Vic_Eddy

Hey,
We are making the move from the UK to the Gold Coast mid-September.... does anyone have any tips on what I need to organise before we leave or as soon as we arrive?
Our belongings are already in transit and our flights are booked.
we are looking to rent initially, however, after speaking to agents, they tell us to start looking in August.
And jobs....... my oh is a tiler by trade but it is proving to be difficult to find work prior to our arrival, he is a fantastic tradesman, please reassure me there is work out there?????
I have already booked our little girl into school and will look at nurseries once we arrive for our little boy.
I admire all of you people for making this move yourselves..... it would have been so easy to give up so many times.
thanks in advance for all your help!!

moneypenny20

I certainly wouldn't consider taking on a rental prior to getting here. What they show on the websites often bear no relation to what the place looks like in reality. Also it's nigh on impossible to get approval for a property when there are probably a fair few on the ground wanting the same place.

However, personally I wouldn't have got my girls into a school unless you checked it out when you validated of course.

I'm afraid you'll get little reassurance of work for your husband at the moment. I'd love to say 'yeah he'll be fine' but that wouldn't help you in the long run. However, he could well get lucky so never say never.

I think you're doing the right thing by sending your stuff over before leaving yourself. It worked brilliantly for us, we left our holiday rent, got the keys to our house and our container was delivered and unpacked the same day - three weeks after us landing.

Good luck.

Vic_Eddy

aaah thanks, i didn't explain myself too clearly, we have friends already on the Gold Coast, who are happy to view property for us, and we are putting our little girl in the same school as their kids, so i'm not totally firing in the dark on that one, but thank you all the same

Vic_Eddy

also, seeing as we have no rental history (we have always owned property in the uk) would it give us an advantage to pay 6 months rent upfront to get one up on the competition or does it not work that way????

moneypenny20

I did wonder.

Yes it would help and loads of migrants do just that. Personally I still wouldn't trust mates to find me a property but maybe yours are better than mine . Seriously though, it's awesome that you've got this help and support from friends already here.

shussel

Hi,
When we first arrived in Sydney we got a short term holiday let for six weeks, this was ample time to look at and find a permanent rental property. We secured a permanent rental property based on the fact that we had savings that could cover the rent for 6 months, if we needed to. We also provided references and proof that we were looking for work (emails to agents etc).
My OH is in a different trade but he also found looking for work very slow until we actually got here, I think that’s fairly normal.
Something else you could \ should be doing is making sure you know where all your paperwork is and that you have electronic copies, including immunisation history for your children (you’ll be asked about that when you arrive).
Final suggestion Enjoy the time you have left in the UK, our departure was quite stressful I regret not saying goodbye to family and friends in a better frame of mind!
Good luck!

Juliecabs

Have a look at these links for loads of tips on what to do before you leave.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...42&postcount=2

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=416975

Vic_Eddy

thank you so much everyone, the links were especially helpful xx

Kirk_n_Helena

Love the lists on the links...Im terrible for lists!
H x