Originally Posted by 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

Originally Posted by Jon77

Get ready to fight the crowds on the rental open house circuit

I recall one open house we went to at Lane Cove there were at least 100 people outside and as soon as the open house started there was a mad dash forward and people pulled out already completed rental application forms for the property lol The Estate Agent women had to tell them she could take them until they had been around the property and they had to be taken back and submitted at the office.

So people flew around the house, jump in their cars and dashed the the Real Estate Office, crazy stuff. It was ****ing feral.

Also a tin of mortine bug spray always comes in handy as a first purchase in Sydney. Remember the first night we moved in to our first rented unit. Went to get a glass of water in the middle of the night as still a bit jet lagged, I flicked the light on and ***ing cockroaches scattered every where! Under the fridge, dishwasher and cooker! We didn't stay there long!

No shortage of places like that for rent in Sydney though, and not cheap places either.

Also be prepared to see lots of house rentals that look like they haven't been touched since 1975.