Earlier this year, we decided to radically switch things up by moving from the UK to Australia. After about a decade in London, both of us were ready to experience a new pace of life and explore another side of the world. The London-to-Sydney move is quite common, so we found plenty of resources to help us navigate the process of relocating Down Under.
For a bit of backstory, I’ve dreamt of living in a coastal town for my entire life. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine settling in Sydney though! As someone born and raised in Paris, the idea of Australia always held a certain mystique—an alluring paradise “aux antipodes” (at the opposite end of the world). By the time you read this, I’ll be fully immersed in Aussie culture, even though I had never set foot on this side of the world before.
The decision wasn’t easy for me, but the prospect of a new life adventure was appealing. Being a travel lover (as this blog suggests), I couldn’t see why not just take the leap. So, we jumped, made things happen, and here we are.
Below, I’ll share how we managed the move with relatively low amounts of stress. I’ll focus on all the logistics of such a long distance move, including the highs, and the lows. Everyone’s situation is different, so my tips might not fit you perfectly, but hopefully, you’ll find some helpful nuggets and inspiration. Whether you’re planning a similar move or just daydreaming about your next life adventure, I hope this gives you the confidence to take the plunge and explore somewhere new and exciting on our beautiful planet.
Preparing for the Move
Setting a Date
Setting a date far in advance is ideal for any move, but for an overseas one, it’s even more important. We began planning our move about 2 months ahead, but we still felt rushed at the last minute. Selling furniture online takes an eternity, and we had to find alternative solutions which took time and energy.
Next time, I’d start advertising my stuff on eBay at least six months in advance and gradually declutter instead of cramming it all into a few weekends before the move. Our last weekends in London were spent with loved ones, which meant less time for trips to the charity shop or packing boxes and more last-minute chaos.
As for timing, we moved in Spring (October), which was perfect since we avoided the Christmas rush and the busy early January period but still got to experience summer. If you’ll be job hunting in Australia upon arrival, consider moving in October or late January. The period in between is when many people are on extended holidays, making job opportunities in certain industries more difficult to find.
Sorting and Downsizing
This is the toughest part of any move, but it’s incredibly cathartic once you start shedding some of the clutter. I’m not a hoarder, but you quickly realise how many little trinkets, objects, and random accessories you’ve accumulated once you start. I downsized my wardrobe and sold most of it on Vinted, the best app to find eager buyers on the internet in my opinion. I gave away many of my books as well and sold the rest through WeBuyBooks, which has a handy pick-up service. In the end, I kept only items that I truly loved and that had sentimental value, along with a few decor elements to make my new home in Australia feel like me from day 1, which I recommend doing. Honestly, you can never downsize enough, and that’s crucial for the next step…
Choosing a Moving Company
We spent a good amount of time shopping around before finally choosing a moving company, and I definitely suggest comparing quotes to snatch the best deal. We ended up going with Seven Seas Worldwide, and they provided a super smooth service from start to finish. The process began with a video call where we showed them everything we planned on moving. From that, they estimated the number of boxes we would need.
Some companies offer to pack everything for you, which is usually the safer choice for moving from the UK to Australia, but we decided to handle the packing ourselves since we thought we had a manageable amount. As it turned out, after booking with them, we had to downsize again to stay within our budget. We ended up with a medium-sized “cube” – a self-pack moving pod – that fit about 15-20 boxes, 15 frames, one large and heavy sideboard, one bike in its box, and a couple of massive suitcases.
One thing I didn’t think about at the time was that you can ship individual suitcases by plane if they don’t fit within your cube or your international flight luggage allowance. Looking back, I wish I had considered this option as well. It would have saved me from having to replace some shoes and clothing that didn’t make the cut.
Packing & Shipping
Packing tips
Packing for a move from the UK to Australia comes with its own set of specific requirements. One crucial detail is keeping your shoes separate from the rest of your stuff, as these will be checked at customs when entering Australia. You must clean the soles of your shoes meticulously—think factory-level clean. This is because Australia is very cautious about external germs and bacteria that could potentially harm its unique endemic species. I fully respect this commitment to environmental preservation and made sure to scrub all that London dirt thoroughly.
Another essential packing tip, though basic, is worth mentioning: number your boxes and keep a detailed record of everything you pack in your cube. This can be time-consuming but is incredibly helpful for knowing what to unpack first (we kept our winter wear stored away when our cube arrived in January) and, most importantly, for checking if anything is missing. We labeled the contents of our boxes with our name and Australian address, and added a number to each to ensure everything was accounted for.
Shipping & Logistics
Seven Seas Worlwide provided us with the boxes, tape, bubble wrap, etc. we needed for the size of our cube. We had to buy some extra bubble wrap tough, as there seems to never be enough of the stuff when you start packing. I would definitely stock up on that! Having a lot of reusable tote bags as well as a few extra large suitcases came in really handy for leftover objects and clothes that didn’t fit in the boxes provided.
If you have to buy your own moving boxes, I would recommend checking Gumtree or Freecycle first. On this website, you can buy sets of pre-owned cardboard boxes. Normally, I would advise against this for safety reasons, but in this case, your boxes won’t be transported individually. Instead, they fit into the cube that should remain sealed until it reaches the other side. While customs might open the cube, notably to check your shoes, they won’t move the boxes around in most cases, so the risk of your boxes breaking and spilling their content is relatively small.
Moving stuff from the UK to Australia takes anywhere between 6 weeks to 3 months or more. For us it took exactly 3 months. You can track the progress of your cube as it travels the globe through the companies website. They suggested we threw an Apple Airtag into our cube as most people do it, but ours stopped working exactly 3 hours into the journey haha! That was useless, but let me know in the comment section if you did it and if it worked.
Insurance and Valuation
To estimate the final shipping costs, we had to meticulously list every single item we were sending and assign a value to each one. This meant cataloging every book by title and determining how much each was worth, and doing the same for every piece of clothing, etc. Needless to say, this was a tedious and time-consuming task! Knowing we’d have to go through this process helped us immensely with downsizing.
Final Thoughts
Leftover Suitcase
Living out of a suitcase for the first 2-3 months while waiting for our boxes to arrive was incredibly challenging. I had planned for all kinds of weather and occasions, but ended up shopping and thrifting a lot to fill the gaps in my temporary wardrobe. We couldn’t do it, but some people choose to take this “waiting period” as an opportunity to travel around southeast Asia or Australia with a backpack, thus avoiding the awkward transition period. That’s a smart move I think.
Figuring out what to pack in your luggage versus what to ship is such a personal decision—it’s all about what you can’t live without. Personally, I traveled without any toiletries and bought everything upon arrival. I also packed away most of my shoes, bags, and clothes and arrived in Australia with the bare minimum. It’s by far the most unusual suitcase I’ve packed as it was filled with childhood memories, irreplaceable documents, my nicest clothes, and favourite jewellery. My advice is to think about what items you would want to save if a fire broke into your house, and to pack those first. Sounds dramatic, I know! It was the most humbling lesson in minimalism I’ve ever been face with, and I feel emotional just writing about it.
Cost of the Move
Let’s be real, this move is really costly. Downsizing as much as possible will help you save some cash, but overall, this is as expensive as it gets when it comes to moving houses. The one thing I’ll say is that there were no hidden costs with the shipping company we used, so we knew exactly what to expect when the bill came and that was a relief. Another thing I’d mention is to factor in the cost of replacing some of your items. When you’re in the thick of it, you might think that’s ‘a future you problem,’ but it should actually be included in your overall cost of moving rather than an afterthought. Trust me, it’s better to plan for these expenses upfront to avoid any unpleasant surprises later on, especially in an expensive country like Australia.
Upsides & Downsides
Moving this way offers a lot of freedom, which is a huge plus in my opinion. We carefully planned our boxes to fit the cube’s dimensions and even constructed a mock-up in our living room the day before. When the truck arrived, we knew exactly where each box should go in a very Tetris kind of way, and it took us less than 20 minutes to load everything.
However, doing it all by ourselves was extremely tiring as this is a full-time job. We spent about a whole week meticulously wrapping every item in bubble wrap and securing it with brown tape. If you’re pressed for time and have young children to take care of, for example, I would avoid doing it this way and book a packing service instead.
Useful Links & Products
- Seven Seas Worldwide (the overseas moving company we chose)
- Send my bag (send a suitcase to Aus)
- We Buy Books (sell your books)
- Vinted (sell your clothes quickly)
- Pre-owned cardboard boxes (UK)
- Extra large suitcase (I own this exact model)
If you’ve made it this far, you’re likely planning a move, and I’m excited for you! I hope everything goes smoothly. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I’ll be checking regularly and will answer them either here, on the blog, or on Instagram.
