[Woolfie]

Hi folks, me and the OH have been locked in a dispute regards our possessions. My thougths are to sell everything here(in the uk) and buy what we need when we arrive, ie beds , couches, cutlery, bed sheets etc.. you know all the stuff that makes up your house contents, and arrive with only suitcases.

My reasoning behind this is that we've recently moved house(last year)and boxed stuff up that should have been slung and placed it in the attic. With no real inclination to unpack it. My concern is that we may do the same when we move over. I dont want to bring stuff that will cost to bring and then may break or not be used, because we thought we might need it. Ie ten year old microwave , 5 year old kettle etc... old books, dvds cds ....

If we sell it all, my thoughts are we can then buy items that we really, really need, because to be honest we have only just realised how much junk we've collected over the years.

I know some things we will bring, that have a part in our family history, but items like , mmmm, my wifes ten hand bags.( or was it 20), shoes etc..

Your advice would be much appreciated as we're in two minds what to do and the shippers are coming next wed to quote.

kind regards

woolfie

[Mickstim]

Hi Woolfie - that's a tough one! In our case we are taking some things and not others but we have a very large motorbike that Michael is determined to take and our purpose is to use up the rest of the container once the bike has been packed so we are taking a 20ft. container. A lot of the furniture we are sick of so won't take, but we have a brand new bed which would cost a lot more to buy in NZ. We are just being selective about what we ship.

How about a compromise and taking half a container load, or if you don't want to take so much simply send some tea chests with a company like Seven Seas (my son used them and they were very efficient and quite cheap). I think replacing all your household goods like pots and pans, bedding etc. may prove a bit more expensive than shipping it.

[BaggiesFans]

I'd see what the shippers quote - get a quote for everything and maybe another for just the things you really want to take? From looking at other posts it seems approx £3000 is the cost of a full container. If you pay that then you might as well take everything as you might as well fill the container.

We haven't decided what we are going to do either but the way we have looked at is weighing up the cost of shipping everything vs the cost of buying everything over - bear in mind the relative cost as the salaries will be lower. My husband was going by - " we are shipping less £3000 of stuff" but really you need to look at relative replacement cost.

The other factors are whether you want the hassle of buying everything in a short space of time in an unfamiliar place, unfamiliar shops etc or whether you would find that 'fun'. The other thing is where you are planning on staying. If you need furniture quickly, and you shipment doesn't come for 6 - 8 weeks then you are going to have to buy stuff anyway (vs additiaonl cost of temp accomodation with everything in).

Bit of a ramble but thsiis my thought process - still not made our mind up yet. Thinking we need to take all the baby's stuff anyway.

[dharder]

but we have a very large motorbike that Michael is determined to take and our purpose is to use up the rest of the container once the bike has been packed so we are taking a 20ft. container.

That's pretty much what we have done. I was adamant to take my books, and once we had calculated how much space we'd need for them, we knew it would be a container anyway. And once we had decided that, we decided to take whatever fit in and leave the rest. Actually, there wasn't much of a rest, we got most of our stuff in.

Good luck with the decision,

Daniela

[Woolfie]

Its a difficult choice to make. Some of our stuff is quite old/worn abused by the kids etc.. It would be nice to replace it all at a later date rather than ship it out. I also have a motorcycle to which i intended to ship but as i havent had the quotes yet intended to sell ( sob!) to be fair to OH. No hats allowed = no motorcycle.

Its also a question of will our furniture suit the house layouts in new zealand.

many thanks for the ideas on this. Will have a big think.

kind regards

woolfie.

[Piper]

That's pretty much what we have done. I was adamant to take my books, and once we had calculated how much space we'd need for them, we knew it would be a container anyway.

Daniela

I love the idea of taking a whole container full of books :laugh
People who don't 'do' books have no idea of a) how much they cost b) their sentimental value and c) they are nearly impossible to replace here in the UK, never mind in NZ I expect.

Having just noticed this thread about furniture elsewhere there are a few links there which give an indication of the cost in NZ - a fair bit IMHO.
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14451

[mgbridges]

It is a very tricky decision and I remember well going through the never ending decision making! To a degree we made the most of the opportunity to ditch, sell or Freecycle/donate to charity quite a bit of stuff but equally we still managed to bring just over a 20ft container full!

One thing to consider is that you are coming to a new country and culture and having familiar things around you does help a lot in the settling process - well it certainly has for me. Seeing our books on the shelves, our pictures on the walls, using familiar pots and pans have all helped to make our new house feel like home.

It rather depends on your personal circumstances though, do you already have PR or are you coming on holiday hoping to get jobs and then get PR? Do you know where in NZ you are heading? Are you planning to rent long term or bringing capital to invest in a house quite quickly? Will you be moving around the country a lot before settling? All of this (and more) plays a part in deciding how much to bring.

There are also some sums to be be done as well e.g. if you sell your motorbike would the amount you get for it in £ (i'm assuming you are in the UK) when converted to NZ$ give you enough to buy the same/similar bike here? Equally would shipping it work out more expensive than selling and re-purchasing once you get here?

A lot of things here are quite a bit more expensive than you'd think especially when earning and paying in dollars. You could set up a home fairly cheaply using Trade Me and shops like The Warehouse but how long would it all last? We are currently buying new things (bedside tables, stereo unit, coffee table, suite etc) and each time making the "are we making an investment in something that will last a long time or buying it just for now" decision.

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions. There is a thread somewhere about Expensive Items which I'll try to find for you and there are also threads on 'set up' costs when you arrive that it would probably be worth you looking at.

Sorry to ramble, hadn't meant to post such a long reply... :o

Anneliese

[Moorf]

There was no way I was leaving any books behind either - they took up a fair amount of room but it's so worth it - can't live without a wall of books somewhere in the house... ;)

As for other "stuff" - we sold it all except personal belongings, books and kitchen equipment. We didn't receive all belongings until nearly 9 months here and it's amazing how you can do without - when it arrived we groaned at how much "stuff" we'd brought when we thought we'd pared it down nicely!!

As someone said, see what your "must haves" take up in a container and then pack it up with other stuff to get your monies worth - you can always sell stuff here.....

[Sam B]

Hmmm, I'm in the Bring it all camp. We got rid of LOADS of stuff before we came, including all modern furniture e.g. kids' brand new bunk beds etc, as we thought we could just buy it all as we needed it. We shipped a lot of old furniture (as in semi- antique) and anything sentimental. Anyway, all new stuff like that is SOOOO expensive, and for the first few months I just felt like we were buying stuff all the time. I regret not bringing things like the microwave now. I say bring as much as you can.

[Tia Maria]

I would bring stuff because:

1) There is less choice of items here in NZ

2) Depending on your wage, there is a good chance items will seem more expensive here

3) There is a better second hand market in NZ, particularly via Trade Me, so if you discover you don't want items you bought with you, will probably get a better price in NZ.

As an example a friend of ours recently sold her younger child's DVD collection - about 30 - for between $3 & $15 each, and got about $275. Someone else sold 3 boxes of Duplo for $147.

4) Do you want to spend every weekend shopping when you arrive, or would you rather be down on the beach?

A good plan is to do an inventory of what you own and price up what it will cost to replace it in $NZ, you will have to do this anyway if you ship stuff over. Don't estimate find the real item in NZ and then compare that to how many months NZ wages it is. Then keep in mind the cost of shipping and how much you can get for your stuff in the UK. We went room by room, its a painfully boring task and seems to take for ever but it could save you making a costly mistake one way or the other.

You could also start a 'what not to bring' thread so that you can leave behind the useless stuff.

I wouldn't bring old small electrical items, as they are easy to get in NZ, will have an NZ warranty and an NZ plug. I also wouldn't bring any very cheap furniture that won't survive the journey or takes up a lot of space. We didn't bring a childs desk from argos for this reason.

These threads may help:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13579

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7363

Cheers

Tia

[Graham Cross]

Just noticed this question here. My youngest son emigrated 8 years ago and took nothing only personal stuff. His brother in law went a few years later and took a lot of everything from their advice and the following year his mother in law went and took even more and now they are telling us to take EVERYTHING. They all regret not taking more ...........so guess what? I am taking everthing that I need and even buying new furniture over here as I prefer our stuff anyway.

[Lara Croft]

I have been squirreling away my books into storage, so far I have packed 16 boxes of them.... and there will be another 2 or 3 when the packers come!!! The boxes don't contain only books, I squeezed some of little'uns toys & games in as well, otherwise they would be too heavy!

I love my books :)

Jane

[Familyofmonkeys]

We could never have left books behind....we still have about 42 boxes packed up since leaving UK and probably about another 10 more boxes worth unpacked. They would cost an absolute fortune to replace here.....if you can get hold of some of them in the first place.

I would bring everything....decent quality furniture/linen/electricals/books/CD &DVD's/clothes/shoes etc can be much more expensive here and there is much less choice. Unless you have cheap, old MDF type stuff....bring it all.

Even if you sold your stuff in UK, you would probably not get enough money to buy the equivalent here. That is even taking into account the cost of shipping a container.

As Tia said, you can sell anything you don't need this end....good second hand market as new stuff so expensive....this includes clothes. There seems to be a real market for British Clothes on Trade Me e.g. Next etc.

[bmi]

Since we are living in the World's factory, we are thinking to fill up a container with everything we may need once in NZ. Prices are so low here.

Do you have to pay customs import taxes when shipping "new" personal items?

Do you have to prove their value or the purchase date with invoice?

[Familyofmonkeys]

Do you have to pay customs import taxes when shipping "new" personal items?

Do you have to prove their value or the purchase date with invoice?

Yes you would have to pay duty on new items....not nappies, toiletries, consumables type stuff though. But, if things are not in original packaging and have been plugged in and tested...they are no longer new!!

[Graham Cross]

my son took nothing and regretted it. Then his brother in law took more and wished he had taken more. then the mother in law went and took even more. Now she is telling me to take everything even down to dusters and towels etc. It is amazing how things tot up when buying new over there so take as much as you can and they all say it is better to have your own stuff around you as it really helps in settling in.....Jan

[shakyle2906]

Hi

We shipped over with 11 boxes of personal items, travelling with 6 suitcases for the two of us and our 5yr old.

We got rid of most of our stuff including furniture, as we thought we would replace it when we got over here.

Although we have replaced with new stuff, we often sit and wonder whether we should have packed differently............

We only had 6 weeks from buying tickets to actually flying. I had to pack our 11 boxes during one weekend, so had to think quickly. A box and a half was of hubbys tools, a box and a half was of little ones toys, we had boxes of clothes and shoes, household items and sentimental stuff.

When i look back and see what i sold on Ebay for next to nothing, I admit i could cry! I gave so much away for so little and made 11 trips to the tip in the last week as i couldnt get rid of stuff any other way, as well as several trips to the local charity shops.

Things have been replaces but a - theres not a huge deal of choice and b - things are more expensive we have found.

So, to cut a long story short, if you can afford it - bring it!

Hope this helps

Sharon

[Woolfie]

Had the shippers around today, and have digested the advice on here and it looks like we are going to cram as much into a 20ft container as we can.

Kind regards

Woolfie

[LesleyS]

Hi

We shipped over with 11 boxes of personal items, travelling with 6 suitcases for the two of us and our 5yr old.

We got rid of most of our stuff including furniture, as we thought we would replace it when we got over here.

Although we have replaced with new stuff, we often sit and wonder whether we should have packed differently............

We only had 6 weeks from buying tickets to actually flying. I had to pack our 11 boxes during one weekend, so had to think quickly. A box and a half was of hubbys tools, a box and a half was of little ones toys, we had boxes of clothes and shoes, household items and sentimental stuff.

When i look back and see what i sold on Ebay for next to nothing, I admit i could cry! I gave so much away for so little and made 11 trips to the tip in the last week as i couldnt get rid of stuff any other way, as well as several trips to the local charity shops.

Things have been replaces but a - theres not a huge deal of choice and b - things are more expensive we have found.

So, to cut a long story short, if you can afford it - bring it!

Hope this helps

Sharon

Same here......

We just shipped some personal stuff, and now Iam already beginning to regret not packing things like all my good quality kitchen things, pans, crockery, utensils, glassware etc. And I don't know if it's just me being fussy, but I can't seem to source good quality bedlinen here yet (Like M&S stuff).
The ones I have bought have washed like rags IMHO :wah - Or maybe I'm not looking in the right shops yet?

[shakyle2906]

Same here......

We just shipped some personal stuff, and now Iam already beginning to regret not packing things like all my good quality kitchen things, pans, crockery, utensils, glassware etc. And I don't know if it's just me being fussy, but I can't seem to source good quality bedlinen here yet (Like M&S stuff).
The ones I have bought have washed like rags IMHO :wah - Or maybe I'm not looking in the right shops yet?

Totally agree with you........ our duvets arent too bad but the sheets are crap!!! Same problems with towels - hand towels over here are like big face flannels!! Got some nice ones from Falmers but other ones i have bought arent too clever.......
I so wish i had bought more stuff with me!!

[janmommy]

Hi Woolfie - that's a tough one! In our case we are taking some things and not others but we have a very large motorbike that Michael is determined to take and our purpose is to use up the rest of the container once the bike has been packed so we are taking a 20ft. container.

Our's will be a 40ft container!
But we have quite a lot of furniture to take

[Piper]

What do you do if you won't fill even a 20ft container?
I'm not planning to bring any furniture or white goods but I have a lot of heavy boxes - mostly books and things. But I have kind of delicate stuff like computers too. And lots of clothes. And shoes! And my Dyson (as I've seen recommended).
Some Kiwi friends returning home shipped out boxes with DHL but I'm thinking that might get a bit expensive with all the books...

[Georgebulldog]

What do you do if you won't fill even a 20ft container?


You can have a shared container, I'm sure someone will fill you in on how much it would be.
We've been quoted for a 20ft & a little bit over, but I was shocked that the "little bit over" was going to cost just under a grand, we've now got rid of a load of stuff & I'll be making sure they jam it in tight :laugh

[vixxann]

I've always thought we'd take a 20ft container with as much in as possible - however - I'm now wondering if we should do less.

We are planning to go on tourist visas and get work permits/PR when there - hence we cannot pre-ship our stuff. We'd have to wait until we had correct length work permit to bring in stuff tax free (is this 12 mths or longer??) or PR. Then call our container over and wait the 8-12 wks from that point. So realistically I wonder if thats just TOO long to be waiting for beds, furniture etc.Things like kids beds we'd thought we'd get rid of mattresses here, ship bed frames, buy mattresses upon our arrival in NZ and kids could sleep on floor - but if we're talking of maybe 6months before getting our stuff then I now think we should buy more upon arrival and just ship personal stuff like books, photos, sentimentals, some kids toys etc.

Anyone else done it the long way (eg without PR in place first) how and when did you ship your belongings??

[shakyle2906]

I've always thought we'd take a 20ft container with as much in as possible - however - I'm now wondering if we should do less.

We are planning to go on tourist visas and get work permits/PR when there - hence we cannot pre-ship our stuff. We'd have to wait until we had correct length work permit to bring in stuff tax free (is this 12 mths or longer??) or PR. Then call our container over and wait the 8-12 wks from that point. So realistically I wonder if thats just TOO long to be waiting for beds, furniture etc.Things like kids beds we'd thought we'd get rid of mattresses here, ship bed frames, buy mattresses upon our arrival in NZ and kids could sleep on floor - but if we're talking of maybe 6months before getting our stuff then I now think we should buy more upon arrival and just ship personal stuff like books, photos, sentimentals, some kids toys etc.

Anyone else done it the long way (eg without PR in place first) how and when did you ship your belongings??


Hi
We came over in April on 1yr work visa's.

We shipped over 11 boxes a few weeks before we flew, with the shipping company taking a copy of the visa's. The boxes included hubbys tools, little ones toys, clothes and some household items.

We then applied for residency once over here which came through within weeks.

It has been quite an expense to replace all the furniture, etc but we are getting there slowly but surely. There isnt the huge choice you get in the UK and some stuff eg bedding and towels havent been the best of quality, but we only had 6 wks between getting tickets to actually flying. To be honest, i sometimes sit here and wish i had packed differently, but hey, its done now, no point dwelling.

Hope this helps.

Sharon
xx

[BkyMonster]

What do you do if you won't fill even a 20ft container?
I'm not planning to bring any furniture or white goods but I have a lot of heavy boxes - mostly books and things. But I have kind of delicate stuff like computers too. And lots of clothes. And shoes! And my Dyson (as I've seen recommended).
Some Kiwi friends returning home shipped out boxes with DHL but I'm thinking that might get a bit expensive with all the books...

You can do a less than container load (search or ask about LCL with the shipping companies). Containers are based on volume rather than weight as well.
They put your stuff on a pallet and wrap it up good and stick it in a container with other similar loads.

I'll probably be bringing less than 200 cu ft. Maybe not even that but I was planning on getting a liftvan crate for some larger items (exercise equipment and a chair) and filling in the spaces with boxes of books.
:)

[Piper]

Thanks everyone who replied to my half-containered queries!
I'm kind of thinking, how would you know in advance how much space you would take up with your stuff?

But, in retrospect, I did put my home contents in storage here in the UK and the guy who worked there (Hello Status!!) got it spot on without even seeing it.
And he even remembered me 2 years later (and my stuff!). In fact - he's my man for space planning, come to think of it!!!

My current plan is - put everything I'm taking in the one room I don't use. That's probably quite a luxury to most folks though. Then, obviously, speak to Status!:D

[tigerlily]

When we were talking about our options with the shippers I asked about doing a shared container (groupage it's called). I was told that if I could fill more than half a 20 foot container that I would come out ahead to get the whole 20 foot container sole use. When we were in the midst of packing I thought we would have SO much space in that container. It turns out we had to leave a long ladder and a couple of other small things because we completely filled it. No appliances! We did bring beds, but they were futons with flat pack frames. The chairs were just folding chairs, and the table folded flat as well. The only items that I would consider to be large were the 3 seater sofa and one overstuffed chair. I guess we own more books than I thought!

Piper- We used an extra room and it really did help!