[Sam'n'Kelv]

Looking around our home we have come to the sad conclusion that we have nothing of sufficient value to warrant shipping it over. The beds are all knackered, the dog's been sneakily sleeping on the sofa every night for the past three years and all our TV and Hi-Fi stuff has reached its sell by date. The washing maching is three years old and sure to go wrong as soon as we ship it over. In short we have nothing of value to show for nearly twenty years of marriage. :(

Of course, this is also quite a liberating thought because it means we don't have to worry about the hassle of shipping and storage. We might bring the PC and some odds and ends, but that's about it.

Has anyone else been brave enough to settle in NZ without any personal belongings?

[Moorf]

Yup, apart from personal belongings and some family bits and most of the kitchen equipment (not appliances!) we bought no furniture or appliances with us and started from scratch... no probs. :D

[wilson182]

We did the same, we bought over mainly personal stuff, and a few big items (chest freezer, TV and computer), but we too have kitted ourselves out again. You quickly learn to become an avid view of trademe!!!!!

I will say, when we moved into our unfurnished rental (we originally stayed in a furnished place) The first few months were a bit tough money wise, we were spending every spare dollar on furniture and it got a bit drepressing - never having any spare cash.

Still, it was worth it in the end......

[jbharvey]

We sold everything to Lori's brother in law who was just buying a house.

We arrived with 3 suitcases each. We shipped 7 boxes from the US. 2 PC's, 2 monitors, 1 box of pillows, 1 box of heavy clothes, 1 box of bedding.

It's kind of liberating getting rid of everything and starting fresh.

[StevieD]

Love the line about having nothing to show for 20 years of marriage :laugh

[Jenny & Mark]

We are also hoping to start a fresh and leave many of our consumeristic blunders behind. We are intending on taking several large suitcases ($175 CAD per extra suitcase) and perhaps post a few items, such as paintings and unique picture frames. I am looking forward to having so few goods. It will be interesting to see how much $$ we will get for our IKEA furniture though.

Mark

[KerryS]

I came with my backpack which contained some very dirty clothes, a pair of sneakers and a camera. Nothing else at all.
Since then I've got enough stuff to fill two houses, and haven't shipped anything over other than my cd collection and a load of books. (Oh, and a few pairs of shoes when my parents came to visit...)
It's perfectly possible to start again from scratch and buy things to suit your new lifestyle.

[jbharvey]

Hehe IKEA. Wish they had that here. We're moving into our new unfurnished apartment next month. We've been shopping for deals on furniture and so far our best bets have been at Freedom Furniture and Big-Save-Furniture in Wellington.

We've been into some really big ripoff joints. This one nouveau apartment furnishings store wanted $11,000 NZD for a couch sectional. yeah, right.

[Carol]

Love the line about having nothing to show for 20 years of marriage :laugh


Yeah - me too!
20 years is a heck of a long time - congratulations! you have each other and a vision.
Much more valuable than ANY item of furniture.


Get ready for a visit to the Big Red Shed!
Wahoo!!!!
Carol
:D
P.S. We brought every last item we had. Even my maternity clothes - just in case. Good job I did too! ;)

[MB]

Good thread topic, Sam'n'Kelv. Yes, we only brought over what we could carry (plus two suitcases that I had brought over a couple of months earlier during a recce trip).

Like you, we realized that our things would cost more to ship than they were worth.

Interestingly, ISTR that more than one forum member has commented that getting by before their container was shipped led them to the observation that they could manage with very little stuff. I don't bring that up as a way of slyly suggesting that the 'don't-ship' way is the best for everyone -- there are big delights and uses to having a container of familiar and practical things arrive a few weeks after you do -- but purely to illustrate that you can get by quite reasonably just with what you can carry and the Red Shed visit that Carol mentions. (And/or a visit to TradeMe; garage sales, etc.)

Funnily enough, a little while after we arrived N.Shore City had one of its 'put-your-big-rubbish-on-the-footpath' events, whereby the city would come and pick up difficult trash such as old shelves, TVs, etc. We were quite unabashed about picking through all this outside folks' houses, and got quite a few bits and pieces including a chair and some computer speakers!!

Aren't we awful? :laugh

[katandbob]

Looking around our home we have come to the sad conclusion that we have nothing of sufficient value to warrant shipping it over. The beds are all knackered, the dog's been sneakily sleeping on the sofa every night for the past three years and all our TV and Hi-Fi stuff has reached its sell by date. The washing maching is three years old and sure to go wrong as soon as we ship it over. In short we have nothing of value to show for nearly twenty years of marriage. :(

Of course, this is also quite a liberating thought because it means we don't have to worry about the hassle of shipping and storage. We might bring the PC and some odds and ends, but that's about it.

Has anyone else been brave enough to settle in NZ without any personal belongings?
Yep we did it with 12 50x50 boxes of memories, dvds and cds...cost £290 all together, if I can remember right - We shipped it out with Cargobookers... search the forum and you will find a break down of "my DIY shipping story"

I saw some mini DVD players(like the ones we shipped out in the boxes today - $39 and they look exactly the same as the ones I got from Asdas) so you can easily buy new stuff here if you look around.

It cost us around $13,000 to buy new furniture here/whiteware etc - LCD Flat screen tv - wireless surround sound & dvd recorder. along with real wood furntiure (never could afford that in the UK - always had flatpack!)

So no you wont be the first - and some did it with Just 5 suitcases!

Kat :)

[anna_c]

I came with just two suitcases. I bought a few boxes of books around a year later, but that was it.

I was 18, on my own and staying in shared accomodation (and also didn't have much furniture of my own, anyway) so this will definitely not suit everyone.

My first flat had basic living room furniture and I shared a TV with a flatmate. I rented whiteware and bought what I needed (chest of drawers, bed, chair, desk, bookcase) from the Salvation Army store and the warehouse - it totalled under $100. I bought a cheap computer from trademe.

Over the few years I've been here I've built up more of a collection. I've inherited some items of furniture from previous flatmates, upgraded my computer and moved in with my partner who had a more substantial collection of furniture and her own whiteware (apart from a washing machine - we've worked out that given the frequency with which they break down it's cheaper to rent).

[urban78]

Count me in too :laugh

We also came with nearly nothing. 1 backpack each and a big suitcase, which covered our baggage allowance. All my CDs/DVDs were packed in a CD wallet, just got rid of the cases but kept the covers, didn't have many books so brought these back home before moving out of our place.

Computers weren't a problem cos we had laptops and were allowed to carry them as part of our baggage allowance. We were lucky enough to move in straight away in a fully furnished flat, my partner's sister found a flat for us and even paid our bond (we paid her back when we arrived though :p ) and we went to the building manager's office to sign our rental agreement.

Since being here we only upgraded to a new sofa bought from a pretty cheap place, a microwave bought from one of my workmates and a DVD player, also bought from a shop which sells discounted electrical appliances.

Anna mentioned renting whiteware, which is a good idea and there are a few places you can rent from. This is what we'll probably end up doing if we end up moving out and being into an unfurnished place. Also, a friend of mine from the UK, who is now in Wellington, shipped a few things with The Excess Baggage Company, mainly CDs, books and clothes. Took about 7 weeks to arrive in Welly, which ended up being perfect timing for him.

So it is definitely possible to move here with just suitcases ;)

Jen :)

[Sam'n'Kelv]

Our thanks to everyone. Some great answers. It looks like I can happily build a bonfire in the garden, burn the junk and start again when we arrive in NZ.

We're looking forward to the adventure...

[Nettie]

:confused: It's interesting reading everyones views on this one. My OH would love to leave everything and arrive with a backpack as he arrived in England nearly 30 years ago, but I can't face leaving all my familiar sentimental stuff behind. I s this a girl thing? Men don't seem to get so attached to things, or is it just me?!
The other thing that worries me is the cost when we get there. On other threads I've read, I've got the impresssion that furniture is a lot pricier there than here. The money we are bringing has got to stretch a long way (if Kevin gets his way, house, boat, ute!!!) We were thinking of buying a new sofa & bed to ship with us. After reading the last few threads I'm more confused than ever.
Any other opinions out there? Cheers.

[pint of guinness]

oooh - interesting thread :nice1

we arrived with 5 suitcases, a laptop and my camera equipment at the beginning of august, and we often comment that we could have not bothered with the container full of stuff (can't even remember what's on it, apart from the new bed frames) which we have paid a small fortune to have shipped over here.

however, i have just arranged to have the container delivered to our new house on monday, and i can't begin to tell you how excited i am!! it's like christmas come early !! :D

[Hannah]

I would love to leave our stuff behind, but having 2 children it's that bit harder as they have so many things they are attached to and i think they'd find leaving their stuff behind quite traumatic.
I didn't think my stuff was worth that much but interestingly when i started added stuff up for the marine insurance form i realised that we have over £10,000 worth (and that's just furniture and tools) - doesn't include clothes, bits and bobs in boxes (like kitchen equipment). Really quite shocked.
I think if you are going to the bigger towns you can get away with buying stuff when you get to NZ, however in the smaller places (e.g. New Plymouth, where we lived previously) the prices were astronomical. We looked round new and second hand stores when we were there and our decision to relocate all our stuff was made on the basis of those prices. I remember this second hand manky old white, gloss painted (and a bit broken) bedside cabinet for $220. Maybe it's just a small town thing though as i think prices are not so bad elsewhere.
I like the liberating thought of ditching my stuff and replacing it, however it was the replacement costs that freaked me out!
hannah
PS Nettie, not sure if it's a 'girl thing' as i have no attachment to any of my stuff really - apart from the kids photos - my decision to bring the stuff is solely practical and financial

[sweetpea]

Yay for chucking it all! I came over with 3 maximum-dimension boxes plus a really heavy carryon, and mailed 3 cartons of books. I moved into a furnished place for the first couple of months, so it worked out. Since moving into an unfurnished place, I've been slowly accumulating stuff. Still working on coffee and end tables, though.

'Cause I know people like to budget ahead of time, I'll list what I ended up spending:

$60 drawers - secondhand store
$75 corner desk - clearance from Warehouse Stationary
$75 ergonomic desk chair - clearance from Warehouse Stationary
$40 bookshelves - The Warehouse
$200 Sanyo 21" TV - The Warehouse
$150 linens & towels - The Warehouse & Arbuckles
$70 huge set of pots & pans - clearance from Kmart
$17 dishes - clearance from the Warehouse
$60 wood lawn furniture - clearance from The Warehouse
$65 multiregion dvd player - Kmart
$60 canvases & paint to make my own art for the walls - The Warehouse
$55 microwave - secondhand store
$295 F&P refrigerator - secondhand store
$250 queen bed - secondhand store
$950 3+2 lounge suite - clearance from Harvey Norman
$679 Samsung 6.5 kg washer - Harvey Norman
$300 Freedom Furniture table & 4 chairs - trademe
$100 oil fin heaters - Bunnings
$100 2400W bagless vacuum - Countdown
$100 push mower - Mitre 10

Plus another $300-500 or so over time to get all those odds & ends you need for everyday life. Despite all those "bought from the Warehouse" listings, I actually do try to look for tasteful, well-made stuff. Don't buy sheets from the Warehouse no matter how cheap, is the hard lesson I learned.

The library here is great, so I'd probably skip sending the books if I had to do it again.

[MB]

There is also the possibility -- confirmed by our own experience -- that you might just find a house for sale wherein the sellers are also prepared to sell or leave you some of their stuff.

Although this is, I suppose, not particularly common, I would definitely lodge this in the back of the mind... especially if a seller is going to be, say, moving in with someone and is therefore keen to sell would-be duplicates.

It is terrific to buy a house and, hopefully for a low or reasonable price, find that -- for example -- a suite, a couple of whiteware appliances, tables and beds are now yours and are already in situ!

And the relief that the seller might have in suddenly not having to advertise and/or move those items might be reflected in a willingness to cut you a good deal... or even 'throw in' the items as part of the house sale.