Going overseas for 3 years - what to take?

[OffOffandAway]

Is it worth shipping our ten year old sofas and armchairs? The children's beds and bedroom furniture (IKEA)? Our glass dining table? Rugs?

What about books (we have loads)?

And crockery, pots & pans, food processor etc, the iron, ironing board?

Towels, bedding? All bulky.

And the children's toys?

On one hand, I had thought we'd buy new (other than the toys), as our current stuff is getting on and I'm worried might not survive the shipping (esp both ways). But now I'm looking around at the house contents and thinking that to re-buy the whole lot will be rather expensive, and very time-consuming. But the costs of shipping seem high, for what are now relatively worthless items, and it seems a lot to move for only 3 years. But moving some and leaving some in the UK seems the worst of all worlds - paying for storage here in the UK for a load of stuff that may seem quite aged on our return.

Any advice? Do we just need to have a serious de-clutter and take the big stuff and accept we'll buy new on our return?

Where are you going to?

Are you having to ship your own goods or is the company taking it? It will be VERY expensive to replace everything, and then you need to work out in 3 yrs if you'll do that all over again. Do also consider if your electrical goods will work wherever you are moving. Plus you will have some measure of shipment, kids favourite toys etc..

We culled some of our stuff (moving for 2.5yrs initially) into storage, spare couch, all the garage stuff (as didn't know if we'd get a garden), big fridge and some other appliances, photo albums, books/cd's etc... But the company paid for that and the stuff we did move.

It depends on a) who is paying for shipping and/or storage, and b) where you are going - low cost or high cost country, do they have ikea, or the equivalent, or a tradition of garage sales, or a high turnover of expats so the likelihood of being able to pick what you need up cheap from people leaving the country. It also depends on how much living space you will have in the new country.

If the company will pay for shipping both ways, you might as well take all the furniture and essential household items, basic toys etc you think you will need, but I would advise taking this as the cue for serious decluttering and getting rid of a lot of clothes, toys, books, household junk and so on. By the time you have packed and unpacked them a couple of times you will wish you had never bothered. Bear in mind that you will almost certainly be acquiring more books and toys etc while you are away. If you are paying, shipping everything can get very expensive (£10k plus for one container to or from the far east, for example).

And as jemesouviens says, check whether your electrical items will work where you are going - computers and so on are often multivoltage these days, but kettles etc are not, and TV systems are often incompatible.

I returned to the UK after 12 years away and spent the first year or so going through and getting rid of half the 'essentials' we had left in storage... And a lot of the furniture I bought overseas and shipped back looked completely out of place in the victorian house I now live in, so I ended up getting rid of it and buying older stuff on Ebay.

Thanks. We're off to the Far East, so concerned about the climate and humidity on our stuff, too. Shipping will be paid by our company. But worried about the shipping process - will leather sofas, books, clothes, soft furnishings, TV be OK after being shipped? I guess containers aren't air and watertight?

And can you fit the contents of a large house into a small container?!

If a container is £10k each way, I estimate we could buy temporary furniture for similar (£20k) - I priced up a sitting room at £5k, kid's bedrooms are a few hundred, our bedroom probably £1500. No electricals in that, but the kitchen will be fitted, and we don't need a big TV (only really watch films). But perhaps the pots & pans, crockery etc mount up?

Could we air freight bedding, towels, clothes & toys? Or is that going to be even more expensive?

I can see that if we are going to have to have a container, we may as well fill it and save renewing everything.

Perhaps we could take our house contents and sell much of it on before we return to the UK, by the time we return in 3 years we'd be due to replace our furniture anyway.

My biggest concern is books - I have loads. But perhaps I'll have to get into reading by i-Pad while I'm away!

I agree we're overdue a de-clutter, anyway. Keep putting it off!

I wouldn't take furniture unless your container will be there before you. Do take essential books, toys, bedlinen/towels etc.

Our electricals were fine in our container. Word of advice though: put anti-moth/mite/other pest stuff in all your boxes.

Put your soft stuff in bin bags, then boxes, then wrap in bin bags. Also take photos and detailed inventory so if there is any damage then you can claim. Accidents do happen - one if our neighbours had a leaky box and half her stuff was just drowned in salt water.

The small things do really mount up but don't put anything into a container that you can't replace!

When we moved overseas, we took everything except large electricals. You have to check to see if your TV is compatible, electricity on same cycle, etc.

The shippers will pack your goods for the journey and you will be well insured.

The other consideration is the size of property you will have there. Will it be the same size or bigger than where you are now?

Do you want to rent out your UK house as furnished or unfurnished? Have you spoken to a lettings agent to get an idea of the market.

If you decide to leave your furniture in the UK, will you have the cash to completely rekit your new house?

My advice is very similar to the others.

Leave furniture, you can always get good local or stuff from others that are leaving.

You will need to buy all electricals, fridge, washing machine in particular, there, as they will need to be tropicalised. But TV there also, as UK TVs work on a pre-set frequencies.

I always take with me my good bedding, linen, towels, children's toys especially bikes, all our personal items like photos and pictures and yes we do end up with all the books too!

We have shipped furniture as well and our stuff has been in a container for MONTHS at a time in some instances, we have rarely had any damage, though it all smells pretty fusty when it arrives.

Do you get a moving allowance? Is the company paying for shipping? You will need to choose between a 20ft and a 40ft container.

A 20ft container should do you if you are not taking any furniture at all, but a 40ft will fit in a three bedroom house with basic furniture (eg bed x 2, sofa, chest of drawers).

When you arrive see if there is a company hiring out furniture then you can rent some until your container arrives or while you look locally for some items.

You can sell most of your furniture before you go on ebay for example or give (sell) it to friends and familly. I leaved in japan for 3 years and almost everything would have had rotten because of the high humidity there. also if you are not sure of the dimensions of the place you are moving to, you can be cramped with your current furniture in a much smaller place.
There are always other expat leaving when you arrive and they will most probably sell off what they bought on arriving.
Leave most of the papers and books if you go to a humid country they will be damaged.
take personal items, if you have very young children take their bedrooms and toys so they can feel at home. teenagers and older children can probably make a choice of what they can take or not.
most of the countries have a rental with white good included (actually everytime I have rented, washing mashine, fridge, sometime TV and microwave have been included, the only place I had to buy a washing mashine was in the UK). The TV is better bought when you arrive too.
I left my home country for 3 years,... 12 years ago and I am still not back. Most of the things I packed then are useless to me now. But I do travel light and do cleaning up quite often. You can feel at home if anywhere if you have some pictures and familly heirloom you can take with you. and a few favorite books.

Everything will travel ok and arrive in one piece but depends if you really want it with you?

It's very easy (I've done it) to fall into the trap of putting everything in storage in the UK. The problem is it's expensive and when you eventually return you realise you don't need the stuff (well you managed without it for xxx years anyway)! The other danger is that 3 years turns into 5,6,7, etc or you move on to a 3rd country and not back to UK.

to answer your questions more closely, Yes have a massive declutter. The iron will probably not work abroad, buy a new one on arrival.
take some toys, probably the children bedrooms, your "glass" dinning table won't survive the trip. Your bed (if you are sure it is not included in the rent).
Most foreign country also have storage, like cupboard or pantry or both, which almost all of the UK house are missing. so I will probably not take anywardrobe, big chest of drawers...
Ask somebody who is there already what are the necessaries, they might have a expat web site or emailgroup you can join beforehand.
If you are more specific to where you are going may some MN expat can help you to make an more informed choice

I think some shippers charge about £4K to New Zealand so it may be slightly cheaper to the Far East.

We shipped two small batches of stuff and I wish we had brought it all. Not least cos it would have saved us so much time and effort re buying everything we needed. It costs a lot more to buy than you think and you don;t know where to shop to save money in a new country. Particularly if it doesn't have IKEA.

I agree, TLK. Not knowing the value places is a real problem for a newly arrived expat.

We moved out of a 4bed house, and leaving the garage/garden stuff behind, we managed in a 20ft container. It all depends what is in your conditions of employment. They may do it by weight limit (20ft container was about 7000lbs) or volume. There may also be a split store/ship option.

Also when you arrive, check your contract, they should be putting you up in furnished short term accommodation for at least a month, gives you time to find your permanent place and for your stuff to arrive.

We moved to Canada and the shipping took 3 weeks, very fast IME.

Thanks again.

It's the saltwater in the container stories that worry me!

I think we'll end up taking our furniture and if it comes to it, leave it there when we return. We'll need a container for the toys and bikes, it seems cruel to leave all of the children's things - they need some familiarity.

We may end up staying longer than 3 years, so I suppose the storage in the UK will be pretty pricey. And the 'stuff' will probably be redundant when we return! I'll triple wrap and photograph everything, as suggested.

Will glasses, crockery, vases, photoframes survive the shipping? If bubble-wrapped? Or is it non-breakables only (the glass-topped table won't be coming!).

But I'll leave our wardrobes, and likely buy new beds - very heavy and bulky, and due an upgrade.

We're going to Singapore, into a serviced appt for a while, but the places to rent tend to have built in wardrobes and storage. And are much smaller than our current house! But sofa, armchairs, dining chairs (not table), toys and bedding etc can all come. I'll check on the TV, but that can come if it will work.

Now for ruthless decluttering....

We have never had a single broken glass, vase or picture frame, after 12 years of moving and 8 moves.

Of course it depends on your shipping company and how well the items are wrapped. We have always used good 'named' international shippers and therefore have not had any problems.

All my stuff arrived without a single bit of damage - 6 weeks from London to Bangkok without a scratch or any problems. We used Santa Fe, but I hear Crown are really good as well.

I've done four long-distance international moves with containers, and the only things that have ever been damaged have been minor things during the packing/unpacking process - nothing in transit, and that includes loads of delicate glasses, wedding-present dinner service, glass-topped table, a cello....

I presume that the removal company is doing the packing for you (they usually do for international moves or your insurance can be invalidated), and they use vast quantities of bubble wrap, tissue paper and so on. Obviously accidents can happen, but it's rare, and that's what insurance is for.

You just need to think what you would be really devastated to lose. I didn't put my entire collection of irreplaceable family photos (pre-digital) and videos in the container, for example - some went in the container, some in my suitcase and some in airfreight, and I left a box of negatives with family in the UK. Likewise, if you are shipping your computer, back up everything on your hard drive and carry it separately just in case.

Thanks. Think we'll just go for it, take our own stuff and make sure we're well-wrapped and insured. Thanks also for the recommendations for movers, those names had been suggested to me before, so we'll contact them.

We had some damage on our second batch of stuff which I'm sure was down to the company who received it at this end. My lovely oak table has come unwrapped and they had just left it rather than re wrap. Then one guy carried it into the house. I can't even shove it across a room! Can you tell I'm a bit bitter? We looked at claiming on the insurance but they wanted about 10 documents and we probably wouldn't have gotten much.

We didn't have any water damage. A couple of wee things were broken or scratched. I think a bigger problem is the repetitive action of the waves.

Good luck.

We decluttered and then brought everything except for wardrobes and bedroom chests of draws. The day it arrived was fantastic, having our stuff around us made us feel at home, and I only regret the things we left behind. The move from London to New York went very well, it was all expertly packed and nothing was damaged. When we moved from NYC to Canada we did have some damage, but that's because the US company were careless (it was a overland journey). It's amazing how expensive it is to buy even fairly basic home goods, and a nuisance to have to spend a lot of time finding out which shops to go to etc. However we've not moved anywhere humid, so I've never had that worry.

It's not water damage during transit you need to worry about in the Far East - it's the humidity generally. I noticed the other day that our dining room table is actually bowing.

When you get your apartment, you need to find out if your air con has a "dry" function. If not, buy a dehumidifier or three to suck the excess moisture out of the air. Otherwise all your furniture/ books etc go damp and your clothes can actually go mouldy.

I'd avoid taking antiques with you for that reason.

Used Santa fe to move from Dubai to HK and they were fantastic- only one breakage (cat scratching post so only the cat was upset)

Thanks again.