We've a place to live an are now just waiting for visas

I've just returned home and now feel a little overwhelmed at the move.

I'm looking at our books piled around the house and am wondering if I should do a serious cull or bring them all?

And I'm wondering just how much Australian wine I should bring?

Of all the things you took to Switzerland from Australia/ your home country, what would you take? What would you leave behind? What do you miss most?

nic

If you have to select items cause you dont have enough room then I would keep the books and leave the wine- although if you dont like the place you might find the wine more comforting then the books

One of your considerations should surely be the fact that space here is at a premium, you will lightly have less room to "live" in here then Oz.

On the wine, the big question is who is paying for the move? The second question/comment relates to the quality of wine you have.

No sense in shipping a A$ 12 wine that you can buy here for CHF 12-16. However if you have some of the top Australian wines it might be worthwhile.

I would strongly suggest that you ship the wine by AIR to make sure that it does not spoil. Hence the question of who is paying for the move.

Assuming that your favorite food products and personal care products have a long shelf live, I would suggest that you stock up on them. It is often the little things that make the difference during the transition period.

Good luck with the move.

It's hard - you have to balance the cost of bringing stuff with the loss of having to replace stuff...and of taking it back home again at the end (that's what freaked us out the most)...

How long are you planning to come here for ?

Is your company paying for the freight - are you sending it by air or sea ?

We found the quote was only 25% more to have our stuff air-freighted, and we got it in about 10 days...as opposed to sea which was going to take several months.

I would bring technical/sentimental and kids books. I wouldn't bother with novels to read unless you truly are going to read them over and over...you can get them second-hand from sales here and from amazon UK if you want to buy new stuff, or join the library - most have a small selection of english stuff.

Clothes are a problem because of the climate-difference. I recommend stocking up on new good underwear that's going to last (the sizing here is different and I have trouble getting the equivalent of a size 14C/D which is not really considered 'big' in Australia, but obviously is 'above average' here in Switzerland You'll need winter, water/snow proof shoes and you just won't find the best practical stuff in Australia - better to shop around in Europe..

You can get Australian wine here - unless you really know what you are buying, I wouldn't bother - it's cheaper here than in OZ!

You can even get a selection of coopers and other Aussie beers if you are desperate...

We air freighted all the basics for our kitchen - although we could replace it here, the hassle and inconvenience of trying to buy all those bits and pieces made it easier to bring it all - we also went to Ikea and picked up the minimal kitchen stuff we needed (and all our stuff from Australia was the 'best' of what we had).

I wouldn't bother with furniture - if you are returning to Australia you'll end up paying more in freight than it will cost to get new stuff, and if you are here permanently, the second-hand furniture option is pretty attractive...whether you like 'trendy' stuff or 'traditional'...

Thanks for the help

The company is paying for the relocation, its a permanent relocation so they want us to bring it all... and less likely to head home after 2 years

They give us 250 kg's of airfreight and a shipping crate via sea, although we've been advised that our furniture wont fill an entire container.

Thanks for the advise with the underwear, Swisspea

Great idea about shipping wine by air Verbier I'd thought of bringing a case or two of our favorites to keep for those special occasions? We know so little about wines in Europe that it's going to be a lottery for a while .

I'm an avid reader and as I'm going to be a trailing spouse and unemployed for the first time I'm thinking I may need to purge some books and collect others in order to keep me entertained... Do you know of any good bookstores that stock design books in english?

Don't cull- bring the whole book collection!

(As long as the company is providing shipping, why not?)

I've moved around the world several times, and each time my library has been a great comfort as I adjust to my new surroundings. When I am feeling uncertain, lost, and out of my element, my 'old friends' give me a little bit of rootedness, making the transition just a little easier.

Beside, the moment you let a book slip through your fingers, you suddenly find a desperate need to refer to it...

Of course you'll acquire new titles once you are here - that's half the fun.

If you find that you absolutely must part with something, do so once you get to Switzerland... there are a lot of us bibliophiles here, always on the lookout for something to add to our shelves.

Did anyone say Tim-tams?
Yes, bring lots of those (more in your fav flavours; others to give away ).
And, no, it's not like bringing coal to Newcastle.

I miss tim tams! I've not been able to eat them for the last 3 years as I discovered I'm allergic to wheat. Biting off opposing corners and sucking my coffee through it was one of my favourite indulgences

I was thinking of bringing some over to share with our friendly Swiss (I'm not sure if I'd try to introduce them to vegimite ) How many crates do you think I need?

Be aware that beds are metric here, so imperial sized matresses won't fit.

Unless you have new matresses, leave the beds and buy new ones here (personal experience). Used stuff can be bought/given to you free on this forum to see you over until you have found stuff you really want.

Other than that, only bring stuff of sentimental value, you will want to be surrounded by those in your new situation. And Dettol, Vegemite, etc...

We brought all of our books, and I'm glad we did. I'm also a trailing spouse and it's the first time I've not worked in nearly 25 years, so I'm glad to have something to read. It also makes your new place familiar.

250kg of air freight seems like a lot, but it probably isn't - sending your favorite wines in that way would make sense. Also anything that might deteriorate on a long voyage. So if you have cosmetics, perfumes that you are packing, that might make sense - if they mean something.

As for your furniture, take a critical look at it. We left a lot of ours in the US, because it didn't fit our new place. And of course we had to replace electrics, lamps and so on. I brought a few incandescent lamps from the US (just needed to replace light bulbs and get adapters for the plugs) and had a couple halogen lamps rewired here though, because I liked them too much. I did buy small kitchen appliances (food processor, stand mixer, crock pot) for the European market in the US at considerable savings. Get a region free DVD player and you can play all your DVDs.

Clothes are a big one. I still buy lots of clothes in the US when I visit. I don't need business wear nearly as much as I once did, and when I got here, I found I had very little casual stuff. Stock up on underwear, comfy stuff, whatever you like. The sizes and the styles are different. It's just one more thing that you won't have to deal with when you get here.

You can ship spices and so on, if they are packed in an air tight container, so if there is something that is especially important to you, take that as well.

And maybe this is an obvious point, but if you pack one box of things that you need to get going in your new house - photos, small stuff that's really important, kitchen utensils, whatever - and have that marked prominently so that you can find it, that helps a lot.

We moved from a house in the US with a gas stove to an induction cooktop here. We had to replace all of our pots and pans. So that kind of stuff is worthwhile checking before you leave.

Good luck!

We are planning on bringing our bed over to use in the guest bedroom and so should probably stock up up linens for it. We'll get a new bedroom setting and linens when we arrive as this way we can get wardrobes and tall-boy to suit, as our new apartment doesn't have built-ins.

No dettol?

Ah, the Tim-tam 'straw'. My other half, not Australian, tried it and made me laugh tea out of my nose.

Too bad you're allergic. Maybe the pure air here (contaminated only by cigarette smoke) will cure you.

Oh, no Vegemite. They already have Aromat and Fleischkaese here (not similar but somehow related in a cosmic way). As for crates of Tim-tams, a few will do. If the Swiss don't take to it, you can hand them around to us poor, starving exprats.

It is amusing to see someone try the tim-tam straw.

Is Lausanne to far to travel for tea and tim-tams?

Nowhere is too far to travel for good tea. But I'm not demonstrating the Tim-tam straw for your amusement.

Ok, will do!

Ok and I promise not to laugh so hard I snort tea out my nose!

No dettol?

You can buy Dettol from Jim's British mini market in St. Genis, just across the border in France.

A hat with some corks tied around the brim. If you live in the countryside, which is full of cowsh!t, the flies will turn you completely mental!

*laughs*
I'll see if I can import them... sounds like they may be useful!

I take it you have never been to the Australian countryside then?
Swiss flies are quite tame in comparison... I literally went mental after a few days there.... still a good idea though.

Don't forget your stubbyholders for the (few) hot days in Switzerland...

Go on....