milligano

We brought everything too as so glad we did. Furniture is expensive here especiallyas you are buying witht eh NZ dollar unless you have a heap of dosh then who cares. I also think it depends on the value of your furniture compared to the shipping.

Our stuff was all brand new or as good as and we would not have got a fraction back of what we paid for it had we sold it before we left. I all honesty we would have given most of it away so would have made no money on it!

It cost us about 5K (included insurance) to ship a 5bedroom house to NZ with Crown. Well worth it in our book. We have all our own things around us and they are top notch compared to what you can get here. We rate Crown and we would recommend them. I would use them again no problem.

We got 3 quotes but had already made our mind up to use Crown after the rep had been to see us - they know their onions.

Goodluck!

SarahB

Yes, I've done that. Handy when you have littluns.

danny.f

Read through this thread-what is cheaper?

sky

Errrmmm

danny.f

Exactly!! Who cares-if you can't afford it-you can't have it. So there.

sky

I suppose

UKNZAUS

Thankyou all for your kind, helpful and honest replies!

I have started syphoning (sp??) out all our chintz/junk now and already my house feels less cluttered - although being a childminder and still working, I can't quite get out the toys just yet

I'm only really bringing the necessities as I want to bring over extra toys and clothes for a year or 2 in advance lol. Need to know I'm prepared until we get our feet firmly on the ground and have 'shopped around' lol

Anyhoo, thanks very muchly again xx

Michelle & Carl

Wiz'n'Ton

Blimey! 5k to shift your house is plenty plenty money

We've got a 3 bed terraced, and looking around last night realised that much of the 'furniture' we've got is just stand-in stuff that isn't worth 20p, let alone spending 3k+ on getting it out to NZ. Do container firms do 'small' containers, or can you share a container with other people....? We'd only really want to bring our dining table, fridge freezer and 2 x double beds. The rest will stay in the house or get given away.

Which were the other 2 firms you got quotes from?

Also, is there an Ikea equivalent in NZ doing cheap, throw-away furniture for the first year or 2?

Cheers,

Wiz'n'Ton

Apple12

Yes, there are places to find cheap furniture to last a year or two - how do you think the students get on
Check out www.trademe.co.nz to see how the second hand market works.
Only you can answer on what is worth bringing and what standard of things is required to make you feel settled. Don't forget that it is the non-furniture items that can often take up a surprising amount of space - photos, books, kitchen stuff, clothes.

Watt Dabney

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmIkea, how I long for Ikea!!!!


Sorry no Ikea here, Freedom Furniture is similar style but not prices. There are quite a few ok priced shops in Christchurch eg, Target, Big Save, Harvey Norman but they are definately not Ikea style.

Paula

Apple12

Personally I can't stand Ikea! Dreadful shops where you have to walk 5 miles to get to the knife section. And then you go round to your mates and find that she has exactly the same lamp, and your neighbour has the same book case. Where is the fun in that?!

danny.f

Apple-you are a furniture critisizing genius! Why do we have to cheaply design our houses in a suicidal Scandinavian fashion?
Ikea is shite! Our house is covered in it,and after two years I've never had so many problems putting the ironing away,or keeping my book collection straight. Swedish bastards. Harsh,I know. But that's what whiskey does,people. That's what whiskey does.

Jude J

you are a loon! To make me chuckle today is an enormous achievement

Never had any ikea stuff but saw lots of it. Isn't it the same as habitat only cheaper?

danny.f

Jude.When you're chewing on life's gristle,don't grumble! Give a whistle-and this'll help things turn out for the best! And........

Amber and Chris

Is it insanely expensive to ship things? I have just visited a shipper's website that warns of all sorts of hidden costs - companies that only ship to a customs building then you have to pick up or get it shipped to your home; customs officials being a total nightmare re: inventory of every single item and ripping apart your whole container; everything being impounded for agricultural fumigation costing $$$; having no credit line in a foreign country and thus having to pay immense mounting costs immediately by cash or (again) get it impounded. Are these just horror stories or have such things happened to anyone?

We are wavering between optimism and gloom on this subject - looking around, can't bear to part with anything remotely family/ memories-related, yet costs sound prohibitive...

Anything to set our minds at rest?