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.

I found pants easy to find but agree that getting properly sized large bras was a challenge.

The rules on vaccination and school attendance vary by state I think. In Illinois we had to have a form signed by a dr stating they’d had the required vaccines before they could start (international) school and nursery. They needed to have Hep B which wasn’t offered as standard in the U.K. then (but I think is now). For chicken pox I took along some photos of them with spots and these accepted that.

@BritInUS1 thank you so much for letting me know this! That’s a long time to wait for your shipment I hadn’t thought about the possible delays - and not to that extent. This info may in turn affect what we ship and whether some needs to go by air freight.

That delay is the sort of thing I’ll need to plan for. Particularly thinking about my 3yr olds toys and books which she’ll want quite quickly to help settle her in.

Thanks for all your advice on vaccination records, bcg (only the eldest child has had it out of the 3 as isn’t automatically offered anymore) so I’ll have to cross that bridge, credit history and the info about social security number all taken on board.

@SherryPalmer mine have all had chicken pox but not sure I could dig out photos to prove it. Not even sure if I took any it was so long ago for my eldest at least! I could prove my youngest easily actually as it was only last year she had it.

Also whoever mentioned the red books great…of course I need to dig the older two red books so they don’t end up being shipped.

What vaccinations (other than the standard) are required as some might need updating for eldest?

You cannot buy Zovirax , cold sore treatment in USA , it is prescription only, I have yo take it for my son in Florida

As said previously if you have some electrical equipment you need to take (electric guitars, amps for example) get a step up, step down transformer. If you come back to the UK you can easily sell them on the local Facebook market place - could have sold mine many times over when we came back. Also take a good stock of calpol if you use it - especially 6+, and lots of your favorite sanitary products for the first months. But a bread machine when you get there - the only way to get cheap decent bread. And get your school supplies early if you can, Target looks like locusts have visited the school supplies aisle by mid August. If using a Private school that doesn’t have uniform try and find out what the others children wear, their version of smart can differ from the UK and the children feel more comfortable if they fit in (ours was very ‘preppy’ and I needed to shift my ideas on what suitable was).

I found that remembering to take a supply of Zovirax meant nobody had a cold sore the whole time I was there. It might not work for everyone though .
SSN can be obtained quite easily by going to the office in person (I’m not sure what the name of the office is, I know it as “that place next door” to our apartment block). I applied for mine alongside my permission to work (L2 visa) and it took weeks. The bank (Bank of Americs) turned a blind eye to my not having an SSN and let me open an account anyway, because DH had a healthy bank balance. We found we started off with a tiny credit limit on cards, but it fid go up fast. Banking is behind the times. Our credit cards were compromised several times, the fact that they never check signatures doesn’t help and they take cards away to process them in restaurants which is disconcerting for British people who are paranoid about cloning.
Get as much help as you can from your company and their lawyers. DH has moved job recently and we now realise how useless his first lot were in supporting our move.

We set up a USA bank account with HSBC before we moved.
The only downside of this was that they don't have many physical branches in the USA.

We didn't bother getting checks at first, this was a mistake. As a pp says banking is quite old fashioned here, although the pandemic has actually helped a bit, we actually needed checks for quite a bit.

You can buy many identical products to Zovirax in Walgreens ... fear not 🌸

Although it cost me 17 dollars last time !!!

@paddlingon

Although it cost me 17 dollars last time !!!

no way... thats awful.. mines was $7

@QueenBee52

You can buy many identical products to Zovirax in Walgreens ... fear not 🌸

Ooh what is good? I have been having visitors bring Zovirax from the UK but I’m sure it’s all expired by now.

[quote acapulco]@SherryPalmer mine have all had chicken pox but not sure I could dig out photos to prove it. Not even sure if I took any it was so long ago for my eldest at least! I could prove my youngest easily actually as it was only last year she had it.

Also whoever mentioned the red books great…of course I need to dig the older two red books so they don’t end up being shipped.

What vaccinations (other than the standard) are required as some might need updating for eldest?[/quote]
I don’t know how up to date this is but it’s for LA schools.

achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/416/32.5%20BUL-1660.8%20Immunization%20Guidelines.PDF

Your UK GP should be able to print out everyone’s vaccination history and you may find that easier to use than the red book, but it doesn’t hurt to have both handy.

Abreva is good.. there are several alternative brand names.. you can get treatment .. but as others said it can be around $20 .. I bulk buy when there are deals on.. I just checked and I got a good deal timed it right ..

You can buy medicated products here that you would need a script for in the uk.. its incredible.. 😳

I thought that Acyclovir was prescription only in the US? You can buy cold sore cream there but I never saw any with Acyclovir (the active ingredient in Zovirax). I actually always buy own brand acyclovir in the U.K., the Sainsbury’s one is a fraction of the cost of branded Zovirax.

@Chemenger

I thought that Acyclovir was prescription only in the US? You can buy cold sore cream there but I never saw any with Acyclovir (the active ingredient in Zovirax). I actually always buy own brand acyclovir in the U.K., the Sainsbury’s one is a fraction of the cost of branded Zovirax.

Nope.. its in the alternative products here 🎉

times have changed 🌸

There’s a decent British shop in Santa Monica if you get a craving for Bourbon biscuits or hula hoops - ye olde king’s head I think?

I’m in New York and have found that standard medication like ibuprofen, hay fever stuff, paracetamol (“acetaminophen”) is WILDLY expensive - like ten times what you’d pay in the U.K., so I always stock up when I’m home.

I am in Los Angeles and happy to help. I can give you information on specific neighborhoods and the local schools. There is a California standard for vaccinations. I will look up a link and post it a little later. It also makes a difference if your kids are going to public school or private school . Hopefully you've begun the process for enrolling them in school because it's easier than England but different so you want to get started. I don't think you said the ages of your children but if any are still in Nursery that's actually the most difficult thing to find places for. Just PM me and I'm happy to give you the ins and outs.

I have a Capital One credit card I swear by, because if they think there's a fraudulent charge they just ask you in the app and you say yes or no. Works like a charm and much easier than others where they just refuse the payment, block the card and then eventually phone you to ask about it...

OP, welcome to the West coast! I'm in Norcal but the whole state really is beautiful (when it's not on fire). But because of the fires and earthquake risk you definitely need an emergency kit. It's recommended to have enough food and water for each person for 3 days, plus some cash in small bills and whatever else you want to have with you. We set ours up ages ago and I just change out the water every now and then. Actually that reminds me that the clothes in there are pre-covid and I would in no way fit in them now

I have a Capital One credit card I swear by, because if they think there's a fraudulent charge they just ask you in the app and you say yes or no. Works like a charm and much easier than others where they just refuse the payment, block the card and then eventually phone you to ask about it...

that's fantastic.. great to know.. Im going have a look.. thanks for sharing ☺️

@acapulco I am so jealous 🙂 have a wonderful time.

...bras can be really expensive over here, particularly if you're not a common size.

One of my DDs recently paid over $70 with tax for a bra. She goes to a specialty shop which attracts customers from four states.

What vaccinations (other than the standard) are required as some might need updating for eldest?

On that note, you will need to sign up with a pediatrician or family practice doctor ASAP.

Your DCs will need back to school physical exams, which can be hard to schedule. In my state the schools require an annual dental exam too. You can check if this is required for CA and you will need to sign up with a dental practice too.

If any of your DCs intend to play sports (team or individual) they will need annual physicals that are valid for the entire season/s of those sports.

The shots your older DCs might need, off the top of my head, would be gardasil (HPV), meningitis, hepatitis A and also B if never vaccinated, TDap or Td booster, covid of course.

Thank you all for this advice.

All useful info etc. It’s all been a bit last last minute as you can imagine as we had no guarantee we’d get a visa and initially we thought we’d be going next year. Such is covid life.

So I’m taking notes lots of them.

@noodlezoodle lol all a bit of a squeeze at the mo! All the talk of bread up thread made me eat a lot over the last couple of days!

I buy Aldi 40 calorie bread... keeps me sane lol 🌸

Bring your kitchen scales, or see if you can source one locally after you move; especially one that will convert units from ounces to mL or grams. Making recipes from "back home" or experimenting with recipes from the new home can help with settling in.