MamaPesa

It may be the mortgage that you will find difficult. I l ive in Canberra (well, I have just moved out to NSW but am now spending more in rent!). There are two of us on one wage of $60,000 and we do fine including eating out when we want, lots of savings (FHSA accounts as we do want to buy eventually). We have had plenty of short weekend trips and we're going to NZ twice this year. Without particularly budgeting, we spend an average of $100 on food/drink at the supermarket a week, we rent a 4 bedroom house on a lifestyle block and have a good lifestyle. We are looking at another wage but only beacuse there's no point in one of us sitting at home (no kids). It all depends on what you're after but it's certainly doable quite easily.

No, we didn't wash our rug. It is probably 2 meters by 3 meters - way too big. Customs looked at it but didin't pull it out of its tea chest (probably because they knew there was no way they'd get it back in again as it took up the entire box and was bulging everywhere!). We bought it second hand off someone in Deal (by the sea for those who don't know) so it even had sand in it. In fact, a couple of months after unpacking it in Aus, I was stabbed whilst walking on it and discovered a fish hook! We also shipped lots of camping equipment (tent, walking poles, hiking packs, walking boots etc), ski equipment, some tools and parts (including a fuel pump). Everything was declared, customs did look but we didn't need anything fumigated.

Aus passport fine. You do not need visa for any country you have listed if you are just going for a holiday.

Don't know anything about the visa side of it. When you get to Aus, go straight to your Dr to start the process of getting prescribed - this took us 6 months despite having evidence from UK aobut condition and the only drugs which controlled PA. Aus Specialist had contact with UK specialist but it still took ages. Enbrel here costs $34.70 for 4 weeks on PBS. Acutal cost to Medical is just over $1700 for 4 according to printed label on the box!

You will need to say when you became a resident for tax purposes (which is usually the day you land in Australia but this can differ depending on circumstances). You then declare ALL worldwide income from that date. Your 'tax free threshold' is also worked at pro rata from this date All the details will be in the TaxPack - they really are very easy to follow. :yes:

My sheepskin rug got through with no questions. Not sure if they actually looked as I STILL haven't received the boxes but that's another story.....

I think your best bet is to ask shipping companies. They will all have their own prices for storage - I have not used storage so have no clue as to what it may cost. My shipping left my home (UK) on 29th March and, although it docked in Sydney on June 3rd, I have not received it yet. That will be three months in four days time. I sent 16 boxes. I gave the company the address of accommodation I had booked to stay in for two weeks when I arrived 5 weeks after I left UK. Then, when I had a permanent address, I told them via email. They did not need this address until 10 days before the ship arrived to send some documents that I needed to fill out. I am sure that all the companies will be able to store belongings at either end for you but it will cost....

The only restriction is getting security clearance which only Australian Citizens can get unless they find a very friendly boss. This isn't really a problem unless you're moving to Canberra (I'm told 40% of jobs will need this) or wanting to work in Defence.....

Mmmmm, summer rolls. I'd totally forgotten about them - I'm off to look for them in the morning..... scrumptious.....

Can definately get TimTams in Sainsbury's. I'd take minties - especially if you're going somewhere & can leave them on the dashboard of the car to go gooey (would have to be with the heater on in UK!!) My Australia pack that my mum always sent me to UK included: minties, BBQ shapes, caramello koala, twisties, redskins and fruchocs (you'd only know fruchocs if you're from SA - soon to be sold around the country in Coles under the name of Mentos Choc Apricot Balls as apparently fruchocs is to hard to say if you're from any other state!!)

I have never suffered from hay fever in Adelaide (where I grew up) but get it in spring in London. Yet to see if I get it in ACT....

Sorry Tom. Can't help much on the child aspect of things. When it started getting into tax credits at my work (primary school) I used to just tell the parents to pop into the council access point next door!

Have to apply again. Been there, done that.....

We had prescription drugs with us on the plane as hand luggage. They are supposed to be kept in the fridge but the specialist advised that for 36 hours it 'didn't really matter' as long as it wasn't over 30 degrees. Probably had around 5 boxes of pills and then 12 injections (kind of like epi-pens). Had a letter from the specialist just in case but we were not questioned at any point. Even when we had to take them all out of the bag to get the camera out which they wanted to have a look at! We got as many as the specialist was able to give us (3 months supply) as it always takes time to get through the hospital system here. Been here 2 months and still no sign of appointments.....

I've never noticed it before but I'm hardly an expert! :unsure: Be careful about buying it just before you come it though - you are not 'supposed to' bring out anything which you have not owned for 12 months unless you're willing to pay duty on it.... Having said that, I'm not sure if anyone has ever been caught....

Not exactly. I'm in Canberra and have just returned from living in London (Blackheath) for the last 4 years (and Surrey before that!)

I have a big woollen rug due to be seen by AQIS on wed (20/6) so hopefully it will be OK - ironically it's made in new zealand from NZ wool, bought in UK, now shipped to Aus! The wooden masks - I've taken one through airport quarantine before & they checked it thoroughly to see if it had any holes or cracks in the wood; mine didn't so they let me through. Apparently, if it did, they could have fumigated or destroyed..... Really not sure on shells....

I went with PSS. I gave them the address of our temporary accommodation so that they would have something. Then, as soon as I had a more permanent address I contacted them (we went with shipping at the last moment from UK and doing without on the Aus side). They then sent a letter to the permanent address once they had confirmed docking details of the container. That letter had a form in it to be returned - they gave me two options: send to 'x' address (I could insert whatever address I wanted as long as it was within Canberra where I had paid for it to be taken)as soon as it was cleared by customs and quarantine OR store for 'x' fee at until 'x' date. As said above though, I assume each shipping company will have its own rules and way of doing things so I would make sure I ask the question from the company you choose to use. The above is a starting point though.....

It wasn't possible 8 years ago! The UK have lots of laws about proving your address for the last 4 years in the country before they'll let you have a 'proper' bank account. This included putting me on my then partners account which he had open. I did manage to get an account with Lloyds TSB which only allowed me to use their ATMs with no direct debits or anything else. At the time, my best option would have been to open an account through the commonwealth bank here in Aus however, I didn't realise that until I was already in London!!! Having said that, a lot of banking 'rules' really do depend on the interpretation of the person you are asking at the time. Their interpretation depends greatly on how good/bad a day they're having, how sunny it is, how nice you are, etc etc......

Your wife can swap her licence for a UK one by filling out a form and sending it off to the DVLA in Swansea. Very easy, no tests. They will NOT swap truck licences but car licences are fine. She can swap it as soon as you have a postal address. National Insurance number I can't comment too much on - I'm not sure if the system has changed since I went & got mine 17 years ago! I just went to the JobCentre and they sent me one in the post about two weeks later. I'm sure it's changed a bit though!

You can just send in your Aussise licence to the DVLA and they will 'swap' it for the UK one. I can't remember if the form is on the website or at at the post office (sorry, it was a while ago!). Officially, you can use your Aus licence for 3 months... When moving back, you still need to wait until the end of the Aussie tax year until you can do your tax return (they only issue the tax packs at the end of FY). However, when you're doing it, there will be a section that says 'resident for tax purposes for part of year' - you will put in the date you stopped being Aus resident for TAX purposes (it will also explain what that means) and everything is worked out from that date - so that if it was 31 Dec your tax free threshold and all else will be worked out as half of the allowance. It is easy when you look for it in the tax pack or in the online version - I have done it when moving to UK and about to do it the 'other way'. Can't help with how long citizenship will take though.....

I haven't received my tea chests yet (16) but so far PSS have been great. Our shipment didn't leave UK as quickly as I thought it would but we were just doing tea chests so they had to wait for the container to be full. If you're doing a container, it should be on the ship they say. They were brilliant in the UK, even the guy who dropped off our boxes was happy to explain everything to us! So far, they have had great customer service, answering all my stupid and annoying questions with a smile. As said, I haven't received the boxes yet though - they are going through quarantine in Sydney at the moment so I'm not sure on the end product as yet.

I use NAB & I've been so impressed with the service & friendliness. No charges......

Be careful. Check at the airport. When I flew a few months ago, you were not allowed to enter Australia carrying any liquids over 100ml and that included all duty free. The only option was to buy it on arrival...