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Thread: So pleased to find this forum!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    United Kingdom
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    Default So pleased to find this forum!!

    We are heading home in Sept this year. I am very glad to have found this forum!!
    The flights are booked and the last of the passports arrived back today.

    We are both kiwi's but have been in the UK for over 11years, and have three small folk who are all born here. We are going home with alot more than we arrived with too! We also had to do 'citizenship by descent' forms, then passports for the children.

    In the process of trying to declutter (never ending process!) then get the shipping company quotes, when we can see the wood for the trees!

    Anyone have recomendations for shipping companies or warnings of not so good experiences? feeling rather overwhemled and finding it hard to declutter.
    We are 'going home' but it's been a long time away, am will be living in a city I've never lived in, all a bit nerve wracking.....esp the getting there bit.

    Any suggestions??

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    Hello.

    If you do Searches on the various shipping company names, you'll find quite a few old threads about packing and people's accounts of their own experiences come up.

    And this thread may be useful, although some things won't apply to you as native NZers. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10641

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    .
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    Hullo ScrappyChick,

    It's been over five years now since we made the move to the New World from the old, so I couldn't give any reliable information with respect to specific shipping companies, but one thing I would do differently was to take more stuff over rather than buy over here.

    If you've got semi-decent furniture, sofa, beds, white goods, it may work out worthwhile shipping rather than buying new over here. It depends on your logistics, sorting your accommodation, will you be renting furnished or buying unfurnished?, storage, etc. We did the whole tiki-tour in a van thing before we settled on Tauranga, and were pretty light on our feet, but we would have saved a bit by bringing stuff over into storage, rather than forking out for new stuff when we were settled, but there you go.

    Some stuff doesn't travel well. From memory your TV may not produce sound, I think the PAL sound is encoded slightly differently, I remember having to leave my new shiny widescreen baby in the UK, nearly a deal breaker for me, but apart from that, we're all standard 230Vac with a different plug. Camping gear etc will need to be thoroughly cleaned and fumigated to satisfy the MAF Chaps. Worth the effort if you are fond of your groovy tent, but if not you can buy a groovy tent here, we're quite outdoorsy.

    Anyway, only started typing to wish you luck, so good luck.

    John.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
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    Thanks John

    Hope you are enjoying Tarangua. We're headed to Nelson.

    We're in a partly furnished house here, so we don't own the beds and not sure the washing machine is worth bringing over, bit worn out from 3 kids!
    Would really like to bring sofa and bunch of other furniture, like sets of drawers etc.
    We'll be staying with family to start with and are working on somewhere to store the stuff in meantime, before finding a place to rent to start with.

    Hmm hubby is pretty set on bringing his lovely widescreen too. Will have to tell him that the sound might not work! that would break his heart.
    We are looking at bringing half or more of a container. Still decluttering before getting shippers in, to work out how much stuff we have.

    We have no camping equipment so far, just some garden stuff and was advised to use jeyes fluid to make sure it's clean.

    Cheers
    Bek

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    San Francisco to Auckland
    Posts
    626

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    Yes definitely use jeyes to clean everything. Now we already had a ton of camping equipment but I have heard from others that you should get camping equipment before moving because it can be quite expensive here. Check the forum to verify that for sure, just remembering that from someone's post.

    As an fyi, I moved to a new city that I had never lived in 5 months ago and so far so good for me. My husband, who is the kiwi, has had the hardest adjustment to be honest. He has totally come around now, but for the first 3 months it was quite challenging to him. Kiwis thought he was American because he lost a lot of his accent in living in the US for 11 years. And he never had a REALLY strong accent to start with, but it was tough for him. Here is a kiwi coming home, and people don't think he is a kiwi.
    And for him he had never living in Auckland, but we needed to move here for jobs etc. Will we stay in Auckland forever? That is still tbd, but our plan is definitely to stay in NZ.

    Hope the move goes smoothly. All the best to you.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

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    Here's an old thread about cleaning, both indoor and outdoor property, which may help. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=34791

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Ashburton, New Zealand
    Posts
    75

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    Quote Originally Posted by scrappychick06 View Post
    Would really like to bring sofa and bunch of other furniture, like sets of drawers etc.
    We'll be staying with family to start with and are working on somewhere to store the stuff in meantime, before finding a place to rent to start with.

    Hmm hubby is pretty set on bringing his lovely widescreen too. Will have to tell him that the sound might not work! that would break his heart.
    We are looking at bringing half or more of a container. Still decluttering before getting shippers in, to work out how much stuff we have.

    We have no camping equipment so far, just some garden stuff and was advised to use jeyes fluid to make sure it's clean.

    Cheers
    Bek
    Bring everything you can - furniture etc is unbelievably expensive over here and the range isn't great. I came back in September last year after 12 years in London, with attached OH and daughter. Has been fabulous so far apart from figuring out different ways not to spend so much money! Good thing for your husband though - electronics seem really pretty cheap in sales so he may be better off selling his beloved TV in the UK.

    Good idea to move somewhere different in NZ. Nelson is lovely and it won't feel so much like moving back but moving on. We planned to move back to Chch but have ended up in Ashburton. Never thought I'd enjoy it but can honestly say it's been great. No regrets!

    Good luck with the move.

    Mel

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Location
    Wellington, originally USA
    Posts
    915

    Default

    Just wanted to say welcome and good luck with your move!

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