VanessaB

Hi everyone
me and the other half are arguing already and we haven't got our visa yet!
i want to take all my contents of the house and ship them over but he wants to get rid and start a fresh and just send the very personal stuff which he says has to fit in 2 boxes only and fly them over :scared: can anyone else who has been in this situation help and give us a few ideas on what to do. Most of our things are only a year or so old surly it would be cost affective to ship all them over?

BenandPam

I wish we'd brought everything with us. (Except the telly cos that was really old). But now Ben and I have regular conversations where I say 'oh, the doofferythingummyjig is missing' and he'll say 'I don't think we brought that' and then we have a debate about who was / wasn't supposed to pack that thing and why!! I really miss all the books we used to have (Who knew they were so expensive here?). I know people who did it the other way - left everything and started anew - so I guess they'll have something to say too.

iPom

Oh no, he's off on some mad bender isn't he?!

OK, here's your criteria...

If you love it and can't live without it, it comes with you to Aus.

If you live without it and you don't really need it, you leave it behind/get rid/sell or whatever.

Washing machine, vacuum cleaners and microwaves are worth taking with you because they're generally expensive to replace in Aus.
We are a family of two adults and three children and we have got rid of a huge amount, but we are taking practical stuff with us...
Our stuff is just being quoted for at the mo, and the size is just under 400 cubic feet, which will hardly touch one of those huge containers so I'm looking at a shared container. This won't cost much at all ... but I have to say there's no way you'll be able to fit your stuff in two boxes and it's highly unreasonable that he should make such a demand on you. One person's personal treasure is another's personal trash, but you shouldn't be judged for it. If it's precious to you you take it with you.

Don't have any regrets. That's no way to start a new life.

Sending you Karma.

Wendy

I'm not taking anything at all. But then I have nothing that is very new except our wardrobes, cooker and washer.

The Johnstons

We've shipped everything (after a major clear-out). It would cost much much more to replace everything than to ship it, especially if your stuff is so new. I still intend to buy bits and pieces to bring a little bit of Australia into our home though .
Tracey

VanessaB

Thanks for all your replies have read them to the other half he listened then went to bed but i haven't given up yet us women always get our own way and with this one i wont back down as the kids want their stuff as well mind you will need to go through what they want to take as a lot of it is rubbish
but thanks again all i say to him is

Mel n Daz

Hiya!

We have decided to take all electrical stuff, TV, pc's, microwave, small electricals, all personal stuff, pictures, bedding, towels, toys, but we are leaving................leather sofa's, dining suite, all beds and wardrobes.

It seems to be a lot of hassle with quarantine with leather and wood so we thought we would buy new. There is a sticky at the top of the page with prices of furniture from certain department stores in Oz.

Melissa

kiwichild

Dont buy the more expensive furniture from department stores. It will cost you an arm and a leg! Check out local factory outlets that sell direct to the public when you get here, same with some large appliances.

cranni

I agree with other half, we came with suitcases and tchest and dont regret it one bit, we brought our personal stuff.
I know two families who have gone back the last few weeks.
Family 1, brought furniture over cost 5000 pound, taking it back 14 000 dollars, its not even worth it.
Another friend went back to Spain 4 weeks ago . came back last week, furniture was redirected at Singapore, she has the most expensive Ikea furniture in the world
And if you do bring it , it might not look nice in your new home, but you wil stick with it because it cost so much to bring it.
This is my personal opinion, hope this helps. Denise

cranni

Why do people alway think everything is expensive hear, we have sales and bargains and you can barter more here, i never pay the full price.
Fridge freezer 2000 dollars, bigger than frige freezer back home.
TV 2000 wide screen thingy.
hoover 200 dollars
Microwave 150 dollars
Potable tv 98 dollars
lovely 8 seater dining suite 1600 [Harvey Norman]
I could go on and on, but must get kids to school. Denise

karenvirginia

hi vanessa, we came out in september 2003 and we brought virtually EVERYTHING and i'm glad we did, saying that i still have a few boxes which i've not unpacked....yet! mostly books and ornaments. cost around three and a half grand with robinsons who were fantastic, and the guys this end were amazing, we had nothing broken or missing though a few boxes had been checked though we were meticulous in cleaning our stuff, golf clubs, tools, gardening and fishing gear etc. i have a load of sewing things and kitchen gadgets, even knives etc which i like to use and would miss. i think it helped us settle in better, it was really like christmas when it arrived! obviously we had a big sort out before we left and what we did during the shipping time was keep enough kitchen stuff to use for a few weeks, we were giving away a fair bit, we borrowed a bed and some chairs and a tv (we used our laptop which travelled with us) and on our very last day people came and took stuff off us, even our car which a mate bought. when i think back, it was like a military operation! we had'nt even had the settlement from the house! it arrived when we'd been here about three weeks - big sigh of relief! then when we got to aus we stayed with my brother in sydney for a week or so and picked up our ute which we'd ordered from england on the internet. steve had a bed he did'nt need anymore which we strapped on the back of the ute and it hid our cases underneath on our journey north (about 650 miles) to the north coast where we wanted to live and where we had pre - arranged two weeks accommodation which we'd actually been given (for visiting a timeshare presentation in phuket the previous year) my devious mind knew it would come in useful! we found a rental property witha lovely landlady who loaned us a tv, fridge, microwave, sofa, table and chairs until our stuff came, which was around 3 weeks i think. we did buy some bedlinen, cutlery etc. but thats all.
saying that we seem to have never stopped buying things!
if i had unlimited funds, everything new sounds wonderful, but its the little things which matter. we still use our fridges and freezer from england and tv's though two needed adapting.
good luck with whatever you do!
karen

VanessaB

i think that is what is bothering him the thought of having to clean everything before it goes i dont know why as it is me how does all the cleaning he is the same he has golf clubs and fishing gear and my son has the same we only bought a petrol mover last summer at 300.00 and to me it seems silly to try and sell everything as we wont get anyway near what we paid for most of the things we have, and then all the hassle of buying it all again i know i like to shop but this is different as you need there and then unless you hire things which is more money wasted i think never mind i will keep on at him like i say we haven't got the visa yet plenty of time to change his mind.

sasbear

I would say bring the stuff with you - our quote plus insurance was 3,300 pounds - but I added up the cost of replacing all our dvd, video, cd and book collection and it came to more than that - let alone all the furniture and personal stuff. We still had to buy new hoover, washer, fridge and tumble dryer, garden equipment and furnitre for outside - plus bbq so it can work out a lot - bring it all is what I say.

Sarah

ps sending you karma

moneypenny20

We brought everything and would do again (not that I intend going through all that again ) We are both haters of shopping and it is really nice to have familiar stuff around especially for the children.

There will obviously be stuff you still need to get but why give yourself more aggro when you arrive than you have to You have quite enough to do, paperwork, home, car etc without worrying about furniture etc.

If it's all relatively new and good stuff it would definiately be cost effective to bring it.