Ship stuff or buy 'new'? (UK-US)

[FelicityWits]

Hiya!

We're moving to the US this spring/summer. It's a local hire deal so we have to be very mindful about budget.

There's a £5k 'pot' to be used either shipping stuff over or replacing things once in the US. We rent here in the UK and don't actually own much we'd be desperate to ship in terms of big items - a couple of sofas, maybe the DCs bunk beds - and then stuff like my cookery books and le crueset and our clothes and some toys and so on.

Looking at quotes we're not sure it'd be cost effective to ship. Would it be a better idea to take the money and buy stuff once there? The only problem is we'd need to provide reciepts so my dreams of relying on craigslist and pocketing any leftover cash won't work...

How long do you anticipate being in America?

What is the arrangement with the company about shipping stuff back to the UK, when/if you wish to return?

What will you do with your UK stuff? Store? Sell?

Generally, I'd plan to ship clothes (of course), any important books/toys and buy most other things new in America. But do draw up a rough budget because kitchen utensils, bed linens, etc cost more than you think. And of course, you will need to buy small appliances (toaster, etc) and bigger items too (telly, etc). it can really add up quickly.

what part of America will you move to? Hope you have a fun adventure!

We won't be there long, a year or two.

If we left the sofas/beds we'd be able to store them with relatives (well the sofas would effectively be given to them), and stuff like TV and consoles on longterm loan unless we got transformers for the wii - dithering on that. I've told DH we're not paying for storage. I must check about shipping things back!! I hope the 5k isn't to cover both ways! Argh so disorganised My focus has been on the health insurance and schools to the exclusion of almost everything else.

I like the idea of getting second-hand stuff from the local craigslist but DH envisions us sleeping on inflatable mattresses while waiting for things to come up which are suitable

We'll be in IL, just outside Chicago

Hi Felicity. I can't help you, because I've lived here in America all my life, but there's a bunch of people on the Living in America thread that have either been in your position, or are are planning to move over here soon that can help.

We shipped, and I don't think it cost 5k, but it was three years ago now. We went for a part container option which cut the costs down, and we took pretty much everything. Even so we found we had to buys lots of stuff when we got there, and it does add up quite fast. You could try looking at a US website - somewhere like Target (slightly more upmarket that Walmart) or Ikea and just adding up all those basic household things that you would need (look around your kitchen for a start) and see how far your 5k gets you to see which option looks better. the other thing that you might want to consider is how much of a nester you are and how important having your own things around you is. We were certainly very very happy to have our home around us when your shipment arrived (although that might have been the 6 weeks wait!)

We don't have much we love - a lot of our furniture is ikea as it is and there doesn't seem much point shipping that really I think we could get the basics quite easily from ikea or similar. Another suggestion from DH's boss was that we rent furniture but that seems a strange option, I've only come across that when people are staging homes for sale.

But if we're leaving in a relatively short time I don't want to be having to worry about what to do with the furniture we've bought.

All I have on my must-buy list for the US place is a refurbed kitchenaid

You don't need a "transformer" for the Wii, btw. You just need to buy an American power supply. I use an American Wii here in the U.K. and picked up a power supply on the net for about 10 pounds.

I'd just buy the stuff you need there, to be honest. U.S. items are much cheaper and you'll be able to sell/leave whatever you want behind when it's time to return.

We lived in Chicago for 2 years (although it was 17 years ago!) we rented our furniture which back then a lot of people seemed to do. We did buy a few bits because once you discover the store Crate & Barrel your life with change forever! We moved over there with 6 boxes and came back with about 20!

Good luck with the move Chicago is fantastic.

Hulbanoo REALLY? I thought we needed a step-down transformer for electronics - big news if not!

oohermers I can imagine that being me! I'll look into renting furniture more seriously - guess it depends if hiring for a year/two will be as expensive as buying new/second hand not so nice stuff.

I am so excited to live in/near Chicago, thankyou! Whereabouts were you when you lived there, if you don't mind me asking?

The furniture we rented was brand new. We bought the dining chairs from the rental company when we left for $20 each they retailed at $180! Pottery Barn is another great store. Fantastic outlet stores around as well. Everything was so much cheaper compared to the UK.

We lived in Lincoln Park our apartment overlooked the zoo & beach! Had friends that lived in the suburbs which are really nice like Everston & Wilmet. You'll have an amazing time.

OOo renting sounds good then :) I've heard a lot about Pottery Barn from my US friends - it is probably a good thing it'll take a while to get my bank account set up!

Lincoln Park, amazing! Evanston is one of the places we considered carefully but I think we're pretty set on Oak Park as it's a bit more affordable (though not near the Lake), and apparently Evanston is a bit segregated. We have 3 DCs so schools have been our priority but I'd love to live properly in the city.

dh says that the Wii will work if you buy a TV in the US. However you won't be able to buy any US games for it. We have step up transformers for our Kenwood and our CD player - US power is lower than UK, so anything with a relatively powerful motor needs a step up transformer. Quite a lot of things can just be used with a simple plug converter.

If you don't have much big stuff, prob better to buy/rent in the US - there's IKEA here as well. I live about 4 hours from Chicago - I've been a couple of times & LOVE it. In fact, I dream of having a child free weekend there, pref. with some magic money that buys things without emptying my bank account.

Most electrical stuff not worth bringing over & some will need transformers that cost at least $100.

If there are particular brands you like, European ones are expensive - I still run my Dyson off a transformer, but I bought a brand new KitchenAid.

We brought everything over, but had just sold our house in the UK, and are here indefinitely, so a different situation. In fact, we filled an entire container

But you can pack & do a partial container. It could take a while to get to you so bring anything that you might need on the plane. We brought ALL the paperwork needed to buy a house/get bank sorted etc, as well as clothes, toys. Allow for your things to take a couple of months to arrive and pack as much as you can with the current luggage restrictions allowances.

Yes, the power cord detaches from the Wii console and isn't integrated so you can swap out cords without needing a transformer.

---and I loooooove Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel! When we have a chance to move back to the States, I'm outfitting my whole house with furnishings from the two. (Well, a girl can dream!)

Oh and I used to live in Chicago, as well (2 blocks from Wrigley Field) DH lived in Evanston for about 6 years. We miss it! Fab city! Enjoy!

I lived in Oak Park, its a great place, and when I was there, there were lots of elementary school families. Also I rented my furniture and at the time in Oak Park you didn't have to pay sales tax.
I would rent to start, and my company were quite happy to take stuff back as I bought (you literally can rent eveything including kitchen bins etc.).

Oak Park is really nice - home of Frank Lloyd Wright so amazing architecture. Bit further west is Oak Brook which has a fantastic shopping mall and restaurants. Another one of our favourite things to do in the summer was go to the Ravinia Festival. Make sure while you are living in the US you see as much of it as you can. Driving over there is so easy and flights are cheap. I think I need to move back!

I agree, Ikea and Target are the way to go for cheap stuff that requires receipts. The Ikea where we are has duvets- i got a cosy warm kingsized feather one from there for $50 the other month. I get our bedding from Ikea too (it's expensive over here!).

Personally, I'm glad I shipped my cookery books, so bring them . Think about the toys too- childrens items can be more expensive here for a lot of things and anything 'european' has a price premium.

PS Halbanoo PotteryBarn ship internationally now

personally i'm excited that John Lewis will now ship to me here in California, hee!