Essential support

Mum’s gone 2 Aus provides all the essential support, advice and information you need for your family relocation to Australia. Aimed at mums (and dads) moving to or visiting Australia, we provide practical advice, share unique insights and experiences, and guide you through some of the most challenging times of your move.

We know how stressful it is to move to the other side of the world without work; we’ve had sleepless nights choosing childcare facilities and schools. We share our experiences and are honest about what we got right, wrong or would do differently.

There’s plenty to love about our new life in Australia and despite the challenges family relocation has thrown up, we don’t have any regrets about moving to Sydney.

In our articles Mum comments on the quicks of life down under and shares Australian immigration and education news. We talk about the topics affecting you whilst you transition to your new life in Australia, whichever state, territory, city or suburb you have moved to.

Our articles cover the planning stage of your relocation; shipping personal belongs and preparing your relocation budget, and analyse the best suburbs for families moving to Australia. We share shopping tips and family activity recommendations; and never forget the emotional impact of your relocation, as well as the practical tasks involved.

Our most viewed articles cover the baby formula, food and nappy brands sold in Australia; tips on securing a rental property and advice on Family Tax and other money and tax matters. One of our most commented on articles explains why relocating as a stay at home mum (SAHM) is tough – it is!

Our community and e-books

To support families moving to Sydney we have organised Mum’s gone 2 Aus meet-ups that have been a great success. If you’d like to get involved Contact Mum.

Our essential ebooks help you plan your move to Australia. We save you time, and help you take action and enjoy your move.

About Mum

Mum

I’m a British wife, mum of two boys, and freelance writer. I moved to Sydney from London (UK) in January 2010. I’m an Australian Permanent Resident thanks to the skills of my brilliant husband (yes, I’m very aware that he is going to read this!).

Over the years I’ve worked in major cities across Europe and the US. As a student, I spent time in France and Italy. Perhaps I’ve got inherently itchy feet?

Mr Mum’s gone 2 Aus (who is South African) was the driving force behind our move to Australia but I was eventually an eager accomplice.

What was our reason for moving? We moved because we want a better quality of life for our children. We want to live in an environment where children can be children, where they can spend the majority of their time outdoors, and where society acknowledges that the needs of children and families are paramount to building strong and positive communities.

Of course, much of this is true of the UK and many other countries, but some of it is tricky to apply, particularly in cities like London. In Australia, Sydney to be precise, we hoped to have the best of both worlds…challenging and rewarding jobs and a relaxed and outdoor lifestyle. We have been living in Sydney for nearly two years and in many ways we have achieved our dream. We LOVE our children’s lives here.

It would be remiss of me to say that this ‘dream’ doesn’t come at a price. We miss family and friends in the UK, although we have had plenty of visitors. We gave up a certain amount of financial security by moving to Sydney and spent a huge sum of money setting ourselves up. We feel the work \ life balance isn’t quite right here…yet; we’re hopeful this will improve.

Writing this blog and interacting with other families who have relocated to Australia has kept me sane over the past few years; it has allowed me to share the emotions I have been feeling and the challenges my family has faced. Importantly, it has kept me writing at a time when I was too busy with the children and settling in process to source other work.

Mum’s gone 2 Aus has become my online relocation business. We have regular advertisers on the site; our essential ebooks are selling well and receiving excellent feedback. Our blog has gained a large following (20,000 visitors, 80,000 page views per month) and provides a niche service to families moving to Australia.

Over future months and years we plan to develop this niche and offer further invaluable services that aid family migration to Australia. If you’d like to suggest services or blog content ideas please Contact Mum. If you’d like to advertise with us please visit our Advertisers page.

Want to know more?

If you’d still like to know more about Mum and why I write this blog here’s a list of ten useful and useless things you might or might not want to know;

1. I proposed to Mr Mum’s gone 2 Aus on a leap year, on the telephone from Washington DC. He was at a safe enough distance to say no, but thankfully he said yes.
2. I am the proud Great-Great-Great Granddaughter of a famous British convict, sent to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) in 1834.
3. I’m not proud of who I am if I don’t have a Skimmed Latte by 10am.
4. I love hearing from readers who have found this blog useful…go on, drop Mum an email.
5. I love it even more if you ‘Like’ Mum’s gone 2 Aus via Facebook – here’s the button.
6. I feel I ought to do more Tweeting but haven’t quite got into it yet; I will, I will…
7. When I was a teenager I wanted to be an Agony Aunt.
8. The hardest article I’ve written on the blog was about The London Riots, I was so shocked that I found it hard to be objective.
9. The most rewarding article I’ve written explains why Relocating as a stay at home mum (SAHM) is tough. Reader comments proved that the emotions I experienced are common; publishing the article has helped us all.
10. The biggest thing I worried about when planning our move to Australia was making friends. I’m amazed by how easy it is to meet people when you have kids but recognise that making friends once you’re a parent has its challenges.

Not sure what to read next? Here are some ideas…

• Mum’s pick: Transition to life in Australia with a new baby
• Mum’s pick: The quirks of life down under
• Mum’s pick: Planning your move to Australia
• Mum’s gone 2 Aus Education wrap-up
• 400 articles on relocating to Australia