aussiedream Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 So I'm quite fortunate in that I will be staying with family in Oz for a good while when we arrive, but just wondered if there is anything anyone wishes they had brought over with them? I know you can get pretty much everything there but just if anything maybe stood out to you? Thanks x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Kash Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 The main thing we got caught out with was not shipping over enough cold weather stuff - left all my ski jackets, thermals etc at home thinking 'this is Oz, wont need those'.... first winter in Adelaide I regretted this big time. In an Aussie house (seemingly constructed of balsa wood and paper) by the beach in winter with no central heating or double glazing it felt at times colder than any winter spent in Scotland. Of course if youre heading for Qld or NT, you can pretty much ignore the above 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 I agree about the cold weather stuff. You won't need it the first winter, but you acclimatise and then you need it the next winter. Other than that, I'd say bring everything you can, unless it's so old it needs replacing. I see a lot of people thinking that shipping is "too expensive" - and then they find it costs three or four times that to replace everything they left behind! If you're thinking of not shipping your belongings, I strongly suggest you do a "trial shop" before you make the final decision. Then you'll have an accurate idea of whether the shipping is worth it. It's to your advantage that you can stay with family, because it can easily take three months for the stuff to arrive. It's so easy to do online now. For furniture - if you're happy with cheap, do your trial shop at Ikea.com.au. Otherwise try Harveynorman.com.au. For whitegoods and electrical, Thegoodguys.com.au. But don't forget the small stuff - you don't realise how much it costs to set up your kitchen until you have to do it from scratch! Pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, kitchen utensils, towels, bedlinen, brushes and mops - look at target.com.au, house.com.au. If you have some really good pots then definitely bring them with you as they cost hundreds here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Good quality bed linen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 10 hours ago, Johnny Kash said: The main thing we got caught out with was not shipping over enough cold weather stuff - left all my ski jackets, thermals etc at home thinking 'this is Oz, wont need those'.... first winter in Adelaide I regretted this big time. In an Aussie house (seemingly constructed of balsa wood and paper) by the beach in winter with no central heating or double glazing it felt at times colder than any winter spent in Scotland. Of course if youre heading for Qld or NT, you can pretty much ignore the above Here in SE Queensland I have worn all my big jumpers, sweatshirts etc in winter. Winter nights/mornings are chilly. We regularly have 5-6C under clear winter skies and travel just a few more miles inland and frosts are experienced. Also if you travel around you may well need the real winter coats. I have. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 13 hours ago, Johnny Kash said: The main thing we got caught out with was not shipping over enough cold weather stuff - left all my ski jackets, thermals etc at home thinking 'this is Oz, wont need those'.... first winter in Adelaide I regretted this big time. In an Aussie house (seemingly constructed of balsa wood and paper) by the beach in winter with no central heating or double glazing it felt at times colder than any winter spent in Scotland. Of course if youre heading for Qld or NT, you can pretty much ignore the above You are being a bit unfair there - it’s more like balsa wood and cardboard. Definitely bring warm things and warm blankets. We brought pretty much everything so very little we wished we had brought that we didn’t. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Actually I have noticed that a lot of the new one off homes built near us in tha past year or so have had double glazing and extra insulation. We certainly built ours with those things even 10 years back when it wasn’t the norm. A sharp intake of breath re the dg for sure. We are in Adelaide Hills. It gets frosty in the winter. Well for a handful of days at least. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiedream Posted January 20, 2019 Author Share Posted January 20, 2019 Thank you all so much for this. I keep thinking shipping will end up expensive but we'll be going down to one salary and im nervous about costs out there so will definitely use all this advice [emoji16] thanks x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 10 hours ago, aussiedream said: Thank you all so much for this. I keep thinking shipping will end up expensive but we'll be going down to one salary and im nervous about costs out there so will definitely use all this advice thanks x Yes it does sound expensive, but that's because nobody ever realises the value of what they've got in their home. Most of us buy stuff slowly over the years and don't realise how it adds up. Also of course, if you bought furniture etc five or ten years ago, all the prices have shot up in the meantime - so you leave a $500 sofa behind and then find that type of sofa now costs $1,000. So do the trial shop, it's an eye-opener! Don't worry about the cost of living, it's much the same as in the UK with one exception - housing. It depends where in Australia you're going, but some areas are very expensive indeed, whether you want to rent or buy. So make sure you've done your research on that side of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 15 hours ago, aussiedream said: Thank you all so much for this. I keep thinking shipping will end up expensive but we'll be going down to one salary and im nervous about costs out there so will definitely use all this advice thanks x We brought everything as there was no way we would have been able to furnish a house for the cost of shipping our belongings. Our house in Aus was also larger with more rooms - so we still had to buy additional things. What bringing furniture did for us was allow us to be able to shop around when things needed replacing rather than impulse buying (and regretting). We probably have little original stuff left after 12 years (except some crockery and the bed in the spare room), but we've just replaced things over time. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 We took everything. Reasons being: It's a pain the bum selling everything UK side - time wasters and chancers on ebay/gumtree etc. The money you make won't be enough to replace it all Aus side. Psychological factor of being surrounded by your "own stuff" will make it easier to settle. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, unzippy said: It's a pain the bum selling everything UK side - time wasters and chancers on ebay/gumtree etc. The money you make won't be enough to replace it all Aus side. Psychological factor of being surrounded by your "own stuff" will make it easier to settle. This exactly. People expect to pay peanuts for second-hand furniture. My husband is still grieving the fact that we sold our $3,000 leather suite for $500. And I do think having familiar stuff around is helpful, especially for children. Edited January 22, 2019 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 22 hours ago, ali said: We brought everything as there was no way we would have been able to furnish a house for the cost of shipping our belongings. Our house in Aus was also larger with more rooms - so we still had to buy additional things. What bringing furniture did for us was allow us to be able to shop around when things needed replacing rather than impulse buying (and regretting). We probably have little original stuff left after 12 years (except some crockery and the bed in the spare room), but we've just replaced things over time. This. We have been here under 4 years. We have added stuff as our house here is more than double the size of our UK house but we still have almost everything we brought over. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sualg Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 My advice is bring everything. I miss my electric blanket ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumbeat Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 17 minutes ago, sualg said: My advice is bring everything. I miss my electric blanket ! You can buy them here fairly cheaply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 The only decision point here is on tipping over to a 40ft from 20ft container... If I can ditch a couple of Ikea sofa and the outdoor seating and save £3K I win! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Far too much time has passed, to remember anything I owned to know whether or not I should have brought it over. Bit sad really, when I think about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 I was a young man when I came to Australia, so I travelled light...except that my Dear Old Mum insisted I take 4 blankets 2 pillows and 4 towels plus a great number of household items in a 4x2x1.5 ft tin trunk...When the ship arrived in Smellbum, I gave the lot to my Uncle, Mum's youngest brother...Then I travelled light. Cheers, Bobj. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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