AniOz Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Hello everyone! We are starting the process of the big move! It is so overwhelming to go through everything in the house that we have decided to take a container. But we are so unsure what to take... we realise Australia is pretty expensive...so we should pretty much take everything... What are peoples thoughts on taking the following: * Fridges * Washing machine * Dishwasher * Microwave * Various small appliances * Beds (Queen and 2 x single) * Dining and lounge furniture Also we were thinking of taking our car. Is it worth taking the car from South Africa and is there a lot of paperwork/admin around bringing a car in? Any advice on what to bring and how to be practical with the move will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frosty Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Also in the same boat, need to make a decision by April. Was just wondering though, why are you thinking of taking over you car? Cars are not that expensive on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniOz Posted February 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 Hello frosty We too need to finalise by April / May and planning going over in June. We are just looking at our options, we feel that if we have everything here rather take it all over to avoid extra spend. but not sure if its practical. Thought if we send everything in May then by Jul/Aug we should get our stuff and we'll just stick it out for the few months while we wait. When are you going over and in which state/territory? We are a family of 4, and having the 2 kids it seems so overwhelming but just taking one day at a time for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraDee Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 okay my 2c worth but everybody feels differently.... We brought everything and are very glad we did as we felt at home instantly and didnt have to spend more money when we arrived replacing things. That said there are a few exceptions- 1. Dishwasher - most if not all places- purchased or rented come with a dishwasher. 2. Fridge- we brought ours but it sits in the garage as a spare drinks fridge as it was too tall for any of the houses we looked at here. 3. Washing machine and dryer- we bought new here - I had heard that the wattage etc was different - I dont think that is the case but my nice new one is more energy efficient. 4. Beds- a BIG thing to note is that Australian beds are NOT the same size. We brought our beds with as they were new and Australian beds are HUGELY expensive!! Just remember if you are bringing your beds to bring enough bedding to keep you going. Obviously duvets can be bigger so can be bought here but fitted sheets and any linen for your current duvet wont be able to be purchased here. We go back to South Africa fairly often so linen is always on my shopping list. 5. lounge and dining suite - we brought ours - as long as your pieces are not huge they should fit , my dining table sits 12 people so is a little snug but really good quality so I am happy it came along. 6. Apart from those listed above bring bring bring - I find Australia expensive. Oh and bring something African - always nice to have a little ornament or something to remind you of home. Our container arrived about 6-8 weeks after our arrival - plenty of time to find a home to put it into and not too long that you get sick of being stuck in short term furnished rentals. Hope that helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frosty Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 10 hours ago, AniOz said: Hello frosty We too need to finalise by April / May and planning going over in June. We are just looking at our options, we feel that if we have everything here rather take it all over to avoid extra spend. but not sure if its practical. Thought if we send everything in May then by Jul/Aug we should get our stuff and we'll just stick it out for the few months while we wait. When are you going over and in which state/territory? We are a family of 4, and having the 2 kids it seems so overwhelming but just taking one day at a time for now. Possibly sometime in May. Will be moving to Adelaide. From what I have be told it does not make sense to take over a car as costs to bring over outweigh selling and replacing, however this is just what I have been told so it would be nice to get others opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniOz Posted March 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 Hello SandraDee thank you very much for your 2c - it really helped to hear your thoughts and made us question what we should take and leave behind. Will aim to try and bring as much as we can but be practical as well. I guess we rather wait for our goods than spontaneously buy goods at crazy AUD prices. Thanks for the advice on the beds too. I will definitely look to bring over more bedding as well. it makes sense to be better stocked up. We were thinking of sending a container in May so that by Jul/Aug we should get our goods and we plan to be in Aus in Jun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniOz Posted March 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 Hello Frosty We are moving to Canberra. Hoping that is it similar to Pretoria Ok great. we will look into it and see how the costs are. I thought it may be easier to have all our things sent over so we don't have to worry out the big initial outlay. but maybe easier to get a good used car instead. Ill look into it. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisH Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 On 2/28/2019 at 5:55 AM, AniOz said: What are peoples thoughts on taking the following: * Fridges * Washing machine * Dishwasher * Microwave * Various small appliances * Beds (Queen and 2 x single) * Dining and lounge furniture Firstly, we found that some of our white appliances had a yellowish color to them. Probably the combination of heat and humidity in the container. Fridges - If you end up in an old house it will probably fit but most new homes come with a space for a very specific double door fridge. We ended up buying a new one and putting the old one somewhere else as a drinks fridge. Washing machine - We brought ours, but found that it had a really bad smell. Its near impossible to get all the water out of it so I suspect that some water went all rotten in the internals. We tried all sorts of decalc and cleaning agents and eventually just bought a new one during a 20% off Good Guys sale. Dishwasher - Brought ours, pointless as 99% of homes incl. rentals will have a dishwasher. Microwave - Only item in our move that got completely smashed, I think something fell on it. Various small appliances - These are really cheap here (if you don't mind KMart brand), but bring them if you have them - just takes some time to replace all the plugs. Beds - It's been mentioned above, but the sizes are different here and you won't find bedding. As a temporary measure you can bring them but you will need to replace the entire bed once the mattress is worn out. Dining and lounge furniture - South African furniture is generally large, just be aware of this when deciding whether or not to pack large items. You might have to end up selling large items or storing them until you have a place big enough. On 2/28/2019 at 5:55 AM, AniOz said: Also we were thinking of taking our car. It depends on the car really. If its paid off then it might be worth it. Most American and Asian cars are cheaper here than in RSA, but european cars are more expensive. Something to be aware of, check whether the car meets the Australian emissions regulations for cars built in that year. My mate imported his Audi Q7 TDi and only found out when it got here that it was built to a lower emissions standard than Australia requires - it took a lot of admin to get them to certify the car as road worthy. Manufacturers sell cars in each country to be compliant with that countries regulations at that point in time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AniOz Posted March 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 @ChrisH Thank you so much for your detailed response. We will definitely reconsider the washing machine and we too noticed that a lot of rentals have dishwashers. so will most likely sell those. Yes are thinking of bringing the microwave and the small appliances (we don't actually have that many...just our favourite sandwich press and waffle maker). We don't plan on bring the iron, toaster and kettle. It is a big cost outlay to buy beds and furniture up front, so we are thinking of bringing them down and will see there after what needs replacing as time goes along. Thank you for your input with the cars as well. We are indecisive at the moment. but will look into the admin behind it. thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted March 25, 2019 Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 When we looked at bringing cars over it was pretty clear cut- not worth it, unless you have a classic/collectors model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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