Shipping from Australia to Malta

Its a hard one to answer by anyone - as we are all different and emotions take a big role in that decision.

my only advise would be to take a good hard look at what you want to bring with you and then after a while look again.. minimise as much as possible.....

Depends what you mean by 'personal' items and impossible to advise but we brought with us:

TV's
Media players
PC's
DVD  players
Cameras
Extra electrical items as they were cheaper in UK......including double electric blanket and dehumidifiers.

Copied all CD's onto hard disks and then sold all CD's at auction.

Put all DVD's into albums and disposed of original packaging.
(Random thought, I wonder if your DVDs will play out here. They probably will if bought in Oz and played on Oz DVD players but when here a different region applies. Oz is region 4, Malta is region 2, so a combination of DVD bought here and put on Oz player and vice versa may not play, unless multiregion player.)

Scanned photos onto hard disks. Disposed of originals.

As for truly personal items, as Toon says, that's too personal to answer for many reasons.

Oh and a PS to the above. We used large plastic boxes, with sealable lids to use as storage out here. As you know the homes can become a little damp in the 'winter' months.

Hi all

thanks for your quick replies....

yes my husband is really techy and in IT so I am sure he will bring all his gadgets and hard drives, computers,apple TV  etc. all our stuff is on hard drives already and all our photos etc.
I was thinking more like clothes, shoes (cant leave without a few pairs of them!!), linen and some kitchen stuff.
Was wondering if anyone had used a particular shipping company from Australia, as I am having such slow responses to my email enquiries. So far only one company has got back to me and they only do air freight and wanted to charge me $2500 AUD for 12 small tea chest size boxes!!! sounded very expensive to me.  I have messaged another couple of companies this week, so will see what the outcome of that is.

thanks again

Catherine

Have you tried UTS? They are worldwide and we used them and used a container for everything. Excellent service.

Hi Catherine,

I moved here from Sydney five years ago.

I found the most affordable option was DOM International. The owner is Maltese and Oz to Malta is one of their more familiar routes.

Oh, btw, I guess they do air freight too, but I took the 'by sea' option.

DOM is somewhere in south-western Sydney, at a guess, Prestons.


Anthony

Thanks Anthony

I will check them out, as Prestons is not far from us. We are from Penrith. I have a quote from a place that is from Greenacre that sound reasonable. But will give DOM a call today.
Thanks again
Catherine

And I'm from St Marys. Small world!

All the best with it.

Is that from England Redmik? We are looking to ship things over from UK in January. Still not sure what to bring and what to leave here...

chinooks wrote:

Is that from England Redmik? We are looking to ship things over from UK in January. Still not sure what to bring and what to leave here...

Yes, we moved from the UK. We interviewed various moving company reps and settled upon Abels. Not the cheapest but quality of service is second to none. (Previous moves.) They have in their group UTS and it was suggested that they would cost less than Abels but still provide the same quality of service as they have the same set of performance criteria.
UTS are not the cheapest but for us, they were excellent and their agents over here, equally as good. (Be very specific when making your needs known to the Maltese workers when they deliver. I have found that one has to be VERY specific when dealing with some Maltese providing any service.)

Only you will decide what to bring but as we approach the cooler and wetter months (storm raging outside as I write)consider: electric blankets, warm fleece lined clothing. Also check out equivalent costs of some electrical items, heaters, TVs etc. We packed as much as possible into large plastic boxes with sealable lids for storage of clothing etc out here too. Copied all CDs to hard disks, put all DVDs into albums and got rid of original packaging; saves space. Good luck

Many thanks for your reply Redmik. We will certainly take your suggestions on board. Awaiting exchange of contracts here before we start moving everything!!! Quite an in limbo and tense time as we have been here before earlier this year!

chinooks wrote:

Many thanks for your reply Redmik.

Oh dear, I didn't notice or I forgot that you are Maltese so you will know what I have written about! When was the last time you were here?

I left Malta when I was 18.....many years ago!! But we come over a few times a year, albeit only for a few days at a time.
I am quite nervous about relocating after all this time, as well as being very excited. I am under no illusions that there will be many things I will miss and find frustrating...
And I am very grateful for all the practical advice. My husband and I have had many sleepless nights worrying about things I can tell you....need to sign on the dotted line first as it has been quite a traumatic year with selling our place here.

I can empathise with your situation and how you may be feeling.
To be 'in limbo' is very uncomfortable; no control and just waiting. (Oh the waiting!) It's a huge decision to make and then enact, so there will naturally be anxiety and the endless 'what if' mind games.
Action is what you need and something you can control and when the time comes, I would suggest that a lot of fear and anxiety will evaporate; to be replaced with excitement. When you get back here  you may well find that a lot of 'buried' knowledge and personality will resurface and you will fit right back in. Obviously there will be differences and the degree at which you will either be disappointed or surprised will depend upon your expectations and 'mind set'. Best wishes to you and good luck, though I have no doubt you will be OK.

Thank you!

I brought all household stuff from Sydney & it  took 3 days of running around various govt .dept & much paper work to clear customs.
Also they will charge you customs duty on all Personal stuff no matter what it is & how old.
You are supposed to get a refund after 1 year if you apply @ Customs though weeks later I'm still waiting.