# Please Help! Moving to Wanganui NZ



## paoquinte

:help::help::help:
Hello Everybody! Great Forum! filled with so much useful information!
My husband, kids and I are moving to Wanganui NZ the first week of January 2014.
This will be total adventure for us! and since is such a big move, I would like to be a little prepared  ...my biggest concern is finding good schools for our kids! the boy is 16, the girl 14...though age to be moving around but they are as excited as we are about moving to NZ!
I am also a little lost in terms of what should I bring from home!...I was getting ready to sell EVERYTHING...but I've reading some posts and perhaps the idea of shipping a small container is not too crazy!....can you please help me Amigos???
Gracias!
Paola.


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## Kimbella

paoquinte said:


> :help::help::help:
> Hello Everybody! Great Forum! filled with so much useful information!
> My husband, kids and I are moving to Wanganui NZ the first week of January 2014.
> This will be total adventure for us! and since is such a big move, I would like to be a little prepared  ...my biggest concern is finding good schools for our kids! the boy is 16, the girl 14...though age to be moving around but they are as excited as we are about moving to NZ!
> I am also a little lost in terms of what should I bring from home!...I was getting ready to sell EVERYTHING...but I've reading some posts and perhaps the idea of shipping a small container is not too crazy!....can you please help me Amigos???
> Gracias!
> Paola.


I can't comment on the schools, as I'm in Chch, but I'm well experienced with the shipping aspect, having shipped my stuff just last year. Without knowing your long term plans, I would off the cuff suggest you bring everything you can that normally is needed in a house--it is VERY expensive here to replace whatever you already have. I don't want to re-type out a fairly comprehensive post I already did on this issue about a month or so ago, so if you are really doing your due diligence, I would suggest looking through my prior posts and you should pretty easily find them.. there are several, and they include shipping companies I had contact with, who I used, what I brought--a list of actual items, how much that wound up size wise (volume), the cost of shipping versus the cost of replacing here, etc... If you are planning to stay permanently, or long term, please make sure you research replacement costs in NZ for what you are getting ready to sell... you may find yourself sorely saddened at the lost chance of coming here already set up to nest your house properly.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have. 

Cheers!

Kimb


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## paoquinte

Kimbella said:


> I can't comment on the schools, as I'm in Chch, but I'm well experienced with the shipping aspect, having shipped my stuff just last year. Without knowing your long term plans, I would off the cuff suggest you bring everything you can that normally is needed in a house--it is VERY expensive here to replace whatever you already have. I don't want to re-type out a fairly comprehensive post I already did on this issue about a month or so ago, so if you are really doing your due diligence, I would suggest looking through my prior posts and you should pretty easily find them.. there are several, and they include shipping companies I had contact with, who I used, what I brought--a list of actual items, how much that wound up size wise (volume), the cost of shipping versus the cost of replacing here, etc... If you are planning to stay permanently, or long term, please make sure you research replacement costs in NZ for what you are getting ready to sell... you may find yourself sorely saddened at the lost chance of coming here already set up to nest your house properly.
> 
> I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> Kimb


Hola Kimb!
Thank you so much!!!!!....
I have read some of your posts, they have been very useful! ... I had planned to sell as much as I could, but now I'm considering taking some of our stuff; maybe a small container? :s .....There are so many things to think about that I had not even thought! ... Our initial plan is to stay for one year, with the option of staying for a longer period -depending on how it goes - 
I would like to know a little more about Wanganui though! that's where we're heading to! 
...Ahhh.. we have a pet! Vesuvius -a yellow lab- my buddy! how hard is to bring a pet? any idea?
Thank you soooo Much!!!
P.


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## Kimbella

paoquinte said:


> Hola Kimb!
> Thank you so much!!!!!....
> I have read some of your posts, they have been very useful! ... I had planned to sell as much as I could, but now I'm considering taking some of our stuff; maybe a small container? :s .....There are so many things to think about that I had not even thought! ... Our initial plan is to stay for one year, with the option of staying for a longer period -depending on how it goes -
> I would like to know a little more about Wanganui though! that's where we're heading to!
> ...Ahhh.. we have a pet! Vesuvius -a yellow lab- my buddy! how hard is to bring a pet? any idea?
> Thank you soooo Much!!!
> P.



Well, If it may be only for one year, I'd say it would probably make more financial sense to NOT bring your stuff... you should consider putting it in storage (in the US) while you're here in NZ, and then if you decide to stay you can always arrange with the shipping company for them to pick it up from storage and ship here. Just my opinion, but *anything* shipped via ocean freight container is going to cost a fair amount of money, and if you wind up shipping it back, you can count on it being twice to three times as much. I don't want to tell you what to do, I can give my opinion that if your plan to come and stay--or NOT--is that fluid, I would save the shipping of things until you have decided whether you are here long term or not. You can certainly find second hand stuff here, or even rent-to-own style places.. but, unless you have $5-$10k that you won't miss, I'd suggest saving that money and only using it to ship here once you have decided that you are definitely staying. Imagine spending even just $4k to get a few things here, only to decide it's not for you, and then having to spend $6+K NZD to ship it back to the US? If you only stay a year or so, that works out to close to $800 a month to 'use' your own things! You'd probably be better off renting furniture and appliances! You'll need to make the decision on your own of course, that's just my immediate impression of your particular situation. 

I'll say the same about the pet as well. It will be a very specific process your pet will go through, dogs especially are *very* complicated and need a lot of vaccinations, so just keep the cost in mind. Anything you do will cost x 2 the money (and will actually be MORE expensive shipping it from here), if you decide to leave after a year.

That said, I shipped 2 cats and I didn't find it too hard. I used a company called Jet Pets, and worked closely with a lady named Lynn. They shipped out from LAX, I'm not sure if they ship from all over or what ... You will be paying for vaccinations, and rabies titre tests State side, as well as fees the USDA will charge you for having paperwork signed (that your pet is clear to export/import). And, of course, you'll be charged air-freight shipping for them to travel on the plane (my two cats cost about $2000)--the cost of the pet shipping depends on their size and the size of the carrier they will be in--the larger the pet the more expensive the cost. You will also be charged fees in NZ for getting an import certificate, and your dog will require quarantine for 10 days post arrival here. My 2 cats quarantine cost $2000 for the 10 days. NZ only has a few quarantine places that are recognized by the govt here, and your pet would HAVE to stay at one of them. If you're independently wealthy, none of this will be a concern, if you're on a budget, it is definitely worth considering whether you should ship everything now "in case" you stay permanently, or whether it makes more sense to store your things and board your pet until you are here long enough to decide if you'll stay permanently. I stored my belongings and boarded my cats with my family for about 18 months before I arranged to have them shipped over... my first year + here provided me with invaluable information on what I needed to have shipped over, and what I could purge from my stored items... 

Hope my input gives you some starting points.

And, sorry, don't know much about Wanganui, other than I hear the name on TV when they do the weather...

Good luck!


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## Losaangel

I recently got a quote to move my pair of 30 pound dogs to NZ. It was 10000 to 11000 dollars USD. That is from Oklahoma to Auckland. Hope this helps a bit.


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## Kimbella

Losaangel said:


> I recently got a quote to move my pair of 30 pound dogs to NZ. It was 10000 to 11000 dollars USD. That is from Oklahoma to Auckland. Hope this helps a bit.


That's sounds about right for the size and number, maybe on the high end... one quote I got from a company was over $8k for my two cats--and that was just to get them TO nz, it didn't include the quarantine price... omg. My advice is to research as many companies as possible, as there can be a HUGE difference in price, even though they will ALL have to do the same exact thing. Certainly check out the reviews and references, too, to find someone reputable AND reasonable--just be aware that quite a few of them out of there prey on the emotions of anxious pet owners and really rake them over the coals... one place was going to charge me $400USD to get the NZ import certificate, I did it myself and it cost me like $100NZD, or something like that... talk about a profit! They would have charged me for doing the same exact thing I did: filling out the import certificate application, sending in the appropriate documents with it (I scanned and sent it all as an email attachment--whoop de do!), and waiting for MAF to send you the approval certificate back as an attachment--received back in like 7 days or less if I remember right... it's not like someone was going to fly to NZ to submit the application and return back to the US with document in hand...sheesh.

I returned to California for a six week trip specifically to coordinate the shipping of my cats (and my belongings). I did ALL of the paperwork: downloaded the vet forms from the MAF/bio-security website and yellow highlighted every single thing my cats required. I took the forms to their vet, got all the appropriate test results, verified with the vets signature, took the forms to the USDA for their stamped approval, staked the reservation dates for the cats arrival with NZ quarantine, sent in and received the import certificate application--fax'd it all to the pet shipper, purchased their flight approved pet containers online, including the metal bolts that are required, transported them to the facility the night before, and slept well knowing they were in good hands. 

Btw, the majority of pet shippers will do all the paperwork for you, but, as I noted, it will come at great cost. I took advantage of my time there to handle it myself and saved several thousands of dollars, which then basically paid for the shipping of my household belongings.


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## Losaangel

That's a good point. Ours quote did come with door to door service from Tulsa to Auckland. Which added quite a bit to the quote itself. Even if we did all the paperwork and such ourselves it would still cost us about 6k which is far more reasonable number but still a tad out of reach when we are having to move all our stuff via our own dime. We our planning on staying so we are moving only the essentials.


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## Kimbella

Losaangel said:


> That's a good point. Ours quote did come with door to door service from Tulsa to Auckland. Which added quite a bit to the quote itself. Even if we did all the paperwork and such ourselves it would still cost us about 6k which is far more reasonable number but still a tad out of reach when we are having to move all our stuff via our own dime. We our planning on staying so we are moving only the essentials.



And, a minor but possibly important tip to know is that all animals flying this way go through LAX, even if their origination is in another state, they are transferred from a domestic to an international flight there. This also adds to the cost. I honestly found doing the paperwork pretty easy once I identified and collated it all. I chose to drive my pets 9 hours from N California to S California, and they did fine. Once we arrived at the shipper they were hustled into large pens for the night, Lynn even let me come into the interior and let them out, soothe them, etc. I might be biased because I used their services, but I can't lie, I was thoroughly impressed with how professional they were. I think, maybe, that because their business is literally on the same property as LAX, they get TONS of business, and so are *really* well versed in all the details. You might try emailing Lynn Devan at Jet Pets and see what sort of quote you can get... if you can coordinate a domestic flight to LAX, I wouldn't be surprised if they managed the rest for you at a very fair price. I don't normally give recommendations because everyone's expectations are different, but, they really nailed the pet-shipping portion (for me at least). As always, good luck with your planning, no matter how you choose to do it!


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## Losaangel

Thanks for the info I will get in touch with them.


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