Setting up home in Australia is an exciting move. To make that new start you need every advantage you can get, and you will want to set out with as much money as possible.

One of the factors affecting the amount you have to spend when you arrive is how you choose to transfer your assets into dollars.

Moneycorp provides expert guidance on the currency markets, helping you make the most of your money when transferring funds overseas. What’s more, they have a range of money-saving offers including discounted flights with Qantas and priority bank accounts with National Australia Bank when you open an account.

Michael Gregory, his wife Lesley and their two children decided to set sail from Lancashire last year for a new life down under. Moneycorp caught up with the Gregorys in Perth, to find out why they emigrated, what the challenges were and how they managed to overcome them.

Like many Brits looking to escape, Michael, Lesley and family wanted a better lifestyle: “I emigrated with my wife and two children last year – we’d spent a while thinking about moving to Perth. We were looking to improve our lifestyle and the lifestyle of the children. Recreational opportunities such as swimming, surfing, soccer, beaches and other physical exercise were important. We’re a sport mad family and there’s plenty here.”

The weather was also a big attraction: “Climate was, without doubt, a major factor. The weather’s fantastic here and on Sundays all the families come down to watch the kids play soccer, have picnics and read the paper. There’s a real community feeling.”

We asked the Gregorys how they decided on Perth as a destination: “We couldn’t just move there without checking it out first. We made the decision to come and have a holiday in Perth and took three weeks one August, which is considered winter. We had weather far better than the English August – and we loved it! We were out on the bikes, cycling on the coast, playing in the parks… After that we thought we needed to get moving on our visas and all those other emigration-related matters.”

With their hearts set on Perth, Michael and Lesley then had to go about finding a job. “We had obtained our visa as Lesley was a pharmacist but she had exams to do also before she could begin work. My employment prospects needed further clarification as a result.” Michael explained: “I worked for a bank in the UK for 23 years and, before I resigned, I made the decision to come out for another two weeks holiday with the family and look at my job prospects and attend interviews.

“I came home with a couple of job offers to consider and I resigned the following week.”

With Michael’s new job in the bag – and visas in tow – the Gregorys had their big move all planned out. They could now concentrate on the other steps involved in emigrating; removals, bank accounts… It was then that Michael thought about foreign exchange and contacted Moneycorp.

“We’d spoken to reps from foreign exchange companies in Manchester and taken some of their brochures. A few names were thrown around by friends, so I did a bit of research online. We decided to use Moneycorp in the end…

“I liked our dealer – Derek – from Moneycorp, who was head and shoulders above the competition. Derek really went the extra mile and I liked the guidance he gave me – so much so that I acted upon it.”

“Moneycorp helped me to realise the implications of timing your trade just right. People often talk about equity in their homes, but they don’t often see it and have the opportunity to move it into another currency. When you’ve got a house that’s worth in excess of £300,000 and you start looking at exchange rates, you see that it does make quite a difference, in terms of how much foreign currency you end up with.”

“We initially transferred about £200,000 – using a forward contract – and got almost A$80,000 more with Moneycorp’s help. The forward contract we used when we emigrated fixed our £200k at about A$2.40, back in May 2007. We bought our present house in August 2008, when the exchange rate was about A$2.04 – 40c less per pound.”

After the money had been exchanged and the family had made their big move, accommodation was an issue: “Once we arrived in Perth, we initially found a two-week holiday home, then a six-month rental and eventually we looked for a place to buy. I’ve never rented a property before – which was a different experience!”

Michael also told us about the other benefits of the better currency rate, when they were buying their new family home: “The owner of the house was English, so I was able to take advantage of the strong Aussie dollar. The exchange rate was working in his favour, which meant I could push him very hard on the price”.

We were keen to ask Michael how the exchange rate had impacted his new life and what the extra cash had gone towards: “In regards to the savings we made through foreign exchange, we didn’t really say “oh we’ve got an extra A$80k”, but we did have that ‘extra’ money in the pot. We’ve spent about A$150,000 (£75,000) on the new house in the last 11 months. My own priority was a nice big swimming pool for Christmas. We didn’t quite manage Christmas, but by the middle of January, we’d landscaped the whole back garden and now have our 9.25m pool, plus a patio! The savings we got certainly helped us achieve that.”

Michael fully recommends that all émigrés consider foreign exchange well in advance…

“Exchange rates just aren’t something that the ordinary person looks at. I mean, I’ve worked in the banking sector for 23 years and, even for me, foreign exchange wasn’t something I was particularly clued up on. In terms of using a bank to make those transactions, well, I work for a bank today and I still used Moneycorp for my transactions – so what does that say? I’d recommend Moneycorp to anyone – I already have done on several occasions. You just can’t afford to leave foreign exchange to the last minute. You might only have talked about moving your money, but you’ve got to exchange it at some point. I mean, what I transferred could be the biggest transaction I’ll ever make in my life. Emigration is an expensive process – you’ve got to put some real thought into any costs you can avoid, to help you hold onto what you’ve got.”

To talk to Moneycorp about changing your pounds into dollars, and for more information on forward contracts contact Moneycorp on +44 (0)20 7589 3000 or visit the Moneycorp currency zone.