What To Pack For Australia

Hi, I'm Gemma. I moved from Ireland to Perth with two kids under three, a stack of oversized moving bags, and a potato masher from Dunnes Stores that I genuinely cannot explain to this day.

This is the honest packing guide I wish someone had handed me before I sat on my suitcase trying to force it shut. It's everything I actually brought, what I'd happily do again, and what I'd have left at the carousel in Dublin without a second thought.

Because here's the thing nobody tells you: you can buy almost everything again once you land, and a lot of it is cheaper here. So the real question isn't "what will I need?", it's "what will I actually miss at 9pm on my third night, when the jetlag hits and the new place still feels like a hotel?" That's a different list entirely, and that's the list this guide is about.

Inside you'll find my tried-and-tested take on the best bags to use (and the oversize-baggage trap), the winter clothes everyone forgets to pack, the documents you can't be without, the sentimental bits that make a strange house feel like home, what to leave behind, where to shop cheaply once you land, and where to find your home-country bits over here. Plus a tear-out checklist to pack along to.

Whether you're moving solo, as a couple, or with a whole crew of kids in tow, the logic is the same, and I've flagged the parts that only matter if you've got little ones.

Spoiler: it's the winter coats. It was always the winter coats.

Gemma, Perth, Australia