Relocating to Australia can be a stressful experience, especially if you have never been there. Here, we have received advice from a German working wife and a mother of three who had to start over with a clean slate twice within the past five years. Anja Matweew has experience moving around the world. Her endeavours started when she moved out of Germany to Singapore and now she has relocated to Australia. You may have a lot of inquiries when it comes to relocating to Australia. How do I start? Where is a good city to move to? Who can help me relocate?
Background on Anja:
Anja Matweew and her family took the bold decision of moving away from her hometown Germany in 2014. She kickstarted her relocation journey to Singapore and later on to Brisbane, Australia in 2017. Anja’s family had to move because of her husband’s job. During her time in Singapore, Anja enrolled her children in an international school and started working after a year of settling down.
Here, Anja lays out the top 4 tips that every global nomad should consider before relocating to Australia.
1. Budgeting 💰
Moving is not cheap. So you need to calculate the cost to move beforehand carefully. Take into consideration several factors such as the price of moving companies, new furniture, application fees for school, insurance and potential costs to cover temporary housing. Budget your monthly expenses and income to give you a rough estimation of how much you will need.
2. Relocation consultant 📞
Consider getting a relocation consultant to help you settle in. Relocation consultants can advise you to find the right neighbourhood, areas to avoid, reputable banks to open an account at, to name a few.
3. Small expat community 🏘
There are not as many expats in Brisbane as there are in Singapore. Because of this, Anja found it essential to socialise with the locals. However, as an expat, you should not just stick to your expat community. Instead, expats should try and integrate and become part of the local community. Otherwise, you might always feel like visitors but never at home.
4. Earlier days 📅
In Brisbane, overall activities start earlier than in Singapore. Shops open earlier but also close much earlier too. So if you are planning on shopping at night, make sure that you arrange your schedule and go shopping earlier during the day.
