if you got to craigslist NY and go to the free stuff you will find tons of IKEA free, available on the curbs of the streets of NY.........people throw it out.......it is far more fun to get dominican made furniture. there is some excellent quality available at reasonable cost..............the problem arises when new homeowners want to fill a space, they want it done in a day. in SDQ it took me three months......you have to shop till you drop and then do it again.........prices can change in a day,,,,,,,there are deals to be had............i wound up buying from 22 different stores and a guy on the street carrying a dresser. don't buy anything until you've checked out a bunch of stores.........what i thought was going to be fun turned out to be a job because i hurried.........i know some places better than the employees.....appliances are the real tough part. expensive, poor quality, compared to the US...........ship those if you can, but appliances here run on 110 volts AC so european stuff is out.................starting from scratch is tough because all the little things that one takes for granted have to be bought new, a screwdriver, roll of tape, scissors, thumbtacks, candles, matches, light bulbs, pens & pencils, batteries, hammer, string............the little things that we all have in a drawer somewhere, and take for granted, add up. good luck, it is a journey not a destination, take your time...............