Any Sydney mums around?

[thatsnotmymonster]

I am getting pretty excited as it is looking increasingly likely that dh is about to be offered a job in Sydney (should know by next week). However, whether we are able to accept or not all depends on the salary package, particularly with th school fee issue- has anyone else moved and had the company pay the school fees?

We live in Scotland and so ds is in P1 but he will be 6 in March and dd1 is due to start school after the summer as she will be 5 in July. I don't know whether they should go into Yr 1 and 2 in Oz from when we move or whether they shoud go into Yr 1 and kindergarten. Do most people wait until the year the dc turns 6 or send them the year they turn 5?

The office is in Pyrmont and we are hoping to rent in a nearby suburb- I have been looking at Lilyfield, Five Dock, Drummoyne...can anyone recommend any other nice suburbs in that area or tell me if there are any to avoid?

Anything else I should know? If this happens we will be moving around April.

Thanks!

remind me how old your kids are?
When we flew back from Heathrow we flew at 10pm or thereabouts, and it worked well with our 2 and 4 year olds as we kept them up until the flight, and they then slept well on the plane. We stopped over for 3 nights in Singapore, and then flew out at midnight and that didn't work as well - for some reason they opened the window shutters on the plane after we'd only been asleep for a couple of hours (switching to Aus time mid flight I guess), and the DC were woken up, and it was a nightmare as they were just so tired. So if we did it again we'd leave at, say, 7 or 8pm from Singapore.

remind me how old your kids are?
When we flew back from Heathrow we flew at 10pm or thereabouts, and it worked well with our 2 and 4 year olds as we kept them up until the flight, and they then slept well on the plane. We stopped over for 3 nights in Singapore, and then flew out at midnight and that didn't work as well - for some reason they opened the window shutters on the plane after we'd only been asleep for a couple of hours (switching to Aus time mid flight I guess), and the DC were woken up, and it was a nightmare as they were just so tired. So if we did it again we'd leave at, say, 7 or 8pm from Singapore.

We did Heathrow-Singapore then Singapore-Sydney with Singapore airlines. We did it all in one go though - we had about 3 hours in Singapore in the middle (mainly because I'm terrified of flying, and wanted to get it all over and done with in one go - I wouldn't have been able to relax at all in Singapore in the middle). We also took the 10pm flight from Heathrow, which worked brilliantly for us - DS was 2 and a bit, and slept for 7 hours, which made life so much easier for us (OH also slept, and I could concentrate on not having a panic attack every time the engine noise changed!)

We then took the connecting flight to Sydney from Singapore (have no idea what time of day it was, as we didn't bother trying to work it out!), and arrived in Sydney at about 7.30am Sydney time. Going straight onto that flight was ok - we let DS run around at Singapore for all the three hours we were there, and then he slept again on the second flight - only for about 3/4 hours, but that was ok as the flight was much shorter. Having to try and stay awake for a whole day once we got to Sydney was really hard though - we had a couple of jet lagged days, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.

We liked going via Singapore because it meant that the really long flight was over and done with first, and the 7 hours or so from Singapore to Sydney just didn't seem as bad once we had got that first long one over and done with. And the stewardesses were lovely with James - couldn't find any fault with the experience at all (other than that I loathed it because it was flying, but that wasn't their fault!)

agree eralc, if you arrive early in the morning (we did too - the flight that left singapore at midnight arrived faily early in the morning in Syd, IIRC), its a really hard day trying to stay awake...but, if you can manage to stay awak until about 6pm, then you've gone a long way to 'curing' your jetlag in a day. It takes much longer if you nap during the day.

oh yes, and the singapore flight crew were generally very helpful (had one crotchety cow who made a fuss about me wanting to snack 30 mins before the meal was served, even though I explained I was pregnant and really needed something in my tummy), but she was a one off. Also have flown Swiss Air and they were bend-over-backwards helpful with the little ones. Found Qantas a little less obliging, but still basicly ok.

Well. I would say first off that you would probably do better to come in via Sydney - you can still fly to Newcastle from Sydney - mostly because, if you get return flights (which I would recommend as they are waaaaay cheaper out of the UK than they are out of Australia, unless you aren't planning to go back in your first year even for a visit) then you have other choices in how to get from Newcastle to Sydney. Whereas Brisbane is about a 9hr drive from Newcastle, Sydney is only a couple of hours - so there are cheaper alternatives (fast trains, motorway etc.)

Second - avoid cheap airlines if you can - stick with the bigger ones, Singapore Airlines is lovely but the plane I travelled on was on the small side; Cathay Pacific (vis Hong Kong) is fabulous but the first flight is a little longer; and other than that I would only use BA/Qantas (who have mostly been fine for me but I know other people have had issues with them sometimes).
DH did sometimes use Japan Airlines, who were ok, but that involved an overnight stop in Tokyo.

It's such a long flight, doing it on a cutprice airline is, IMO, not worth it.

So far I have never stopped over - have travelled with DS aged 10m, 20m, 25m and 32m (those were his ages on the 4 times we've done the trip) and every one we've gone straight through - either via Bangkok or Singapore. I am lucky that he quite likes flying - but Video On Demand has helped a lot with that (BA/Qantas)!

As for timing - I think I've tried most of them, and my favourite is to get into Sydney around 8pm so that we can go home and go straight to bed! But you cope with whatever in the end.

Brilliant- thank you!

The dc's are/will be 6, 4 and 3 when we fly out so very similar to yours Astrophe.

So is it best to fly to Sydney then? How do you get to Newcastle?

We have been told we can fly to Newcastle but not sure I want to get another connecting flight from Melbourne or Brisbane- but then if it means we just have a 20min car trip when we arrive then maybe it's worth it?

I think the kids will sleep so a night time flight from the UK sounds good.

Ah thanks Thumb.

What about Emirates? They seem quite good too. I will get return flights if the company ok it. I will submit quotes to them and then they decide if it's ok or not.

Have just looked at the BA/QUANTAS flights- they are saying Glasgow to London and then straight to Sydney- no stops!! That's around 25 hours straight on a plane- eek!

The one way flights are less than half the cost of return flights so doubt we will be able to book returns

You can fly direct from Sydney to Newcastle. I'm not entirely sure what this bit of your post means:
"We have been told we can fly to Newcastle but not sure I want to get another connecting flight from Melbourne or Brisbane- but then if it means we just have a 20min car trip when we arrive then maybe it's worth it?"

Or you can take the train; there is a direct train link from the airport to Sydney Central and fast trains from there to Newcastle. If you get into Sydney in the morning, this wouldn't be too much of a hardship - it's about 2 hours on the fast train from Sydney to Newcastle (longer on the slow train of course).

Ummmm - I'd be AMAZED if they could get from London to Sydney with no stop! Really?

OK - have just had a look on the BA website and yes, it does appear that there is only the single stop in London - but that's an error. BA0009, I'm pretty sure, is via Bangkok - and BA7372 is via Singapore (have flown both those flights). Looking again, I think the 1 stop they are talking about is on the second flight - as the domestic flights have different flight numbers - phew!

you can't fly without stops, the plane can't carry enough fuel for that (thank heavens - imagine it! Horror of horrors!).

Its not crucial, but have a little look at the air miles/frequent flyers programs and what they offer. You clock up quite a lot of points on international flights - we've done a few Sydney-Brisbane flights on the strength of just two single flights to/from the Uk to Sydney.

Ours are with Qantas, which is also linked with BA, and I think Swiss Air. We also have the Singapore ones (which, I think, was free to join). However, when we looked at flying this April, Qantas/BA were SO much more expensive than anything else that it would have been rediculous to use them - I think Japan were the cheapest then (but we're not going :( )

sorry, am now at a loss as to what my point was. Disregard.

Oh that's a relief re: the stops! I couldn't believe it either as it seemed pretty crazy!!

The bit you didn't understand- sorry! Just when I was searching for flights from Glasgow to Newcastle the route options that appear are always via Melbourne or Brisbane and then on to Newcastle. So although we would have the hassle of another connection at least it would be very easy when we arrived in Newcastle as opposed to getting the train from Sydney IFSWIM?

However, I think flying to Sydney and getting the train may be better...although I guess we will have a LOT of luggage and 3 very small, tired children, not to mention 2 very tired parents so maybe flying to Newcastle would be best.

lol @ Astrophe

Will check out the air miles stuff- that's a good point!

Sorry you're not getting your UK visit

The flights do vary a lot in price. We will be flying in May which seems to be just about the cheapest time to fly!

FLying to the UK in April was something I considered this year - until I realised that there is a Very Good Reason for the flights to be up in price - the Royal Bloody Wedding! Since it will be over by May I'm hoping the prices will drop a little - but since Qantas have just whacked on even more ticket tax or whatever it is, I'm not so sure now :(

Might have to consider flying with someone else but I do like the video on demand, it makes life very simple...

One other thing. Last time we came back (BA), we had a bit of an Issue with seating (overbooked flight) and ended up being upgraded to World Traveller Plus - bit more leg room. However - this meant that the seat arms were fixed, so I couldn't lift mine to allow DS to lie down across his seat and my lap, as we can do in most of World Traveller (basic economy). For small DC, this armrest-raising thing is Very Useful, so I would recommend you DON'T try to book the bulkhead seats (they have fixed armrests as well) and don't be tempted to go up to World Traveller Plus. DS was rather squished into his seat, curled round trying to sleep, poor boy. He still managed it but I have no idea how!

Oh yes the wedding, of course!! Wow, will lots of people really fly over for it?

Lula- just confirmed that Quantas really do fly London- Sydney in ONE GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How crazy is that?
I can't imagine ever doing that with dc's!

I don't know if they will - but I bet the prices will be higher just in case. Just like I'm not even going to attempt to get to the UK anywhere near the Olympics next year!

I'm not sure I'd care whether or not the plane went all the way through - the break in Singapore or Bangkok is such a faff normally, there isn't much down time, most of it is spent queuing to get back on the plane, going through bloody luggage checks again (WHY??) and losing your precious water (WHY???) - so staying on the plane and having two less ear-busting events sounds fine to me!

I have been looking and it does appear that Qantas may be able to do non-stop flights London to Sydney - but not the ones I was looking at on the BA or the Qantas websites. Those will almost certainly be stopping.

Oh yes the Olympics- we are a bit gutted we will be missing it now!! But there's always TV

When you put it like that maybe the non-stop flights would be better!! Not sure though.

Did anyone send any 'emergency' baggage on ahead- like pots/pans/kettle etc? I see you can do that with the removal companies.

I still haven't actually found a non-stop flight available, TNMM. You might have to ring Qantas to make sure of that.

Well, just looked at the prices of tickets back to the UK and it's all very scary - we won't be going in July, that's for bloody sure! Fecking massive price hike for the whole of July and first half of August, ouch! Shame because my old school is having a big reunion in July and I was hoping to go to it, but not at that price. There doesn't seem to be any premium on tickets prior to April 29th (I don't suppose that many Aussies have an invitation ) but still, it will be busy then.

You can send stuff airfreight - we sent most of our household by ship (of course) but kept back stuff we really needed for the next few weeks in England, and then airfreighted them out when we left. So they only took about a week to arrive, as opposed to the 10 weeks the shipped stuff took. Airfreighting is expensive though because they go by weight AND size; whereas shipping is just by size. Realising this meant that we had to leave some of the heavier stuff behind; but when I went back for my first return trip I organised a small shipment (3 boxes) and packed all the heavy stuff into it. I'd been without it for 6m by then, so another several weeks wasn't going to hurt - but it was stuff I did actually miss and wanted to have in Australia (like my electric screwdriver and bits; my carefully built-up-over-the-years screws'n'things drawers, stuff that you think you can just buy again but actually it's not quite that simple) - oh and multi-socket plugs (English ones).

It's ok I don't think I would choose the non-stop flight even if it is availbale

Well have organised 2 shipping compnaies to come and give quotes and immediately got a call from ANZ asking if I wanted to open a bank account, lol. We will do when we have accepted the offer

Cheeky gits (ANZ)! Look around re. bank accounts etc. - they have lots of different charges here. DH and I only have savings accounts with the Greater - it's a good building society that is in our part of NSW. DH has an ANZ Visa card as well but all his pay goes into the Greater. They don't charge for most things, except for using EFTPOS (which is using the account card as a debit card to pay for stuff). So we pay either by cash, which we draw out of a Greater ATM (in case we get charged by any of the others for using their ATM) or by ANZ Visa. I got used to it quite quickly - have been caught out a couple of times where I've needed to use my Greater card to pay but it's not that big a charge.

Some banks charge you just for the privilege of having an account with them - I find this disturbing.

That non stop flight is listed with Quantas and you can go on the A380. On the upper deck there are little storage boxes by the windows. when the dc's lie down in the window seat they can put their legs on the top and lie down better. It is also quieter upstairs but not as much headroom. We found the A380 a lot better. We stayed over in Singapore for three nights on one journey and it was the worse thing we could have done. The jet lag set in and instead of having a few difficulties in a rented house in Oz we had two children climbing the walls of a hotel room at two in the morning!! Not a great experience.
Also if you can send your stuff out in advance do it that way so you won't have to wait that long the other side.

ANZ will give you 20kg extra baggage per person on a 457 visa if you bank with them.

Wow 20kg extra baggage that's good!!

Dh's company use Westpac so they offer incentives for employees if you bank with them and don't charge fees if you deposit over $2k a month....

I find the fee charging think disturbing too, Thumb!

I think we will send our stuff in advance as that will work better for us too. We can move in with my mum and easier to rent house out if it is empty and clean and tidy!

Lula- thanks for the email-I found it confusing too!!

Just butting in to say it's not non stop. Physically impossible to fly that far! It will be the same aircraft but will stop to refuel and you will get off and on again. Was on that flight last month. I think pushing through the pain and not stopping over is better. Sorry to interrupt!