I worked with a guy pushing out 12-16 hour days constantly for about 18 months, we used his car a few times to go for coffee. He had this incredible Toyota Hilux, it was younger than his toddler. It had awesome shiny, blue glittery paint, personalised plates, massive off-road tyres plus 2 spares on show, red high jack, shovels, bull bar with fishing rod holders, winch, CB radio, high beam lighting rig, the lot. The tray had a massive steel dog cage on one side, toolbox set up with air compressor on the other, roll cage with a roof top tent. It was so heavy it sounded like it would explode every time he began pulling away from a stand still.

It was probably the child seat in the back that pushed it over the weight limit!

When I queried his lifestyle and trip history in this beautiful, almost mythical car, it turned out he had never done anything except drive to work, back home, kids’ daycare and a bit of shopping on the bitumen roads of Townsville. Yes, he was paying for it with finance.

Don’t think I’m against any of that stuff, a mate has a similarly awesome car for camping in the NT with his teenage, barefoot, dodgy mullet offspring. He’s hitting Kakadu, Litchfield, Northern beaches trying to catch the million dollar fish, camping, drinking cans of Great Northern out bush almost every weekend and leave block.

We’ve done a bit of that too, but we hired a rig just for the period we needed. I was able to get discounts thrown in.

The difference is one of them is getting value from his purchase, the other wasn’t.

For your arrival and first few years being busy, consider:

• Does your family dynamic require 2 cars, or can you cycle to work most of the time and have a loved one pick you up or carpool if there’s rain?
• Do you really need a $130000 Landcruiser with high annual rego and running costs for one of you to take the kids 2-5km to school then pick up groceries? Or would getting a 7-year warranty Kia Rio for a family with toddlers or a 7-year warranty Hyundai Tucson or a 10 Year warranty Mitsubishi ASX do if you have teens?
• Will you end up selling your motorbike or camper van after 2 years and few uses

Consider practical items with as little or no debt as possible to get started in Aus. Do the hard yards, long hours and courses for your new job in the first few years. Get your financial future success started, get work life balance, then buy all the things that suit your intended lifestyle.

FYI, school runs in Australia can take hours to achieve a 5km turn around. It’s almost warfare in school zones and nearby streets. Everyone is rushing around in oversized cars, trying to park in spaces designed for a Camry in their Hilux, Triton, Ram, X5 or Land Cruiser. I’ve seen dozens of cars hit each other in school car parks.

FYI, schools have bike parking zones/sheds.