WITHIN three weeks of arriving in Australia from York in Britain, David and Selina Wells and their three children consider themselves as good as settled for their 12-month posting.

Their new house is unpacked, David has started at the Australian office of the transport and engineering consultants, Halcrow; Juliet, 10, and Mark, 8, have started at their new school and Imogen, 18, is enjoying the start of her gap year.

With family already living in Sydney's eastern suburbs, the dilemma of where to live and which school to attend has been made considerably easier.

"David has a sister living here, so we decided before we left the UK that we would live near her, and the children would hopefully go to the same school as their cousins," says Selina.

While settling in Sydney has been relatively painless, the family started planning the move in March.

Selina says the important thing was renting their house which hadn't been a problem. They left renting a Sydney house until they arrived.

The stresses of leaving included saying goodbye to family and friends, as well as "tying up the loose ends", such as getting things redirected and finding a new home for two, much-loved guinea pigs.

David's work met the costs of shipping and storage. But two weeks' temporary accommodation and the expense of repatriation specialist company Relocation Specialists, who assisted with house viewings and shopping for new furniture, meant Selina was "conscious of the costs" of moving.

"If we had to entirely finance it ourselves, it would have been quite different. As it is we are living a no-frills life until I get a job," she says.