AndrewRomford

Your question needs to be - will Quarantine have a space - are you going to Sydney, Melb or Perth - some of them are booked (Full) months in advance which can be the decider on when the animal flies http://www.daff.gov.au/biosecurity/cat-dogs/step-by-step-guides/category-3-step-by-step-guide-for-dogs

Highly recommend 11/10

We used Golden Arrow - can't speak highly enough of them, its not worth doing it without a professional transport company. Excellent service, no hidden surprises and they take care of all the stress. I was aware of the quarantine - that is the 'not nice' part of the process, no one can control that. If you get your timing right you have 6 weeks from memory

I used John Masons - would give them 10/10

This is a narrow sighted view - if the exchange rate changes again - should all that shifted back head back over to Oz again?

John Mason were excellent. I am so glad I used them especially after the horror stories I have heard from others. Not a single item damaged, lost...perfect

scortching, but my airconditioned train after work made the world a better place

If memory serves me correctly, a typical example is that of the WW2 bomber pilot that bought banking shares way back in a now defunct bank. He was planning to live of his investment, pass a bit onto his family and not be a burden. When the <&$£%%^!s> shorted the bank, he lost everything. So his life savings gone in an instant. I guess someone has to pay for the people who love doing this and drinking £1000 bottles of champagne.

Have you looked at the total debt, everything that the UK owes. It is eye watering. The country can't boom, sure the ritch get richer. How much is it now for each new born child £30000 debt.

Melbourne - Server / Technical support since August 2011 Several colleagues have lost jobs - huge numbers applying for anything half decent I am aware of a lot of outsourcing / cutbacks Several in the industry believe things are very tough...I have a friend the relocated interstate

Perhaps in hindsight a lot of property owners will think they paid way too much if the market tanks. So is it fair to say we have 1. People who paid a high very premium who hope prices go up, up, and up so they feel better about how much they paid. 2. People who are unable to afford reasonable housing - being left behind - the people no one cares about because of self interest - as long as their 2 bob job is worth a fortune who cares about the rest... 3. Would be buyers who choose to wait with caution - perhaps for a major correction - return to affordable levels. Why would you pay 550K for a house with no garden, touching the walls of the house next door, with inferior quality and no surrounding infrastructure. We have jobs being lost, the world far from out of the GFC, high costs of living, a state and public sector way out of sync with the current affordability - requiring tax increases or cuts to services. I think when Australia avoided the big GFC, instead of saving and preparing for what is going to come, they all went out and got that new car, bigger house, holidays. Lets see whose got clothes on when the tide goes out...

In my area of Melbourne, I am seeing properties not attracting bids at auction, but selling afterwards. To give you an example, a unit is on the market for 500K nearby. The one next to it sold for 350K. The owner of the 500K unit spent about 30K renovating and thinks he should get 120K premium. It is still for sale, and the agents are still trying to greedily get top dollar. The build quality here is shocking, but it is what it is. The real expense is in labour - over priced tradies, not on materials. How many houses built in the UK in the 1930's are still standing proud. Here, you'd be lucky to find something 20 -30 years old that doesn't need the wrecking ball. And I know a few people who have mansions and eye watering mortgages with job insecurity. So I am not convinced about house prices or the sustainability. Australia has one of the highest personal debt ratios in the world and feels like it is entering recession. There are real estate shops everywhere while stores are closing or moving, I'd say things aren't as rosy as the real estate spin doctors would have you believe, they talk it up for short term personal gain.

A friend of mine is moving from Melb back to QLD, that's how difficult he thinks it is in Melbourne. If you want to really find out what its like ask a friendly cabbie. Last week, I took a cab to get to a remote site in the city, the driver is doing taxi work as he can't find any IT work in the Server Support field. He was managing 30 - 40 people 18 months ago before being made redundant. His wife has also just been made redundant in her accounting job, who do you believe - I believe my contacts on the ground, it is terrible at the moment....

The pay rates and opportunities for support roles are nose diving in Melbourne. I have a number of contacts who are spending months out of work between roles. The recruitment agencies remind me of real estate agents in the UK before the GFC. The last desktop role I applied for had over 300 applicants.....

Not sure about Sydney but Melbourne is getting tough. Lots of good talent with local experience fighting for fewer jobs

I used them, they were outstanding. How much over 12 weeks are you? (About 15 - 16?) - possibly a bit inconvenient but if you are filling part of a shared container they have to fit this in. If you read some of the horror stories, waiting an extra week or two yes, inconvenient but a breeze compared to what some have gone through. A friend of our has waited nearly 5 months.......good luck anyway

Hi, we are in the Edithvale / Chelsea area

This isn't shipping or compliance / registration - for us it was worth it. The total cost roughly equals the loss we would have taken on the car if we had of sold it in the UK

Hi, really sorry to hear about your experience. We went with John Masons - we found them fantastic - just really great from all aspects of the move. We had 105 boxes, so far, I have been through just about everything, nothing broken or damaged. I hope something else goes your way as it is a very stressful time.

We moved from London to Melbourne in September 2012. 1. Dog safely imported & out of quarantine 2. Vehicle imported and on the road 3. Furniture & household all arrived safely 4. Working in the city 5. Easily found a rental friendly to pets I feel very fortunatey indeed. We have had a couple of lovely days on uncrowded beaches, drives in the Yarra Valley. As they say...Keep Calm and Carry on.....

Anyone bringing a car over or thinking of it - see the updated Website

I spent Sunday Evening sitting on the Wharf, listening to Jazz, watching the sun set. It was boiling until the sun went down

From my first 7 days in Melbourne, I feel like there is quite a bit on at the moment in regards to jobs, don't know - maybe its just me but the market feels good and the feedback I have had is that its picking up

I heard this on a radio show recently. If this is accurate, can anyone on the ground in Melbourne give a general picture of who all these new Melbourne Residents are - if it is in the general 'news, radio etc' 1. People moving from Rural victoria into the city? (Looking for work) 2. People moving from other countries such as the UK, NZ ect 3. Just lots of different people...from who knows where At this rate, the infrastructure must be creaking in some parts. Interesting numbers....about 5,000 per month. This must be putting strains on the rental market, transport, schools somewhere?