Curious - how long DID it take for your belongings to arrive? (US to UK)

My hubs, I do believe, is in for a shock - while he has made plenty of corporate moves, they've all been domestic - and never with kids.

Once your earthly possesions have been packed up by the movers, what was the average time for transport?

(we're looking at a Chicago-Wales move.)

Just curious as to how this bit works. We aren't sure what we should move vs buy there, although with preschoolers, consistency is best and I think they'd do better with their own beds, etc around.

Thanks so much!

Jenn

Once your earthly possesions have been packed up by the movers, what was the average time for transport?

(we're looking at a Chicago-Wales move.)

Just curious as to how this bit works. We aren't sure what we should move vs buy there, although with preschoolers, consistency is best and I think they'd do better with their own beds, etc around.

Thanks so much!

Jenn

We moved a good majority of our 2600 square feet two-story US home home late last year. (we're from the Chicago suburbs) The movers came out around October 25th and our stuff cleared customs in the UK the first week of December. We had it moved into a house immediately.

If I had it to do over again, I'd have left our bedroom furniture sets behind and bought new sets in the UK as the bedrooms are considerably smaller in the UK and our American bedroom sets are massive. We used the move as an opportunity to weed through the kids' toys and we only took the stuff they were still hugely interested in. The kids haven't missed anything that got left behind. And being without their stuff for so long (we actually went to the UK 5 months before our house was packed up) it was like Christmas day when they unpacked their rooms.

We did a lot of research and brought over the electronics that we could make work in the UK (PS2, Wii, etc) and sold off what wouldn't work. (tvs, dvd players, my beloved Dyson as it would be too much of a hassle) I was able to bring all of my lamps as all my husband had to do was switch out the plug. (he was a trained electrician during his Royal Navy days)

I believe mine took about six weeks - that was Providence, RI to Wales. That's from the day the movers packed me up in Providence to the day my things were all delivered to my new house in Wales. If I remember, they estimated six weeks and it was just about right. Your movers should be able to give you a ball-park idea of how long it'll take.

Since yours is a corporate move you should get the company to agree to pay for some excess luggage for your flight here.  This will enable you to perhaps bring with you some of the childrens favorite toys and of course enough clothing until your shipment arrives.
A bit off topic here but I also just thought that you should ask the company to give you an allowance to re-stock your house in Wales with essentials.  What we included in this were mops, buckets and general cleaning supplies that you would have left in the States.  We also included a few kitchen essentials as well.  The reasoning behind this is that if you didn't have to move you would not have to be purchasing these items.  You might be able to include things like an iron and even a new Dyson as these electrial items you cannot bring with you.

Just a note of caution about bringing over games consoles (Wii, Xbox)  You may get them to work here but you will not be able to purchase games for them here as the USA and Europe use a different system - PAL vs NTSC (at least that is what I think it is)

mops, buckets and general cleaning supplies that you would have left in the States. 

I brought all my mops, buckets, etc.! 

But how I wish I'd had a corporate move - that sounds like very good advice about the excess luggage and restocking the house.

Two and a half years!  Just kidding! It took me two and a half years to organise my stuff to get it sent over.

By boat, it took about two - three months to arrive. If I remeber rightly, it was the customs form which caused the most grief and we had to claim back money as there was a misunderstanding about the contents (i.e. that the items were preowned and therefore, no tax was required).   

 

Seven weeks.

Breakdown:
Company: UPakWeShip

Goods: 28 boxes coming within the size of 100 cubic feet.

From and to: Austin TX to Essex/London border region, "warehouse to door" selection of drop-off/delievery.

Time of year (can affect things as there are busier periods) July

Promised/estimated window of time: 6 to 8 weeks in "peak " shipping time of July, their busiest apparently, so I was warned it might be the higher end rather than the 6.

Arrival time in the UK: 7 weeks.

In my case, I did not ship or bring any domestic items such as mops and brooms, small appliances, or furniture such as couches, beds, TVs etc.

Mainly because most of mine were aging/not worth doing anything with but replacing anyway/ or were cheaply and easily replaceable once in the UK.

The packer-uppers arrived November 19 in Providence, Rhode Island and my stuff was ready to be dropped off January 5 in East Sussex (heh. Sometimes it's handy to have kept a blog).

Mine was picked up in California at the end of January, sat in a warehouse for a while, finally got on the boat in February, arrived in the UK at the beginning of April, and is now in customs.  I hope it will arrive soon, but am not holding my breath. 

Just a note of caution about bringing over games consoles (Wii, Xbox)  You may get them to work here but you will not be able to purchase games for them here as the USA and Europe use a different system - PAL vs NTSC (at least that is what I think it is)

That is a very good thing to point out. We figured it wasn't worth reinvesting all the money we spent on the consoles and games on the UK side as the kids have so many games as it is. And the games make great gift ideas for our US relatives when they ask me what the kids want for their birthdays and Christmases ... small + light = less expensive to mail. The cost of mailing stuff is a major complaint I get from my mom.

Yikes!  It will be interesting to coordinate - and we may be moving late July, so its a good heads-up that this is the busiest time.

Our move will likely be a short one - 2-3 years - so what we don't bring (after weeding out) will be put into storage.  That said, how expensive is it for new beds and the like? Hadn't considered that (and both kids do have large dressers). 

Would the kids' twin mattresses fit on a UK twin-size bed?

I AM looking forward to weeding out the kids toys, although I don't know where to start!

The extra luggage allowance is a brilliant tip!

Amy, where were you in the 'burbs? I'm in Barrington, now (although I've lived in Oak Park, Downers Grove, Streamwood and downtown!)

Our move will likely be a short one - 2-3 years - so what we don't bring (after weeding out) will be put into storage.  That said, how expensive is it for new beds and the like? Hadn't considered that (and both kids do have large dressers). 

It depends where you shop and what type of furniture you buy. You can get fairly low-priced flat-packed furniture here, but it will require self-assembly and won't be as  good quality as ready-made furniture.

I recently moved and needed to buy some new furniture. I got a flat-packed bedside table (nightstand) and a 6-drawer chest of drawers for about £150 from B&Q (similar store to Home Depot). However, when I looked some of the other furniture stores, bedside tables were going for over £200 and chests of drawers were about £300! I'd say that beds would cost you anywhere from less than £100 up to several hundred pounds, depending on where you shop (beds in stores like Argos and IKEA range from about £50 up to £500).

Would the kids' twin mattresses fit on a UK twin-size bed?

According to the Wiki page on mattresses, a US Twin mattress is the same length as a UK Twin (known as a Single in the UK), but 3 inches wider (US: 39x75 inches, UK 36x75 inches), so their mattresses may overhang the UK beds at the side a little.

Stuff packed up & collected (from US storage unit) at the end of Nov 2007...arrived at my UK house sometime in early March 2008.

Yikes!  It will be interesting to coordinate - and we may be moving late July, so its a good heads-up that this is the busiest time.

Our move will likely be a short one - 2-3 years - so what we don't bring (after weeding out) will be put into storage.  That said, how expensive is it for new beds and the like? Hadn't considered that (and both kids do have large dressers). 

Would the kids' twin mattresses fit on a UK twin-size bed?

I AM looking forward to weeding out the kids toys, although I don't know where to start!

The extra luggage allowance is a brilliant tip!

Amy, where were you in the 'burbs? I'm in Barrington, now (although I've lived in Oak Park, Downers Grove, Streamwood and downtown!)

We had what would have been considered normal furniture in the US which then became ridiculously big in the UK. You might be okay with the kids' twin-sized beds. I'm planning on buying new furniture for my room and really wish I had never brought my set in the first place.

I grew up in Naperville and stuck to that area. We moved from Plainfield when we went to the UK. I used to work at United Airlines HQ in Elk Grove Village. I'm quite familiar with the northern 'burbs.

Good luck with your upcoming move. It's stressful but in the end a fun adventure!

Ok, so another question - for those of you with kids, what did you DO until your furniture arrived? Air mattresses?

I have a 5yo and a 3yo....

(which is why I'm wondering if we shouldn't buy them something over there - IKEA wise)