I know this question has been asked many times as whether to ship stuff over or just buy there, but I can't make my mind up

So can anyone give me a ballpark figure on how much it costs to furnish a 3 bed house to a basic level - at least then I might be able to start doing some sums.

hi
not too sure on exact price what with today ecomony.I have been told mixed things.My bro in law went over and he took everything just to fill his crate. An aussie friend who came over here said take nothing and another girl i know who went and came back said just take the newer stuff as they have ikea and not that expensive.We not taking much furntiure as we will rent first so storing our own stuff would cost plus the kids have added their artwork to their beds, sofa, units infact the youngest (10,6,4,2) has drawn on everything.lol.well it saved the walls and we knew we weren't taking it. by time we get their the youngest will have grown out of that stage thank goodness. we will just see how pound goes.we taking some elctrical stuff 2 like new kettle etc but going get new tv overthere. sorry couldnt help more.

I furnished my 3 bed house for $25k two and half years ago. I brought nothing over at all - I wouldn't say we bought the cheapest of everything, but neither did we buy the most expensive.

If you do it this way, remember a few things - drive around and get some prices from different places as they will try to outprice each other, get as much as you can from the same shop as they'll give you a discount for that. Check out the flyer that arrive in the letterbox every other day, see where the specials are. Haggle a lot and don't let them sell you things that you don't need

Here's a couple of electrical shops you could look at to get an idea of prices.

http://www.harveynorman.com.au/
http://www.thegoodguys.com.au/portal...l/tggwebportal

I went to Ikea when we arrived, but it's pretty expensive I think. Better off going to the small independents who will let you haggle.

I brought everything.. every single thing.. got a 20foot container and our 3 bed house fitted in it just about! (furniture that is!)

We had to buy a washing machine, fridge and hoover as ours were part of the house sale (well.. not the hoover.. just didnt want to bring it re customs)

Have to say it is a lot easier than starting off buying everything again.. sounds like fun but I find it quite hellish..

Em x

We shipped over a few cartons over mostly with sentimental things in it like the kids school stuff and photo frames etc....and our biggest mistake in our opinion was not bringing any furniture over. We have been here since June and we have had to buy everything from scratch.
I think that furniture over here in Perth is overpriced for what you get and it is not a patch on the stuff we had in the UK.
If I could turn the clock back a few months the one thing we would have done would be to ship everything over including knifes and forks the full hit etc.....Even if it only lasts a year or so it would have been one less expense on top of everthing else.
But at the end of the day, it all boils down to personal choice and circumstances. $25K is probably a good estimate to what it would cost to buy things again but its all the little things that add up that you took for granted back home.
Good luck with whatever you decide, but I would deffo bring the lot over.

we bought everything with us including the car.friends of ours bought nothing and are regretting it.for furniture try superamart as they sell home start up furniture packages for a few thousand dollars

All our stuff in the UK was really old and all needed replacing anyway, there was no way I was going to spend four to five thousand ponds on getting it here then having to replace it within the year - and I also didn't see the point in buying stuff to bring in a container as that would have still cost the same amount of money plus shipping on top.

I found it quite liberating to not have any possesions whatsoever and get on the plane - sort of symbolic really as I left all my baggage back in the UK (well except for the two suitcases of clothes we brought, most of which I haven't even worn since getting here! )


Yeah, it probably took me about a year to get the kitchen back up to a fully stocked status. There's always something you have forgotten and don't realise until you need it

Well our contents are insured for $60K so maybe $40K of that would be "furniture" and white goods etc. I wouldn't bother bringing small or flat-pack furniture - it will look tiny or out of place in an Aussie house and probably not survive the journey. We started with blow up airbeds, folding chairs, a $119 TV and the box it came in as a stand until our furniture arrived. The lawnmower box also made make do furniture and was kept on for several months!

Bring as much as you can!

Thanks for all the answers - I'm no nearer making my mind up

At least I hae a better idea of costs now...

Glad we bought stuff. We still had to buy stuff for our new house to try and fill it up a bit....it still looks a bit empty....can't imagine how it would of looked if we hadn't bought stuff with us!

Plus.....do you want to spend the first weeks of your new life going between stores.....it ain't easy! Took me 4 trips to Ikea to finally buy what we had already picked out.....could write a book on that episode lol....

Just another view point.

We shipped everything we had that all looked ok in our UK homes. One agent said to us when we arrived that our taste for things would change in time and sure enough that is the case. I am glad we shipped our furniture. Although it doesn't suit our house it has given me some time to see some Australian houses and hopefully make some purchases when we are ready.

Hope this helps.