[Hongi Hicker]

I just at the first stages at the moment but don't want to make any daft mistakes.

I've a two bedroom flat pretty full and mostly new gear, should I ebay it and start again with local stuff.

Looking at the posts some just go with a suitcase and a prayer.

I've also got two very expensive mountain bikes?

:confused:

[mikewalkerfrom]

We're taking the "take it all" approach. We've got so much sports gear we'd never get a fraction of the value back let alone the household stuff!!

The most expensive thing on our transit insurance was my road bike, and I went to great pains to ensure that it was covered properly.

[RamblingPaddies]

we're going with just the clothes on our backs (and suitcases, of course), a few golf clubs and a teddy or 2 ...

a prayer wouldn't go astry either ...

[Hongi Hicker]

Yep,

I suppose thats the way to do it, make a valuation list of everything and see what it totals up to.

I've just got back and got caught in the luggage fiasco at Heathrow, that made me think of just how much there was in one suitcase in terms of cost of replacing everything.

And the bikes will have to go over anyway, no way I'd leave them too much work gone into them already.

thanks again

[Hongi Hicker]

Glad to see you are prioritising things in the right way,

Presume the golf clubs are for baby ( future Solhiem Cup winner) and the Teddy's for you guys.

Go well,

:nice1

[shakyle2906]

We came with just 6 cases on the plane, all of which were over............... and shipped 12 boxes over.

I would say if you can afford to ship your stuff over, do. We made a decision to seel ours, we had big bulky 3 seater DFS leather settees that we knew we would have a problem fitting in a house.

Although we have replaced and bought all new, some arent to the standard you would get in the UK or the style..........

Best of luck

Sharon
x

[IanW99]

I just at the first stages at the moment but don't want to make any daft mistakes.

I've a two bedroom flat pretty full and mostly new gear, should I ebay it and start again with local stuff.

Looking at the posts some just go with a suitcase and a prayer.

I've also got two very expensive mountain bikes?

:confused:

You may also want to read this To Ship or not to Ship... (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15521) thread.

Ian

[Will_2007]

I guess it all depends on how much your stuff is worth. For example, say your bank balance is £1000 (wouldn't that be nice!!) and you sell all your stuff before you go, you end up with £5000 in the bank. When you get to NZ you have to kit out an entire house, and end up with -£2000 (sticking with £££). If you just ship it all it might cost £3000, so you'd also be £2000 in debt... play around with these fisures until they reflect what your costs would be and weigh that against the sentimental value of any of your stuff... We decided to ship all our stuff, as it worked out to be loads cheaper than selling our stuff in the UK and buying new stuff out there. Plus, the companies we will be working for out there are paying the bill :)

[pinkpiggy]

We shipped everything we could. We packed up a large 4 bed bungalow and it cost us £3000 to ship over. It would have cost us far in excess of this to replace everything. It's not just the big items but when you think that you would have to replace all your crockery, bedding, towels etc. it soon mounts up.

[Hongi Hicker]

Hi Folks,

Thanks to everyone who posted...its good to get real advice from those in the know.

I'm going to get some idea of costs to send, as you say it costs nothing to get information.

Had a few positives in terms of work as well.

Thanks again:)

[tomo1340]

This is an argument we often have. The only thing I would want to take is my aquarium as it is probably worth about £1000, everything else I would sell or dump. The washers on it's last legs, the dryer died, the kids beds would be better going to the outlaws for when we visit and I just plain have no interest in packing up a big box. When we moved here I strugged to find all the bits and bobs from taking the furniture down and it was only 6 hours between dismantling and reassembling, imagine what 8 weeks and 12000 miles will do to my already hurting brain.

[kirkandliz]

I would agree with the general consensus and say ship everything

We went through the same questions and deliberations and after a long story ended up shipping virtually every thing and I am glad we did. Its expensive doing the move anyway without having to replace everything.
And its amazing how much even getting basics to last you through until the shipping arrives costs - without having to replace it all anyway.

Also unless you have been here for a while you don't really know what is good value.
And unless you have been here for a little while you may not be able to get a credit rating to take advantage of interest free deals for example.

So, unless you have oodles of dosh, then ship it - otherwise there is a pile of stress (And debt) waiting for you

[Asli&Mark]

I would say unless of course you have enough money to buy all kind of furniture and a very general taste, bring your own furniture. Instead of having to buy something even if you don't like it as much.

We found that wood products are better quality then in England and there are not many flat packed ones. I love the furniture we bought here but buying every bit from scratch was not so good. I could have brought our old stuff and when the time comes buy new ones.
The only problem with bringing furniture here is you do not know what kind of house you will be living in and if your staff is going to fit in the house.
Asli

Asli

[slowloris]

I thought i'd reply quickly to this...We are NZ'ers returning to NZ after 5 years of living in the UK. We have bought all sorts of things while we have been here and we are taking it ALL back.

We find NZ very expensive for furniture, appliances and general household goods. Also - I would take all the sporting equipment you have as this is much more expensive in NZ. We are taking back 4 bikes, tents, the lot. MAF are going to have a field day!

[Steven & Ann]

We took almost everything. The things we didn't use was:

bookshelves (not enough big bare walls because of so many windows),
picture frames (not enough bare walls)
Curtains (Windows all too tall)
heavy winter coats (either indoors or in the car)
tvs (can't tune, can't fix, cheaper to replace)
Lawnmower (no grass, just decks, drive and flower beds at ours)
Wardrobes (all built in)
DIY spares, etc. (wrong pattress sizes, wrong diameters, etc.)

However lots of the furniture just doesnt work well out here. The house style and the furniture really doesnt work, we would have been better to have sold more of the stuff off. Having said that we have been here 2 years and I am still busy fixing the house and making a life, I am glad we didnt have to spend too much time buying stuff in the early stages.

[Hongi Hicker]

Thank you everyone, I think we will take it all.

It seems a much better option and as you say at least it all comes in one go and you don't have to faff about doing all that stuff all over again.

We appreciate the posts:nice1