maya12

BigD - My partner went to Uni in England so has a Bachelor of Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering, equivalent to Dipl Ing. Thanks for the info TheStevensFamily, will check out the website. His specialisation is in quality engineering. Where have you settled in Australia?

Glilly65, if it's a 20ft container then it sounds a very good price. The cheapest I've been able to get is £3700 door to door. I would just check all the small print to make sure it's all in order first though. ​

Thanks for this Candygirl, very helpful. This is what concerns me, not knowing what costs lie ahead in Sydney when we get there, hence I'm thinking go with a package now. Would be interested to hear who you've gone with as it sounds like a really good price and, like you, we'd prefer to pack our own things. Is your quote for self load too or just self pack? Perhaps you could PM me the details? Many thanks ​

The cheapest quote we've had for a 20 ft container self pack and load is £1421, from our house to Sydney port. It works out so much cheaper, providing the extras like port charges and a trucker in Sydney aren't too high. I've googled but struggling to find what charges we'll have at the port and how much they cost. Anyone know?

Hi all, we're in the process of getting quotes for shipping to Sydney, and making the decision as to whether we do it ourselves or go for the 'all in' package. It would seem general cost saving is around £1100 which is a big saving, however I'm just wondering how true this is, in terms of 'hidden costs'. For those that have self packed/loaded a 20ft container, what did you roughly spend on packing materials, ie. boxes, bubble wrap, strapping for the container etc? What about fees in Australia and costs of transporting contents of the container from the port to your home? These are the costs I'm concerned may quite easily swallow up much of the cost saving, making it not worth the extra effort. Would be grateful to hear any of your experiences please.

Sorry Katy, just read the rest of the thread and realised you've explained it all already, thanks. Will give them a call.

Hi Katy, Would you mind telling me which company you're using (can PM me if prefer) as we're looking into self packing for our move in September. Many thanks

Hi all, We are moving to Sydney in September and have my parents visiting in Dec/Jan. My Dad, an avid cricket fan has already discovered the ashes tour will be in Sydney in Jan and of course he'd love to go and watch the Poms thrash the Aussies-his words not mine :-) I'm after some advice about whether its best to buy tickets in UK or Oz and when they become available. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated thanks.

I'd also be really interested to hear more about self packing as it seems so much cheaper so definitely worth consideration.

That's good to hear, thank you. He'll be attending a state school. Hopefully he'll also settle in well.

Hi all, apologies if this has already been covered but just wondering how best to prepare my 9 year old for school when we move over in September. Is the curriculum very different? What languages are taught in NSW schools? Is there anything anyone would suggest I start to do with him to prepare him for new subjects etc. What about PE, roughly how much time do they spend doing sport each week. Lots of questions I know but but will look forward to some responses. Thanks

I'm with HSBC .

I've just notified my lender as we're renting our house out for a year or two. It was no problem to stay on the same mortgage deal, thek a just sending me a letter confirming the house will be rented. It will be reviewed annually and at some point they make request a change to buy to let. We just need to change insurance to buildings only.

Hi there, will look out for you on the Facebook group as I'm looking to meet families with older children also for my son who's 9. He'd love to be in touch with kids his own age before we head over in September as he has very mixed feelings about going. Is your eldest a boy or girl? How do they feel about going?

Hello! We are also heading to Sydney. Flights booked for September. No jobs to go to yet and no idea where we'll live but exciting all the same :-) Keep in touch, it will be good to hear your progress.