what to take?

[Lee Thorp]

Hi all

 

Well we have just sold our house and looks like we will be leaving in 6-8 weeks,we have had someone from anglo pacific to look at our things and they say we need a 20ft container.So I was wondering do we really need to take everything like beds,wardrobes,washermachine etc are things really expensive over there or is it best just to bring as much as possible?

Also we are looking at booking flights,Etihad seem to be the cheapest,has anyone flown with them?

I have a bank account with HSBC and I was going to ask them to open me an account there but someone said they only have about 2 branches in perth and I should open an account with a large bank in perth,is he right?

 

Thanks for any replies

[jamesw]

If you have your own container, bring everything! You can sell any unwanted furniture when you get here.

 

I don't think I have ever seen a HSBC here. We opened a Commonwealth Bank account when we were still living in the UK. They have an office in London which we did all the paperwork from.

 

Can't give you any info regarding the airline, sorry

[Lou8670]

Bring as much as you can get in your container. You might as well and it'll save you forking out for more stuff to replace it when you get here. Obviously most houses have larger open plan family rooms, theatre room and some have a separate study and activity so you might find your furniture looks lost so I'd being as much as you can. Most have built in wardrobes so if you need to lose any furniture it could be the wardrobes. Remember Oz are funny with wicker so don't bother bringing any wicker baskets.

 

We bank with HSBC Premier and decided to open a bank account here with them. They do only have a couple of branches but so far I haven't needed to go into one; I was able to do everything through my local International branch before we came and over the phone. Our view was that they had all our financial history, including our mortgage history, and we wanted to maintain a relationship with them. We also opened an ANZ account through their London office and have had some contact with their Perth branch. However I've seen more Commonwealth and NAB branches around where we are in Rockingham/ Mandurah but tbh I haven't been searching out a branch as I can get cash at most cash points for free (I.e no charge) and use internet banking.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Lou

Edited July 25, 2014 by Lou8670

[ali]

We couldn't bring wardrobes as they were built in but brought pretty much everything else. The one thing it did was give us some breathing space, allowed us time to shop around not only for the best deals but for things which we really wanted to buy rather than on impulse (and regretting the decision). Houses generally have more living space so you'll probably find that you will still need to buy stuff. Our old double bed, is not in our spare room and we bought new bedroom furniture after a few months (and had to wait for it to be made lol).

 

You'll find that you feel like your haemorrhaging money when you first arrive, so not having to spend a lot on furniture is a bonus (it was for us - until we felt as though we were earning).

 

Flights - only flown to Aus with Singapore and Emirates who were both excellent, and my dad has flown these plus Qantas and BA - he didn't like BA at all.

 

Banks - we opened one with Westpac before we migrated, really easy to do and just called into the office in Perth to activate and get our cards.

[verystormy]

We didn't bring any furniture. Mainly due to cost as we didn't have the money. But also because most was in so bad condition. Re furnishing was expensive.

 

The only thing I would think about not bringing are wardrobes as most houses have built in ones here.

 

Do get a few plug adaptors for your electrical goods. Don't get too many though - just to get you through the initial bit as once settled you can pop down to the hardware store (Bunnings - it's like B&Q) and just replace the plugs with Oz ones as the electrical system is the same but the plugs are different.

[Laz]

Etihad are a major airline in the Middle East and whilst I've not flown with them, I would... think they'd be like Emirates (i.e. nice!). I'm not sure I agree with the built in robes comment...I'm from Perth and nowhere I've ever lived has built in robes in all bedrooms. I'm from the older suburbs though, so maybe if you plan on living in a newer suburb/newer house you'll find they do have BIRs.