Silver_Swan

Yeah we’ve not found a huge choice in serviced apartments so I think we’ve decided we’re going to try and secure our rental pretty much straight away and just get the absolute basics we need until our container arrives - hopefully it doesn’t take 6 months

Unfortunately we don’t have that luxury, the shipping container will be going as soon as the visa is approved (can’t go before) and they would like my husband to start work straight away!

Thanks... although from all the reviews I'm reading they don't generally list the contents correctly, and people find things missing or packed in strange places.... as I mention in my previous post, a lot of our stuff is already boxed, feels annoying to be paying someone to pack it for us when it's already done, plus I just don't trust them!

To be honest most of our stuff is in boxes anyway - we've been abroad for two years travelling, came back and sorted what we wanted to keep and what we wanted to donate, and put the stuff we were keeping back into boxes. I'd prefer it if they just put those boxes as packed into the container. Almost the ideal thing for us would be a half pack - where they pack anything that could be broken, and we pack the rest (because "the rest" is already packed!) We've also got a huge variance on volumes, one company told us our sofa was 150cuft on its own, even after I explained to them that it can be dismantled and flatpacked. So, just for fun we dismantled it and measured... being generous, it's 66cuft. Less than half their estimate. I'm good at tetris, I severely hope whoever we pick to load the container is as well, otherwise I won't be impressed!

Thanks, so far all have said it goes via Asia... any ideas on companies that go direct?

Hi, it's a company called 1st Move. However the initial fee they quoted doesn't include destination fees, and when you add those in it's the same price as having your stuff packed. I just like the idea of packing my own boxes, knowing exactly what is going inside what box, I've read lots of horror stories about how the valuable items just disappear, or how boxes are essentially thrown together with no thought, making them impossible to unpack properly.

Thanks... having done a lot more searching online we've decided to focus on the hills area, although it doesn't hit our beach requirement, we realised we just couldn't afford the kind of property we wanted anywhere near the beach

You don't need a lot of time, most have told us two weeks notice of when we want to go. Longer is better for them to plan (particularly shared container). You need the visa approved for them to ship it, and they can store it in the UK or in Aus (for a fee of course) we've been quoted to ground floor door within 30km of Sydney. If we end up in a flat or a different city (which we won't because my husbands job is Sydney) then there's extra to pay. If you have somewhere to stay in the UK short-term the ideal thing is to send the container before you, we don't have that luxury, so I'm not sure what we'll do for the 2-3mths while we wait for it.

We're only 50 minutes outside of London, arguably it's probably easier to get from here than anywhere central London down to Dover or Southampton... I've got one more quote waiting to come back, then I'll start trying to negotiate, see what I can do!

Thanks! We have a similar amount - 750 cubic feet, they said it wasn’t any cheaper for us to share a container and we might as well just have the whole container. I looked back at the quote and it’s actually £4300 - so ~£500 more than yours! Not sure if they add extra for location in the UK? Are you going to Sydney?

I've now had a quote from a shipping company directly, and it's half the price. But I'm totally clear on whether I'm comparing like for like or if the removals companies include other extras!

Thank - move cube I don’t think is enough space for us - we’d rather have a container and know we have space

Has anyone ever self packed? which company did you use? The more I think about it the more I think I’d prefer to pack my own stuff. I’ve never had removals before, and I like knowing exactly what I’ve packed where, plus it means we can sort out as we pack. Obviously the big companies want to sell you the packing service as well though...

We considered it, but to be honest it's just so expensive to start from scratch again. We have some really nice, and pretty expensive furniture already which it seems silly to get rid of. And weirdly our bed sheets are already from an Aussie brand - they are about 2cm different, we don't notice at all!

I’ve not been able to get any concrete answers about what the path to PR is on the 482... and for 189 and 190 I don’t think we’ll have enough points. We’ve decided to keep the house in the UK, and cross that bridge when we come to it!

They are giving us a lump sum towards relocation costs but that will just about cover container and flights, not accommodation as well. I’m happy to pay for it though - as we’d be paying accommodation in the UK regardless, but AirBnB works out crazy expensive for 2-3 months

Thanks will check out executive rentals. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on which way you look at it) we're being sponsored and they want us out there as soon as visa is approved, so no option to stay with relatives this end.

Thank you - there's a few questions in there I haven't thought to ask... The two I've had are door-to-door, including packing and unpacking and all materials. Extra to pay if we end up on a high floor in an apartment. With regard to speed of shipping, both have said similar, but one company told me no direct sailings exist anymore between UK and Oz, and often they go via Singapore - I'm not sure if this is true or not?!

Hey Ben, I know this post is very old now - but did you find anyone that would cover the ring? I'm looking for the same, and can't find anything except for UK residents. Thanks

Hey, We're heading to Sydney and will need somewhere furnished to stay while waiting for our container to arrive, which should be about 3 months. What do people do? Staying in an AirBnB for 3 months seems like a lot of money, but most rentals have a 6-month minimum... Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hello, We've had a couple of quotes - PSS and ReloUK both have come in at £4k for a 20ft container from UK (Hampshire) to Oz (Sydney). Has anyone got lower prices from other movers? Any idea if the prices are negotiable? One mover said we had a "really easy move" because we've got plenty of space compared to the amount we're taking and most stuff is already in boxes anyway. Thanks!

Thank you! I will check out these areas... My husband will likely have to drive quite a bit since his job will be visiting lots of different areas. Moped sounds great - but we don't have a bike license! In terms of our requirements well the garage isn't for cars, its for our toys - bikes, surfboards, diving gear, climbing gear, camping gear, skiing gear, etc etc... and we'd like a small city car plus we intend to get a camper, hence wanting parking for two. And bedroom-wise we do a lot of work from home hence we'd like the 3rd bedroom to use as a study. We're used to living in a large 4-bed house with study, I don't think we're quite ready to downsize to a 2 bed!

Yeah he has parking at his office - although we're open to travelling by public transport as well. I'll take a look at those areas... in terms of modern, I guess we'd like something that has a newish kitchen and bathroom and is brick built, not timber. Where is the 'hills district'?

Yes thats exactly our plan - we just wanted a shortlist so we can make sure our Airbnb is at least in an area we are considering...

We're in the UK at the moment, we'll use AirBnb to begin with - but wanted to narrow it down and book AirBnb in the place we 'think' is right - to try it out before committing.