Moving To Australia

You have made the first big step in making the decision to move to Australia, now you have to make sure that you have all your loose ends tied up. That can mean sorting out your affairs such as taxes, the sale of your property (if you have purchased a home or a car) in your current land of residence and much more. Also, there is the organising of your plans on the other end of your move, in Australia. There is a lot to consider about your move abroad so it is best to be prepared in all areas of the move.

Australian Housing Market

Before you actually arrive in Australia, it is first wise to do the research on the housing situation. When looking into the housing market you will notice the difference in pricing. Compared to the UK market Australia tends to be pricier but do not let that deter you.

The higher prices are relative to the greater wage you earn in Australia. So, you will want to get in contact with the many successful estate agents that specialise in obtaining property for those moving to the country. With the current housing marketing in Australia seeing a continuing soar in prices, the median price in Sydney has jumped up to $811,837. There are agencies that can help you rent a property whilst you are searching for a place to call your home.

Shipping & Storage

When you are moving to Australia and you need to sort out how to get your belongings over it is best to get the best information on how to go about it. The cost for going over your baggage allowance by your airline would be through the roof if you are trying to bring your whole life with you to Australia. UK airlines vary from the fee they choose to charge for exceeding the baggage allowance. From one charging £7.50 per kg to £140 return for up to 10kg being over the limit.

It would make more sense to go through a shipping company that will safely take your belongings to your new home. Know that there are high costs to using shipping companies. With large amounts of items to be shipped you should be aware that volume not the weight of the cargo affects the size of the shipping crate you will have to hire. There are two sizes, 20ft (to Sydney Av. £3,800) and 40ft (to Sydney Av. £6,800). If you exceed the smaller size, you will have to move up to the 40ft crate and that is not £3,000 you will want to accumulate to your costs. When you are picking out the personal items you want to bring with you, do consider are they things you can buy when you are in Australia.

Be selective about what you will be bringing with you and consider the time of year in which you will be arriving in Australia. There will be items that you will not necessarily need to ship over just yet and this is where you will have to look at long/short term storage. In the UK you can find many storage companies that can hold your items on a long term basis. Like the shipping containers, the storage variety also comes in several sizes. Depending on your volume of belongings you can hire between 10ft to 40ft. You will need to call around to get the best quotes for the volume and length of time you want to hire the container for.

There are several international shipping companies to choose from that will securely bring your things to your new home. On the other hand, if you are in a position where you do not have a home sorted out just yet then there are ways to get the shipping company to deliver to an address.

There are some backpacker hostels or other businesses that can hire out a post box so that you have an address that the shipping company can deliver your to.

Finances

For your finances, you will need to find the best banks to deal with and looking at the ones with the best rates and interest on savings should be a priority. These banks are the ones that you will be going to when you are looking to apply for a mortgage so you can buy a property. With the current property price boom the monthly mortgage repayments have reduced. If you have a $400,000 mortgage then the payments have been reduced by $160 a month.

Banks are reacting to the market’s growth by slashing their rates so this could be a good time to secure a mortgage from the Australian banks. Look around for the banks with your best interest at heart and those that will offer the lowest (free if possible) fees to transfer your money. There will be some banks that will not include any charges to any transfer of funds, so you will only have to pay the exchange rate. Another topic related to your money is your taxes. Do you have any outstanding taxes to claim? If so it is important to get your tax return done sooner than later just so you have those extra funds available.