Dartmoor345

It has cost us in the region of £17,000 to get to Aus and have somewhere to live for the first 6 weeks! Visas - £8,000 flights - £2,500 Shipping - £3,000 ( shared container so this is a cheaper price to a lot of people) Hire cars (UK and Oz) - £900 Short Term Accom - £3,000 for 6 weeks and I'm sure there have been a few other costs that I have forgotten about!!! Its certainly not a cheap process but to me, it makes it all the more appealing in a strange way! Although I would rather it be cheaper to get here it also means that people really have to want to come here and really save and commit to their futures in a different country. Luckily for us my wife has recently secured a job and starts 2 weeks after we get there so a lot of stress has been relieved as we will at least have 1 wage coming in to the household. we can't wait to get there now and are in our last few weeks!!!! Eeeeeeeekkkkk!!!! Liz and Mike

What a shame, I think it is only the airport arrivals that you need to be with in those areas. They were good with just normal rates and cars! I hope you get something sorted. Mike

Hi Sideshow, where a bouts are you staying in perth when you get there? I only ask because if you are in the CBD or NOR burbs try Mindarie Car Hire. We have booked with them as we are also flying with Singapore Airlines and have the 40kg limit each. Anyway with Mindarie we are getting picked up in the arrivals bit and driven to our short term rental up in quinns rocks in an 8seater with plenty of room for luggage. When we get to our short term, our car (just a standard size car, Hyundai Elantra) will already be there ready for us to use so no need to worry about being absolutely shattered and trying to find our rental as someone else will be driving us. So we have got the car, airport pickup, 2 car seats, SAT NAV, 2 drivers on insurance, unlimited KM's for 21 days all for $882 which I think is a great price. Anyway I hope this helps with your conundrum and have a safe flight. We fly on 7 July by the way, all getting really real now!!!!! Cheers Mike

Hi VS, Thanks for your insight into Mandurah, it sounds like an amazing place to live. I'm sure we will be heading down there as soon as we get over the dreaded jet lag. Cant wait to do all the exploring around the different areas. Cheers Mike

Forgot to say, well done Susan on the big move and I'm glad you are loving it over there! We are at the stage of going through a mix of emotions everyday and just want to get there now so we can start getting everything sorted. Mike and Liz

Hi VS, i take it by your post, you live in or near Mandurah? I only ask as it is on our short list of suburbs to visit when we arrive. It looks fantastic with it being surrounded by water and wildlife plus a quieter lifestyle. My question is, what's the commute like when going into the CBD? I know that it takes about 50 mins on the train but just wondered if it was a nice journey or horrendous? Sorry if this doesn't concern you but thought you might be able to she'd some light. When we arrive (8 July - Very excited by the way) we are staying up in quinns rocks right on the beach for 6 weeks and only chose up there as we have some friends in butler so thought it would be handy to have a friendly face near by for the first few weeks until we are up on our own two feet, so to speak. Anyway I've probably bored the socks off everyone reading this so will wait for any replies. Lol Mike and Liz

Hi Guys, yeah it is getting real but at the same time it doesn't feel real. I don't think it will feel real until we are on the plane and then it will be Oh S@&£ what are we doing. Ahhhhh. Roadhouse - I know what you mean about research, we too have been looking online at everything for about 3 years now and still haven't set our sights on a specific area. Like you said, I think it will be a case of driving round and seeing what places have the right feel about them. Baldivis is on our short list too pretty much for the same reasons you stated. We also like the look of Mandurah but a bit concerned about the commute into the CBD but as we haven't got any jobs yet we can't rule out anywhere. It's a bit like the chicken and the egg. At least we will all be close to the beach and ole fully the weather will be alright considering it will winter when we all arrive.

Wow that's prior planning for you! Like you say, at least you have dine the sorting out phase and can now relax (a little) until your ready to go. Our removals come on 12 June and then were going on a round the UK trip to visit family and friends before flying. It won't be stressful at all:err:. we have booked ourselves a holiday let up in Quinns rocks for the first 6 weeks so we have got some time to search different area NOR and SOR as we haven't got a clue where we want to settle. You can only tell so much from the Internet and we have a top ten list of suburbs so need some time to look around. Our boy is five in July so doesn't start school till feb 15 even though he has nearly finished his first year here in the UK and our daughter who has just turned two will be on a bit of a long holiday before the routine of school and KINDY! Start to kick in. what were the main reasons for you choosing Baldivis?

Hi Roadhouse, We are flying on 7 July from Heathrow, so should touch down in perth at 3ish on the 8th!!!! SCARY TIMES!! how are you guys getting on? We are trying to clear out the house and get rid of all the unwanted paperwork and stuff we have not seen in years, if you know what I mean. Where are you guys heading to? anyway good luck with the move and hope its not to stressful. mike

Hi DavidM, we are flying at the beginning of July too, it's all getting a bit real now and still so much to do!!!!! We have decided to leave our car seats here and get new ones out there. My son who is just about 5 will be in a booster and daughter in a 5 point harness as she is 2. We just thought it was to much hassle taking car seats to the airport along with all the luggage and pushchair. It's going to be stressful enough!!! enjoy your flight, Cheers Mike

Hi Everyone, I haven't posted on here for a while as been busy at work and different courses etc!!! BUT we have booked our flights for 07 July 14 with Singapore Airlines from Heathrow and have also booked Removals about 3 weeks prior. All of a sudden it all seems VERY REAL and a bit scary. I'm guessing everyone has the same excited/nervous feeling in their stomach when we pass these big milestones and the inevitable countdown starts getting smaller and smaller? We have already had our first setback in the form of a LOST international bank transfer for our first 6 weeks accommodation which is near enough £3K so hopefully they find it soon and we can tick that off our checklist. It's not good for the nerves as £3K makes a hefty dent in the budget to get over there and settled in for the first couple of months!!! Anyway I'm sure we're not the only ones going though some setbacks as lots of people don't even get to the "Visa Granted" stage, so we should be thankful for that at least. Cheers and can't wait to get out there! Mike

Congratulations Nikkiwd, I bet you are so relieved. Well done for doing it all yourself!!! We spent nearly 3K on agents. :-)

Hi guys, Thanks for the messages of CONGRATULATIONS!!! I think it will take a while for it to sink in properly. LOL. I think we will be having a glass or two tonight, Ali.

Hi Everyone,I can't believe it. Our visa got granted this morning!!!!!!!! We are absolutely delighted and also a bit nervous. Everything is all of a sudden very REAL and now we have our IED of 17/09/14, it doesn't sound like a long time to sort everything out, Ahhhhh. Anyway I just wanted to put something on PP as I have gained so much invaluable information from this great forum. Let the hard work begin. Cheers, Mike

Hi guys, We are at the last hurdle and have only just come up against a slight problem!!! Myself and wife are both in the RAF at present and served in Cyprus for 2 years, so we have to provide police certificates from Cyprus, but as we were there while in the Military we "weren't really there". I have found the form on the Cypriot police website for an, issuance of a clear criminal record certificate, but it asks for an ARC number and pink, yellow slips(I assume some form of visa to live there). If there is anyone out there that has been through this process or knows someone who has, could you please give us some advice on what you sent off to the Cypriots. Thanks in advance Mike