fingers456

Hi, we've been renting for 5 months and have just received our electricity bill for the last 3 months. It's $1300 which seems a bit steep, even for a 4/5 bed house in the suburbs. We have been using the ducted air heating in the evenings and first thing in the morning and we have an electric oven, and I think electric water heating via combi boiler, but other than that just the usual TVs and lights and stuff. i know electricity seems to be pricey over here, but even so, this seems outrageous. Does anyone have any similar experiences, or can shed any light on the matter? Thanks.

Hi, we're looking to take the family to see / experience the GBR, in the holidays at the end of Sep/ early Oct. We're in Sydney. We're not likely to do it more than once, so we're looking for help in choosing a good place where we can all have fun - boys aged 3, 6, 10 and 13, so we're hoping the 2 older ones can snorkel esaily, the 6 yr old can try it and the 3 yr old can just splash about in a life jacket. We are looking to stay about 4 or 5 nights, but won't be on the reef every day, so we need something else to do too. We have heard Port Douglas is nice, with Daintree NP nearby, but perhaps not enough to do to keep the kids busy? Cairns might be an option but what's it like to stay there? Airlie Beach / Whitsundays are an option but have hear dthey are really expensive. Can anyone help? Also, does anyone have any tips, advice or just plain knowledge about how to go about seeing the reef, etc? Are boat trips easy to book on the day or do we have to book in advance? Are stinger suits essential, or can we risk it seeing as it's not really stinger season? Who's the best carrier to fly with? That sport of thing. Ta!

Just found ourselves a rental, 2 week after touching down in Sydney. Phew! But the agent informs us it's our job to do all the utility connections. I have gas and elec set up, but does anyone know what's best for phones and internet? I'm not sure whether there is a phone line already there, but irrespective of that, are there any blinding deals on phones and broadband or ones to avoid?

Hi, we're moving to Sydney in April and my 10 yr old is a bit sad that he has to leave his karate training behind. He is about to start his black belt training. Does anyone know of a Wado Ryu karate club in Sydney where he an keep it going? My 5 yr old also does it, and would love to carry on too. Cheers.

This link is broken but the thread is very helpful. What does the link refer to? Some sort of list for shipping your stuff? thanks

so, does anyone know what the penalty is for getting it wrong? And Border Control gave me some links to their websites, and I've found references to needing to declare stuff only over $1000 (but no info as to whether that's per item or in total) and any stuff I might want to bring would be less than that (per item). Border Control also says I'll need to declare the kids' birthday and Xmas presents, but there's no tariff sheet for Lego and plastic tat, to work out the duty on it. Not very straightforward.

You could take your laptop on the plane, so it wouldn't count anyway? It's only the unaccompanied shipped stuff you have to declare, I think

So, do I tick 'yes' or 'no' on the form? Or rather, would you tick 'yes' or 'no' if it was you?!

Hi, we're moving next month and we're filling out the shipping forms. What's the deal with the declaration about stuff being less than 12 months old? Not only have we just had Christmas, but we also have 3 children's birthdays before we leave. Are we allowed to buy them presents? Do we need to declare the stuff from Christmas? And what about household stuff we've bought in the last 12 months before we'd even applied for jobs in Sydney let alone been offered one? Bookcases and rugs and things like that. We've paid tax on all our stuff bought in the UK so don't think it's fair to pay more tax in Aus. What's the penalty for not declaring stuff but being 'caught'? Has anyone else been in this boat? Thanks.

Thanks everyone. We are likely not to bother in that case, just bring vaccine history and red books. Will the kids need boosters, then? They are 13, 10, 6 and 3. The two older ones have certainly not had any vacs for years. All have had their full quota according to the normal UK schedule though.

We're moving to Sydney in April and wondered if we should bring our medical notes with us? We're bringing red books for the kids, but not sure if we ought to bring our own notes too. Anyone else have ideas or experience of this? Thanks

Hi again, we're cracking on with our move but still waiting for the visa so progress is slow. Our 5 yr old is having nightmares about spiders though. What's everyone's experience of the critters? Do you have to check under your pillows every night, and never leave clothes on the floor? Or are they hardly ever seen? And how many different types of nasty ones are there? Funnel webs we know about, but what are the others?

Thanks everyone. We just want to rent, not buy. Others have suggested Castle Hill, Kellyville or maybe Carlingford. We'll try there perhaps. We need to get a serviced / furnished flat first, for a month or so, while we wait for our stuff to arrive and find a longer-term place. Are these all on the coast / around the city centre, or will there be some further out, nearer Parra? Also, we need health insurance to get the visa. Is it worth paying extra for dental cover, or is it easier to pay as we go if we need treatment / check ups. Does anyone know how much a simple examination / scale / polish is?

Thanks, that is great advice. Do you know roughly how much a small second hand car would be over there? We were wondering if commuting by car would give us more flexibility.

Thanks so much to everyone for quickly replying to our queries, they have all been incredibly useful. Does anyone have any views about the Liverpool area? We just noticed it is a quick train commute to Paramatta and also North Rocks. Good family areas or best avoided?

Hi. We are a family from the Birmingham in the UK moving to Sydney for my husband's work at around April time. We have 4 boys aged 13, 10, 5 and 3 years and have no idea where to start looking for somewhere to live. My husband is to work in Paramatta and we are hoping to find a 4 or 5 bedroom house to rent within commutable distance. Hopefully on public transport. We are hoping to get a weekly rental of $1200 at the max. Two storey accommodation with a pool would be our dream! Could you possibly tell us of any areas to start our search in? We would like a family area with lots going on for children as our kids are upset to be leaving their clubs including cubs/scouts groups, karate and swimming. We also would like an area with good public schools and parks/leisure space. Any advice you could give us would be fantastic. Thanks.