[annette]

Hi everyone!

i just joined today, but have been looking at your forum for a while now :nice1

we will be relocating to nz end of feb 2007 with 2 year working visas ( i begged a sister company for a job) :D

i just want to ask this: did you stay in a hotel for the first month until your container arrived and you could secure a rental?

seems a bit expensive.

any input will really help

[Jules]

Hi Annette, welcome to the forum :)

When we first came over, we stayed in a Motel for 2 weeks (OH company paid), in that time we found a rental, we were without our stuff for probably 2 months but we got through. We didnt ship any white stuff over, so we bought new here. We lived with 2 camping chairs, a portable TV and a laptop!!! We then moved into a much better rental and our stuff arrived shortly after, I can still remember the day!!!! I was in heaven, opening boxes finding things, it was lovely to have my stuff around me again.

Good luck :nice1

Jules

[off2nz]

Hi Annette
When we arrived we stayed in a motel for the first 5 weeks (and yes it was very expensive - no employer help with it!) while we were busy house hunting (to buy). We arrived in Auckland on 28th May and moved into our own house on 30th June. Our furniture arrived at the docks on 2nd July and we received it on 4th July so only had to "rough it" for a couple of days.

[Moorf]

Hi annette

We stayed in a holiday flat for the first week, although it was booked for two, but we found a furnished rental after just one week and moved in there. We didn't ship over our container until we had bought somewhere as buying would mean we were staying long term.

Moorf

[Avalon]

Hi -

We spent about 2 weeks in a 1 bed apartment in an "Apartment hotel" in welly central business district. That gave us time to look for a rental. It cost us about $1500 in total - and meant we had a bed to sleep in the first few weeks.

We sorted our rental apartement about 2 weeks before our container arrived - and spent that time siwth next to nothing. OH's boss lent us a cuople of matresses, bedding, a few pots and pans and basic "camping stuff" to get started. We also bought a few bits and bobs from the warehouse (cheap and not great quality - but it was just to manke do till our stuff got there).

After that - nive never been so glad to see a comfy chair in my life! :)

[thomas family]

Hi

We stayed in a motel for the first 8 weeks (OH employer paid), during that time I travelled around Aukland looking at different areas. Once we found where we thought we would like to be, we then rented for 3 months whilst our house sale completed, that gave us time to concentrate on the houses in the area and the kids go to to school. We then brought and so far so good!
:yes

[Diny]

When we first got here we stayed with the inlaws for a few days (NOT ideal). It was meant to be a longer standing arrangement but for various reasons we lasted there about 5 days.

We then found a rental ...... which sadly lived up to the reputation of NZ rental houses. We stayed there for 2 months while we looked around for a place of our own.

I've never been so happy to leave a house as I was that day !!

We moved into our new house on the Monday and the container arrived at the door on the Tuesday. While we were waiting for our stuff to arrive we 'made do' with what we could beg, steal and borrow. We bought all our white goods new as we didn't ship any of them except the tumble dryer (which is an absolute godsend during the NZ winter in the Manawatu).

Diny

[miunica]

Hi,

I too, am a work visa holder when I arrived here. I stayed in a Serviced Apartment at the CBD for 1 month (the company paid for it) then shared a flat with some friends at a nearby suburb.

HTH

[jubjub]

Hubby lined up a couple of rentals to view over the internet, and viewed them on his first day here, one suited, so he moved in the 2nd night in NZ, first night was spent in a hotel. We had little choice with rentals cos of the dog.

We rented basic furniture and like Av, bought cheap basics from the Warehouse to get us through to container day. But by the time container arrived we had bought a house.

You could look at holiday homes too, thats a bit cheaper than an actual hotel.

[clg]

We stayed in a hotel/apartment the first few weeks. We did not know where we would go from there buy/rent but we ended up buying quickly and moved into our house 3 weeks after arriving. We had to wait a few more weeks for our container to arrive and in that time we got by with bare essential, though we did buy new beds which was planned anyways. The only other furniture we had was a card table and cheap chairs we bought at the warehouse.

Chris

[Kim39]

We were very lucky for the fact that we stayed with friends for the first few weeks. Stayed firstly in Cambridge, and managed to look around the Waikato region to see if we liked it, and then moved on down to the Manawatu to stay with Diny's family for around 10 days, and browsed that area. Realised that we would most probably be more settled up in the Waikato so travelled back and have now settled in Te Awamutu where we have been for the last 9 months.


Kim

[Smiler]

We stayed in a what's new apartment in Welly, paid for by OH's employer for a week. I couldn't wait to get out of there and the CBD. Hate corporate apartments.

We found our rental after 4 days and got the keys. Spent the next couple of days buzzing round the shops, getting the warehouse basics, sofa and bedroom stuff etc and haulin it back to the rental. We moved in proper on the seventh day. Yay!

The furniture came the next day and then we waited 8 weeks or something for our stuff to arrive. It seems like a lifetime ago but was only 11 months. :uhoh