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Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Original poster

Might be moving to Sydney sooner than anticipated... gulp

51 replies

MrsBigD · 30/09/2007 23:00

dh just got made redundant and now our 18 month timeframe has moved to potentially 6 months or even less!

Got dd (nearly 6yo) an ds (3yo) and naturally already panicing about schooling... not easy to get to grips with it not knowing where we'll live except for somewhere North of Sydney/Northshores etc.

Not to mention visa, part-time work and all the other lovely things I just went through moving from West London to Buckinghamshire only 7 months ago! ARGH

I think I better start building a new social network RIGHT NOW so who wants to be my friend with advice on how things work in Oz

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsBigD · 04/10/2007 14:45

arfi how are you going to hide $600 of expenditure??? LOL I better not look at eidsvoid's link... I'm dreading having to restock once we move. Ikea here we come and there's nothing wrong with $4 towels

OP posts:
redhotdiva · 04/10/2007 14:49

i am moving to perth 1 month from today !!! and i understand the panic as we have only had 6weeks since visa grant to go

Original poster
MrsBigD · 04/10/2007 19:31

good travelling/moving Thankfully my visa won't take too long as it's a temporary family visa so they're not as strict phew at least I won't have to worry about that... too much

OP posts:
eidsvold · 04/10/2007 22:59

arfishy - we use that site for presents - they have a store in Sydney - so you could visit it in RL - woo hoo. There is some fab stuff there isn't there.

eidsvold · 05/10/2007 04:53

oh arfishy - just got these for my cousin who turns 21 today from that website:

this

and

this

she is a student I just thought these would be fab. HOpefully take her past uni and into the workforce.

I love that shop arfishy.

arfishy · 05/10/2007 05:36

Ooooh those are great. Tiffany Blue is gorgeous. Nice choices!

I've realised I know exactly where the shop is - I've driven past it a few times. I've never been in though. Next time I'm in Kensington I'll definitely pop in, it's only about 10 minutes from here. I need 8 a few replacement wineglasses after our last bbq.

eidsvold · 05/10/2007 10:29

i thought it was in your neck of the woods.

If you go can you check and see if they have any of these??

was going to get my cousin one of these for her laptop and a nice laptop bag but I missed out on getting it in time

The pen is gorgeous - tempted to buy one for myself - I am a bit of a good pen lover.

neuroticlady · 06/10/2007 05:01

Be warned - not only is the shop a veritable Aladdin's cave of treats and gorgeous things for the home (including the whole Nigella range of cookware/crockery, which I now own so I can waft about and pretend I can cook like her and look like her ) but they also have a weekly online newsletter with the latest stock, sales, bargains etc. I had to unsubscribe in the end...

eidsvold · 06/10/2007 05:10

neurotic lady I get that newsletter - there are some fab things on there. I have a huge wish list for dh to consult come birthday and christmas times.

arfishy · 06/10/2007 05:57

I'll pop in next time and check it out for you. Do you want me to grab one if they're in stock?

neuroticlady · 06/10/2007 06:18

eidsvold, the trouble is the wish list just keeps getting longer. I want the Nigella black range now, sigh...

eidsvold · 06/10/2007 13:02

oh yes please - a pink one preferably if not any colour they have. My cousin has just saved up and bought herself a laptop and does most of her uni work in her room - not enough room for a desk so one of those lap thingies would be perfect for her.

arfishy · 07/10/2007 08:52

No problem. If they don't have any I'll ask about when they expect to receive new stock.

I was just a hair's breadth away today. I was going to stop in on the way home from a trip with DD which took us along Anzac Parade - except I realised it was closed on Sunday.

Did you see any ads today in the Sunday papers? While I was 'supervising' DD at her softplay centre by reading the sunday papers VERY slowly cover to cover and leisurely sipping a nice cup of tea I noticed a full page ad for them FULL of the most amazing reductions on everything I need to replace from Ikea.

After bathtime I'm going into the website and I may be reckless. There was a gorgeous knife block at half price . I need sharp prep knives that don't bend when you hack at veg.

neuroticlady · 07/10/2007 11:36

arfishy thank goodness I didn't see that ad. Have fun online! Is just like Christmas when all the boxes of goodies turn up.

Trying v hard to resist temptation to have just a little look at their website in case blender/food processors are in the sale... credit card says NOOOOO.

arfishy · 07/10/2007 11:52

To save you from yourself I've just sneaked a peek at the ad .

No food processors you'll be relieved to hear. There is a fabulous Peer Sorensen super-thick interleaved chopping board reduced from $100 to $49 that is pleading with me to take it home to replace the 2 year old plastic ikea ones I got for about 33cents though.

neuroticlady · 07/10/2007 12:51

When a purchasing dilemma such as this presents itself, I tell myself how much I am going to save by buying during sale time. By the same process I am happy to tell you that buying Peer Sorenson chopping board right now you will save yourself a whopping $51. So you can see why it makes sense to do the deed. Let those twitching fingers do what they want to!

Must go and finish rest of huge pot of Yulla choc mousse, which is calling out to me... anyone else discovered how yummy their range is?

arfishy · 07/10/2007 13:03
arfishy · 10/10/2007 04:42

I have bought myself the shiny new chopping board and a very expensive half-price knife block.

neuroticlady · 10/10/2007 11:49

Oooh Arfishy you must feel very pleased with yourself: not only have you saved yourself masses of dosh on lovely posh new things, but you've been able to finally ditch a couple of your IKEA basics, too. Yipee!

Is it just us or does absolutely everyone who moves overseas and has to start buying a houseful of stuff all over again end up with an IKEA bargain basics starter kit...? I'm still using my chopping board; it refuses to die.

And seven years down the track we still can't bring ourselves to buy a pair of stepladders, as we have a perfectly good set in England...

arfishy · 11/10/2007 00:40

LOL yes. It's SO true. I've done the Ikea run for about 5 countries now.

There is so much we've refused to buy. I have the most gorgeous sets of curtains, fabulous material, fully lined 10' drop all the posh pleating, and I'd just put them into about 3 bedrooms when I left for Oz (last minute job thing). It would be a betrayal to buy anything else. I also can't bring myself to buy wardrobes, lawnmowers, tools, perfume - the list goes on.

I have to stop myself thinking of everything I've left behind, although I do often comment about how easy it is to live without all the STUFF.

neuroticlady · 11/10/2007 07:40

My sympathy re: your lovely curtains. Sounds so familiar. We lived with ill-fitting off-cuts of lining material draped over poles to cover our windows for about three years, for that lovely squat-like look.

Lawnmower: that's another one we've refused to buy again. We prefer the non-financially-astute method of paying someone to come and do the mowing for us. For seven years... I could probably have bought a top-of-the-range sit-down mower for the amount we've paid the mower man - if our lawn wasn't the size of a postage stamp.

I too found it liberating to be without my stuff. For about five minutes. Then it began to really annoy me. I finally had a spectacular tantrum after we reached five years of living with bendy cardboard boxes as side tables. DH, of course, was blissfully unaware there was anything wrong with living like this and no doubt still would be if it wasn't for me putting my foot down very hard.

Oh and we still don't have a full length mirror to replace the one we left behind (have to stand on loo to look in small bathroom mirror in attempt to see lower half of self...

arfishy · 12/10/2007 03:29

What are you going to do with all of your stuff? Are you going to ship it or just live in in-between world for the next 20 years?

My new knives arrived today . DP was all over them like a rash. Then used my new chopping board before oiling it

Original poster
MrsBigD · 12/10/2007 17:58

well we shall be flogging off as much as we can, bin the rest and hit Ikea when we get there ;)

OP posts:
neuroticlady · 15/10/2007 01:29

Welcome to the Ikea starter-home-package-gang MrsBigD

Arfishy, we ended up selling our house in London and the tenant bought nearly all the furniture, so we just shipped over what was left - which turned out to be 84 crates of utter rubbish. That was three years ago and we're still in the process of replacing all the furniture etc (hence no lawnmower/stepladders). One day we'll come to terms with it and replace them, I'm sure

Are you still in a chopping frenzy with your new knives? Has chopping board been lovingly oiled by now...? I bought Global knife set from there a couple of years ago (replacing, you guessed it, Ikea ones) and still love them.

arfishy · 15/10/2007 05:07

My new knives are gorgeous. They are slicing through carrots like butter.

Now I've got my eyes on a fridge. A BIG one. DP has approved this idea because it means he'll get the old one for a beer fridge, which is of course extremely important in the run up to barbeque season

Now I'm just waiting for the sales....