How many suitcases did you take on the plane?

I'm thinking this move might be hard to do with less the three suitcases a carryon and shoulder bag - the max continental will allow (at about $250 of course).  Eddie Bauer had their extra large rolling duffels on sale, so I got a couple of those.

Did you take the max on the plane or ship things?  Was it a hassle to have that many bags going through customs?  I'm flying into Manchester by myself, so I'm hoping luggage carts will be readily available!

Hi lunasera - yes there are luggage trolleys at the Manchester Airport, readily available.  You'll find them near the baggage claim carousels.  You can then wheel them through the airport to wherever it is you are catching further transport (train, taxi, etc) for your onward journey to Leeds.  You shouldn't have any trouble going through customs - just look up at the signs & go through the 'Nothing to Declare' exit into the next part of the airport.

Probably best that another student comments on how many suitcases they packed.  I moved over 6+ years ago & was moving over for good.  Back then, many of the airlines still allowed you to have two checked bags free of charge & DH was with me, so I had four full checked bags (plus carryon allowance) - plus I still had stuff in storage in the US that we shipped over later on.  But again, I was moving over to become a permanent resident.

How exciting!  When are you flying over?  I assume you have you visited Leeds before?  (There are also luggage trolleys in the Leeds train station.)  Give us a shout if you need anything. 

When I moved over last year, I was able to check two suitcases for free. So I had two large suitcases (not huge, though), a small duffel bag and a backpack. I considered myself to be moving over for good since I intend to stay here with my BF after finishing my degree. However, I did post two flat-rate boxes to my UK address prior to leaving the US since I couldn't fit the books and DVDs I wanted to bring into a suitcase. I still have quite a bit at my parents' house in Ohio, but I just bring a bit more back with me each time I visit.

I was once given advice to pull out everything I want to pack and then cut that amount in half. It's generally worked quite well for me as I always end up packing things I never wear!

Good luck with the move!

I just got a huge rolly duffel (Yay Macy's Labor Day Sale!) and I have a large rolly and a normal carry on.  And, that's all I'm bringing. Two to check and one to carry on.  I'm not packing more than two or three summery things (I can pick the rest up at Christmas) and I'm just bringing things I love and the functional things I need.  I love to shop, so I figure I can supplement what I didn't bring in Leeds.  I'm also using Space Bags to shrink my stuff.  I started tonight with a glass of wine and The Office on DVD.   

I'm not packing more than two or three summery things...

We are going to be having Indian Summer this month, you know!    'Course it'll feel more like a pleasant winter day in SoCal, however. 

When I moved to the US on a student visa 2.5 years ago, I travelled with just my free luggage allowance... two suitcases, 50lbs each. I was going to be living in the US for between 4 and 6 years (PhD student) which meant I had to pack up my entire life into 2 suitcases (well, actually it was more like 1.5 suitcases, because half of the second case was filled with English food to take with me )!

It turned out okay though, because I had all the essential things I needed with me (favourite clothes, music, DVDs, books) and anything else I wanted, I just bought when I got to the states. I left the rest of my belongings at my parents' house, which was actually a good thing, because I ended up moving back to the UK after 8 months (although, by that time I had about 3 times the amount of stuff I started with - I ended up with 3 suitcases worth of stuff, plus I shipped 4 boxes home too) .

How long are you going to be living in the UK for? If it's just a year, I would bring as little as you can, because you're going to have to get it all back to the US again at the end of the year.

A few years before I was a PhD student in the US, I did a study abroad year there too. I took, I think, two suitcases with me for the entire year, and still had to ship two boxes of stuff back to the UK, plus get my friend to take back several things for me when she visited home for Christmas!

I came over with one 70 litre rucksack.

Shipped 7 small-ish boxes of stuff over 7 years ago, after clearing the storage place I was renting monthly.

I moved over about a month ago.  I checked one large piece of luggage and paid $50 for an extra bag (large hiking backpack, both bags weighed about 50 pounds each).  Then I brought a small suitcase and a gigantic purse as my carry on.  That's all I needed, I left a lot of my books, dvds, kitchen stuff stored at my parents' house.  I don't have a big wardrobe and planned on just buying clothes as I stay here.

I had the two free 50 pound bags and I paid for one more that was 70 pounds.  I really don't need all this stuff, especially as a student I have had to move mult. times and moving all this stuff is getting old. 

Wow, it always amazes me when I read these tales of how people were able to bring so little!  
 I think my musical instruments alone would have cost me a fortune to bring had I paid for it myself, let alone all my books and prized possessions -and I thought I had done pretty good to down scaled from a 2 bedroom apartment complete with all the furniture to what I did.  Thank goodness my shipping was all paid for by my company.    

I commend all you who are able to fit your life into a couple of bags!!!

Just passed through Manchester Airport - there are lots of luggage trolleys, but you will need a pound coin or a euro coin to liberate one!  There is a change machine in the baggage hall that will give you pound coins.  You get your coin back when you return the trolley (you can do this at the train station).

One of the airport employees showed us how to liberate a trolley if you don't have a coin, but he swore me to secrecy, so I can't tell!

Manchester is generally a calm airport and you should have an easy arrival.

Have a good flight and welcome to England!

Ooh good to know about having a coin ready for the cart.  I went to school in Spain for a year just after college, and was able to travel with two suitcases and a guitar case.  10 years later I have accumulated WAY TOO MUCH STUFF!  I have been trying to parse it down, and I rented my house furnished which took away a lot of stress of having to move everything out, but I still have way too much.  I think I will have to do as suggested, that once my suitcases are almost full, take everything out and start over!

Continental only gives me one free bag, and I am always that person that's at 52 pounds, with the unyielding check in lady, so I think I'll just plan on being over.  If you plan on being almost 70 in two, that's almost the same as an extra suitcase!

I fly Wednesday so I have two more days to finish up, get my dogs last minute shots/paperwork, and head out!  I'll be renting a car at Manchester to return in Leeds a few days later (hopefully after buying a car), and I just hope that all these suitcases will fit into the car I rented!!  It's listed as a Vauxhall Corsa.  If I can get everything in a Camry here, and then I'm minus the dog and kennel on arrival, I think that will be okay?

When I moved over as a student in 2006, I only took 2 suitcases and a carryon- this was in the days that the suitcases could be 70lb each, so each suitcase was probably close to that weight.  I left behind a lot of my possessions at my parents' house-I moved over right after college though so all I had to deal with were personal effects like books and clothes- I didn't have much household stuff to deal with and ended up buying all those things over here.

I checked 4 suitcases and brought one on the plane + my wedding gown when I recently moved back to the UK permanently. In the past when I flew home to the US I checked 5.

I'm moving over in 2 weeks and I'm 90% packed already. Taking 2 (at least one of which will be overweight) checked bags, a backpack and a laptop case. I am really only travelling with clothes and necessities (including 6 pairs of trainers lol). I have discovered how heavy jeans are.

I put my personal effects in storage and I will have to get whatever I may want later somehow. I am planning to come back to the states at least once a year for a short visit so I imagine I will trickle things over that way. I am posting a box over with my heavier winter coats in it.