Should you ship your belongings or start fresh when moving to New Zealand?

We weighed cubic storage against a full container. A container was expensive, but so was replacing everything, so we chose the container: large appliances went to family, and furniture, books and daily necessities were shipped.

Can a family arrive in New Zealand at different times?

We did. My husband and I left first with our eldest in mid-January, and my parents brought the other two children in early February.

Emigrating From Korea to New Zealand: What We Shipped

I hadn't realised how complicated it would be to stay in another country for more than a holiday. Visa applications meant proving a decade-long marriage without having many photos of just the two of us, gathering bits of mail with our names on them, and hunting down paperwork we'd never thought to save. Even paying tuition turned into a small crisis when the bank froze our transfer for "suspicious activity." Before the medical checks, our youngest's cough developed into pneumonia, and we ended up visiting the medical centre four times.

Planning Our House Move

Once the visa finally came through, it set off a whole chain of very real, very practical questions. What were we supposed to do with everything the five of us had accumulated? Should we clear everything out and start fresh, or ship it all? Cubic storage or a full container? A container was expensive, but so was replacing everything.

In the end, we chose the container. Large appliances went to my in-laws; everything else—furniture, books, daily necessities—would be shipped. We packed only what we'd need for the month before our belongings arrived. Duvets, children's clothes, toothbrushes, underwear, socks—small, ordinary things that kept piling up as we prepared.

Boxes kept coming right up to moving day—no space left to stand

Our Staggered Family Arrival

As the dates took shape, my husband and I would leave first with our eldest in mid-January; my parents would bring the other two in early February. There were decisions to make, papers to sign, and endless things to sort. And still, daily life carried on as usual.

A five-person life packed tight into a five-ton truck

The Big Moving Day

On moving day, even the movers were taken aback by how much we had. They stacked everything into the five-ton truck like a game of Tetris, filling it so completely that not a single extra box could fit. By the time they were nearly finished, light snow had begun to fall.

Leaving winter behind, stepping into summer.

한국어 요약

휴가가 아니라 다른 나라에 오래 머무는 일이 이렇게 복잡한 줄 몰랐다. 비자 신청에는 둘만 찍은 사진이 별로 없는 십 년의 결혼 생활을 증명해야 했고, 우리 이름이 적힌 우편물을 모으고, 챙겨 둘 생각도 못 했던 서류를 찾아야 했다. 학비를 보내는 일조차 은행이 "의심 거래"로 송금을 막아 작은 위기가 됐다. 신체검사를 앞두고는 막내의 기침이 폐렴이 되어 병원을 네 번이나 오갔다.

비자가 나오자 아주 현실적인 질문들이 줄줄이 따라왔다. 다섯 식구가 모은 살림을 어떻게 할까. 다 정리하고 새로 시작할까, 다 부칠까. 이삿짐 보관 큐브냐, 컨테이너 한 대냐. 컨테이너는 비쌌지만 모든 걸 다시 사는 것도 비쌌다. 결국 컨테이너를 택했다. 큰 가전은 시댁에 드리고, 가구와 책, 생활용품은 모두 부쳤다. 짐이 도착하기 전 한 달 동안 쓸 것만 따로 챙겼다. 이불, 아이 옷, 칫솔, 속옷, 양말처럼 작고 평범한 것들이 계속 쌓여 갔다.

날짜가 정해지면서, 남편과 나는 1월 중순에 첫째와 먼저 떠나고 부모님이 2월 초에 두 아이를 데려오기로 했다. 이삿날에는 짐이 너무 많아 이삿짐 기사님들도 놀랐다. 5톤 트럭에 테트리스하듯 빈틈없이 쌓아 상자 하나 더 들어갈 자리가 없었다. 거의 끝나 갈 무렵 눈발이 날리기 시작했다. 겨울을 뒤로하고 여름으로 가는 길이었다.

Yussi

Writer · Social work student, Massey University

A mother of three girls and a Korean immigrant making Mairangi Bay home — writing about starting school, home learning and everyday life on Auckland's North Shore.

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Frequently asked questions

Should you ship your belongings or start fresh when moving to New Zealand?: We weighed cubic storage against a full container. A container was expensive, but so was replacing everything, so we chose the container: large appliances went to family, and furniture, books and daily necessities were shipped.
What should you pack for the first month before your shipping container arrives?: Only what you'll need until your belongings arrive — for us that meant duvets, children's clothes, toothbrushes, underwear and socks. Small, ordinary things that kept piling up as we prepared.
Can a family arrive in New Zealand at different times?: We did. My husband and I left first with our eldest in mid-January, and my parents brought the other two children in early February.

#settlement #immigration #new-zealand #family #korea

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