Sunny18 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I'm trying to weigh up shipping our furniture etc (most isn't valuable or sentimental) or buy when we arrive in Australia. We have children and don't want to wait around for months for our furniture to arrive. If we have to borrow or buy anyway while we're waiting it seems pointless. Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny18 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 P.s We'd probably mostly buy off Gumtree again to begin with so aren't worried about furniture costs in Perth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 (edited) 37 minutes ago, Sunny18 said: P.s We'd probably mostly buy off Gumtree again to begin with so aren't worried about furniture costs in Perth. All very well buying furniture off gumtree but sellers won’t deliver so you will need to buy a ute or a trailer to move furniture piece by piece to an initially empty house. You would still have to factor in a period without any furniture or indeed other items. Edited March 13, 2018 by Gbye grey sky 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 You could do a bit of both. When we moved back, we decided that we wouldn't bring the mattresses or the sofas, but shipped everything else. Our things were shipped on the Friday so we were in an empty house with just the sofas and on mattresses on the floor until we flew on the Monday. We donated the sofas to the kids school (they were setting up little study nooks so had them for them), and arranged for a mattress recycling company to come and collect the mattresses on the Monday morning. We arranged holiday accommodation for when we arrived, and just as ew moved into our new house we went to IKEA and ordered sofas and mattresses to be delivered, and again used them on the floor until the bed frames/rest of our furniture arrived. We also got a couple of cheap side tables, and a plastic garden furniture set to use in the kitchen. It worked out fine to do it like that. The kids enjoyed 'camping out' on the floor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny18 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 3 hours ago, LKC said: You could do a bit of both. When we moved back, we decided that we wouldn't bring the mattresses or the sofas, but shipped everything else. Our things were shipped on the Friday so we were in an empty house with just the sofas and on mattresses on the floor until we flew on the Monday. We donated the sofas to the kids school (they were setting up little study nooks so had them for them), and arranged for a mattress recycling company to come and collect the mattresses on the Monday morning. We arranged holiday accommodation for when we arrived, and just as ew moved into our new house we went to IKEA and ordered sofas and mattresses to be delivered, and again used them on the floor until the bed frames/rest of our furniture arrived. We also got a couple of cheap side tables, and a plastic garden furniture set to use in the kitchen. It worked out fine to do it like that. The kids enjoyed 'camping out' on the floor. That's a good idea thanks. It's hard to know what will be easiest so it's good to hear different options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny18 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 5 hours ago, Gbye grey sky said: All very well buying furniture off gumtree but sellers won’t deliver so you will need to buy a ute or a trailer to move furniture piece by piece to an initially empty house. You would still have to factor in a period without any furniture or indeed other items. We'd have to do that if we borrowed furniture too. I could borrow a ute or hire a van for a weekend which would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 You could hire furniture too. We did that when we moved over. It wasn't cheap (OH's company put something towards it) but it was a huge help. I'm racking my brains trying to remember the company, I think they were called 'Living Edge' or something like that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny18 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 I didn't even know you could do that! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waz05 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I looked at Gumtree some people do offer delivery options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Assuming they exist where you're planning to live - Goget (the car hire/share company) hire out vans by the hour. They're designed for one-off furniture pick ups and the like so would be perfect for your situation. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I'd second what LKC said. I think it's less stressful if you ship as much as you can. And do it early - it's easier to "camp" in your own house for the last few weeks, than it will be in your new place in Australia. The ONLY thing you've got to do before you leave, is get ready to go. When you arrive in Australia, you've got to find a place to live, buy a car, enrol with Medicare, open a bank account, get the kids into a new school, look for a job...do you really have time to be driving around to people's houses looking for second-hand furniture? Don't forget, it's not just furniture - you'll have to buy pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, sheets, duvets, pillows, towels, kitchen appliances, mops and brushes...the list goes on! If you do buy it all when you arrive, you have to do it in a rush. No visiting three furniture stores to find the right sofa, you've got to settle for the one that's in stock! You're probably leaving a home where over time, you collected stuff you really liked. Your new home in Australia will be full of stuff you had to grab in a hurry, and that can contribute to the feeling of not being "at home". And in the end, it will cost you more anyway, because you'll eventually want to replace it with stuff you do like. If you decide to ship, it's questionable whether it's worth shipping the beds. Beds are not quite the same size in Australia, so you'll be having to order sheets from the UK for ever more! Bear in mind that you'll have to book a holiday flat for four weeks for when you first arrive, to give you time to find a house. So there's some of the shipping time used up already. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny18 Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 14 hours ago, Waz05 said: I looked at Gumtree some people do offer delivery options. Yeah you can always offer some extra cash for delivery. I've delivered before for someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunny18 Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 13 hours ago, Marisawright said: I'd second what LKC said. I think it's less stressful if you ship as much as you can. And do it early - it's easier to "camp" in your own house for the last few weeks, than it will be in your new place in Australia. The ONLY thing you've got to do before you leave, is get ready to go. When you arrive in Australia, you've got to find a place to live, buy a car, enrol with Medicare, open a bank account, get the kids into a new school, look for a job...do you really have time to be driving around to people's houses looking for second-hand furniture? Don't forget, it's not just furniture - you'll have to buy pots, pans, crockery, cutlery, sheets, duvets, pillows, towels, kitchen appliances, mops and brushes...the list goes on! If you do buy it all when you arrive, you have to do it in a rush. No visiting three furniture stores to find the right sofa, you've got to settle for the one that's in stock! You're probably leaving a home where over time, you collected stuff you really liked. Your new home in Australia will be full of stuff you had to grab in a hurry, and that can contribute to the feeling of not being "at home". And in the end, it will cost you more anyway, because you'll eventually want to replace it with stuff you do like. If you decide to ship, it's questionable whether it's worth shipping the beds. Beds are not quite the same size in Australia, so you'll be having to order sheets from the UK for ever more! Bear in mind that you'll have to book a holiday flat for four weeks for when you first arrive, to give you time to find a house. So there's some of the shipping time used up already. Thanks I didn't know that about the beds and defo worth knowing. To be honest we only moved back from Aus last year and we are heading back again so we have little furniture of sentimental value or that feels 'homely' to us so have no qualms getting second hand as we've done this before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 Also - no one has mentioned the ball ache that is selling your all your stuff before you go. Bedding - we shipped our IKEA kingsize and mattress and have had no issues buying bedding in Aus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandL Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 King size bed UK = Queen size bed in OZ ( minus 3 cm width ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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