We are moving in! I have questions....

[TylerC]

Hi all,

My name is Tyler, I am 40 years old, and I currently live in Canada. My wife and I have been on the fence for moving to New Zealand for a while. My brother-in-law made the move years ago to New Plymouth and it has always been in the back of our minds. We have been told this is a lengthy process and are hoping to be there by September 2022. I am currently in school finishing up my Education degree and should be done by April next year. My wife is also an educator. We would be bringing our two younger kids and (hopefully) our dog.

The plan is to fill a container and have it shipped over with anything that fits as it'll be cheaper to ship some things than buy new when we get there. Things like furniture, beds, etc. We know a lot of our appliances will need to be replaced as they are meant for 120V power.

What should I bring off my current overland rig? Does it make sense to bring all the camping stuff or save room for the household stuff? Can I ship solar and battery items? What gear is expensive in NZ and does not make sense to leave in Canada?

Any help is appreciated and I look forward to my first NZ meetup in 2022.

 

[Bama_Kiwi]

Hi all,

My name is Tyler, I am 40 years old, and I currently live in Canada. My wife and I have been on the fence for moving to New Zealand for a while. My brother-in-law made the move years ago to New Plymouth and it has always been in the back of our minds. We have been told this is a lengthy process and are hoping to be there by September 2022. I am currently in school finishing up my Education degree and should be done by April next year. My wife is also an educator. We would be bringing our two younger kids and (hopefully) our dog.

The plan is to fill a container and have it shipped over with anything that fits as it'll be cheaper to ship some things than buy new when we get there. Things like furniture, beds, etc. We know a lot of our appliances will need to be replaced as they are meant for 120V power.

What should I bring off my current overland rig? Does it make sense to bring all the camping stuff or save room for the household stuff? Can I ship solar and battery items? What gear is expensive in NZ and does not make sense to leave in Canada?

Any help is appreciated and I look forward to my first NZ meetup in 2022.

Tyler,

Great to hear you are thinking of making the move to New Zealand. I moved from Alabama, US to NZ in April 2017. Luckily, my path was made a bit easier as I came over on a Partnership-based visa. My better 3/4 is a Kiwi.

I investigated the shipping container thing and found it to be cost-prohibitive. However, depending on the amount of stuff you plan to bring, you dont have to get a whole one for yourself - you can buy into a share of a container for reduced costs, but also reduced storage capacity. Also dependent on if anyone is going the same direction as you. New Zealand is a Western country in most respects - unless you have personal items that are irreplaceable, I would suspect you would come out ahead re-buying home furnishings in NZ. Personally, I arrived in NZ with two suitcases and the clothes on my back. It was very liberating.

That said, NZ is an expensive country. It is my experience that most things, when adjusted for currency, are ~15% more expensive in NZ than what I was used to in Alabama. More frustratingly, some things you simply cannot get. Global logistics is such that you can have most anything shipped, but, expect exhorbitant shipping costs in some cases.

'Overlanding' is quite popular in NZ. There is no shortage of self-contained vans and the like. Many retailers specialize in outfitting vehicles for such. I wouldn't anticipate you would need to bring anything off your current vehicle.

Tires are expensive - if you have recently purchased a new set with plenty of life, I might consider bringing those along.

If you have any other questions, let me know. Good luck.

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

Batteries will likely be on the no ship list. Most couriers won't take them if they are traveling in anything more than a cargo van from place to place, now I am not 100% sure about sea travel but I know shipping by air is out of the question ( not that you ship them by air... that would be crazy lol) but after working in shipping and receiving for 8 years, if something gets labeled wrong or has the wrong markings on a box it will get rejected and sent back. I used to deal with a guy who would buy a bunch of jeeps, strip them down and pile them into shipping containers to get shipped off to Grenada and then rebuild them once they got there frequently (2-3 times a year), and I still think he left the batteries behind.

 

[Bama_Kiwi]

Hi all,

My name is Tyler, I am 40 years old, and I currently live in Canada. My wife and I have been on the fence for moving to New Zealand for a while. My brother-in-law made the move years ago to New Plymouth and it has always been in the back of our minds. We have been told this is a lengthy process and are hoping to be there by September 2022. I am currently in school finishing up my Education degree and should be done by April next year. My wife is also an educator. We would be bringing our two younger kids and (hopefully) our dog.

The plan is to fill a container and have it shipped over with anything that fits as it'll be cheaper to ship some things than buy new when we get there. Things like furniture, beds, etc. We know a lot of our appliances will need to be replaced as they are meant for 120V power.

What should I bring off my current overland rig? Does it make sense to bring all the camping stuff or save room for the household stuff? Can I ship solar and battery items? What gear is expensive in NZ and does not make sense to leave in Canada?

Any help is appreciated and I look forward to my first NZ meetup in 2022.

Heya - Still on track for moving to NZ?