What to take/do before we go?

[Guest familygood]

Hi,

 

Now we have a CO I am finally starting to think about when we might have a visa and all that needs to be done.

 

Anyone have any advice on what we should be thinking about to make life easier when we arrive?

 

We are thinking of getting references from work and previous employers, refs from previous rentals, doing an online MYOB course. Anything else that would help?

 

Also looking now at what to take and what to sell. Any thoughts on this? Previous threads seem to suggest bringing kids stuff, kitchen equipment, clothes, shoes etc. We arent going to take our big furniture or appliances as none of that is worth a great deal!!

 

Thanks

[Guest Trakki]

It is entirely a personal decision as to what to/not to bring. Personally we decided initially not to bring anything and then couldn't sell the house so bought everything. The cost of a container was cheaper than replacing everything. We didn't bring saucepans and plates as they were knackered and figured we would have to buy this stuff before the container arrived anyway. We bought in our suitcase Mugs, cups for all of us (plastic named ones for the kids) knives, forks and spoons for all of us and the babys feeding bowls. Also a few t-towels and clothes pegs, all things that you think would be easily replaced but at the end of the day these are the things that eat your money up. In hindsight we are glad we did this although there are some things that we are wondering whether we really needed to bring them but you can't tell that until you are here. We would have loved to buy everyhting new but with only about $7000 when we arrived this was not practical. We bought inflatable mattresses for the kids and borrowed a travel cot for the youngest. For us we got an inflatable camp bed, and sleeping bags for all and borrrowed some pillows etc. All this stuff we bought knowing that we would use again as we are planning to start camping so not a waste of money.

 

anyway that is what we did. Everyone does it different and it is really a personal choice.

 

Hope that helps

[Guest GIPSY]

Hi

 

We are just in the process of getting quotes for containers and with all my hubbies tools, it was a choice between a 20ft or a 40ft container - the price difference was about £2.5k, so we have now decided to squeeze what we can into a 20ft and replace when we get there - we have things that need replacing anyway, such as settee, dining table, etc. and we figure that we will need to buy a washer when we get there as we won't want to wait for container to arrive same goes for fridge/freezer so we are not taking those either.

Each to their own really

 

Hope this helps

Hayley

[Guest ReadyPenny]

We have shipped all of our furniture, beds, dining table,settees, washer,dryer, TV, 2 x PCs, toys for Amber, personal/sentimental stuff and all of our kitchen equipment ie George Foreman, coffee maker, knives and forks etc. Although I realise we will have to buy some of this stuff immediately, we figured that if we were paying for a container, we may as well fill it. The idea behind the crockery and stuff is, when the container arrives and we have 2 sets of some things, we will "loan" one set out to new arrivals to help them out a little whilst they wait for their own stuff to arrive. We sorted the house out before we shipped to "net" it down to the good stuff and we tipped all the rubbish and gave away the wooden/wicker etc that we were unable to take.

 

Mandy

[cormcvcr]

You are already going to be paying for a container, so bring everything....I wish we had, we sold a few things and gave away a lot, arrived here and had to start replacing things again.....we bought similar to what we didn't bring as our taste hadn't changed during the flight over!

 

Money runs through your fingers like water when you first arrive, so don't escalate it by having to buy a lot of things, times are tough to start with and the easier you make it on yourselves financially will be a big load off your minds.

 

You can always start replacing things bit by bit, once you do arrive and you know how your situation is turning out, it you don't think anybody would buy it there are plenty of charity organisations who will take your stuff from you too.

 

Keep your money for living and paying your way as you don't know how long it may take to settle into jobs or how long it will take to even get one for that matter.

 

Don't mean the last part to sound negative, just being realistic....if you have lived with your stuff in the UK, you can live with it here.

[jo_marnes]

It really depends on what you think of the stuff you already have. Our decisions were quite easy - not taking any beds as they all need replacing anyway. Not taking sofas as they were 2nd hand anyway and have sold them on in the UK. Not taking TV as we wanted a new LCD flat screen with our wedding money etc etc. Taking all clothes, toys, books, photos - personal effects. Taking sideboards etc as cost a lot to replace and we still like them. Also taking washing machine, dryer and dishwasher as all are fairly new and we can't afford to replace. Not taking fridge/ freezer as reports say that UK ones don't fare so well out in the Oz heat. We only used about 300 cubic feet on a shared container. We plan to buy most kitchen stuff new as mostly it was cheap crap anyway and would cost the same to replace as it would to ship! I hope to buy nicer bits out there if we can afford to. Remember to check out Ebay and Gumtree - got some bargains on there (that my parents have collected for us!). Best of luck xx

[sueoc]

Hi,

We are in a rental here now with our garage full to the rafters of stuff,most of which we havent even looked at,after 5 months here,so we wish we had not brought most of the belongings over,apart from personal stuff.Think hard,as you may await its arrival for 3 months,and if you can live without for that long,then!Of course,it does come down to personal choice though,we are all different.ATB Billy.

[ShaunWilson]

Totally personal what you bring. We've been here 18 months and still have over 16 boxes of "crap" in the garage that we haven't used since we got here!!!

[Guest familygood]

Thanks all very useful as ever. I wondered if people had brought stuff and wished they hadnt! I think this might go for us as most of our stuff is really rubbish or second hand anyway. Might be quite cathartic to start again with new things anyway and try to declutter a bit! We were thinking of getting shipping quotes for everything and the kitchen sink and then another one for just personal stuff and Graces things. See what the difference is then decide.