How much hassle is it to uproot abroad? How do people decide? (Oz)

[TerrificEchidnaSpikes]

This is a bit premature, but I wanted to get my thoughts in order by laying them out stream-of-consciousness-style. Basically, people who have made the move abroad: What helped you with the decision? How hard was it to do, practically speaking?

The situation is that DH has been shortlisted for a job in Australia and is flying out to interview in less than a month. Obviously it's a big IF, but IF he is offered the job, it looks like a really great step career-wise... so (assuming he likes the colleagues/employer/location) it feels like he should go for it.

We have always said that we would like to live overseas again (long ago, pre-children and house and pets, DH and I have each lived/worked in other countries) at some point in our lives, so the principle of moving abroad has already been established for us.

But the logistics of uprooting everything are really daunting and almost enough to put us off the idea entirely! How do you choose schools for the DC? Will the cat cope with the move, or is it kinder to leave her behind? What on earth do people do with their house and furniture - sell or rent out, chuck or ship? How do we choose a place to live from the other side of the world? Not to mention, what if the job itself turns out to be not what we expected and the whole expedition goes sour?

Making the decision is the hard part. Once you decide then everything flows on.

Deciding to go took us months and we looked at it from all angles. What sold it for us was the fact that we would all be better off in some way not just financially.

Yes there is a risk that you won't like it but life is too damn short and you can always go home if you're not happy. We moved with a teenager btw so we didn't take the decision lightly!!

Thanks fauxtatoes that sounds reassuring! So much to think about.

Agree with Faux. Making the decision is the hardest part then you'll just find your way.

We are in the process of deciding our next move and once we decide where we can start the how/when discussion.

We are currently in Aus on holiday. Where abouts are you thinking? Be aware it's really expensive here. Melbourne has been eye watering and we live in Londonand my DP have paid for a lot

Good luck with your move and enjoy the adventure

For us, schools were the most stressful (we are in the middle east). There is a massive shortage of quality school places in the primary years. The rest was hard work, but not too bad- DH had to come over before us for visa reasons, so I packed up the UK while he started sorting over here.
Expect a very expensive few months.

Dont ship anything that you need a version of whilst it's on the water- so, it is pointless shipping pillows and duvets unless you are in a serviced apartment where all that stuff is provided until your stuff arrives, because you can't manage without while it gets to you.

Loads of expat forums around that will give you suggestions of what to stock up on.

You can always come back (we will gave to come back - as soon as DH stops working, we have no access to residency, so will gave to move).

Do you own property in the UK?
How old are your kids?
Do you work, OP?
Family ties in the UK?

All stuff to consider. It's a helluva lot easier when you're young and child free.

The job is in Brisbane, Green.

Fortunately we do have some knowledge of life in Australia as we have a fair number of friends and family scattered about - none in Queensland though - so we're not going in blind and expecting everything to be cheap and huge.

Janet

It's a helluva lot easier when you're young and child free.

You're not wrong ! When we did it before (separately) we were footloose and fancy-free. DH moved with just one van load of stuff. I moved with a couple of large suitcases!

Now we have to worry about the house - it's a ramshackle mess, we bought it planning to do it up long-term, so now it's going to be a nightmare to sell or rent out.

The DC are, thankfully, still in primary school so no big exams etc.

I work part time, but my work is (theoretically) portable so I hope I'd be able to get back into it once we are settled.

DH has family in the UK including elderly parents. He does feel bad about possibly leaving them, but the rest of his siblings won't be going anywhere so they won't be left unsupported. I'm not originally from the UK, and in fact moving to Oz will take us slightly closer to my elderly parents.

We moved from Montreal to Spain. (DH Spanish)

Prior to that, when I was younger on my own, I lived in lots of different countries. But it is much different when you have others dependant on you.

Oh my word! The logistics of shipping stuff, a car, reregistering that etc, healthcare, schools, renting, buying, residency bla bla bla. 10 years on I would say I am now fairly settled but actually quite lonely, you start to miss things more around 7/8 years plus, I have found.

Will you keep a house in the UK? I wish I had a base in the UK to holiday in. Bear in mind the UK will change without you so it will never feel quite like it did once you have been away for a few years. I find that a funny feeling.

I would say it's worth it though. But don't underestimate the stress. You will have bad days, so accept that and it is easier

dan I don't think we would really want the responsibility of maintaining a house in the UK but oh god it's another thing to consider.

I lived in Brisbane for secondary and university. Great place to be that age, and a bit younger. Outdoorsy, wonderful lifestyle and not a long work hours culture (although the work day starts at 7am for a lot of people!).

Try and find a place to live that means the commute/lifestyle is acceptable for the reasons you're moving there - it's a very car centric place and you could live close to town and cycle, middle burbs and drive, or far out eg bayside and train. All very different ways of living day to day.

Yes, true. Maybe you could keep it for 'just' a year? It would give you a fall back option which in itself is likely to make you more positive and less nervous about the move.

Obvs funds willing. The ideal would be then plan a big holiday back to the UK after a year in your new life and somehow sell it.

Thinking outloud here, sounds a bit simplistic doesn't it. But with the internet etc you could put it all in place and do it via the web when you get back to Aus. from your visit to the UK.

I really think when you put all your eggs in one basket, as it were, it gives you a psychological disadvantage IYSWIM.

We still own our Uk house 10yrs later. We had a property manager and now FIL looks after it, same tenants the whole time. We stored all the garage stuff, photos and personal belongs, small amt of furniture and fridge etc. In hindsight we should have sold all this, but we didn't know we wouldn't be going back. Ours is through white company and we only pay about £30 per month for about a single garage side worth of stuff.

I think from when we were looking at a Perth move you have to live in catchment for schools. See if your potential employer will include a relocation specialist at that end to help with setting up bank accounts, finding a home, schools etc... when I lived there you needed 100 points of ID to set up bank acct for example. Brisbane is a wonderful city to live in, laid back, friendly, good access to the 2 coasts.

Thanks for insights into Brisbane! The idea of a more outdoorsy lifestyle and access to the coasts is really appealing. I might come back with more detailed questions in a couple of weeks after DH interview!

The house thing is currently one of my biggest headaches, because I genuinely can't see how anybody is going to want to buy it, and if we hang on to it instead I can't see how it is fit to rent out. (If we don't rent it out, we'd have to keep paying the entire mortgage out of earnings, and be responsible for maintaining it).

Either way good luck DH it's all very exciting!

OP What if DH went ahead and for say, 4 months you managed to sort out the house. DH is getting settled in new job/finding house/investigating schools etc... DC's could spend a term in their old schools. Then you all go out to be with DH.

4 months isn't long... he'll have a lot to be sorting out.

Thank you dan!

Although remembering the school year fits closer to the calendar year there so moving for the start of the school year perhaps even before the job started could be easier on kids..

To extrapolate, my parents were relocated there and had an apartment in the city for three months. My mum must have spent her life those three months getting us back and forward from our chosen school (private so catchment not relevant) but it gave them more time to pick a house etc.

Will there be a relocation package? That will help with some of the practicalities and finances.

I came from Australia to Britain a few years ago. Honestly it's really similar so it's really not that bad. It's a very small country (population wise) so there are very few schools/suburbs to choose from. If you know someone from the city you are moving to they will able to tell you. I wouldn't bother moving furniture unless you really like yours.
I would suggest picking a school first and then going from there. Feel free to pm if you have questions.

Also I would look into taking your car with you. You will definitely need it and cars are ridiculously expensive in Australia. It may be cheaper to just take yours with you.

Oh, and he wary regarding buy in Brisbane, sone areas are prone to flooding so do your research.

We lived in South America for 3 years. Moved there when children were 5 & 1. Took the dog, who was 7. We rented our house out as we knew it was only for a fixed period. We had a managing agent who took care of everything regarding the house. We had an amazing experience and I would go for it if I were you!

Grinch Take the car gosh, I would never have thought of that!

BonApp There will be a relocation package but DH not sure of the details, presumably if he gets offered the job they'll tell us all about it.

Be very careful about taking the car. The standards required might not make it worthwhile for a standard car. If you're importing something rather special, then that's another thing entirely. Your DH's employers are very unlikely to pay for car import in their relocation package.

www.bringmycartoaustralia.com/is-it-worth-bringing-your-vehicle-to-australia/

Apart from this, having your DH's employer provide a relocation agent really takes the heat off, so find out if that's a part of the package.

We have just moved rather unexpectedly to our second country with a stint in the UK in between. It is a right hassle, made easier with a relocation agent.

We have rented our house out through a full managing agent each time, first time was really easy, this time we had bought a more individual house that we wanted to live in but it did rent in the end, things will for the right price and a letting agent will manage everything for you. If you rent it out you will need to complete a tax form but maintenance should be tax deductable.

Our relocation excludes cars so we have sold them.

We have travelled with both a cat and a dog. Our cat is fine but it does limit the number of rentals you can look at in some countries. They also have lots of paperwork get sorted.
DC often need incoculations and health records to get into schools in other countries.
We too have a small amount of stuff in storage, we will probably regret this a bit in time.
We put our stuff on a 40 foot container as part of relocation package, I know others who rent or buy furniture when they arrive. Your relocation package will help you decide what is best to do.
Moving countries is very expensive, particularly if voltage is different.

However I would completely recommend it even if it makes me tear my hair out sometimes.
My dsis moved to oz two years ago with her family and they really like it, although the price of food is apparently eye watering.