Moving to Australia

In February (2008), our family moved to Sydney, Australia from the Bay Area in California. As a result of the many things we've learned, this blog is intended to help those making a similar move. (Recommended businesses or organizations have a linked URL.) We joined the American Society as soon as we moved here and it has been a great resource for us.

www.americansociety.com.au

Pre-move checklist:

1) House hunting trip - Ideally, make a house hunting trip to find a house. A few things:

- Housing in Sydney is very expensive. Rentals are quoted in rent per week but paid monthly. Here are a few sites to help you locate housing:

www.property.com.au
www.realestate.com.au
www.domain.com.au

- Quality rentals move quickly. Be ready to act fast. Places are open for reviewing for 15 minutes on a Saturday and there are usually large groups of people looking at the place.
- Location is important. One way to reduce costs of transportation, is to find a home close to the rail lines. Mass transit via trains is very good in Sydney.
- Leverage the house hunting trip to also look at schools. We struggled finding good information on schools. Our son is fluent in French and we wanted to put him in a French speaking school. There are only two in Sydney. One is in the south eastern part of the city (Lycee Condorcet - private school) and the other is bilingual program at Killarney Heights Public School (www.killarneyh-p.schools.nsw.edu.au) (north eastern part of Sydney).
- A number of Australians go on expat assignments. Finding the right house may enable you to get a number of things included (washer, dryer, fridge, pool service, etc.)
- Complete all of the necessary documentation for your chilren's school prior to arriving in Sydney. Remember to take your children's passports with you to Sydney (during the house hunting trip). This will help you get a jump on the enrollment process.
- All public schools have catchment areas. In other words, to be guaranteed entry into the school you choose, you must live in the zip code. Most schools will allow out of area students. Please note that you must receive this approval from the school in order to take advantage of it.
- Public schools in NSW are not free to anyone on a 457 visa. Be sure to understand the costs.

2) Set-up a bank account before you go to Australia.

- Nearly all of the 4 major banks (ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB, Westpac) have services for expats. We chose ANZ (www.anz.com). All of the preliminary opening documents can be completed prior to your house hunting trip. During the house hunting trip, stop into a branch and officially open your account.
- If you are married and intend to have joint ownership of the account, it will be important for your wife to go with you on the house hunting trip. Otherwise, open the account with only one owner. It will allow you to fully open the account during your house hunting trip.
- Converting funds from USD to AUD can be a hassle. There is a service that makes it relatively easy (www.ozforex.com); however, it is fairly expensive.

3) Leaving Home

- There are numerous things to think about prior to leaving your old home.
- Remember to change all of your bills. It may be best to put everything online. Most utilities (phone, cable, etc.) allow you to receive your statements online. If you are only going to be away for a short period (2 years or less), choose this option.
- If your stay is a short term assignment, you may want to have someone collect your mail. College students are great for this. Create an online account with one of the major parcel delivery services (FEDEX www.fedex.com, UPS, DHL). Have mail shipped 1 to 2 times per month.
- Selling cars tends to be very challenging as you will likely need your car until just prior to your departure. This is an area that we did not handle well.
- Packing can take more time than expected. Plan for at least 3 full days (and more if you are doing it yourself).
- Remember to get immunization records for your children. These will be needed for the enrollment process in Australia.

4) Moving

- We were lucky. One of the benefits of our company was the use of a relocation company (Nuss Relocations - www.nuss.com.au). We found the service very helpful.
- There are numerous serviced apartments available for short stays. It is probably worthwhile to use one. We stayed at the Sebel in Chatswood. The internet site portrays the accomodations better than they are. Keep your stay short as you will tire of the small space.
- If you move and your furniture has not arrived, think about a rental furniture service (furniture hire in Australian terminology)
- Setting up utilities such as cable, phone, internet, etc. takes much longer in Australia than in the US. Be patient. Some things take more time in Australia. If you need immediate internet service, think about using the service www.unwired.com. At least you can get online quickly. One thing to note, the service is very slow and requires the purchase of some hardware.
- Connect with the American Society (www.americansociety.com.au) in Sydney. The members all have shared the same challenges you will and will be able to give you guidance.

5) Driving

- This is certainly a challenge in the first few weeks. It gets easier over time. We are still not completely confident drivers.
- If you are on a short-term visa, it is our understanding that you will not need to get an Australian driver's license. You should verify this along with your own status.
- Cars are VERY expensive. We bought one car from a friend from the US as he is returning home. We purchased our second car from a dealer. There are a few things to consider. Insurance is very similar to the US. We purchased comprehensive insurance through NRMA (www.nrma.com.au) and found the process very good. There is also mandatory insurance that is paid once per year on the date of registration. One thing to remember, you will need an RTA number in order to purchase a car. Go to the local RTA office to obtain this.) The process to lease a car appears to be complex.
- Buy a GPS sytem. This is a great tool to help you navigate the streets of Sydney.
- Sign-up for E-tolls. This can be done online at the RTA site (www.rta.nsw.gov.au). There are numerous tollways that only accept E-tolls. Without one, you will need to call the tollway owner within 48 hours of using a tollway and provide payment. Many of the tollways are owned/operated by different operators/companies. With an E-tag, there is no hassle about calling.
- Driving on the left side of the road is challenging. We purposely bought smaller cars as the roads in Sydney are very narrow and parking spaces are very small. This is something to consider when choosing a car.

6) Visa and Tax File Number

- Most companies employ a legal firm to obtain visas. The firm that we used was fantastic. The attorney arranged all of the paperwork.
- An important item to note is that Australia requires a health check in order to obtain a visa longer than 90 days. It is critical that you make an appointment with the appropriate government agency. The agency accepts walk-ins; however, the lines are atrocious.
- The health check includes a chest xray. Children are also put through simple exam. If you are pregnant, you may decline the xray until after the birth. The visa will not be granted until after the xray has been done. This can be compensated for by getting an extension to a visitor's visa.
- It is also important for all of your visiting relatives to remember that they need to register online for a visa. We know of one couple that was not able to enter Australia (during a stopover) since they had not obtained a visitors visa (ETA).
- It is important to register for a tax file number. This can be done online at the Australian Taxation Office website (www.ato.gov.au).


7) Electricity

- The Australia standard is a 3 prong 240 volt outlet. This means that converters and/or transformers are needed.
- Converters can be used for simple household appliances. Converters should not be used for high tech home entertainment systems.
- Transformers should be used to operate TVs, computers, DVD players, stereo equipment, printers, etc. We purchased a transformer from www.tortech.com.au. It has worked very well.
- Many people believe that their flatscreen TVs will not work in Australia. It is our understanding that if the TV is digital (and a set-top box is used) , the TV should work.
- Australian DVDs are different than those sold in the US. There are inexpensive DVD players that have the ability to play both standards.

8) Mobile Phones

- The process for obtaining a mobile phone is somewhat painful.
- We are big fans of Blackberries. We brought ours from the US and signed up for plans from Telstra. A few things to note. It is important to have your phone unlocked from your current US carrier. In other words, the SIM card needs to have the security unlocked. You will need to ask your US carrier for the unlock code.
- After obtaining the new SIM card, it should be easy to connect locally. There are a few settings on a Blackberry that will need adjusting.

9) Home Phones, Internet, and Cable

- There are only two choices for internet service in Sydney (Telstra and Optus). We chose Telstra (www.telstra.com). Our experience with the company was not ideal. Be patient. Things just take longer. It took weeks to get both cable and internet installed. At one point we called Optus; however, Optus was unable to service us.

- Cable is not the same in Australia. The format is PAL (which differs from the US where it is NTSC). We have two TVs. One of the TVs is PAL compatible. The other is a large flat screen that is HD and Digital compatible. FOXTEL (the local cable) is not digital. We had to buy a converter to turn the PAL signal into digital. We bought the converter on line at www.converters.tv. This company was really easy to deal with. I emailed them the details of our TV and they recommended a converter. It is extremely important that all your electronics are run off of a Transformer.

- We have some friends that use Vonage. They have their US phone number ring in Australia using this service. It enables their friends to make a local call using the same number they have in the US. It also enables local calling to anyone in the US. It sounds like a great idea.

- We use the alternative (www.skype.com). We have a Skype subscription package for $12.95 USD per month. It allows us to have both a US phone number and an Australian phone number. Both ring in Australia. It lets our friends make local calls to either number at local rates. Additionally, we recently bought a Skype phone. Ideally, this will let us get rid of our local land line numbers in the US and Australia.

- One of our newest toys is fring, an application for mobile phones (www.fring.com). It also lets our skype numbers ring on the mobile phones while using our home wireless network.

- We use both Apple Ichat and Skype (www.skype.com) to video conference with friends and family that have either Ichat or Skype. It is a must have for any expat.

- We have heard that Slingbox is also useful. With Slingbox, you can watch cable TV from the US in Australia. You will need to have it set-up on a cable system in the US.

- Apple's ITUNES is a must. We use it to download TV shows and movies. We recommend either getting an IPOD adapter (that allows you to play videos on your TV from your IPOD) or a cable that you can connect your computer to your TV.


10) Doctors

- We found a general practitioner in our neighborhood.
- If you are pregnant, you need to register with a hospital asap. All the hospitals are busy and we were turned away from the hospital closest to us since they did not have room when our baby was due. We ended up at the Royal Women's Hospital http://www.rhwfoundation.com.au/aboutus/hospital.html and received great care there.
- if you are on private insurance, you will need to pay upfront and then get reimbursed from your company's insurance, which can take some time. Most people in Australia are on medicare so you will get asked your Medicare number.
- When you have a child in Sydney, if you are not a permanent resident, your child will not be an Australian citizen.
- Here are links to get the birth certificate, passport, social security card.

NSW Registry of birth

http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/births/birthsCertificate.htm

US Consulate in Sydney

http://sydney.usconsulate.gov/consular/acs/passports/under16.html

11) Childrens Sports

- We arrived in Sydney right before the start of soccer season. We connected with the Northbridge Football Club (www.northbridgefc.com.au). Our son is part of the U-8 groups. The soccer club families have been very welcoming.
- Baseball begins sometime in August (www.northsydney.baseball.com.au). We've found a number of baseball clubs and signed up for the season. Our son is playing zooka ball. This is the age group that uses the pitching machine (under 10). Normally, our son would sign up for a team more in line with his age; however, the 7 year olds play t-ball in Sydney whereas this same age group in the US uses pitching machines.
- We found a golf driving range that also has batting cages. It is located in Terry Hills at the Paradise Golf Centre. Batting cages in Sydney are very difficult to locate.

12) Emergencies

Here are common numbers that you may need.

- 000 This number is the equivalent of th US number 911.

13) Grocery Shopping

There are two major chains in Sydney (Coles and Woolworths). We've found the Woolworths stores www.woolworths.com.au to be more modern. The food prices are generally more than those in the US. The carts tend to have swivel wheels. This makes them somewhat harder to control.


More to follow in the weeks ahead.