[Brian]

I'm getting ready to move from the US to Wellington as a student and am attempting to do it with only the two pieces of luggage plus carry-on allowed by the airline. Even my rather limited wardrobe takes up a full suitcase which doesn't leave much room left for bulky items.

Two things that I'd like to take but would have a hard time fitting are my printer and my blankets.

What do cheap, new printers cost? The university has some printers available for use for a fee but I don't know what the quality or availability will be. Chances are I'll want one of my own at some point.

What about a warm, full size blanket? I have a nice comforter cover so it doesn't have to be anything special - anything insulating and non-smelly will do :)

[veronica]

Not sure I can help with the printer especially as you mentioned 'cheap' but then seemed worried about the quality of the uni ones!! But you can buy quilts (Duvets, comfortors) at the Warehouse cheaply enough and they had some nice fleece blankets there. Can't give specific prices but they are inexpensive. Its always best to have your own though and it might be worth a try approaching the airline and asking for a bit of leniency with the luggage allowance.

[Junnifer USA]

The warehouse is sort of a poor version of Kmart, just so you know.
And, they had electric blankets on sale for $19 - 39 last week. That is single to queen size.
If you get stuck on the blanket issue, I have some extras and will mail 1-2 to you! Welcome to NZ! ANd what are you studying?
The Milligans in Christchurch! American transplants in NZ!

[Brian]

Not sure how I feel about electric blankets, but I suppose the whole no central heating things makes them very appealing. Thanks for the offer! I won't be in NZ until next Februrary, just trying to work things out in advance. Most likely I'll be studying computer science.

As for the price/quality thing.. last time I was in college the printers they had were these ancient dot matrix beasts that were hidden only in certain rooms available during certain hours. My experience with cheap home printers is that they do rather good at black and white printouts, they just don't do full pictures very well and don't last very long. I can get one in the US for around $50NZ that would last a year or two.