<p>Howdy all,
My partner is starting his PhD at Irvine in the fall. He is an american citizen but we have both lived all our lives in New Zealand. We are moving over in early September and have a place in one of the graduate housing communities (not sure what kind of apartment yet). As we're coming from out of the country we're a bit worried about the move. We know the apartment will be unfurnished and with no contacts in California getting it furnished will be difficult. If anyone can give us any advice on how to furnish the apartment quickly (moving firms, good furniture stores/second hand stores etc...) we would really appreciate it.
Any advice in general is also welcome.</p>
<p>Cheers,
Airy</p>
<p>sometimes when college kids move into college dorms, they rent nice furniture instead of buying it. do you plan on living in irvine year round?</p>
<p>off the top of my head, ikea is known for cheap, interesting looking crap to furnish a house.</p>
<p>check on craigslist - you can search orange county and you will find a lot of good things....</p>
<p>Ikea, Target, and Costco, are short drives from campus and good places to find what you'll need. They all have good quality and fair prices. Costco is a membership warehouse, so you might want to go with a neighbor or someone in your partner's department who is a member to check it out the first time. </p>
<p>Consider renting a small van for a day or two. (Unless you have friendly neighbors who have one.) It's hard to get around in Southern California without a vehicle, and a small van will be big enough for furniture. You'd be able to do all your shopping and moving in quickly and conveniently. </p>
<p>It's normal to worry since this is such a long way for you, but you'll have a nice apartment, in a very safe community, with friendly American neighbors. </p>
<p>By the way, the Anteater Recreation Center (ARC) and the performing arts at UCI are excellent.</p>