chrisann

I guess this could have been posted before but I cant see any recent posts on this subject - so I'm sorry if I'm repeating a post here!!

We are moving back home to the UK from the Bay Area in California next year and I wondered if anyone has any recommendations about moving companies - we wont have a lot of stuff but more than can be put in cases!! Also wonder if its worth while taking furniture - stuff like a couch, bed etc.

Any ideas on taxes at the UK end??

Anything else we should know?? Millions of thanks for any sort of advice!

Mummy in the foothills

From reading over on UK-Yankees I have sen them reccomend U pack we ship, lots of US citizens seem to use that one.
If you have very little too move, check out the prices for extra luggage from the airline you are going with, sometimes it's cheaper for each person to have 3 or 4 cases and fly home with them.

chrisann

Thanks for this ---- will have a look at them and see what we can do --- did look at the USA thread but was really unsure about where to post this question!!!

UrsTX

My two cents - Unless you're shipping furniture that you're particularly attached to, I wouldn't. It's pretty expensive to ship - I've gotten quotes between 5-9k from Austin. It's about 3k just for a bunch of boxes. For that amount it's possible you could replace once in the UK from IKEA etc.
Also, home size in the UK is so much smaller that a lot of furniture from the US may not fit properly. I asked my in-laws to measure some of their rooms in their house and then compared that with my furniture. Found out that my sideboard and the larger couch would probably take up their whole living dining area combined.

As for taxes, you really should check out the threads at the uk yankees forum. There's a lot of information there on tax implications.

Good luck!

penguinsix

This is the UK Yankee website.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/

It's also good for answering questions about whether to take certain electronics (i.e. TVs or Lamps, etc). They can also help you on the quest for decent Mexican food in the UK, in case you picked up an affinity for that during your time in California.

Are you paying for the move or is an employer? My only concern with self-packing is that it might negate the insurance.

One other random tidbit I discovered when moving from Hong Kong to the US. Not all bed sizes are the same. Of course this is probably an exception, but my HK queen sized bed was actually about 6 inches shorter than a US queen. I've also heard of things called a 'California King' sized bed which I gather is slightly different. The reason I mention it is because of sheets and such. Rough to have a mattress that you can't get sheets to fit on. Not sure if that will be the case but you might want to check.

Good luck with your move.

Ozzidoc

There might be something of use in this thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ht=air-freight

The company I used for UK -> US also does US ->UK and between other countries (eg US & Oz.).

Good luck!

Patzy

I used this company when coming from the UK to US and plan to use them next year to go back home.

http://www.excess-baggage.com/

chrisann

Thanks everyone --- we are starting to look into this - but going home to UK for Christmas first. So I guess that 2010 will start out busy trying to work out the move back! Plus of course file those wonderful US taxes first.

No doubt I will have more questions and be back to ask as I know there is always lots of help here!!