Moving to USA - what to take what to leave behind

[acapulco]

Hello lovelies!

So. Just that. I’m currently looking at blenders/nutribullets etc and lamps (around the house) but we won’t be bringing any big appliances. I’ve read slightly different things. Some say ditch all electricals and some say it’s could be worth shipping as they may work?

What would your advice be if you’ve done the move?

We won’t be bringing much furniture - tables and chairs and bits and pieces that should work.

I have the removal company coming to do a quote so want to have everything ready for next Tues.

Do you have any other tips for moving your stuff that you found useful particularly as travelling with a toddler (as well as teens)?

Thank you.

@QueenBee52

Wean your DCs off squash. You won't find it here.

you can get it in Publics 🌸

You can get those tiny bottles of “water enhancer” called Mio in target that taste like squash. They are incredibly strong and last forever.

Im addicted to......

Crystal Light..

Im so ashamed 😳🥴

You can get those tiny bottles of “water enhancer” called Mio in target that taste like squash. They are incredibly strong and last forever.

Ooh I'll look for those.. thank you 🌸

The new furniture comment is definitely true, USA friends are struggling with new furniture at present.
It is also quite expensive over here.

It is also true that things may vary a lot depending on where you are going.

Our large city has a huge range of 2nd hand furniture etc because it has a lot of work churn and downsizing.
It might be harder getting hold of stuff in smaller places.

Also if work are paying for a container you might as well fill it.

Not exactly a thing to bring but if your not already registered for an online library account in the UK do it before you go. I know mine carry a lot of us magazines and I let my aunt log in from the U.S when she’s feeling homesick.
And once you are out there it might be worthwhile investing in a VPN service (usually about $100 a year) so you can watch UK Netflix and other streaming services when you feel homesick.

Get rid of the kettle altogether and go to your nearest Chinatown (or Walmart at Chinese NY) and buy a water boiler. Hot water all the time!

We brought all of our furniture and it about half-filled the house we bought. We then bought quite a bit secondhand while we worked out where to get stuff we liked at prices we liked.

We gradually replaced all our bigger beds with US beds and mattresses so we also had to gradually replace all the bedding. TBH I wish we'd just started afresh with beds/bedding when we first arrived. I had this in-between stage where we had a cupboard full of bed linen of varying sizes.

My kids got good shoes in places like LLBean that do fitting.

When you arrive look for outlet stores for buying your winter clothing. Also Lands End does great discounts and their stuff is warm and good quality. No need to ever pay full price there.

Have fun! Where are you moving to?

Btw I use Readly to catch up on UK magazines. And StrongDNS to watch iPlayer, etc.

Depends on where you are going OP. A lot is location driven.

@giroux, have you tried Ticonderoga pencils?

x-post...

No need to order uniforms from M&S or Next.

If your school has a uniform they will have specific items and a uniform supplier. If they have a dress code, you can buy everything you need in a department store or a discounter like Marshalls/TJMaxx.

My PiL live in rural PA and the nearest proper city is over 2 hours away. Their small town supermarket definitely does not stock Yorkshire Tea or Marmite. The bread is horrible and you can't buy squash there.

I'm sure if you're in a big, cosmopolitan city it would be different.

We bought our tv and pc from the uk, and they work fine. We left behind food processors and kettle - very easy and cheap to replace. Buy a huge bag of adaptors from Amazon before you leave.
Depending on where you are, there's not a lot you can't get - I have an Amazon subscription to Yorkshire Gold and huge tubs of Marmite, and Britishcornershop.com is good for Christmas spices etc. Bread is fine from Whole Foods. Bring Savlon as they don't seem to have antiseptic cream, only antibiotic . Our kids are older and use the Tylenol chewable tablets.

Thanks everyone!

We’ll be in a big city but it’s really useful to know about the long lead times on furniture deliveries. That may affect some choices we make initially in terms of renting for sure.

I will site the info on Pencils - who knew- when you pick them up form your locks pins store or Tesco’s you don’t think about quality so much as they all work fine!

One thing I keep hearing is bring M&S (or primark etc) underwear. Why is this? Cheaper, better made? I’ll gladly take the advice but just curious as to why?

We have a Primark 🎉

There is likely nothing that you really, truly NEED that is not available in the US. Obviously some of this will require an adjustment - you may not find Digestives, but you will find loads of yummy cookies - but you are choosing to move to a new country so you know that already!

Finding UK goods varies massively around the country. Lots available on Amazon etc for a premium. And you will find substitutes (why do people go on about Hersheys like it's the only chocolate available?? There are plenty of good choices!)

If you are limited on what you can take in your shipment, prioritise personal/sentimental items and items like furniture, bikes, sport equipment etc that will cost a lot to replace. As PP have said, buy beds on arrival. Ikea is likely an option near your new home.

Some things are far more expensive in the US: contacts lenses, for example, and frankly most things to do with healthcare or dentistry. That will be down to good insurance. Bring enough prescription meds to last a few months, if possible, while you settle in and find a new GP.

Do not focus on what you will miss - clearly, you will miss plenty. But you'll find all sorts of exciting new stuff! It's an adventure.

One thing I keep hearing is bring M&S (or primark etc) underwear. Why is this? Cheaper, better made? I’ll gladly take the advice but just curious as to why?
This makes me laugh as in the couple of decades of travelling to the US to visit in-laws we've always stocked up on underwear/ socks/ basics in Target/ Walmart to bring back to the UK!

@BlueCowWonders

One thing I keep hearing is bring M&S (or primark etc) underwear. Why is this? Cheaper, better made? I’ll gladly take the advice but just curious as to why? This makes me laugh as in the couple of decades of travelling to the US to visit in-laws we've always stocked up on underwear/ socks/ basics in Target/ Walmart to bring back to the UK!

Because of all the things you want to be normal, comfortable and safe, underwear is the most important. If your arse is happy, you can deal with everything else.

I like Australian Bonds. Not Australian!

Make sure you bring the kids vaccination records and or their Redbook. You won't be able to get them into any nursery/ school/camp without it. And if your child was vaccinated with BCG at Birth which they do in some parts of England make sure you do a whole lot of research about that and not doing the TB skin test which is required everywhere in the US. There is now a blood test for TB which is accepted as an alternative but not really well known here, but an essential if your child has been vaccinated with BCG. You can get mcvitie's dark chocolate digestives here but you can't get custard creams. I buy my PG tips on Amazon direct from England as the stuff they sell in the American stores isn't as good. If you have your address in advance sign up for Nextdoor.com and get all the neighborhood gossip and great resources for babysitters and handymen and cleaners etc. for the neighborhood you're moving into ahead of time.

@MrsTerryPratchett lol.

I’m not focussing on what we’ll miss (apart from a good cup of tea!) just what to bother bringing or not in these times and any other moving advice!

Great advice here. You will think that people are obsessed with bread - you will be too! The sourdough is very nice but sometimes you just want a slice of bread that doesn’t need jaws of steel to deal with the crust, doesn’t have the density of a brick and that doesn’t have huge holes in it. All supermarket bread is sweet, although you can find “artisan” types that are better. Italian or Swiss bakeries are the answer. In Boston the best bread is found in the North End.
We live in a high rise apartment block, there is a constant stream of furniture, TVs, kitchen stuff etc being sold or given away on our Facebook group as people move in and out of the building. It would be really easy to furnish an apartment for next to nothing with nearly new stuff.

@Twizbe

A kettle with a plug adaptor.

Several friends have commented that you can't buy a kettle in the US!

I lived there 30 years and had two kettles in that time, both came from Macys and worked great. Get a breadmaker once there and make your own none sweet bread, I liked the bread I got Italian bread from a local baker and Orowheat potato bread. I'd just take clothes, favorite pans and dishes, All your memory stuff, phtots etc. Furniture isn't so expensive, Ikea is all over, for beds and bedding. Dh hung onto all his nice tools, and favorite toolbox.

I find buying uniform from Marks much cheaper than my schools preferred suppliers.
Some of this depends on the current exchange rate. Which recently has favored buying things in the UK not the USA.

Mobile phone packages are very expensive here and without a credit history I had to buy a phone and get pay as go when I arrived.

Getting your social security number should be a priority if you don't have one as it is used for a lot of things.

Having your dc's ( and if you want to study yours) vaccination records to hand is essential for registering for education.

If you are going to a city that gets cold, take this seriously and buy proper winter gear when the shops are selling it.

Primark is just arriving in the USA but this is location dependent.

Where we are currently has a chronic shortage of rental housing as a post pandemic issue with increased costs but if you have a relocation agent they should know all this. Just make sure any company rental budget covers any recent increases in your area, if there are any.

@acapulco

Thanks everyone!

We’ll be in a big city but it’s really useful to know about the long lead times on furniture deliveries. That may affect some choices we make initially in terms of renting for sure.

I will site the info on Pencils - who knew- when you pick them up form your locks pins store or Tesco’s you don’t think about quality so much as they all work fine!

One thing I keep hearing is bring M&S (or primark etc) underwear. Why is this? Cheaper, better made? I’ll gladly take the advice but just curious as to why?

I've no idea, but I do quite like M&S PJs, so I often encourage my mum/sister to buy them for me as presents.

We've always just bought our pencils from Target and they've been fine, but TBH once out of elementary school our students seem to use computers far more than they actually write anything these days.

I wonder when the cliché that you can't buy electric kettles in the US will finally disappear? Or that you can't get good cheese in supermarkets, or good food anywhere outside of major cities. None of those is true.