400 articles

Last week, Friday to be exact, we published our 400th article relating to Australian relocation. We write about things that matter to families moving to Australia, although many of the topics we cover are helpful to individuals relocating without children.

This week we also made a few changes to the way we categorise our articles, hopefully making it easier for you to find what you’re looking for. New categories you will be interested in visiting are; Emotions & Dilemmas and States & Territories.

To celebrate our 400th article, we’re sharing a round-up of some of our most useful and entertaining articles relating to Australian relocation; we’re listing them by category as a reminder of the wide variety of topics we’ve covered…

Family relocation to Australia: Emotions & Dilemmas

During the last two years in Australia we have experienced a number of strong emotions. We have explained why it’s tough relocating as a stay at home mum, and more recently, after being in Sydney for two years, we talked about the then and now of our relocation emotions. We have also written about Why we love our children’s lives in Australia and why Moving to Australia doesn’t change where you’re from.

Life in Australia for expats and new residents

Life in Australia over the past two years has been a journey of discovery, excitement and, at times, frustration. Our articles reflect this.

Australian English

Under the Australian English category we talk about the differences between Australian and UK English; we started off with Aussie English – embrace or resist? during our first months in Sydney. Since then we have embraced many Aussie phrases we didn’t think we would use and last year we shared our Top five laid back Aussie phrases.

Baby stuff

Our Baby Stuff category is very popular; there is a lot to think about if you’re relocating to Australia with a baby. Our article describing baby formula brands sold in Australia is still the most viewed article on the site. We’ve also talked about the most popular Australian baby names and shared tips on flying to Australia with a baby.

Customs & Traditions

We’re embracing Australian Customs & Traditions and have shared our experiences at Mum’s gone 2 Aus. This year we gave you Seven things to do in Sydney to get in the mood for Christmas and during our first Christmas in Australia we shared The 12 differences of our first Australian Christmas. Whilst celebrating Australia Day 2012 we felt qualified to suggest Five things Australia does better and during NRL and AFL finals weeks we explained how to Know your footy from your soccer.

Education

Our Education category is one of the most visited areas of the site, and our education action plan: A Smooth Switch to Australian Schooling reflects Mum’s expertise in this area. We have also shared invaluable tips and information on choosing preschools in Sydney, school tuition fees for temporary residents and handwriting styles and fonts used in Australian schools.

Entertainment and Family Activities

In our Entertainment and Family Activities categories we offer tips on keeping Mum and Dad entertained and having fun as a family. Check out recent articles on how to save money on DVD rental in Australia, and where to watch International News on Australian TV. We have also explained why Geocaching helps you get to know your new home and we’ve shared some of the best public BBQ spots in Australia.

Health & Safety

We don’t want families arriving in Australia to be nervous about Health & Safety issues but there are aspects of Australian life that require extra precautions. We regularly explain why water safety is a top priority in Australia and have shared a spider identification chart that every Australian home needs.

Money & Tax

At Mum’s gone 2 Aus parents learn how to keep the kids safe and keep an eye on Money & Tax matters. Our series of articles on Family Assistance payments are among the most viewed on the site, our discussion around the proposed changes to Fringe Benefits Tax and the LAFHA benefit is a hot topic right now.

Property & Real Estate

Finding a new home in Australia can be stressful; in our Property & Real Estate category we have shared tips on buying and renting property in Australia. Check out; Renting property in Australia, tips for families relocating to Oz and, Ten essential tips for foreign nationals buying property in Australia.

Rules & Regulations

We didn’t realise there would be so many new Rules & Regulations to learn in Australia, we have shared the knowledge on a number of Australian laws; from road rules and children’s car seats to water restrictions.

Shopping & Services

It took some time to get to grips with shopping in Australia, under our Shopping & Services category we have written about the cost of supermarket shopping in Australia, using a babysitter or nanny and how to find a good hairdresser. Shopping in Australia – where to go for what is another essential guide to shopping in Oz.

Planning your move to Australia

The planning stage of our move seems like a long time ago now; many of the articles in our Planning your move category were written during our first months in Australia.

Finding Work

We have provided tips on Finding Work and more recently wrapped up these articles in Finding work in Australia – how was it for you?

Packing & Shipping

We plan to write more on Packing & Shipping this year as we know many people who took different approaches and used different companies when shipping their personal belongs to Australia. We covered one of the most common dilemmas regarding shipping in the Pros and Cons of shipping your furniture to Australia.

Relocation budget

The cost of living in Australia has risen so much over recent years that carefully planning your Relocation budget is imperative; articles on our Australian family relocation budget and monthly family expenses in Australia are essential reading when planning your move.

Stopover destinations

Once you know what you’re shipping and how much money you’ve got to spend, you might be thinking about Stopover destinations; so far we’ve written about Thailand and Singapore and we plan to cover Hong Kong, Dubai and other family friendly stopover locations between Europe and Australia.

Travel with kids

Stopping over is essential when you’re travelling with kids, under our Travel with kids category we share top tips on coping with the long haul journey to Australia. One of our first articles on the site; Travelling with children – six products you shouldn’t fly without is still very popular. More recently we shared Mum’s guide to travelling with kids.

Visa Stuff

We aren’t claiming to be visa experts at Mum’s gone 2 Aus but have shared a few articles about Visa stuff including information and a video on Australia’s Skilled Migration Program as well as an amusing anecdote explaining why you need to tell your visitors they need a visa to visit Australia.

Where to live

One of the most recent pages we created under our Top Categories section covers Where to live in Australia; from family friendly suburbs in Sydney to our printable action plan on Choosing Schools and Suburbs we have provided you with plenty of useful information in this area.

Australian States & Territories

Because we moved to Sydney in New South Wales we have inevitably published more information about the most populated of Australia’s states, however we regular share information and tips for those relocating elsewhere in Australia. We recently introduced you to a relocation service in Tasmania and talked about why Hobart is a great city for relocating families. We also shared details of family friendly activities in Queensland in Our family holiday to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

More to come on moving to Australia…

We hope this wrap-up of the article categories at Mum’s gone 2 Aus reminds you of the valuable information you can find on our blog and helps you locate what you’re looking for more easily. Don’t forget our Bookstore and Printables categories. We know we’re going to have plenty of exciting news, information and services to write about in the next 400 articles helping families who are relocating to Australia.

If you would like us to write about a topic relating to your move that we haven’t covered yet please Contact Mum. If you have a business that helps families moving to Australia, we’d love to hear from you. If you have any other ideas or suggestions on the format or information provided at Mum’s gone 2 Aus we’re always happy to hear your thoughts. Please Contact Mum or come and write on our wall over on Facebook. Thank you.

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