This may be a stupid question but I will ask it anyway- I don't mind looking silly.

[ebianca]

Here Goes.

I was wondering what people are going to do or have done in between arriving in NZ and waiting the 6 or however manhy weeks until the container arrives.

Can you rent fully furnished houses etc or can you rent furniture from a shop until your container arrives?

We won't be bringing much furniture- probably just our suite and maybe our washer/dryer as it is pretty new. Not going to bother with bedding and kitchen stuff etc because will have to buy new anyway- can't last 6-12 weeks with now pots and pans.

We will be finding a house to rent when we arrive until we are in the position to buy but don't want to be buying too much furniture whilst renting incase it doesn't fit in a house that we then buy.

Guess a lot is down to timing aswell.

Any tips and advice form those of you who have already done it would be great.

Beth

[MotherBear]

This may be a stupid question but I will ask it anyway- I don't mind looking silly.

So where does the stupid bit come in? Nothing stupid at all about the question and it's one others have asked before you.

As a suggestion, if your rental isn't furnished, here's a few ideas for renting items until your container arrives. I hope the links, which I copied over from the Master Website List, are still current as they have a nasty habit of ceasing to exist.

www.DTR.co.nz Household effects and appliances
Mr Rental It. Home Appliance Hire Appliances, TVs etc.
the LOOK Furniture ? looks pricey
www.alloallo.co.nz/] Appliances
Interior Concepts Furniture

[KiwiHopeful]

The movers come for our stuff on July 9th, and we'll be arriving in Chch sometime during the first week of August. We're planning on doing the 'grand tour' to visit family before we leave for NZ, which should give our stuff some time to make progress on its journey.

For the intervening time, we're going to find a motel with an efficiency. You could try this link:

New Zealand Motels New Zealand Accommodation NZ Motel Guide

[ebianca]

Thanks Guys.

yes MB the sites still all work.

Another question to add then which I hadn't thought about doing before. Would it be sensible to stay in a motel rather than renting a house for say upto 6months whilst looking for somwhere to buy?

Which would be cheaper?Do Motels do deals for long term stays?Obviously a motel would have everything there i.e bed, wardrobe etc so wouldn't have to buy whilst renting could wait until bought a house.

As for sending our conatiner ahead of us: we have only really spoken to one company re shipping at the NZ expo and they said we would need visas before they would send it out- are all companies the same as there is a chance that we could apply from NZ as OH will be going ahead of me and girls to find a job- if they want him to start soon he will get temp WV and then we will join and apply for PR from NZ rather than him come back to UK and apply from here. (hope that makes sense- I know what I mean)

I was presuming we would have to keep in storage in UK and then when granted visas the get it shipped which means an awfull long time without our things.

Beth

[LilAmy]

Hi,

We're going thru a similar process at the moment in looking for places again. We've given up our long term rental whilst we go on holiday for 7 weeks and when we come back we're looking for something for 2 months to rent but we need it to be FF as well.

The motels dont really give you a good price. You're looking at around $110-140 per night for a one bed apt and around $100 a night for Studio.

If you look on holidayhomes and baches websites in NZ (cant remember the URLs) they have short term rentals which include your electricity bill and all come FF and some. These are good as you're not stuck in a rental contract.

If you rent through agencies here some want a fixed term rental agreement for 6 months which is very hard to get out of unless you can find someone to take over your contract. We try and stay away from agencies and do it independantly with the home owner of short term rental way.

Good luck!

[moggy]

If you are payign for a full container, then fill it, take absolutely every last little thing with you. You really dont realise how much it costs to replace even little things - it all mounts up.
We got rid of somethings we thought we wouldn' t have a use for and later regretted it.
For a few weeks you will be surprised how little you need in the way of furniture, some air beds are really comfy.
Also for a temporary fix get a load of stuff from supershed - it is all second hand stuff that has been saved from landfill - but very cheap, you probably could kit the whole house out for $100 and that is not an exaggeration.

[Taffy]

Hi,

In preference to a motel, you might want to look here: Resettleme NZ Accommodation

I'm pretty sure all these places are fully furnished, and include all rates except phone. They also allow pets in most of the houses. You could always contact them to clarify, but they are pretty good rates for what you get.

[Dawn]

Originally Posted by moggy

Also for a temporary fix get a load of stuff from supershed - it is all second hand stuff that has been saved from landfill - but very cheap, you probably could kit the whole house out for $100 and that is not an exaggeration.

Supershed first stop

[Brucey]

Our container left and we had 9 weeks without it!!!!! I spent 2 months living with my parents (hard work for both sides I am sure)and staying with other family saying our goodbyes. Then we where fortunate enough to be able to stay with friends here in NZ for a week until our furniture arrived to fill our house!!!!!

[Glenda]

We coped for over two months without out our furniture, but we did have 11 suitcases packed with enough towels, duvet covers, cutlery, saucepans, etc. as well as clothing to help us. We slept on the floors on fold-up mattresses and ate at a garden bench table. Of large items, we bought a tv, fridge/freezer, washing machine and dishwasher - but we had planned to buy these new anyway.

We stayed in a motel until moving into the unfurnished rental. Furnished rentals can be found but are often expensive, especially during the summer months when they are often used as holiday accommodation.

We got rid of some stuff at the local landfill tip recently ... what a place! It was so well organised with areas for different items, and everything was inspected with anything remotely useful put to one side for resell. Fascinating.