advice on money issues

[secretskydiver]

we are in the early stages of thinking about a move to Oz but one of my many questions would be if anyone has had sound advice about the best way to sort debts before leaving, ways to make sure you have as much as possible to take with you? Is there a minimum amount that would be realistic to head off into the sunset with?Maybe a bit of an odd question this early on but I want to make sure any credit issues are sorted if need be, or if they need to be sorted?
I'm sure I'll be back on soon with many more questions.

[kaz101]

Hi Secretskydiver,

Welcome to the forum.

Credit scores do not follow you from the UK to Oz so you start with a clean slate. Obviously for your own peace of mind you need to sort out your debts before you leave, whether that means paying them off or sorting out a repayment plan.

The amount of money you bring out here depends on how risky you want to be, where you're going to live, whether you are coming out for a job etc...

The "please read...' post has links to property websites which have rentals as well as sales. There is also a "cost of living" thread to give you some idea of what the monthly outgoings are. If you are looking to buy a place then interest rates are higher than the UK (if you are based there).

From some of the tv programs I remember some people come out here with virtually nothing and make it work but I wouldn't advise that.

Regards,
Karen

[michelle.ritchie]

Originally Posted by secretskydiver

we are in the early stages of thinking about a move to Oz but one of my many questions would be if anyone has had sound advice about the best way to sort debts before leaving, ways to make sure you have as much as possible to take with you? Is there a minimum amount that would be realistic to head off into the sunset with?Maybe a bit of an odd question this early on but I want to make sure any credit issues are sorted if need be, or if they need to be sorted?
I'm sure I'll be back on soon with many more questions.

Hi there,

When we came out we had 10,000 pounds for everything. that was flights paid, pets, and 3 months in rented acc without a job. The problem you have is some people dont bring anything out with them, such as furniture, so they might have saved on shipping ut they have to buy knew when they get here, which isnt cheap. (although we do have ikea here!) so in answer to your question it depends on what you are bringing and what you will have to buy over here. dont forget you will have to buy a car.........
second hand cars are not cheap here!
Hope this helps!

[kaz101]

Yes Michelle is right there. We didn't bring much out with us since we hadn't bought anything new for ages since we knew we were moving. So most things were given to charity or free-cycle and then we bought new out here. However you don't have to buy everything at once, and where we are you don't have to wait long for another sale to come around. We don't have Ikea here where we are, but we are in a regional area because we didn't want to live in a big city and you can negotiate on most things.

When it comes to buying cars we found second hand cars cheaper than what they could be in the UK (maybe that's the areas again). However the price on the car may not be the 'on the road' price since you may have to pay stamp duty (I think its 11% in South Australia), taxes and delivery charges on top of the advertised price.

Regards,
Karen