RReed

As we are shipping our things over to oz, we won't have access to them for weeks/months. Are there any essential items we should take in our baggage to see us through until our container arrives (other than clothes etc)? We are planning on renting initially, probably partially or unfurnished. Any experiences or advice welcomed.
Rachel

Bordy

Only thing I can think of is take your documents with you. Things like Electricity or Gas Bills, proof of no claims for car insurance, bank statements etc, it all helps when trying to rent a place out here if you can give them as much proof as possible that you can be relied upon to pay your rent etc.

mlbonner

Passport and plane tickets

Seriously though, as Bordy says, take documentation such as;
no claims,
bank documents,
work/character references (if you have them)
insurance documents,
school reports (if applicable),
birth certificate,
driving licence (paper part and card ID),
address book,
couple of family/friend photos,


I've been here four weeks now, been living out of two bags for about 7 weeks. I have everything on the above list with me. There is nothing (apart from a better choice of shoes/clothes etc which you learn to live around) that I've really missed.

RReed

Do we really need our passports? Ha ha! Thanks for the replies. Hadn't thought about taking statements, I would have just thrown them away. Hmmm, might be best to 'forget' my son's school reports though.
Rachel x

anya4oz

In addition to the things already mentioned:

- take a decent supply of any medicines you routinely use

- photocopies of passport visa & picture pages

- Swiss army knife (pack in check in luggage). This time I carefully packed mine in a case that we decided to ship instead, in the end - am really missing it!

- I always take a plastic coffee filter, a few filter papers & a pack of decent M&S ground coffee (helps you get up & running that first morning, with a burst of upscale caffeine to break thru the jet lag!)

Don't worry though, if you forget anything, there are tons of 'bargain' shops (certainly here in Melbourne) where you can buy cheap & cheerful household bits for silly prices. Also K-Mart sells clothes in the same vein.

Good luck for the journey!

Anya.

Wol

With less than a month to go, and only 3 weeks to the movers, we've cordoned off the spare bathroom and ONLY things that we are taking in baggage are allowed in there. You keep coming up against things you HAVE to keep with you! Hopefully, by the end of next week we'll have a good idea just how big the problem of checked/cabin baggage will turn out to be!

Documentation is a real problem - there's a hell of a lot of it. The obvious things like birth certs, divorce papers etc must stay with you, but all the tax documentation from the last few years? You'll need it when finalising the UK tax affairs but not for another 7 months.

The laptop is a must!

RReed

Thanks everyone. I'm compiling a list.
Rachel x