AltyMatt

Australia doesn't really do convenience food either. So I miss Marks & Spencers ready meals and Boots sandwiches. Japan does these really well - they have a chain of convenience stores called Lawsons that have authentic triangle sandwich packs, ready meals, sweets, and alcohol.

i crave a meat and potato pie or a Gregg's pasty. Suburban Woolies / Coles usually have a British food section with chocolates, soft drinks, tinned foods etc, and Aldi sometimes feature British food. Amazon have a wide range of British treats too.

It's not a problem. My daughter has an Australian passport only and we have travelled to UK on our Australian passports. We have entered the shorter British border control queue at arrival. I showed my British passport to border control but they stamped my Australian passport as that is the one I used to leave Australia.

you might want to consider kennels for the dogs while finding a long term rental / purchase. There should be loads of options for kennels and it might open up a few more options for you

Couriers Please (alias Swift and Shift)

I reckon IKEA is like McDonalds - the same worldwide. Bunnings is pretty similar to B&Q, although I remember as a child B&Q had a panel of doorbells you could play with which Bunnings should copy.

If you are looking for something in same range as Habitat, maybe try Freedom Furniture or Nick Scali, maybe not as good quality, although Habitat is not the same as years past either. Could also check King Living - they make great sofas. In Sydney there are a few furniture malls where you can get everything under one roof, such as: Alexandria Homemaker Centre Artarmon Home HQ Homemaker Centre Belrose Super Centre Alexandria also has quite a few factory/outlet furniture stores if you don't mind driving around to find a good deal. Online, https://www.templeandwebster.com.au is popular A lot of people buy mattresses online from Koala, Emma, Sleeping Duck etc

You should receive the refund within a week of submitting your tax return.

Unless you are worried about storage space I would suggest you bring all the sentimental paperwork. Scans of memorabilia really aren't the same

Many councils offer beach parking permits. Residents usually receive a couple of free permits a year, but quite a few councils sell permits to non-residents.

So true. Most unskilled, low paying jobs appear to be filled by migrants, and you have to wonder what happened to their Aussie dream.

Could try https://www.ozcar.com.au they have a several sites, but you can search for cars online first before visiting. I once bought a car from Winsford Fords of Windsor and it was a grim experience - just like visiting Ikea on a really busy Saturday

Working From Home has expanded the job opportunities for many people. I work for one of the larger employers in Australia and we have hired staff in country NSW, Victoria and Queensland for roles that previously would be only available to those within commuting distance of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. This isn't a temporary COVID workaround either - so if you have a decent internet connection and progressive employer you could find it doable to reside in Umina or Jervis Bay and still 'work' in Sydney

on the flip side, there are also a lot who own a house that is now worth a lot more than they could afford. Prices have outpaced wages to the point that many could not afford to buy their own home

We were lucky that after a year of renting the strata fees in the building jumped up so much that the owners decided to cut out the agents and deal with us direct. We stayed in the property a long time (too long in hindsight) as the owners were such great landlords. We just bought a place and we engaged a buyer's agent to get it done - we were so sick of the BS and games being played by the selling agents. Whether that be massively under quoting, lying about time on market, etc