Ship furniture overseas or buy new?

Whether or not to take all your furniture with you on an international move is a major decision and one that you should not take lightly. One of the main things to consider is the cost of relocating your furnishings as opposed to the cost of replacing them with new items but there are other considerations that can be just as important.

Send overseas or buy new?

There are a number of things to look at when deciding what to do with your existing furniture and you should look into all of them before making your final decision

• What will it cost to take your furniture with you?
• Compare with the cost of putting your furniture into storage if you plan to return.
• Have you seen the new location? Will your furniture fit in?
• How valuable to you is your existing furniture?

All of these points need to be considered carefully before you begin to make your arrangements to relocate overseas. Also look at whether you were planning to ship by air or by sea and again, compare the pricing.

If you decide to leave your furniture behind, you want to ensure that it will be safely stored in your absence and nearly all removalist companies now offer stage solutions to suit most people. They offer suitable packaging for any item and helpful guidelines on how to package your belongings correctly to give them the best protection whilst in storage.

Moving furniture overseas: What not to take

Some items are not suitable to take with you if you're moving overseas and are best put securely into storage if not being sold before you go. Televisions and video equipment are best left behind as they may not work on some overseas sound frequencies. Also fridges, stoves and cookers should be stored away as most homes already have these items built in. The same goes for wardrobes as most homes have these built in as well.

Basically though, it can be very expensive to take everything, including your furniture, with you when you move overseas and experienced movers will often suggest that you only take what you really need.

Tips on packing up for an overseas move

Packing up and moving overseas doesn't have to be stressful for you. Plan ahead to make sure you have all the information available about your options in regards to what the company offers and the costs. Having this information available will ensure that you have a stress-free move overseas.