BEVS

We rented an unfurnished place and did the orange box thing too. We waited several weeks for our container with no news, so I phoned the company up in the end, only to be told it hadn't left the dock as they, the shippers, were waiting for our go ahead.

The rental had the white goods and a cooker. Heating was a wood fire. The landlord lent us an old bed, - and I mean an old bed, some linen and two chairs. We bought very cheap crockery , pots and cutlery from the warehouse and I still have that stuff. I use some of it now for camping or BBQs by the beach etc.

Husband had arrived before me and camped out in a bunkhouse for several weeks until just before I arrived. I had been sleeping on a friends floor back in the UK. The cats went to a cattery.
Husband rented the unfurnished place just two days before I landed.
Even as I type , it brings it all back. Arriving. Landing. Him taking me to the rental with bugger all in it and being so proud of what he found. He had persuaded the landlord to allow our cats and they were in the sleepout . He didn;t say they were there. He just waitied until I opened the door and found them looking at me as if to say - "you took your time". "What kept you" !

We lived out of our suitcases for over two months or more & it was fine.

After a few months my husband met up with another English plumber that had just moved to the area . They met at the plumbing registration exam room door.
We became and are good friends . This was all way back during the winter of 2004.

Their place at that time was a bit like ours, except they had a right smoky old wood burner. They had gone for an unfurnished and bought folding garden furniture to sleep and sit on and blow up camp beds for their two boys .They still use that stuff too when they go camping and stuff.. They went to the op shop for bits of crockery and cutlery. They also used the op shop for extra clothing, sheets , blankets etc.

We explored Golden Bay together having bought super cheap tents from the Warehouse and we both still have them and they are going strong.

Looking back it was all a bit basic I suppose, but we had great fun TBH & I don't remember feeling the lack of anything really , although I wanted 'our stuff' to come. Too focused on having finally arrived I suppose. Just taking it all in . Exploring. Sorting out the practicals of life.
I have to say, I look back at that time and think it was one of the best times of my life.

I do remember though, that I had packed two items from our respective childhoods in with my luggage, as well as our bon voyage cards and some photos which I put up . I went into the garden and picked some flowers and stuck them in a jar that was lying around in the laudry lean-to. Husband lit the fire with some expensive firewood . The cats came in and toasted their paws & husband said that it all made it 'feel' like a home.

whitesand

Yes, I've enjoyed those times as well. It's amazing what you can do without when you have to. All those things I mentioned we've actually done and had good fun looking around to see what we could buy for a few dollars. Was amazed at how cheap the second-hand books were in those shops in Takapuna and found some real treasures. However, the best bargains were when we lived in Invercargil and went to the furniture auction every Friday afternoon. The amount of bargains available there was incredible and the auctioneers had to persuade folks to hand over fifty cents for many household treasures.

HHBoP

Hi guys

i don't me to be dim, but wot is the orange box thing?

Cheers

HH

gags

Using orange boxes as furniture and storage etc.

TeamEmbo

We were lucky I guess in that OH's new employer paid for motel for 2 weeks when we first came (we booked into same one we'd stayed at for a couple of nights during our recce). We moved into our house at the end of that 2 weeks and Wiz and Toni very kindly lent their Kiwi starter pack (plates, cups, kettle, cutlery, utensils, ironing board and iron, pans) and the motel owner lent us a fridge and bed linen and eiderdowns, which we returned to him weekly for laundering and fresh sheets for a bargain $20 a week. The real estate lady that sold us the house lent us a bed base, some cane furniture (2 seater sofa and 2 chairs) and a washing machine. We rented a TV, hoover, microwave and tumble dryer (it was winter when we came) - I told the rental company it was only short-term till our stuff arrived and he just said as and when we were done with stuff to just give him a call and he'd collect - there was no outrageous fees or fixed term contract - just done on a weekly basis and from memory it was only about $25 a week. We had to buy new mattresses anyway - motel owner recommended Brownies up on Moorhouse Ave (they make them and were super cheap). We bought plenty of cheap bits to keep us going in the meantime from The Warehouse and 4 oil filled rads which we've since lent out to various other newbies.

We were very grateful to be lent so much stuff but I don't think I would have gone to the expense of hiring in 'decent' furniture in the short term. We didn't really use the cane furniture much - preferring to sit on the floor and if we hadn't had such a good deal with the bed linen, I'd have just bought cheap sleeping bags and secondhand blankets - which would have been used again for camping, kids sleepovers etc anyway.

I think it was good for the kids to cope with less stuff as well, they found it all a big adventure and having coped with the basic for a few weeks, made us wonder why the hell we'd paid to ship so much tac halfway round the world. The only thing OH really missed were his toolboxes and I just wanted my photo albums and keepsakes as to me anyway those were the only irreplaceable things.

I think there is already plenty of places to get by with. If you don't want to use garage sales, secondhand shops, $ shop, auctions or The Warehouse, there's Mr Rental, DTR and Rent Rite (to name just 3). Mr Rental seems to do the lot including games consoles and for a lot less than $500 a week. Personally I wouldn't pay $500 a month either to rent furniture.

NZ is the land of mend and make do! There are plenty of expats willing to help out newbies and in our experience neighbours and virtual strangers also willing to lend stuff.

HHBoP

Okey dokey - erm how stupid do I feel!! Still would never have guessed!

Cheers

HH

harrogate girl

Hi I HAVE DONE THIS SET UP in Christchurch in2003 as we arrived to the house full of rotten smelling carpet that was full of holes:!!!!::: Its hard that you plan leaving the UK only to end up in a dreadful place.
I have the homes all set up ready if you need help PM me just have a look at my web page.

Flatcap

Thanks for supporting my thread Linda.
Your website's great -a brilliant idea... Yorkshire minds obviously think alike!! (hehehe )
Well done on your enterprise - I wish you all the best of luck for a successful future and a big thumbs up to all your lucky clients who're savvy enough to realise that a service like yours is a great support in the first few days, especially for immigrants who've never even visited NZ before arriving. Rental houses often look great over the internet, but in reality many can be a big let-down in terms of cleanliness and location.

harrogate girl

No thank you yes have to say this site is so good even after six years of been in NZ if I need help you can always find what you are looking for.
As for looking on the net you also dont have a clue if the house is on a back section, good location, how and what lives next door: and as an ex Real Estate Agent we did have homes that we could not let
Only to push them more to clients looking over the net!!!( so its not for every one, some just like to do it for them self.
ANY way I am hoping to support the site and looking to place a banner just in talks now on the cost.

mudblood21

Thanks, Bev et al for these lovely stories of your first days in NZ. They are really encouraging, and I am looking forward to building some similar memories of my own. We will be in a bach initially - so will be really comfortable while we poke around looking for somewhere permanent to put the orange boxes!

Kayelem

Hi. Great idea. I am sick with worry at the moment as I fear we are not going to find a furnished short term rental as we have a dog. We want to live around the Joondalup area we don't go till the end of June. I got a reply from a house today to say the dog was welcome however was under no circumstances allowed in the house. Just bizarre if you ask me. Our option may be an unfurnished but what do you do about a washer and TV, sofa etc. I have 3 kids. I wish there was a company out there who we could ring to find a furnished rental for us.

TeamEmbo

http://www.mrrental.com.au/

It's common in NZ to for them to say outside dog only too.

You could get unfurnished accommodation and rents goods from Mr Rental (Australia), everything from furniture to white goods to computer games.

Kayelem

Thankyou so much for that you have solved our problem I had never heard of Mrrental, we will go for unfurnished.

harrogate girl

Hi Most of UZ dogs are out side dogs but you need to say to a landlord that you have paid so much to bring your dog over, its part the family

I have to say most people that I have delta with that have pets arriving with them I have never yet found that a soft personal approach has never failed even if it say no dogs!!! just phone them tell them what you and your family is like and most of all you could supply good reference.

Its a shame my next door to my Rental in Oxford just 40 mins drive to Ch-Ch has her house up for Rent and you can have 2 dogs in side she is on this forum but has not settled in NZ and is going back to the UK quite soon.
Hope it all goes well we had big time issues when we arrived with my dog.

Kiwikid

Hey there, glad to see this post, well for Christchurch.
I am newly single and need to have flatmates in order to meet my mortgage payments!

Couples welcome
Suburb:Halswell, 8km from the city.

<<snip>>

Travellers very welcome.

I am female, 30 years old. Love meeting new people, like travelling, (went on a roadtrip in USA for 4 weeks), lived in Canada for a year, watching rugby, movies, going out for coffee or a wine/beer.

While living in Canada I found it really tough & lonely being in a new city, so I thought I would come on internet and see if anyone is in the same boat as I was there and looking for a new friend. So I thought might as well try it for flatmates too!