Catch 22

[LouiseMark]

Hi all.

I am sitting thinking of far too many things right now. 

I am in the process of getting move quotes and have already posted about that. 

I apologise if this has been covered before but I could not find exactly what I was looking for and I have little time and less patience for internet searches.

So......the move is looming.....you decide between container or move cube or freight....but all options mean what you have packed you have to wait for arrival...so what does one do between you arriving and the lag of a container etc arriving?

I am thinking beds and bedding and towels and small appliances like kettles and toasters......

We are a family of 5 so a rental will be needed as soon as possible as renting holiday accommodation is expensive.

What did you do?

[MaxUmis]

Hi LM,

My wife and I are in the same boat. Stuck between "sell everything" and "ship everything".

For now however I've decided that we should do a combination of the two. So we're selling everything we can't do without for more than a day or two with the plan to replace it in Aus once we move into a house (bed, fridge, kettle,  etc). The bicycles, tools, dining room table, tv's etc are coming by boat... well, that's the plan anyway.

 

We're flying first week of September.

[Dora]

Hi LM,

 

Not sure what your family situations on both sides are. We are fortunate in that we have family here were we can stay at for a few weeks and have family on that side too. Your container will take about 6wks door to door this time of year.  Ideally if you can send your container in advance and either camp in your house (camp with the stuff that you leave here) or stay with family on this side for the last few weeks, you might only have to stay in an airbnb for a couple of weeks at the most.  

 

Alternatively, if you know saffers on that side, they might set you up with basics until your container arrives. It is amazing of how word spread when we first arrived and people either borrowed stuff or just gave stuff away that we could use.

 

I'm always amazed at how little you actually need to get by.

 

Good luck with everything.

[ottg]

I guess everyone's story and solution is different. We brought most things across with the idea not to replace anything within the 1st 5 - 7 years. The decision on which state was purely based on the one that offered the best economic activities at that stage. We even bought some new appliances and packed them. With hindsight the best decision ever. We then shipped 6 weeks prior to our departure and arranged to keep it in storage in Aus till called up. The last 6 weeks we rented a fully furnished apartment in RSA. It all worked out well - less stress, could do last arrangements and farewells with no pressure.

In Aus we arranged to stay in a hotel for the first couple of days and then secured a long term rental close to the CBD with no stress. That done we arranged the delivery of the furniture as we moved in. Again with hindsight the best decision ever.

 

This ensured stability from the start and leave quality time for a job hunting and settling in. This all said didnt mean that there were no challenges however we were able to devote our time better to those.

[MaxUmis]

11 hours ago, ottg said:

I guess everyone's story and solution is different. We brought most things across with the idea not to replace anything within the 1st 5 - 7 years. The decision on which state was purely based on the one that offered the best economic activities at that stage. We even bought some new appliances and packed them. With hindsight the best decision ever. We then shipped 6 weeks prior to our departure and arranged to keep it in storage in Aus till called up. The last 6 weeks we rented a fully furnished apartment in RSA. It all worked out well - less stress, could do last arrangements and farewells with no pressure.

In Aus we arranged to stay in a hotel for the first couple of days and then secured a long term rental close to the CBD with no stress. That done we arranged the delivery of the furniture as we moved in. Again with hindsight the best decision ever.

 

This ensured stability from the start and leave quality time for a job hunting and settling in. This all said didnt mean that there were no challenges however we were able to devote our time better to those.

Hi ottg,

 

We were strongly considering this. Fridge, washing machine and dryer specifically, but we've been warned that Aussie customs may require proof of ownership for more that 12 months.

I wonder how much of an issue that actually is.

[ottg]

....and what stops you of using it say for 2-3 months before shipping and dont ship it in its original packaging.

 

Back to the topic....cash is king in the first few years for me thus be thrifty!!

[Riekie]

There are companies in Aus where you can rent the essentials until your container arrives - everything from a couch down to a cheese grater.  They deliver it and will place bigger items in the rooms you want it - and they collect it when you're done. We did that.  The company we used at the time in 2004 was called living concepts - not sure if they still exist, but there are plenty others doing the same thing.

[zoot]

You can also pick up cheap secondhand goods via facebook groups in your local community (buy, swap, sell), gumtree or even for free via freecycle or ziilch.  KMart has a kitchen utensils pack pretty cheap and op shops $2 stores and garage sales are another source of all sorts of items.   If you are a member of a church or group like that put the word out and you will be inundated with items.  They may not all be to yout taste but it can tide you over till your container arrives or you figure out which shop has what you like.

[Mel-B]

Big W / target sells cheap kitchen stuff (plates, glasses, pots etc) and its fine, its not like your going to hate it, its just regular generic stuff.

 

Our furnished rental in Melbourne cost us double the amount of unfurnished. Make a list of what you need to camp out. We bought a kettle and mugs, plastic plates and cups for kids, basic plates and cutlery set at Big W, and a pot and pan set we found at some random store. A vacuum cleaner, a washing machine and fridge and 2 mattresses, duvets and pillows from ikea, basic linen, and cheap camp/fold up tables for our pcs (which we can use later for picnics/beach). Then we just roughed it and waited  It was fine. 

 

I packed in my balance ball in my luggage which ended up being such a hit. Kids played with it endlessly and we argued about who gets to use it as a chair. 

[Guest]

If you can plan it right and have no hiccups you can do as Dora suggested, send the container first, stay in air bnb for 2 -3 weeks then by then your container should hopefully not take too long. I know a few families that did it this way and it worked out great for them.

 

All the best. you will be fine though so try not to stress too much. :-)

[Shellfish]

Unless you have an emotional attachment to your toaster and kettle, I wouldn't bother. Their warranties won't be valid in another country and they are cheap (in dollar terms) to replace - possibly even cheaper than sending them, 

[LouiseMark]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions etc.

We have actually taken a tough decision and we will not be moving for the foreseeable future.

I hate this limbo but some things are out of our control.

[DXB2OZ]

We shipped ahead and camped out before leaving, replacing kettle and toaster on arrival. Worked very well as we had support before leaving and were on our own on this side.