corkonian

We used Crown Relocations in 2012; don't think I'd use them again. Communication was appalling and our stuff arrived at the very end of the timeframe they gave us. If you don't have furniture or bulky items I'd seriously consider An Post. We shipped six boxes out as an interim measure and they arrived in about a fortnight. In hindsight I'd have used An Post if I'd known it was so reasonable (we used it for shipping pots, pans, duvets etc).

Hi all, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts/experience. While it's still early days in my research, the sense I'm getting is that going public/shared care is probably the best option for me. Ozmaniac, thanks for raising the issues above. Speaking to VHI they were able to talk us through the Australian system, but to be honest, I don't see what benefit private health insurance is (for maternity purposes) when we have access to Medicare. Blossom and BeanieMac, congratulations on your new arrivals! Your experience with the public/shared system is definitely encouraging. In fact, I've seen somewhere that the public system here is better than the private system in Ireland so I think it's probably the way to go. It also means that I don't have to worry about waiting until after the insurance company's waiting period to conceive... Thanks again!

Happy new year! I’m an Irish woman living in Melbourne with permanent residency and am planning on starting a family in the next few months. Unfortunately, none of my friends here are at the babies stage so I’m at a bit of a loss when it comes to figuring out the system and have been receiving conflicting information from VHI at home in Ireland. Our current health insurance is VHI International. I’ve recently upgraded to level 2 to be able to avail of the extended pregnancy and maternity cover. We’re aware of the ten-month waiting period, but have received conflicting information from VHI staff about how this works. One VHI staff member told us we could not conceive until after the 10-month period was up, while another told us that if we fell pregnant during the waiting period, we could only claim for expenses after the waiting period, which sounds fine because both staff members told us we can use the maximum €5000 that VHI will pay in whatever way we want (i.e. we could use it for the hospital stay). Has anyone had similar experience and what actually transpired? Can you start public and transition to private mid-way through your pregnancy? Did you go public, how did you find it and were you left with much out-of-pocket costs? What is people’s experience of shared care? My doctor has recommended it, but I’m confused about whether I can start shared GP-Private if our private health insurance won’t kick in for a few months. Is it possible to pay initial costs ourselves until the VHI is activated? Any advice in this regard would be appreciated! Thanks

Hi everyone, Our stuff was picked up in Ireland by Crown nearly seven weeks ago for shipping to Oz and I've just been told the full groupage container just got filled on Friday last in Leeds. I was originally told it was being sent to the UK first because of the volume of stuff being shipped from the UK and that the ship would be sailing around the first week of July. I'm stunned that seven weeks on, it's only got from Ireland to the UK, while we had a whole other month in Ireland, moved to Australia, found a place to live and started work...Has anyone had a similar experience? Thanks!

Hi Braidwood, I've checked out that link and was told it probably wouldn't be worth bringing my Toyota Yaris. The only reason I'm considering is because we've some relocation expenses leftover. Also, I've had no luck selling it and we leave next week! It's a great little car and would be perfect for city driving! I'll keep you posted!

I was just speaking to AA Economy Freight about shipping my car and they said I'd have to take a 20ft container, but that I could fill it out with our belongings. Quoted €2,750 and takes seven weeks. Leaves Dublin every Friday. We've already shipping our belongings so don't need a full 20ft container. If anyone has any experience on shipping a car, you might let me know! Thanks!

Have another one for you if you wouldn't mind... 0.99 litre 2005 Toyota Yaris, 135,000kilometres Air-conditioning, petrol, five-door, manual, five gears Market value in Ireland - €3,500 Market value in Oz - $8,500 - $10,000 Should mention that our sponsor is paying some relocation costs, which is why we’re actually considering taking the car…