Moving to Australia as a Family – Tips for a Smooth Relocation

If you are moving to Australia with your family, this will be a very new and exciting adventure. You’ll have a chance to start a new life in a beautiful country that offers sunny weather, gorgeous beaches, wide open spaces, plenty of job opportunities and a fun and laid back lifestyle. There are Australian visas for UK Citizens available that will allow you to live and work there and a company such as the Emigration Group can help you arrange them.

However, moving countries with your family isn’t always easy. Moving can be one of the most psychologically difficult life events, as it involves a major change in environment, a sense of loss of your old home and a period of adjustment to life in your new home. Moving can cause apprehension, anxiety, depression, stress and much more – so it is important to work through this together so that you can adjust to the move as a family.

If you haven’t seen the Oscar award winning film Inside Out, check it out. It’s an excellent depiction of the complex emotional reaction that a child will have to moving to a new place and it’s very helpful for understanding how to support your child in this experience.

As well as this, here are some tips that you can keep in mind if you are moving to Australia as a family:

Let Your Kids Be Involved in the Move

Your kids will feel a little bit better about the move if they can have some sort of control or choice in the matter, so try to involve them in any aspect that you can. They will feel less like it is happening to them and more like it is something they are a part of. For example, you can let them help you look for a house or choose which school they want to go to. They can start researching things to do the city you are moving to and you can plan a fun day out together. This will help them to feel like they are part of the process and give them something to visualize and look forward to.

Communicate With Each Other

It is very important that you check in with each other on a regular basis to make sure that you are all on the same page. Ask your kids how they are doing and really listen to the answer. Let them feel like they can share their worries or concerns and don’t just dismiss these worries or brush them away. Talk about how you are feeling too, so that they know that they are not alone in their struggles and that you are all going through this together. A little bit of listening and empathy goes a long way.

Create New Routines and Traditions

When you arrive in your new home in Australia, everything will be a little bit strange and unfamiliar to you. However, you can make it a little more comfortable by establishing some new routines and traditions. You can find your new favourite pizza place to take the kids to on a Friday after school, or a local park where you can take the dog for a walk every morning. When it comes to birthdays, Christmases and other special events you can establish new traditions that will make these days special.

Stay Connected with Friends and Family Back Home

When your family arrives in Australia everything will be new and exciting and you will be making lots of friends and connections there. However, it’s also very important to stay connected with your relatives and friends back home. Arrange for a Skype chat and send regular update emails. Facebook can be a great tool to see what people are up to at home and share your updates. Of course, you still want to be making new friends in Australia but it’s also crucial to keep your older contacts established. You might even be able to arrange for them to come visit you in your new home!

These are just a few of the ways that you can make a move to Australia go more smoothly for your family, so that you will all adjust more easily to your new home.