Moving to us - what to take, what to leave?

[dodgykeeper]

We're moving to the states later this year. Besides a supply of proper chocolate, what do you think I should bring and what things are better to leave and replace when we get there?

Don't bring electrical items as they won't work.

If the move is paid for, bring everything else!

If you're going to be buying new beds in the US, they are different sizes (i.e. a UK queen is not the same as a US queen) so there's no point bringing sheets.

Also bring: mincepies, instant coffee if you're particluar about that, marmite & ribena (I have to have it for 'emergencies').

Where are you moving to?

Just a note, the reason people don't use sterilising solutions etc. for bottles is that virtually everyone has a dishwasher!
Again, baby-related... grobags and high chairs that clip to the table are hard to find here.
Can't think of too much else, most things are cheaper and more readily available.

Are you moving permanently? Do you have a relocation budget (to buy new essentials e.g. a tv) if you are moving with a job? As already mentioned, don't bring anything electrical. Good point about the bed sheets too. I would buy a bed here - they're sooooo much nicer. Depends also if you are paying for shipping the goods or someone else is - if it's the former, bring nothing but the aforementioned chocolate and if it's the latter bring as much as you want - the houses are so big here you'll need plenty of stuff to fill it! Good luck - where are you moving to?

Quick addition. Another Expat here who moved last year. You can bring your electrical appliances if you want - buy a ramp up adaptor. I brought my Kenwood Chef foodmixer. The same goes for most modern computers as they are dual voltage 110/220. So we brought our Dell too. As for chocolate - ask Califrau - I've got a secret supplier here in Colorado real Cadbury's. English Shop. Mamama whats wrong with instant coffee here???? Top tip for shopping - Target/SuperTarget. Good quality and cheap for furniture, bedding clothing toys electrical appliances.

If your children are particular about their toothpaste (I seem to be able to find only bubblegum and berry flavour, used to love minty children's one in the UK) or medicine (eg Ibuprofen) bring a supply. Grobags are hard to come by, and drinkable instant coffee even harder. You will probably have plenty of storage in your new home, so bring EVERYTHING - we have found filling our Houston home quite a challenge... Target and Walmart great for just arriving purchases, and I strongly recommend a portable DVD player for the car to entertain your children while you are house-hunting! Good luck, hope you are very happy with your move.

Im so glad you mentioned the toothpaste Riana - my son is VERY picky about that! Alipiggie, I asumed the computer and laptop would be no use there - thats something to look into. A new computer would be an extra expense I could do without!
It looks like dhs company are going to pay all the shipping so I am planning to pack that container to bursting - not looking forward to listing everything though

Does anyone know if my daugther's nintendo DS will charge ok over there? Will we need a new charger or just an adaptor? Also do car chargers work the same in us cars (Im thinking about the portable dvd player) ? I love having somewhere to ask all these dumb questions without embarssment.

Not sure about incar chargers will look into that for you. You can get Ibuprofen for children, just not anything paracetmol based, so if you use Calpol bring a stash of that with you. Tylenol here is equally effective. The removal firm should list everything for you. The US can be fussy about you bringing in alcohol, but our firm just packed winked and said we didn't see it.

There are threads on here about removal firms. Just one tip - make sure you make friends with your agent on this side. It's imperative to ensure that they push your goods through Customs otherwise customs will charge you storage. Make sure you have electronic copies of all your paperwork - the Visas for you all, an address in the USA is a must have, copies of your passports and be prepared to send everything at least twice to the shipping firm.

Also make sure one of you gets a social security number. You need this in the States to open bank accounts, get cell phones on contracts etc etc etc. And for this you need the I94 you receive at point of entry, passport, letter from employer, copy of contract. And you'll need to take a US driving test after specific period of time to be able to drive. But there's loads of other threads about moving to the US, so apologies if you asked these questions before.

Boys pants, that's so funny. I always get friends / relatives to send pants for my ds because apart from the 'widgie holes' they're just plain ugly!

Another note on the shipping, don't underestimate the value of anything on the insurance. We had a couple of things damaged and if you take a few photos and claim for it they usually pay up pretty quickly.

Dh says that the nintendo should just need an adaptor and the dvd car charger will definately work ok.

In car DVD will work - pretty easy to unlock region of any DVD player... just Google 'DVD hack'.
We stayed in a corporate apartment for 6 weeks (instead of hotel) when we arrived and that worked very well. They seem to all have pools and gyms and cleaning service, so many perks of hotel without the constant 'macaroni and cheese' of restaurant dining.

When you're busy worrying about everything you will have to buy again when you arrive here, don't forget that EVERYTHING is much much cheaper than in the UK!

Forgot to say that our Dell laptop works fine here. But then you can buy them here for just $400 anyway... a very disposable culture.