Planning what to do and take

The first part of huge task we have made for ourselves is to plan, and that is proving to be a bit more of a task than we first thought. We have so far done the following:

  • Obtain Visa if required (I have received my UK Ancestry Visa, what a task). Research this well in advance. For the UK Ancestry visa it takes about 6 weeks and you cannot apply more than 12 weeks before you intend on arriving in the UK
  • Resign from work (we have both resigned, that was difficult)
  • Planed and booked the 'we are leaving the country party'
  • Notify banks, insurance, internet, phone, power, gas and electricity suppliers. If you don't notify the bank you may have trouble getting money from the ATM overseas.
  • Determined what to keep, loan and sell, then placed those things on ebay or arrange the loan
  • Organized storage with insurance
  • Organized mail services (snail mail and e-mail whilst overseas)
  • Increase your credit card limits (before you announce you will resign)
  • Gather important information like tax file numbers, pay slips, bank account records, statements, CV,  passport, drivers license and previous insurance details.
  • Get letters of recommendation from employers
  • Enable global roaming on your mobile (and get internet settings for overseas if you are planning to use it, check the charges for roaming of voicemail, phone and internet as they can be excessive)
  • Find high interest low number of transaction accounts with your or another bank for your money and move said money
  • Get international power plug (and take Australian power board which will mean you only need one convertor, not 7
  • Take everything you need to do your tax return. Your tax is generally calculated per pay cycle. This means if you only work half a year you will get a nice return come tax time. What better time to get that than while your overseas.

When you arrive

  • You will need to get an NI number
  • Register with a local doctor (walk-ins I am told are not as good) and in order to be seen here you must be registered with a local doctor in most centers
  • Get a new bank account
  • Get a mobile SIM assuming you need one
  • Register for international transfers with a transfer company or find an alternate method. Banks charge up to £35 per transfer

Expectations

  • Make sure you have set yourself the expectation (and budget) to not have a job for 8 weeks. It is fairly normal even for the medium income bracket