One month in Melbourne: Tips for moving abroad

This week marked an exciting milestone for Dave and I: one month since we arrived in Melbourne, exhausted and jet-lagged from our jont across Europe (very much in need of clean clothes).

What a month it's been!

In a little over four weeks we've managed to move from our temporary airbnb, to a more permanent one-bedroom apartment with all the fixings. We bought a fridge (what an adult thing to do!). We've spent many, many afternoons exploring the CBD and inner suburbs on a constant search for the best coffee and working hideouts. We've watched some footy and just last weekend cheered on the Western Bulldogs in the AFL Grande Final. We've dipped our toes in the Port Phillips Bay. We've come to a temporary truce with Australian wildlife.

Overall, it's been one of the most stressful and exciting months of my life.

So, in honour of this exciting milestone, I wanted to take a moment (with the Jays game on in the background) to reflect on some what we've learned so far, for anyone who might be considering a similar move, or just curious about what our experience moving from Canada to Australia has been like.

So you want to move abroad? Top five tips to make it happen:

1. Transfer money to your new country before leaving home. Dave and I did this, sort of, but a lot of trouble could be saved if you learn from our mistakes. We did some research before we left Toronto, and were pleased to learn that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia lets you open an account online before you go. Great, right? Not so great: Forgetting to transfer money into said account before you leave. To be fair, we had a lot going on (trekking across Europe and all) but when we arrived in Australia we were limited to our credit cards and the $500 cash we'd brought with us. From there, it was a bit of a dance getting money sent overseas (it turns out Canadian banks would really like you to be standing on Canadian soil when sending money). We've now got some workarounds in place (thanks, Sue!) so we've overcome our temporary financial challenge, but you can save yourself a lot of stress if you deal with the finances before hand and have a plan in place for how you're going to transfer currencies around the world.
2. Don't sign a lease on an apartment until you've had the chance to explore the city. This is something Dave and I got right, but my over-eager planning could have gotten in the way. Upon arriving in Australia we checked into an airbnb, which we'd booked for the entire month of September to give us time to find a more permanent home. This gave us the opportunity to explore Melbourne for a couple of weeks before deciding where to move too. This is important because it's impossible to get a feel for a city—and certainly its scale—based on Google Maps alone. In the end, we moved into a totally different part of the city than I would have chosen, had we picked a place to live before moving here. One important thing to note: our airbnb had a flexible cancellation policy, which allowed us to modify our check-out date mid-stay without paying a penalty. Not all airbnb hosts have this policy, so this is definitely something I would definitely consider when booking.
3. Update all critical documents before you go. This one was a biggy for Dave and I. It started with waiting in a ridiculously long line to renew our passports months before leaving home. Our passports weren't set to expire until 2018, but one of the conditions for our Australian Visa was that our passport couldn't expire while we were abroad. Once that was done, we were able to apply for our Visa and purchase extended health coverage (a must!). This, inevitably, led to more paperwork. In order to be eligible for private healthcare coverage, you have to go to Service Ontario, in person, and let them know you plan to be out of the country for more than six months. If you don't do this, your OHIP will expire after six months living abroad, and any extended health plan will no longer insure you. When we were at Service Ontario, the super nice women who processed our paperwork noticed that Dave's driver's license was going to expire in two months... so he had to renew that, also. Paperwork, forms, and general documentation really was the biggest hurdle for us to overcome before leaving. Make sure you start this process early, as it's impossible to do once you leave the country!
4. It's easier than you think! Something that has consistently surprised me throughout this experience, is ultimately how damn easy it was to pack up our lives and move half way around the world. Yes, the flight getting here was killer, and I'm not keen to relive the weeks of packing, weighing, unpacking, and repacking our bags, but all that aside, by the time we touched down in Melbourne to live here, the whole process felt very nonchalant. Coming from a commonwealth country, we weren't even required to speak to a border patrol agent when we landed: we just scanned our passports at the automated immigration kiosk, and the machine welcomed us to Australia, our new home.
5. It's harder than you think! As easy as it was to get here, it was hard to leave behind family and friends and familiar city streets. While watching the Jays beat the Orioles in the Wild Card game earlier this week, Dave and I both wanted to be home, back in Toronto, for the celebration. After Edwin crushed that walk off home run (and all the obligatory shouting and jumping around our apartment) I said to Dave, "Toronto will be lit up tonight." And we both got a little sad, because it's hard not being there to share the moment with the city and all the wonderful people in it. I've already started a mental check-list of all the things I want to do once we're back on home soil. 
6. BONUS: When traveling, pay for comfort. This tip comes from Dave, but I second the notion. During our travel across Europe, and especially our 40+ hour journey to Australia, we had many opportunities to spend just a few extra dollars to improve our experience (and thus our happiness) overall. Examples: for our overnight train journey across Norway, we paid for the sleeping car. For our flight to Australia, we didn't go with the cheapest airline and instead opted for more legroom and all-around better customer service (props to Singapore Air!). During our extended layover in the Changi Airport, we paid a premium for lounge access, which let us take a shower, use the wifi and peruse a dinner buffet. All of these decisions were hard for me—I'm not one to spend extra money if it can be avoided. But, I have to admit, they all paid off. I would have forked over pretty much anything for that shower in Changi Airport alone. Bottom line: When you're taking on large-scale travel, such as moving across the world, don't sweat the small stuff. It's easy to get caught up in the little added costs at every turn, but if you accept upfront that it's the cost of the experience, it makes it a lot easier to swallow. 

Are there things I'm missing? Add your tips to the comments section below!