with that. We have temp accommodation in an apartment booked for 3-4 weeks after our planned arrival, so are we able to use that address or won't they accept our application until we've sorted out a rental house?