ice mocha

sigh.... i know i will have mixed reaction on this one... but just want to get some views from people who have done it, and how you feel after

those who ship (probably 90% of people)... did you think it was worth every penny bringing your stuff over to oz, or did you ever think you could have done with not bringing anything over and bought all new??

those who only sent few boxes... and got rid of everything before they went to oz... was it the right move? was it more expensive to replace everything when you are in oz? or did you miss your stuff... and wish you'd brought them all over with you!!?

rocket01

Sold everything in the UK made a few quid, this saved us a fmall fortune shipping it all over. We then brought nearly everything at garage sales as most people sell everything instead of taking it with them when they move, the rest we neeeded we brought new and i recon this saved a small fortune.

ice mocha

thanks for that....
do you find most things are about the same price as the UK or are they more expensive...? electrical goods for e.g.

rocket01

Some electrical goods are more expensive but not many, lcd & plasma tvs very cheap. But we brought all our electrial gear at garage sales for at least 1/2 price and alot of stuff was practically new.

australianinleicester

We are taking all our stuff with us. We often have a good laugh at the furniture in peoples houses as seen in australian real estate ads. most of it looks like they had it since the sixties. Even the more expensive properties look like they got their sofas from an old peoples home about 30 yrs ago!
When I previously moved to Australia with my parents, they said many times how glad they were that we took all our stuff and wish they had not got rid of some of the stuff they did, the washing machine for one.
This is the most important thing, you do not realise how much all your stuff costs until you have to replace it, and I will be honest, and it may not go down well with some of you, if you want to replace all your things with secondhand stuff others are throwing out, its up to you, quite frankly I can think of nothing worse as a way to start life in a new country.
So, take all your belongings that you can afford to, replacing it with decent stuff will cost most an arm and a leg, remember, Australian houses are generally bigger so you will need plenty to fill them.

ice mocha

well i'm all for taking all our stuff... sentimental value and all that... plus the styling in oz might be different as you said..

but one does wonder how much one can buy for AUD7000!!

spartacus

A bikini and a beach towel . .

Bobbin

I brought everything over, minus some stuff we sold at car boots and gave away. I wish we had brought it all. The day it all arrived was so exciting, and it made the empty house we had been living in for 3 months feel like home.
We brought the cat over too and I think it helped her settle in better as she could smell familiar things.

verystormy

We brought almost nothing. We didnt have any choice as we were being sponsered and we didnt have cash to top up what the company had allowed. Just personal things and cloths.
It might have been nice to have had more, but it was also good fun buying new - we had never had new furnishings!

Australia_bound?

Would say that as the exchange rate is pap at the moment and will be for some time to come, take what you can with you. Cost us £1650 to ship some £15000 min worth of stuff. AU$1.78 to the £ is not good for those heading out to Aus, wish I'd excahnged some this time last year , but nevermind.

No Dramas

Hi Ice mocha,

I ve been here three weeks now and we shipped the majority of our stuff - I think that is has been worth it. We did not ship bed and dining room table and chairs as they were damaged. In hindsight I wish we had brought new bed/table etc and just loaded it into the container. As we have found it costly to replace those items as the exchange rate so poor so we are going to have to wait to after xmas to repalce those items. Thank god, I bought the airbed. LOL

In my opinion, I would buy whatever you need in Uk and then ship it. Eg I left laundry baskets at home when I should have just placed it in the container. Also if there any sales on at home for outdoor furniture buy it and load it in the container.

Today, I went looking for bed linen-(Called Manchester here) and i was shocked at the cost of it, so if anyone can recommend any places that sell beds, tables and bed linen cheaper, I would appreciate the tip

No dramas

Discovery

We came here with 7 boxes of personal belongings. Rented out our house in the UK fully furnished with tv, Hifi, furniture etc. I even left a car with the tenant as we were unable to sell it before we left.

ice mocha

and i thought things were cheaper there?!?!!?

ok... i guess majority people are voting "take all".... me too

thanks everyone for your contribution

itigo

We moved with about 30 boxes, no furniture etc. and are in fully furnished at the moment. The money we brought with us (in the heady days of $2.05 to the pound) is making money in various investments. Then we will buy new. All our furniture was old - second hand mainly, some dating back 20+ years so we left it/sold it (even the rag and bone man refused some bits!!). We have never had new stuff so it's quite exciting. We did plan in our finances for this though.

Gems

We just moved lots of boxes, mainly kids toys and lots of books. Hubbies work things. etc
I thought it was important the kids had their stuff around them for such a big move.

Then bought new furniture and electricals when we arrived.
I loved going shopping for the new stuff and the kids liked getting new bunks etc.

I personally think its better to buy your furniture again and most of your electrics. The houses are much bigger here anyway and my house is very open plan and my stuff prob wouldnt suit or fit it anyway.

You dont have to buy everything at first, jus the basics then build up over the year or two.

Gems