KarenLou83 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hi, we are in the process of getting visas to move over and I have a family member who moved over there, came back and is going back again and he stated to take as much furniture with us as possible. I can't bring wardrobes and I don't want to bring my bed I would prefer a new one so was just wondering where the best place to buy furniture is that won't be too expensive? We will be moving to Victoria area if that helps. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babybronco Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hi, we are in the process of getting visas to move over and I have a family member who moved over there, came back and is going back again and he stated to take as much furniture with us as possible. I can't bring wardrobes and I don't want to bring my bed I would prefer a new one so was just wondering where the best place to buy furniture is that won't be too expensive? We will be moving to Victoria area if that helps. thanks We moved in 2014 and didn't bother bringing any furniture as a shipping container was gonna cost a minimum of 4000 pounds. Our furniture just wasn't worth that much, as it was all 'starter' furniture anyway from our first house, we didn't have any family heirlooms or anything valuable to bring. We started from scratch out here, and initially got loads of stuff very cheaply second-hand, and have gradually replaced things with new as we could afford it. We live in Queensland, so not sure if the shops are the same in Victoria, but places like Fantastic Furniture and Super A Mart do good value furniture 'packages' to start you off. Take a look at their websites. We also have Ikea out here. Hope this helps a little!:smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Some people will say, don't bring furniture because you're going to have to wait two months for it to arrive, and you can't manage without it. I disagree. I recently moved in the other direction and I wish I'd shipped stuff. For one thing, I had enough on my plate without trekking round furniture stores. The fact that I wasn't familiar with the stores, and didn't know where they were, made it worse. Secondly, for things like lounge suites, many stores don't keep stock and you have to wait six weeks for delivery anyway! You say "Victoria area" rather than Melbourne - when we first emigrated we were in country Victoria, and we found it extremely difficult to buy furniture. There just weren't any furniture stores in the small towns and most people drove to Melbourne for furniture shopping, something we didn't have the time to do. We ended up having to buy second-hand stuff from deceased estates, and borrowing from work colleagues. So I would say, ship as much as you can. It may sound expensive, but just sit down and add up how much it will cost you to replace everything you've got - and remember, if you ship furniture then you'll be able to fill up all the little spaces with stuff like toys, crockery, towels, cutlery, kitchen utensils, pots and pans - and they can all be more expensive than you realise. When you arrive, buy an outdoor table and chairs and use them indoors until your dining table, chairs and lounge suite arrive. A picnic set will give you a basic set of knives, forks, plates etc. Wardrobes - Australian houses tend to have built-ins so they're not an issue. Beds are more difficult - sizes are a bit different in Australia so your British sheets etc won't quite fit, so unless you have lots of bedlinen, it may be easier to leave the beds behind and buy new when you arrive. Fantastic Furniture is good for really cheap furniture, it won't last long though! Freedom Furniture, Oz Furniture and IKEA are in the next rung. Harvey Norman is the big name in furniture and has a range of prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Ikea, Fantastic Furniture, Kmart, Target, Gumtree - the latter particularly for people moving away from AU and selling most of their household contents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 I think everyone has differing opinions on this. We moved over here with 5 suitcases and nothing else. We thought it was cheaper to start again. It had pros and cons. Pro Less stress selling everything than packing Avoided the shipping cost Didnt have to wait for our furniture to arrive We could choose new furniture to match our new home (every house is different, some of our things would have looked lost in our Aussie home) 'Fridge freezers here have a cut out in the kitchen, which means you need to measure the space before buying the fridge. Cons We gave away sentimental things in the heat of the moment which I regret now I threw out all my photo albums of me growing up so I've no old photos to show my boys Coathangers cost a fortune here and I threw out 5 black bags full in the UK Its surprising how many items you actually have and don't allow for, for example, I didn't have any baking things, mixing bowls. When we arrived the children went on a school camp and had to take old towels, we didn't have any so had to buy new. When we moved from Melbourne to Cairns and then Cairns to Townsville we took everything with us as we decided it works out a lot more expensive to start all over again. You will find though that furniture will look odd maybe or even lost in such a large house but you can change things at your own pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenLou83 Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 Thanks for all the advice it's all really helpful to know especially about the little things that you wouldn't think about, I wouldn't have thought about coat hangers etc x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenLou83 Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 It's Point Cook that we are going to x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 It's Point Cook that we are going to x Well you wont need wardrobes for a start. Most of Point Cook Estates are modern and will have built ins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 ...Wardrobes - Australian houses tend to have built-ins so they're not an issue. Beds are more difficult - sizes are a bit different in Australia so your British sheets etc won't quite fit, so unless you have lots of bedlinen, it may be easier to leave the beds behind and buy new when you arrive... Yes, the OP will probably be fine as going to a modern area but for anyone else reading just note the older inner suburbs of Australian cities will often not have built-ins. For example, here in inner Brisbane built-ins are very uncommon and wardrobe shopping is a big thing. I have just bought two nice antique wardrobes ($210, $50), a large beautiful bookcase with 6 draws ($150) and an lovely antique desk ($165) using gumtree and facebook "buy sell" groups. So much cheaper buying furniture this way and you get access to lots of nice old/antique solid wood pieces that are harder to find in stores. If you have any really nice antique pieces I would bring them. My sons new bookcase I mentioned...type of thing you can get for $150 second hand...so much better than new junk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenLou83 Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 My husband is talking about hiring a 40ft shipping container and fitting as much of our house into as possible and then at least the money has been spent then before getting there and it will take the pressure off having to find things when we are there, then anything we don't need or doesn't fit into the house when we get there we can sell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 My husband is talking about hiring a 40ft shipping container and fitting as much of our house into as possible and then at least the money has been spent then before getting there and it will take the pressure off having to find things when we are there, then anything we don't need or doesn't fit into the house when we get there we can sell We are taking everything back including our car for 5200 gbp I often think having your own personal things around you helps settle We originally only took 8 tea chests and regretted leaving good furniture behind in the Uk This time we are thinking everything goes and the grandkids will probably benefit in Oz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pommy Jimbo Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 It's not cheap is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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