# Advice on Relocation Companies



## Roelant (May 6, 2009)

Hi all,

I have searched the forum but I couldn't see similar threads so here's a new one. 

Can you share your experiences with relocation companies in Sydney (or elsewhere for that matter)? We are thinking of hiring such a company to assist us in the first period in Sydney. They promise things like:

- airport pickup
- arrangment of temporary accommodation
- assistance in the choice of neighborghoud
- arranging rental contracts and administration regarding the rental home
- contacting doctors, day care and whatnot

It does sound good, although it is pricey (between $3000 and $4000). We are very much in doubt because that amount of money buys you a month or longer in hotels... Our main focus is finding and arranging a good price for a rental home.

Does anyone have experiences with the Relocation companies?

Thanks in advance,
Roelant


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

I do not blame you for being in doubt Roelant for it is a large sum of money for really giving you next to nothing, ie.

*- airport pickup*
Plenty of transport options in from the airport, ranging from train to shuttle bus or taxi - Trains and if you buy a travelpass, perhaps a week by week one for say a green zone [though purple is not all that more expensive] - http://www.131500.com.au/faresandpasses/
that'll enable you to get about pretty cheap, and I think you can actually buy them at the airport so instead of the ~$15 train fare in you'll just pay a $5 station access fee [the station being privately owned, it being part of the airport].
The Airport train goes all the way down to Circular Quay RS so if you were to be heading Manly way you can then hop off there and head across to the Ferry.

*- arrangment of temporary accommodation*
That's easy enough to do and you select what you want rather than what someone else has organised.
If you're looking for somewhere over the northern beaches area for renting it'd make some sense to get your initial accommodation over that way and there are heaps of holiday apartments about.
You probably do not need something humungus for the first couple of weeks while you look for the initial rental as though having a small kitchenette for doing breakfast, sandwiches and salads etc. you probably do not want to bother with bigger meal preparations, thus some ideas for you.
. Hotels in Manly Accommodation Cheap Manly Hotel
. rooms - *standard, deluxe or family rooms seem good value*Or if wanting something in a more open natural setting
a cabin at a caravan park - Big4 Sydney Lakeside Holiday Park, NSW, Caravan, Camping, Campground, Accommodation, Australia, Narabeen, beach, Lake, Manly, Cabins, Bunglows, Villas, groups, Conference, surfing, Northern Beaches though you pay a bit to be beachside - Lane Cove, closer to city is somewhat cheaper for a cabin - Sydneys best Tourist Park for Family cabins ensuite cabins caravan campervan camping
. Manly _has places listed to make enquiries about and you could use the Manly Lodge as a yardstick.
Also not a bad site for info about the Manly area._
For somewhere different to have a lunch/dinner
Sydney Restaurants & Functions :: Newport Arms Hotels - can be reached easy by bus

*- assistance in the choice of neighborghoud*
That'll come down to what you can [or want to] afford, transport and local facilities - obviously being near the sea and/or harbour is great in many respects and because of femand will always be more expensive for rentals and buying, cost structure for Sydney running something like
Inner Harbour and Eastern suburbs - need a few million, Northern Beaches - a million wouldn't hurt, Northern Suburbs - not too far behind but between Northern Suburbs and Beaches, you could stand a chance of getting something
Inner City - kind of some Chic areas but also areas with night problems
And then you start moving out to the mid suburbs of South and West before going to way way out outer suburbs, pricing usually getting cheaper the further you go out but some suburbs/cities like Bankstown, Cabramatta, Parramatta, Blacktown, Macquarie Fields and Campbelltown are to be avoided, a lot of housing estates that do not have much infrastructure and some not much in way of transport and youth of the area can be a bit restless.

Your best bet will be to try and get around by public transport in the first couple of weeks, seeing what job opportunities are and where you could get work, North Sydney, just over the Harbour Bridge having like a secondary CBD and if work there it'd make sense to look for somewhere over on the north side of the Harbour - Sydney is about the opposite of the Netherlands where getting about is pretty easy because of the relative flatness.

You'll find shopping pretty much everywhere and plenty of reasonable size shopping centres scattered about, and likewise with schooling and medical clinics and whatever area you live in, you'll have a right to go and enrol your children in the local primary school or seek a private school if that's what you want - but could be waiting lists and you'll pay heaps more for questionable value.

*- arranging rental contracts and administration regarding the rental home* best done by yourself via the real estate agents and you'll find these much more prevalent than what they are in most European countries because of the more transient nature of our population in many areas.
There'll be many in the Manly and Northern Beaches/Northern Suburbs area and in all suburbs and easy to pick with all the real estate pictures in windows and magazines outside their doors to take for free [more adverts of places for sale]
But go in and ask about their rental list and they will likely ask you about your details, to assess who the rental will be for - landlords often having preferences but I wouldn't expect too many to be rejecting a family rental.
They may however be looking for a rental history and credit rating type of support, whether you're employed or not [ and that could pose a problem unless you have what they would view as ample funds] and so the more effort you can put in to have some job prospects for on arrival, the better it'll be and if you can document any rental history you do have already, that could help, even having a copy of previous leases, a recommendation from agents/landlord etc. and an email address so they can be contacted if need be.

. *Have a read of *Signing a new lease - NSW Office of Fair Trading - what the regulations are for residential leasing.

- *contacting doctors, day care and whatnot*
Again, something which I would be looking to do myself once I had settled on an area, and again there could be in the case of some medical clinics a closed book situation, ie. no new patients being taken because they already have enough, and so some hunting may be necessary - most Australians have an attitude of only ever looking for a doctor when they think they may need one and very little in way of preventative annual check-ups etc.
In your wifes case however it'll be different and once settled, she could ask at the local council offices about what they have in way of community welfare and she'll likely be able to get some advice in respect to pre-natal classes/care, a list of relevant doctors/clinics and through them be able to work out where to be admitted for delivery.
For daycare a waiting list may be in place at some centres and again it may mean checking out what is in the area and council offices are always a good place to start.

*Medicare* - you just front up to a Medicare Office, [and plenty in shopping centres] fill in a form and you and your wife will be issued with one each
*Banking *
And you can arrange to have a bank account opened online even before you leave to come to Australia, there being what are known as the Big 4 here, Commonwealth, National, ANZ and Westpac, and then there are quite a few second tier banks, St George for NSW and Suncorp Metway more a Qld. one and Bendigo/Adelaide is becoming more prominent.
Money matters* though for study has some general info and re opening before you leave, ANZ [a link on rhs on that site] I know has the facility and possibly Westpac and may now the Commonwealth [ could be all are on the wagon now]

By opening an account a few weeks before leaving it'll mean you can transfer funds ahead of your move and you'll get a card to access the account on arrival and thus save any further fees that could be associated with withdrawals from your Netherlands account.

*ATO* - A taxation number - you just apply via. Australian Taxation Office Homepage

*If you want to drive*, get an International Drivers Permit before leaving, maybe not necessary if you have a Netherlands drivers licence but I haven't checked latest regulations re drivers licences needing to be in english or have a permit - I'd expect it to still be the case.

*Cheap Calls back Home* Other than emails and until you get something like Skype set up, there's some pretty cheap phone cards about - http://www.cardcall.com.au/en/Pages/default.aspx showing a range.

*It does sound good, although it is pricey (between $3000 and $4000). * We are very much in doubt because that amount of money buys you a month or longer in hotels... Our main focus is finding and arranging a good price for a rental home.

Way too pricey and sometimes I think people offering such services are not just out to make a quick buck! but the scamming scum of the earth.
It all ain't so difficult but my focus would be on landing a job and at least having some interviews waiting - have you looked up any agencies and sent out your resume/CV etc.

Could be that initial work could be attained doing some shorter term projects.


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## Roelant (May 6, 2009)

Hi Wanderer,

Wow that is a lot of information. Many thanks  I am going to study it thoroughly this weekend. I got some response here and there about people using relocation services but they all seem to be sponsored by employers .

Regards,
Roelant


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