Katie - I think it is probably cheapest to ship everything together. You get part of a container and then if you don't care how long it takes, you can wait for someone to have space in their container. Getting a container for yourself can be quite costly and I don't think you probably have that much furniture to justify getting a whole container? We had about half a container (containing 1 bed, 2 sofas, bikes, 40 boxes of various things, some small pieces of furniture, bookshelf, chest of drawers, the like). We used a company called Anglo Pacific which I used from the UK (as the name implies, as we were living in London at the time). I have had good experience within Europe with UTS - it's a network of local shippers. Some people will give you ridiculous quotes and propose things like putting things on palettes, which is outrageoulsy expensive. There is definitely not that much experience with shipping things to Australia from continental Europe vs. UK. So it might pay to check with some UK shippers. Maybe, if you have friends in London, get someone to get you the TNT magazine (free magazine for antipdoeans in London). They have lots of ads in there. It might pay to pack stuff yourself and drive them to Dover, rather than using a European shipper. Or they might take it from Rotterdam, which should only be 2 hours from you. Also, what you can do, if you have tickets to Oz, is send things as unaccompanied luggage. I have done that, when I've only had roughly 80kg to ship. The stuff can then be collected from the airport when you arrive. It also takes longer, as it gets put on a plane when there is space (I think I sent mine 2 weeks before my actual flight and was able to pick it up 3 weeks after my arrival).
Also: re. visa for DH, if you need any help, let me know. I have done it for myself and for 2 friends (spousal visa). Passport for Ben should be easy. It might even pay to make a day trip to Berlin and sort out both things at one time. THe visa application can take quite some time! (and don't think just because you are married, they hand it to you... it can be very frustrating... you need statements from Australian citizens, that your relationship is true and ongoing, yadiya, lots of proof. I had this whole folder, all organised, labelled, indexed, etc. and they still came back with questions!!! and i thought I had put EVERYTHING in there - I hope you have joined bank accounts - if not get one, and make sure your name is on bills as well as his, to proof that you are living together and not just have a "fake marriage" )
Again - if you need help, contact me through facebook, okay? I am happy to help. Oh and for Ben I think you need an Australian who is not family to testify, that the passport photo is indeed him. The website is really good but you will need a lot of stuff to support applications with the Australian government. Do you have an international birth certificate? Otherwise get a certified translation (expensive). Same goes for marriage certificate, DH's birth certificate, etc. But you will find all that on the website.
Anyway ... sorry I am hijacking the thread for "immigration assistance"
lol
you gotta be happy to be moving back!!
No, haven't found out gender yet, but am contemplating going to a doc while in Oz, seeing that I have a medicare card and would get the big scan basically for free if I go to a bulk bill place. Otherwise will find out when I'm back in Switzerland - but I have to say that I am sooooo curious, I wouldn't mind knowing NOW (and being able to buy some stuff from Pumpkin Patch or Cotton on Kids that no one in Europe will have)
Nai - hi and welcome to the group!! My daughter's middle name is actually a family name. Name of grandma, name of SIL, middle name for lots of granddaughters and great granddaughters (incl. Zara) and I thought it was a really pretty name (but since it's SIL's first name, wouldn't have picked it has a first name). Do you call your daughter Gen or Genevieve? (SIL is always just called Gen).
re. floorboards: well I moved to SIL's place for one night as it was so stinky, then returned on Friday night to our place. Just went downstairs and it hardly smells anymore (have kept the front door open for 2 nights downstairs, with just the screendoor open, I guess that helped).
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