FirstWorldProblems

I did this last year from the U.K. if you search the forum for “HSBC” you will see my post covering how. You do need a U.K. premier account with HSBC though.

Do you know how much they budget for tolls? We clocked up $500 in two weeks last month during a visit based near castle hill.

You should expect this to change in the U.K. unfortunately. As access to care becomes harder via the NHS more of us are turning to private cover. At the company where I work our insurer has increased our price because in 2023 we used 1/3rd more private health than prior years. If premiums go up, then it’s possible (probable) that deductibles enter the mix to bring the sticker price down.

Here's how I did it. It was right for me but might not be right for you. - engaged a migration agent for upfront advise - super helpful, made me aware of things I previously wasn't and helped me make decisions on timing, approach and undoubtedly avoided some delays down the line - submitted offshore a fully loaded, very comprehensive application. As a former project manager I tend to build a plan around things like this and keep track of my time - it was 65 hours (of which 7 were by my sponsor wife). - there were zero questions and the application was approved 6 weeks after submission (timeline in my footer) Mine was a simple case. Over 20 years of marriage, unbroken co-habitation, shared finances and a couple of kids together.

Nope. But it’s not necessarily a Sydney thing. I think I’d struggle with the same things in London. I’m not a big city person but I will give it a genuine good effort.

Yep. I’m afraid I have to agree

In Sydney, a drink or snack at Opera Bar is a favourite. Great views of the bridge day or night. Bridge walk, try and get the sunset if you can. Have done it twice and it’s great. You go up in daylight, watch the sun come down and then see the city lit up. Dont bother with the aquarium. We’ve probably been ten times over 22 years. This year was v disappointing. It’s tired, tatty and needs a refresh. Taronga Zoo is a great location. But don’t go on a very hot day. Not much shade and it’s hilly and hard work. The new Sydney Zoo out blacktown way is very well done. The manly ferry is one of the best views you can get of the harbour. Manly itself is ok to potter around for an hour. The Parramatta river cat also offers great views of the inner harbour and Paramatta itself has a vibrant cafe & restaurant scene these days. The jet boats (circular quay or darling harbour) are awesome fun Bondi is iconic and the beach is nice but it’s very busy, hard to park and the town itself is edging Blackpool way with more and more tat shops each time I go. My girls enjoyed spotting the lifeguards that they see on the TV show! A walk around the botanical gardens (next to the opera house) is always nice. I like pottering around the shops on the other side of the harbour (The Rocks) where the independent shops are - that’s where you will be for the bridge climb. West Head Lookout is closer to the city than the blue mountains, is photo beautiful and has a few nice but short trails to walk. We saw a metre long goanna (spelling?) ambling along which was a treat. The new development at Barangaroo is really nice. Would be a good dinner location one night. It looks to have hurt Darling Harbour/Cockle Bay which had been a really popular bar & restaurant area for 25 years but was quiet this December. Balmoral beach is one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen. You can rent kayak’s and single sail toppers. The fish and chips at the boat shed is always good. Clontarf beach is my pick if you want somewhere relatively quiet, plenty of shade and free public BBQ’s (a great Aussie favourite). I am aggrieved that they tore down the old IMAX building as I had my wedding reception at their function room…..but the new IMAX is a stunning building. We didn’t get to watch a show there but I am sure it would be amazing.

This year I tried home made games that I had seen online and they were a big hit. Things like - taping a large plastic cup to your waist and hanging a ball underneath and thrusting with your waist to get the ball in the cup 2 or more players compete - using coloured tape to create a large circle on the floor, spread 6 of the large cups out and have the player stack them in a pyramid whilst keeping a balloon up in the air. Balloon can’t touch the ground and your body can’t go out of the circle. players compete against the clock - use a balloon to move cups from one place to another using only your mouth (blow up the balloon in the cup to grab and let air out to release). If cups fall over move them back. Two players compete. - tape out a 9 box grid and use kids ball pit balls (2 colours) to play 3 in a row (noughts and crosses). Players play in a team and have to run from the balls to the grid (it’s better if they can’t see the grid clearly from the balls). there are loads others but these went over well. Lots and lots of laughing.

HSBC AU accepted my U.K. number. For large transactions they send a one time passcode to it. This is different from HSBC UK who authenticate large transactions via the app.

I think there are a couple of small benefits. Firstly you can monitor the exchange rate and send money over in advance of your trip when the FX is favourable. Using your U.K. bank card in Australia will likely attract a foreign currency fee each time along with a poor exchange rate. You can mitigate this with a Monzo card though It’s one less thing to do when you arrive - you’re going to have lots and lots going on. Having a bank account already sorted is one less thing to do.

It’s awful. Ruining the basic lives of the many to fuel the greed of the few.

I think there is one key difference (compared to the U.K. at least) and that is the negative gearing ability. We visited friends last night who have built a stunning ~$10m Sydney north shore home. All paid for by having 4 investment properties for over 20 years. Combined with low interest rates, so long as you could get on the ladder 25 years ago it seems to this overseas observer that it has been very easy to keep drawing down equity and adding another property to your portfolio.

Thought I would share my experience in case it was helpful to anyone else. As a U.K. HSBC customer I was able to set up a HSBC Australia account from the U.K. I did it online from my phone in 15 mins. Very easy to do. You need a form of ID that you can take a photo of, your employer address and your UTR (UK unique tax reference - this will be on your tax return or tax code document). Your bank card gets send via the post - I think it took about two weeks to arrive. You download the HSBC AU app to manage the account but I later found it was possible to link your accounts so you can see them all in one place (it works both ways with the U.K. and the AU app). The rate to transfer money was rubbish so I used TransferWise (now called just wise.com) which was much better and instantaneous (surprisingly). Am currently in Australia visiting and have been using the bank account for everything. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I am getting 2% cashback on every transaction. I am sure other options are out there and some might be better but as a HSBC customer this was very convenient for me and I would recommend.

I think the hassle factor is maybe influenced by how many of you there are and easily they travel (young kids etc). My eldest and I broke up our journey this week with a Dubai stop for 36 hours whilst the wife and the other two wanted to power thru and spend more time with the family down under. We found it really easy- no hassle at all. - haven’t flown economy in some years but prices were bonkers this year and was really impressed with the comfort and space on emirates. That helped. - exiting Dubai was a 15 minute process - 25 min taxi to hotel and half the U.K. cost - 5 star hotel with a big, big room for the cost of a shoebox in London - packing cubes made it super easy to get things I wanted out of the suitcase without hassle - check in back at the airport was a 5 min wait - I picked up some current generation noise cancelling headphones cheap in Dubai to replace by 13+ year old ones - what a difference that made to the second flight. I still don’t sleep but cutting out all that background noise was great.