do i need a relocation agency,

[masha]

Hi all

we will be moving from scotland to adelaide in 3 months or so, we have two young children , which make the move a wee bit more stressful:wacko:. we are thinking about using a relocation agency to help us with a property search, connecting utilities, etc. does anyone have any experience with a relocation agency , are they really helpful? many thanks

[snifter]

TBH I'd say its not worth the money. I have read of a few people opting to use them (up in QLD or around Sydney) but not here in Adelaide. Most people seem to migrate without using one. Connecting utilities and other things like that are generally really simple. Changing a DL over can be done in 15 minutes at any number of walk in centres around the Adelaide area. GP's, you can go to any one you want. Getting a dongle for internet to start you off, walk in to any mobile store and you can find a package to suit. Once in a rental, signing up to the companies etc should be simple enough. Might be a case of shopping around a bit to find the best supplier cost wise if you wanted.

 

I found it all really straight forward when we arrived. We stayed with family to begin with but all the other things we had to do same as others and it was all sorted with ease. Our son started school 6 days after we arrived at the start of term 4. We were able to check some out, went with the one we liked and away. Saying that, 7 months in we bought a house and moved to a totally different area and moved schools.

 

My few thoughts

 

*Rent a decent short term furnished rental, usually people go for 3-4 weeks and find this enough time to secure a longer term rental etc.

 

* Adelaide is pretty small so to get bearings or check areas out isn't too difficult (so long as you have a car to get around).

 

* Make getting a car, even if its a seemingly expensive for newly arrived and in shock at the cost of cars here decent run around just to get you going for a few months one of your first priorities. We found a decent car for $6,000 with low KM's, FSH and well looked after and still have it now, 2 plus years later.

 

*Start checking out real estate sites now to give you an idea of the market. http://www.realestate.com.au/rent should get you going. Remember 'Adelaide' or the 5000 postcode will only get you the CBD so expand out and check out other areas listed.

 

*If your kids are school aged, don't worry overly if they don't go to school for the first couple of weeks or till you find a longer term rental in an area you like. We'll probably be close to a 2 week holiday in a few months anyways so you could always plan they start term 2 or some such if you arrive a few weeks before and find an area you like (some primary schools are zoned and will require proof you plan to live in the zone for a year at least, so will want to see a lease agreement stating that. Many are not however).

[masha]

Hi Snifter, many thanks for your advice it was really useful. Maria