Moving to Australia from U.S.

[Mtnluvingrl]

If all goes well, I should be relocating to Australia in July 2009. I will be applying for my visa in December and applying for jobs thereafter if my visa is approved. My biggest concern at this point are the shipping costs between the U.S. and Australia. Any suggestions on saving money on my relocation fees?

[kaz101]

Hi Mtnluvingrl,

Welcome to the forum.

I know that we have some members who are moving (or have moved) from the USA so hopefully they will be along to answer this since I moved from the UK to Oz. I know this has been discussed on the forum so you could do a search fo the threads....

Regards,
Karen

[sotto]

Hi ,
let us know what you plan to ship; it might be more economical to sell/store things in Denver and start over in Oz. Do you have any idea where you will end up, East, West, or in the middle? I moved from Denver to Oz in 2001, but I didn't take furniture and big items. Allied Van Lines has offices over here; maybe you can give them a call in CO and see if/how they can accommodate you.
Sotto

[Mtnluvingrl]

I definitely want to be in Sydney, or somewhere in the suburbs. As far as what part of Sydney I want to be in I have no idea. But, I will give you a better idea about me and you can make recommendations as you like. I'm 32 years old. By day I am an HR professional that wears a suit to work and by night I enjoy the punk/metal music scene. Somewhere that has a good weighttraining facility. I love my time outdoors, since Sydney isn't exactly the most mountainous place probably somewhere close to a nice park. I am extremely low maintenance when it comes to my finances and my material possessions.

[FLOYD]

I may be totally wrong but these are numbers I seem to be coming up with with limited research to date. I'm just starting this process myself. I guess I'm posting to see if I'm told I'm wrong as much as to answer your questions. (please tell me if these numbers seem way off)

Pet to get from US to Aus about $5000 from door to door and all in between.
Your plane ticket $900. I think you could do cheaper one-way(I hope)

I think a 20ft shipping container with all your worldly possessions would run around $10000. More or less depending on how frieght cost has changed and what you stuff in the container.

I'm still finding out about using a migration agent but you can do your own visa for the visa cost plus documentation $2000(?) depending on visa type and add up to another $3000(likely less) for a migration agent depending on how involved you have them and if you have any issues come up.

Sydney decent one bedroom apt $350-450 weekly. Then ? for the type of place you want to find in the suburbs.
So far I am thinking Adelaide or MT Gambier areas which would be cheaper housing.

So maybe someone that has completed the process can tell us?
It looks like, as I have a pet, I neeed to figure on $12,000 to $17,000
for the move.(plus day-to-day expenses and transpotation that start immediately upon arrival) I can decide what to leave behind and how much of the paperwork to do on my own to keep the cost at the bottom end?

[Tiffani]

HI,

flight ticket will be close to $2000 even one-way, particularly since you'll be coming in the summer. But even if you came in October, it would be about $1500 so you're not exactly saving a fortune. It depends on where you're flying out of too. Denver may be more expensive than LA. Our flight in late January, one way, from Raleigh-Durham to Melbourne via LA was $1900 a piece.

Expect to spend approximately $5000 on a container, but a lot depends on the weight of the shipment. A shipment of 2000lbs will cost around that (that's an average 2-3 bedroom house). If you are shipping more, it'll cost more. Try to find a company that will offer a binding estimate based on weight -- so that as long as the weight doesn't exceed the estimate by the company, it won't cost more. That's what we did. Oh, and they say it'll take six weeks, but it'll take four months. Just accept that. I have yet to meet anyone with a "positive" experience with an international shipper.

The pet depends on the size of the animal. I know someone who shipped their cat from the US and it cost about $3500. I shipped my Weimaraner (a large-breed dog about the same size as a dalmatian) and it cost closer to $6000 all told. Also, dogs have to go through one or two more vet steps than cats do, so it costs a bit more. The $6K includes everything, including quarantine for 30 days.

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by FLOYD

So far I am thinking Adelaide or MT Gambier areas which would be cheaper housing.

If you have any questions about Mount Gambier let me know since that's where I live. I'm in walking distance of the Blue Lake in the dormant volcano

Regards,
Karen

[Mtnluvingrl]

For anyone relocating in the near future I found a website. I think it was called Wholesale Flights. Anyway, a one way flight from Denver to Sydney in July 2009 was $890 which is fairly reasonable considering a round trip ticket usually costs about $3000 during the peak travel season (May-August) in the United States. It might be worth checking out.

[Tiffani]

Originally Posted by Mtnluvingrl

For anyone relocating in the near future I found a website. I think it was called Wholesale Flights. Anyway, a one way flight from Denver to Sydney in July 2009 was $890 which is fairly reasonable considering a round trip ticket usually costs about $3000 during the peak travel season (May-August) in the United States. It might be worth checking out.

That does seem very reasonable. I wonder if there's a catch!

[Mtnluvingrl]

I don't know if there is a catch or not. There is always the risk of being scammed online. But considering how badly the airlines are suffering right now they very well might just be giving tickets away at those prices to continue their sales. I have a feeling by the time I relocate to Australia next July the tickets will be super cheap due to lack of sales in flights.