Relocating your family and belongings from the United Kingdom to a new home in Australia is a big decision to make. Although being a huge change for everyone involved, there will also be the excitement and anticipation of living in a new country.
The initial step is to engage international removalists who will pack, transfer and unpack your furniture. The next step is to get a good understanding of your new City, including its suburbs, rental values, schools and the diverse amenities on offer. This research can begin before leaving the UK.
When relocating, families find that there are three major areas of concern: Where will we live? Where will our children go to school? Where are all the facilities needed to carry on our new lifestyle?
The following is an example of a family with 3 children aged between 9 and 13, and how they successfully moved to Sydney. The selected a removalist that offered a complete package of services that included not only the physical move of their belongings, but also expert assistance from a Home Search Consultant. Her role started before the family left the UK by offering advice and information regarding their Home and School Search as well as many aspects of settling in to Sydney and making it their home.
Having been assigned a consultant, the family was asked to complete a formal Relocation Questionnaire. This is a very important document as it requires the transferee to think through their practical needs - housing, rental, transport, and gives the consultant a good idea of their expectations. Once the consultant received the questionnaire, contact was made with the family to not only discuss the practicalities but also any emotional issues that the family may have in relation to the move.
In assessing the family's knowledge of Sydney the first question asked was "Have you been to Sydney before?" - "Of course, on holidays" was the response more info. The consultant then gently pointed out that their impression of Sydney as a tourist would be quite different to the one they will have coming in as a resident. The consultant's conversation was to set expectations of what life will be like in Sydney, make positive suggestions and offering alternatives to some preconceived thoughts.
From this discussion the consultant was made aware of their interest in living in the Eastern Suburbs and their wish for the children to attend a private school that offered the International Baccalaureate program. The option of public Schooling in the primary years was also discussed and the explanation of school zoning was explained.
In researching the IB the Consultant learned that this Programme has three levels that are offered in Sydney: Primary Years Programme - Ages 3-12 - 3 schools; Middle Years Programme - Ages 11-16 - 2 schools; Diploma Years Programme - Ages 16-19 - 13 schools.
In the Eastern Suburbs it was found that the Diploma Programme was only offered at 2 schools. In further discussions with the family it was pointed out that their preference was for a Co-Educational School. This then opened up the option for one school in the Eastern Suburbs and the other on the Lower North Shore.
The consultant called the schools to see if places would be available for the children and passed on the website links so that the family could evaluate each of the schools and options available to them, including enrolment details and fees payable. Appointments were then made at the schools for when the family arrived in Sydney.
Choosing the right suburb in a new city takes considerable thought and planning. Deciding where to live is a combination of a number of important factors - How easy is it for the children to get to school? How long is the commute to work? Is public transport an option? What sporting facilities are available? Do they intend to rent or buy in the area? For this family, they wanted to live in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The Consultant took an objective view to this to determine why this particular area. Do they have friends who live there? Is it an area they are familiar with? Has someone else recommended this as a perfect location? As the most suitable schools were located in the Eastern Suburbs as well as the Lower North Shore it was pointed out the benefits of both.
The family were then sent links to various real estate sites and encouraged to look for themselves at different properties that were available in each of the areas suggest. This gave them a good understanding of rental properties available and values. It was then suggested that they send through links to properties of interest prior to their arrival so that inspections could be organised to coincide with their school appointments.
The family felt tremendously encouraged that before they had even arrived they had not only been provided with information regarding schooling but also had been able to make contact with schools that fitted their needs, confirmed places available for the children and appointments made for them on their arrival. They also had a better understanding of the different areas of Sydney, the rental market, and been able to send through properties that they would like to inspect that would be close to each school.
Through further emails before their arrival the family asked for information on Christmas holiday camps for the children including their son's registration for a cricket team and surfing lessons, information regarding joining a Pony Club for their daughter and a list of holiday activities for the family. Other questions involving connection of utilities, driver's licence and opening bank accounts were all easily answered. On their arrival, orientation of the different areas including visits to shopping centres and driving to schools and the office quickly helped to familiarise them with their new home location.
Direct communication with the family along with thorough preparation and planning, prior to their arrival, proved to be the key ingredients for the success of this family's relocation. Engaging relocation services from their removalist company considerably reduced the stress of settling in to Sydney quickly. All the very important issues unfamiliar to them were taken care of ensuring the family looked forward to their "Sydney Experience".
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