DSGamer Down Under (Australia) and back

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So I didn't know how else to title this or if it deserved it's own thread, but I have a bunch of questions about moving internationally and specifically questions for others here from Australia, so I figured a separate thread was kosher.

After years of looking into it my wife is being given a job in Australia. Since I was laid off recently I took a trip with her recently to check out Sydney and see if I would like to live there (I would), to see if they would employ me (it looks good so far) and to get a feel for at least the city (they show Thunderbirds at 5am, so it seems like a great place). She has a job for the next year. I possibly have a job (maybe for longer). So off we go on a crazy adventure.

I assume I'll have to learn their national anthem so I'm working on that.

I'll happily take any other advice, obviously.

The two major questions I have right now are these and I may post them in regular threads but I thought I'd start here.

#1 - Has anyone else moved a computer tower in a plane? How did you do it? I'm thinking carry-on (I think I have a mini-ATX), but I'm not sure what kind of bag you'd put that in, how security would react to it and what you'd do with the video card and liquid cooler since they seem the most risky components.

#2 - Do I need a PO Box or an actual street address if I have any hope of keeping access to Kindle, PS Plus, Nintendo eShop and other similar content in a foreign country? Meaning the ability to buy future games digitally.

I'm sure I'll have other questions. I've largely figured out medications and doctors with the help of some GWJers I was PMing on the sly for the last two weeks. It's now down to silly stuff like how to get some of my toys there as you can see.

Well that's one way to get around SAD.

No experience with Australia, so no advice from me, but best wishes.

*Legion* wrote:

Well that's one way to get around SAD.

No experience with Australia, so no advice from me, but best wishes.

What about advice on transporting a computer tower?

I am jealous of the awesome adventure you are embarking on! One of my best friends (you probably met him at the PAX 07 meetup, but he's not a Goodjer) did a similar thing with leaving the PNW for Germany, and he's still there years later. I know it has been a fantastic, enriching experience for him.

DSGamer wrote:

What about advice on transporting a computer tower?

Honestly, I would be very reluctant to transport a computer tower without some fairly extensive padding and packaging. Mini-ATX might be better than something like my mid/full-size tower. And I'd be even MORE reluctant to transport a water-cooled system!

If you can find some material that doesn't build up static electricity to stuff into the empty space inside the computer, that would be a good start. You want to keep parts from jostling as much as possible.

I'd disconnect the water cooling system, drain it, and pack it in a separate package.

If you have some means by which to ship the computer separately from your passenger flight, that might be the better route; have it ready to pick up at a retail location near where you'll be staying. That way you're not dealing with lugging around a computer package along with your personal luggage through customs and trying to navigate the airport and transport to wherever you will be staying.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I am jealous of the awesome adventure you are embarking on! One of my best friends (you probably met him at the PAX 07 meetup, but he's not a Goodjer) did a similar thing with leaving the PNW for Germany, and he's still there years later. I know it has been a fantastic, enriching experience for him.

The company I'm interviewing with wants me to stay longer if they hire me so you never know. Life is weird. A little over a year ago I started the worst two week period of time of my entire life. Now this is happening. And yeah, it could last longer. You're right.

I've never been to Australia, but one thing I do know is that every insect and reptile is the deadliest of its kind and will kill you. And then the dingoes will feast on your corpse.

Farscry wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

What about advice on transporting a computer tower?

Honestly, I would be very reluctant to transport a computer tower without some fairly extensive padding and packaging. Mini-ATX might be better than something like my mid/full-size tower. And I'd be even MORE reluctant to transport a water-cooled system!

If you can find some material that doesn't build up static electricity to stuff into the empty space inside the computer, that would be a good start. You want to keep parts from jostling as much as possible.

I'd disconnect the water cooling system, drain it, and pack it in a separate package.

If you have some means by which to ship the computer separately from your passenger flight, that might be the better route; have it ready to pick up at a retail location near where you'll be staying. That way you're not dealing with lugging around a computer package along with your personal luggage through customs and trying to navigate the airport and transport to wherever you will be staying.

To be clear, it's one of those self-contained water cooler systems, if that makes a difference. I wasn't thinking of static. I was thinking I could simply pack the case and store the video card and cooler separate from the computer. Is that naive?

IMAGE(http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-Zx8gPfK/0/1050x10000/i-Zx8gPfK-1050x10000.jpg)

Grenn wrote:

I've never been to Australia, but one thing I do know is that every insect and reptile is the deadliest of its kind and will kill you. And then the dingoes will feast on your corpse.

When I was down there checking things out recently I learned this. The Museum of Australia has an exhibit called "Surviving Australia" where they go on to remind you that most of the deadliest snakes in the world live there. And they swim out to sea. And there are pythons that hang out in urban Sydney, etc. etc. There are poisonous seashells, for crying out loud.

DSGamer wrote:

To be clear, it's one of those self-contained water cooler systems, if that makes a difference. I wasn't thinking of static. I was thinking I could simply pack the case and store the video card and cooler separate from the computer. Is that naive?

That could work. Then you only need to worry about a static-free envelope or something to hold the video card (like what they come in when you buy them).

Hopefully someone with actual experience in transporting a computer this way can weigh in.

Not the same thing, but I recently traveled with my Xbox One. I carried it on and stored it in the overhead without incident. That said, I was slightly paranoid someone would drop it out of the bin when trying to create more space or something.

Edit: It was inside a big Targus backpack.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Not the same thing, but I recently traveled with my Xbox One. I carried it on and stored it in the overhead without incident. That said, I was slightly paranoid someone would drop it out of the bin when trying to create more space or something.

Edit: It was inside a big Targus backpack.

That helps. I'll also have my PS4 with me. Either shipped, checked or on the plane. I have no clue.

Congrats on the move DSGamer! I knew a couple people that tried to ship their PCs to New Zealand when they moved, and it didn't go very well at all. After hearing their story about it, I'd suggest checking them with more padding than you feel is reasonable.

I hope the next chapter in your adventure brings you a plethora of exciting new loot drops and side quests.

Thanks! Thankfully my wife has good status. So there's a good chance I'll be able to fly business class with ample space to store a larger suitcase. So if your friends had PCs rattling around as cargo I think I'll be better off than that. Just not sure how exactly to bring it on the plane and safely.

Dude, that sounds awesome! Glad you've got the medication side figured out already because that would scary me silly.

Watch out for spiders.

For the Kindle store, if you continue to buy books while in Australia, Amazon will intermittently email you, asking if you want your account to be transferred to the Asia/Oceania store (hell no). You can ignore these but after a year or so they will contact you telling you that your account will be forcibly transferred by a certain due date. At this point you need to contact them (I think there are details in the email) and send them a scan of your passport. That will get them permanently off your back.

The other online stores shouldn't cause you any issues. Good luck in Aus btw, great place!

Thanks. I'll keep the above in mind.

garion333 wrote:

Dude, that sounds awesome! Glad you've got the medication side figured out already because that would scary me silly.

It did scare me silly. I spent a non-insignificant amount of time calling doctors and trying to figure out what my options were. Especially considering a year and 2 days ago I was curled up in the fetal position positive I was not going to live to see my 40th birthday.

I can be afraid of not having all of my support structure that I do here in the US and in my hometown or I can embrace the adventure afforded by my wife's career, not hold her back and see what the future holds. I've spent the last year in a holding pattern hoping that my health improves without many changes to head in that direction.

So it's a gamble, but one I feel comfortable making.

Now all the packing, etc.

We don't have a car any longer. Returned the lease yesterday and got back money, which was good. Selling the gaming PC at this point. The further we get into the actual implementation of this the more clear it is that there is just stuff we won't want to transport or store.

I had a mover once tell me that if he was moving cross-country he'd sell everything and buy new stuff when he got there. Moving out of the country... outside of clothes, a few special items, and small tech, I wouldn't bring much.

complexmath wrote:

I had a mover once tell me that if he was moving cross-country he'd sell everything and buy new stuff when he got there. Moving out of the country... outside of clothes, a few special items, and small tech, I wouldn't bring much.

I'm getting to that point there more we pack. I'm going to bring my laptop. I have a friend who's selling me his gaming laptop on the cheap. I'm bringing my handheld gaming systems and my PS4, but almost everything else is being sold or put into storage.

We did the same thing when we moved from PR to Miami. Sold everything and the only thing we brought was the clothes in our luggage.

complexmath wrote:

I had a mover once tell me that if he was moving cross-country he'd sell everything and buy new stuff when he got there. Moving out of the country... outside of clothes, a few special items, and small tech, I wouldn't bring much.

That's pretty much what I did when I moved to the west coast, but aside from furniture I really haven't replaced much of what I got rid of. I didn't realize how much useless junk I had built up until I didn't have it anymore.

Man congrats to you guys! i think you guys will have a great time as long you don't get eaten

I do hear it is a beautiful area. Bad thing is - get ready for metered internet use!

karmajay wrote:

Man congrats to you guys! i think you guys will have a great time as long you don't get eaten

Thank you. We're incredibly excited.

karmajay wrote:

I do hear it is a beautiful area. Bad thing is - get ready for metered internet use!

I'm preparing for that by putting the largest possible hard drive or memory card in every device and downloading all my games, movies and music I can before I go.

ruhk wrote:
complexmath wrote:

I had a mover once tell me that if he was moving cross-country he'd sell everything and buy new stuff when he got there. Moving out of the country... outside of clothes, a few special items, and small tech, I wouldn't bring much.

That's pretty much what I did when I moved to the west coast, but aside from furniture I really haven't replaced much of what I got rid of. I didn't realize how much useless junk I had built up until I didn't have it anymore.

Yeah. To you, Edwin and others I really appreciate this feedback and confirmation. We've been shedding stuff for years. First when we moved from the suburbs into the city and then when we started to contemplate living overseas 3 years ago. And even then we weren't really prepared. We have too much stuff. Americans, maybe humans in geneal, consume too much. Even when they think they aren't. As we pack it's hitting us like a ton of bricks that we have 3 times as much stuff as we actually need. Most of what's going into storage is either irreplaceable or isn't worth rebuying later. Even stuff like our TV is going to a friend, we think. It's just too much stuff.

DSGamer wrote:
complexmath wrote:

I had a mover once tell me that if he was moving cross-country he'd sell everything and buy new stuff when he got there. Moving out of the country... outside of clothes, a few special items, and small tech, I wouldn't bring much.

I'm getting to that point there more we pack. I'm going to bring my laptop. I have a friend who's selling me his gaming laptop on the cheap. I'm bringing my handheld gaming systems and my PS4, but almost everything else is being sold or put into storage.

I'm looking at moving to Hawaii soon and I'm pretty much in the same boat. It might be worth it to ship my car over. Everything else? I'm not so sure.

Congrats! THIS IS AWESOME NEWS. Sydney is great. People in Melbourne will tell you otherwise, but that's just State rivalries coming into play.

Depending on the move date, you might still want to pick up Fallout 4, just so you can practice traversing desert with dangerous animals, should you ever end up West of the Blue Mountains

Travelling with Tech, if you're still doing it, maybe contact the airline, they might have guidelines, or specific carry boxes/hold storage available.

When eating Vegemite, think wasabi, NOT mayonnaise, in regards to how much to apply. Best applied to hot buttered toast, if you're feeling fancy, pop a poached egg on top of that to really make for an awesome breakfast (you'll need your energy for fighting off hoards of spiders).

Check out the price of recharging devices, and what they can and can't recharge. 3DS rechargers are pretty cheap down here $10-15, but not sure if the 3DS has a 'regional' battery, set up to receive 110V, rather than our native 240V. These are the things you might need to look into more closely, especially with the PS4.

Look at step down converters from NewEgg, or discount places like that as we have nothing that really compares in that regard down here. TECH IS EXPENSIVE!

However, you are converting from US currency, so you might be able to buy our entire country with whatever change you find behind the couch.

A quick guide to a recent take on our accent...

And "not a bad video" on some of our vocal mannerisms (taken from the above article).

I guess the only other thing to say is welcome to Australia!

So much good stuff here. I have to pick through this inline.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

Congrats! THIS IS AWESOME NEWS. Sydney is great. People in Melbourne will tell you otherwise, but that's just State rivalries coming into play.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

Depending on the move date, you might still want to pick up Fallout 4, just so you can practice traversing desert with dangerous animals, should you ever end up West of the Blue Mountains ;)

I am going to pick it up. Isn't Australia *more* dangerous, in theory.

Travelling with Tech, if you're still doing it, maybe contact the airline, they might have guidelines, or specific carry boxes/hold storage available.

I think I have it pretty well sorted at this point (see what I did there?). Selling my desktop and bringing over a laptop instead along with my PS4 and my handhelds. It's become readily apparent that I have too much stuff and I can buy stuff when I get there if I really need it.

When eating Vegemite, think wasabi, NOT mayonnaise, in regards to how much to apply. Best applied to hot buttered toast, if you're feeling fancy, pop a poached egg on top of that to really make for an awesome breakfast (you'll need your energy for fighting off hoards of spiders).

Thankfully someone explained this to me already, but that's the best way I've ever heard it explained. You can tell me all day that it's gross to eat too much of it, but I have nothing to compare it to. Outside of wasabi every other condiment I enjoy is better when you have more of it, not less.

Check out the price of recharging devices, and what they can and can't recharge. 3DS rechargers are pretty cheap down here $10-15, but not sure if the 3DS has a 'regional' battery, set up to receive 110V, rather than our native 240V. These are the things you might need to look into more closely, especially with the PS4.

My understanding is that the PS4 travels well, although I'll double check. I've already had the 3DS there with a charger I got from EB Games. I assume if it wasn't smoking then I'm okay?

Look at step down converters from NewEgg, or discount places like that as we have nothing that really compares in that regard down here. TECH IS EXPENSIVE!

Actually, one that's driving me crazy is I have these heavy shelf speakers I use for music that I adore. I want to bring them because they sound so good and they're also pricey to replace, but they're so heavy...

However, you are converting from US currency, so you might be able to buy our entire country with whatever change you find behind the couch.

I laughed out loud. Not sure how long that will last, but I saw it was like 0.75 to 1 when we were there. Now down to 0.6? That has me thinking of picking up an XBox One in Australia. It's a good $50 US less than in the US from what I can tell online.

A quick guide to a recent take on our accent...

And "not a bad video" on some of our vocal mannerisms (taken from the above article).

I guess the only other thing to say is welcome to Australia!

I laughed out loud again. Thank you.

On slang... my wife has been going there for about 4 years now. She's come back with a lot of the phrases in that video in addition to things like "How ya goin'?" and "Woolies". I gave her a hard time that there was no way those were words and that I wait for independent verification before believing her. I got lots of it when I was there including a commercial where the spokesperson for Woolworth's called it "Woolies".

Also, I really loved watching Thunderbirds when I couldn't sleep at 5am or whatever. Not sure why that's a thing, but it made me happy.

Good luck and good adventures, DS:) My brother's been living in New Zealand for the past 4 or 5 years, working and loving it. I love that part of the world. Been thinking i'd get down there in the next 5 years or so to live/work. Hope it works out for you guys.

p.s. stuff is overrated.

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