Originally Posted by
Hanna MW
I have been doing a bit of research regarding furnishing in NZ and found it a little expensive as you say. I cannot really make a statement about the quality of course. Seeing that you are not the first one advising us to bring as much as possible, we are actually considering bringing the most important/versatile/needed bits like a bed, mattress, table, chairs etc. Still not convinced about a sofa yet
It is easier to decide what you need when you know where you live and what the given space in the rooms is like. But we'll have a look around and see if we can find something that is adaptive, like a corner sofa where we could change from one side to the other etc.
We have to let that thought sink in. We might have to change our minds about moving with as little as possible. What makes it weird is that we don't have any of the needed furnishing as we are renting furnished atm. We will actually have to go out and buy it now! It just feels wrong
Everyone is totally right about the cost of furniture (and food) here, so it's definitely worth bringing everything you've got. However, if you do decide to go and do a big shop before coming you might want to be a bit careful that you don't leave everything in it's new boxes as it may be taxed upon entry here by Customs. Having said that we brought quite a few new smaller Ikea things over that we sprinkled amongst our stuff and it was fine. Also - our MPI (MAF) officer was from Timaru and he was the nicest official I've met. Was only looking for dirt, seeds, grass, insects, eggs etc on the outdoor equipment and was fine with a bit of rust. We only gave our stuff a scrub down on the day of packing with disinfectant etc and it was all okay. Don't advise leaving it to the last minute like us though - stress city!
Good luck.