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moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Hey guys--
So I'm moving to London (YAY!) in three weeks. When I get there I'm going to stay in a vacation rental for either 2 weeks or a month (probably a month) and then move into a more permanent apartment.
I'm trying to figure out the best way to move all my stuff over there. The stuff I absolutely need is my clothes, my work clothes, make up, computer, documents, a few books... furniture and all that stuff will already be in the apartment.
My original plan was to bring 3 suitcases with me on the plane and try and stuff everything in there and ship the rest once I have a permanent apartment. I have no idea what the address will be after the first month and I might not even end up staying there that long, so I thought that would be best. But now I'm thinking there's no way that me-- 5'5 and 107 lbs-- is going to be able to lug 3 suitcases through customs and down the airport! I could ship it but I'm just worried I won't be able to fit everything I need in one bag. Also, it's SUPER expensive to ship stuff-- a 50 lb bag would cost me over $500 to Fedex and get it there in a timely manner (obviously I can't wait three weeks for it arrive because I might not be at the apartment then!).
I've moved SO many times in my life but just to different parts of LA so I've always just gathered everything up my friends car or my car or both and driven it there... I've never moved to another country before! Has anybody else gone through a similar situation?
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Airports have trolleys that you can toss all your luggage on and just push. I've seen families with mountains of suitcases on those things, so I think you'll be fine with 3. Flying with it is really the cheapest and simplest thing to do! Some airports even have porters who will help you lug your bags, though I have no idea how much they charge. You really will be fine with just a trolley though!
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
^ yup. if you can bring it on the plane with you, you don't get charged extra money ( i had to pay 20 bucks per bag for whatever wouldn't fit in overhead storage), but they don't want liquids more than a certain number of ounces in overhead.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
This is a fascinating question.
I did a search... Maybe this will be helpful...
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...4113920AA1rNu0
Perhaps try to sell off as much as you possibly can and get newer/nicer things after the move. I know how that advice sounds... but having some extra pocket cash and packing light may be incredibly freeing. Make a list of essentials and then edit... ruthlessly. Sell. Sell. Sell. And use that money to develop your new life overseas.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
It's been a few years, but ...
Generally speaking, in addition to a 'carry-on' bag, all airlines will allow one free ~60 pound bag on transatlantic flights. Particular airlines may or may not charge for a second ~60 pound bag on transatlantic flights. Additional ~60 pound 'extra bags' / 'oversized bags' will cost you $100-$200 each ... if they are booked in advance along with your ticket purchase. Also, generally speaking, anything that you bring in via suitcases when you arrive is 'assumed' by customs to be personal property that you will take with you when you leave ... thus usually no duties or VAT.
Anything shipped as 'air cargo' instead of 'extra bags' is cheaper on a cost per pound basis, but may be subjected to duties or VAT. It also requires a lot more 'paperwork'. Thus, for anything that you'll need to utilize almost immediately in the UK, your 'best bet' is to skip shipping 'air cargo' in favor of taking extra bags as luggage ...
A. Check out the 'fine print' on your particular airline's baggage weight and size, number of 'free' bags, and per bag weight limits.
B. buy a couple of cheap regulation sized 'roller' suitcases. You can usually bungie-cord a regular suitcase / backpack / small duffle bag onto the extended handle of the first 'roller' suitcase, and also bungie-cord your carry-on bag onto the extended handle of a second 'roller' suitcase. So you can easily handle 3 suitcases + a carry-on bag by yourself, as long as two of the suitcases have 'rollers'. When I was dancing 'on the road', I fit my entire 'feature show' into two roller suitcases, a 'gym bag', and a carry-on sized bag ... and managed lots of planes and trains no problem !!!
C. pack each of them such that none of the bags is within a couple of pounds of the weight limit ( using a bathroom scale to check ... 1 pound overweight creates a significant extra fee ), and
D. book the number of suitcases beyond your free baggage allowance as 'extra baggage' at the same time you advance book your airline ticket. Most airlines charge significantly lower 'extra baggage' fees via advance bookings than if you simply show up at the airport counter with the extra / overweight bags.
If you're like me, due to lots of clothes you'll probably hit the suitcase 'size' limit before the weight limit. One of the most helpful gadgets to reduce suitcase count that I ever ran across is vacuum seal clothes bags ... see . Using vac seal clothes bags also keeps the customs guys from doing nasty things with your G-strings LOL ! PS make sure that anything relating to dancing / 'adult' activities goes in the roller suitcases that you are going to 'check' and NOT in your carry-on !!! If you can 'hide' dancer outfits etc. in the center of a vac bag with regular clothes visible on top and bottom, this will also lower the risk of the customs guys asking you 'awkward' questions.
In terms of larger / heavier items, shipping from the US west coast to the UK is a 'long trip' ( at least compared to my own trip from the US east coast to the 'caribbean' ) thus comparatively slow. Also, these items will be subject to international shipping 'paperwork' requirements, as well as to potential duties and VAT once the 'one way' shipment' hits UK customs. As discussed above, 'air cargo' is usually unaffordable ( and UPS / FedEx are also 'air cargo' as you already discovered ). 'Ocean Freight' is comparatively cheap on a per pound basis, but may also take 5-8 weeks depending on whether the ship uses the Panama Canal or goes all the way around Chile.
So step one ... for anything that you won't need immediately, figure out anything you can purchase new in the UK at less than twice the 'present value' of the same item you already own. If you can buy new for less than twice the 'present value', between shipping costs, duties and VAT, the 'paperwork' hassle factor, and pickup / delivery hassles, you're better off buying new in the UK. You can 'recover' some of this cost by selling items you already own but won't be shipping to the UK to US private buyers / pawn shops before you leave !!! Also, where 'appliances' are concerned, there's no point in taking US standard 120v powered stuff, US broadcast standard stuff, etc. since it either A. won't work in the UK, or B. will cost so much for adapters that you might as well have bought new UK standard 220v UK broadcast standard stuff.
And step 2 ... Once you have determined what items you really need to ship to the UK, try to arrange everything you want to ship by ocean freight on a single wood pallet. Plastic wrap and shipping tape the hell out of it. Shop in advance for a 'real' shipping company that has a bonded warehouse in the UK ( like for example ) ... so that you can pick up your shipment when it arrives 5-8 weeks after you do, without having to list a specific UK delivery address at time of shipment. I would take a wild guess that a 4ft x 4ft x 4ft pallet regardless of weight will cost you $300 to ship from Santa Monica to London ( or other UK port city ) by 'slow boat' ... but no idea what UK customs may hit you with in terms of duties and VAT once it arrives. Of course, you'll have to pay extra for pickup / delivery services if you don't have a friend with a pickup truck on both ends to take your pallet to the Santa Monica warehouse and pick up your pallet at the London ( or other UK port city ) warehouse.
When I relocated 'way south of the border' I booked a standard 'half container' and shipped almost everything I owned ( including furniture, large appliances and a car ! ) for about $1500 total. But you're nowhere near my situation of having a whole 'household' to move. And you also have potential customs duties / VAT tax payments to worry about, which I didn't thanks to a 'permanent resident' exemption. Thus, personally speaking, I would use every trick I could to 'whittle down' the stuff you need to take with you to fit in three regulation suitcases which you can put on the plane as luggage ... and buy the rest new once you arrive in the UK !!!
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
try calling a moving company
there are freight forwarders that are a fraction of fedex etc
you cannot ship wooden pallets anymore overseas......plastic only............
as noted read the baggage details, it may be cheaper to have several smaller bags than one big checked bag,or not, they change and vary all the time
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Bax Global for instance......
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Compare the cost of moving to the cost of replacing the items when you arrive.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Quote:
you cannot ship wooden pallets anymore overseas......plastic only............
Like I said, it's been a few years. And this plastic pallet requirement will just add to the cost of 'ocean freight' shipment.
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try calling a moving company
Either a moving company, or a freight forwarder using local truck pick-up and delivery services, or for that matter UPS Ocean Freight, is going to add to the 'raw' cost of shipping port to port. And there's an additional complication in that the OP can't initially provide a UK street address for the moving company / freight forwarder's delivery truck, UPS truck to deliver to when the cargo ship makes port 5-8 weeks after her flight arrives. That smells like potential customs problems, and problems when the moving company / freight forwarder / UPS Ocean Freight tries to figure out how to actually deliver the pallet to the OP after it arrives at the UK port !!!
IMHO the OP sounds like she really doesn't have enough size and/or weight of 'stuff' needing to go to the UK to have to worry about anything but filling 3 suitcases, plus buying new when she arrives in the UK.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Thanks for all the advice guys!
I totally didn't think of the trolley thing. I know my flight will allow me to take 2 carry on bags and one checked bag under 50 lbs without charging me, so I was just going to pay the extra fee to add two additional checked bags (I think they're like $100 each or something so if there's a trolley maybe I'll even take 4. How I'm going to decide what to bring in those 3/4 bags, yeah I'm avoiding that decision....
I know I will have to ship some stuff afterwards, but it's just going to be my clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry, accessories, some school stuff, and books. I'm selling my car, all my furniture and everything else big I own. My family is letting me store what I can't take immediately in their garage, but it's going to take me probably a week to go through everything! I'm waiting until February 15th for that lovely fun task...
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Wow, you have some really tough choices to make! I pack two bags for a long weekend LOL! Good luck with your London adventures!
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
^well 3 50lb suitcases and 2 carry-ons :) but yeah it's gonna suck...
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
audrey_k
I'm selling my car, all my furniture and everything else big I own.
Hahaha I might be interested in your furniture!
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
a cruise will be cheaper and more fun!! I think its less than $800 for a 10 day cruise from ny to london and I'm sure they allow extra bags for a reasonable fee.
other than that, you can easily pay a driver to carry your bags to and from check in atthe airport.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Cruising to London and not getting back on the ship sounds like so much fun. lol
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
LAChloe
Hahaha I might be interested in your furniture!
Dude if you're looking for furniture PM me! lol.
A cruise would be awesome but I get super seasick so I don't think I would get to enjoy it, lol. My ticket was actually crazy cheap, less than $600 I got lucky, the extra two bags are gonna be $195. I was hoping it would be less but thanks Melonie for mentioning the prepaid thing cause I'm gonna save a couple hundred that way!
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
This is really hard!
My airline will only let me bring two extra bags on the flight so I have my carry-on, my make up box, and 3 50lb suitcases. I'm basically just bringing important documents, shoes, clothes, bags, and handbags. My mom offered to let me store some stuff in her garage and said she would ship it to me, but that might not be for a couple months. I can fit my handbags, jewelry box (which is huge and bulky but just so pretty and would cost a fortune to ship), computer and maybe a sweater or a few thin tops in my carry on. I'm gonna stuff the remainder of my Sephora make up-box with my underwear....
Does anybody have any advice for decisive packing? I went through just my tops and thought I was being really aggressive about what I was keeping and I picked out enough tops to fill one of my suitcases...
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
really they won't even charge you up the wahoo for extra bags?
just as a note, an 18x18x24 box weighing 60 pounds costs between 250 and 300 bucks to ship via mail or fedex. USPS online is cheaper than at the post office
db schenker has an office in LA, they should be able to give you a phone quote based on size and weight.
Very large boxes cost as much as very heavy boxes, and very heavy boxes cost as much as very large boxes.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Re: aggressive packing, instead of folding things, roll them up as tightly as possible, if you do not have the space-bag things to vacuum out the air. That right there will save you a buttload of space. If you are having to choose a limited number of the same garment i.e. shirts, your first choices should be ones of a gauzy or filmy fabric that you can wash in the sink/shower & hang up to dry overnite. Also just stay w/ basic colours that can go w/ anything as well as w/ each other. This is how I can live out of my dance bag (a three-compartment midsize duffel) for a solid two wks. Toiletries can be picked up once you reach your destination.
Wrap fragile items w/ clothes & you kill two birds w/ one stone. If you have more than a couple handbags, maybe just pick your two favourites & replace the others w/ more clothes? right now I would worry more abt essentials. Everything else can be shipped, & it does not have to be shipped all at once.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
^^^ I'll repeat that it's definitely worth investing in the 'space bags'. Once you vacuum the air out, these clothes bags allow 3 times as many articles of clothing to fit in the same suitcase !!! Virtually every bargain department store sells them for, like, ten dollars ... much cheaper than shipping an extra box after the fact !!!
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
My sister moved to England last year and she sold off most of her stuff and the rest she put in her car. She had the car shipped to the UK 3 weeks before she got there. It took that long for the car to arrive. So by the time she got there her vehicle and remaining stuff had arrived. Good Luck. London is awesome!
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Oldster-- thanks to Melonie's suggestion to prepay for the bags it was pretty cheap, it ended up being around $97 per bag. But thanks for the info! Air New Zealand will only let me prepay for up to 2 bags, I can bring more but then I have to pay full price for them and it starts to get crazy expensive, like 450 pounds for all three or something.
Thanks for the advice on the space bags guys! I will definitely pick some of those up. I'm trying to bring my expensive stuff with me on the plane so I don't have to worry about it getting lost in the mail or something but I may have to be a bit more conservative with that...
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
Those space bags are awesome! I finished packing everything this afternoon, unfortunately now that I've weight my bags two of them are 5 pounds over and one of them is 10 pounds over. How lenient are airport people about bags being overweight? Can I get away with 5 lbs?
Also, I'm wondering if I should even bother packing my straightener/curling iron and those kinds of things? I know they won't work there, but it's annoying to throw out my $150 Chi. >:(
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
You can buy a voltage converter.
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Re: moving... best way to transport my stuff to another country?
I bought a converter the last time I was there but it didn't work because too much power went to the straighter. I bought something that was supposed to convert the voltage but it didn't work really well and the cheapest one I could find was like 50 pounds so I just ended up buying a cheap straightener while I was there. I'm wondering if it might be better to just invest in a new one.