Wilto

Our US house going up for sale today and time to start selling the clutter and the unnecessary in lieu of our move to the UK. The move date largely depends on selling the house so here I am hoping it will be 4 to 6 months but you never know.

We know most of our American furniture will be just too big for the UK so that is an easy decision to sell the couches and dining sets but here is the sum of want we want to take, anyone have a recommendation for

1 Queen Sleigh bed + box spring + mattress (we love our bed a lot so comfy)
1 Queen memory foam matress
2 Dressers
1 Toddler Bed + Mattress
1 Baby Crib which has 3 height levels + mattress
1 40" British HDTV (worth very little in the US as I have to run a transformer)
1 Entertainment Center
2 Computers
1 17" Monitor
15 18"x18"x16" Boxes of clothes, mementos, toys, dvds, nick nacks, kitchen ware

The more I think about it the more it make sense to just sell everything and ship a few boxes via fedex of things that are of sentimental/importance value and use the shipping money on a new bed etc

jocksternhcle

I'm with you - sell the lot. The cost of sea shipping is too high. And if you don't know your end accomodation - who knows if the gear will fit/suit etc.

TheEmperorIsNaked

My move is on a much tinier scale, and even weenier budget!

I was advised by the shipping agent whose quote I accepted (he went to b/school in the area I'm going to!) to cull things to the bone to keep costs down, but keep just a couple of 'comfort' items along with the small stuff-books/ornaments etc.. Not bad when it meant less income for them.
So I'm taking my favourite armchair, and single bed, and a tiny two seater dinette set.

My 'place' is hopefully to be a little retirement flat, and they are the size of postage stamps anyway. A rotten neighbour for seven years here, has prompted me to go the r/flat route, even though they are more expensive and can even be a bit barrack blockish looking.
I am banking on the fact that I won't score geriatric hoons as neighbours!!

jocksternhcle

Where are you moving from Emperor? Oz?
I was led to believe you were better offloading all furniture and buying new in the UK - have I misunderstood?

TheEmperorIsNaked

Yes, Adelaide. It is an individual choice really. It seems that unless we have a fair amount of resource the consensus is to let stuff go, and buy in the UK.

It's a fair point. I'm not big on this cubic metre thing, but believe (absolute ballpark!) that the average family home furniture etc is 40-50 c/metres, costing around $5000-$10000!

It appears some returnees see that kind of financial outlay as better served to purchase stuff in the UK. IKEA and the auction houses have been mentioned. It's a fair point I reckon.

Mine is 9 c/metres to take a few bits of comfort stuff. I decided to go for that because there is no one the other side. I could end up in an empty flat and not know where to go for days or weeks to get stuff-and then only on a minimal budget.
The risk is too high. So for me-just a few things. 70% of my stuff has already been culled to auction (and let me tell you-that is a buyers market, not a sellers market....).

The logistics are so difficult! To get the stuff guaranteed to be there when I arrive-it is going nearly three months (next month) before I do!
I shall be on a blow up mattress for several weeks. Ho hum!

It is an individual choice, but without a doubt I see the merits of buying fresh in the UK-it is a massive expense on top of everything else to meet removal cost!

jocksternhcle

Best of luck with the move Emperor...........the time lag is a real draw back. I not at all sure it took the first fleet that long

TheEmperorIsNaked

! Good luck also, it is a time of massive decisions and lots of work, but we all get there in the end whichever way we are going!

windsong

Is it cheaper to ship boxes by Fedex than to send them via an international moving company (ocean freight)?

penguinsix

One thing to note is that US and UK mattress sizes can be different such that sheets for one don't fit the other. Also hard to get a bed frame that fits the non-standard mattress.

Mummy in the foothills

No furniture is coming with us at all.
Selling the lot, cheap as chips. Trouble is, lots of UK homes you can't get the big US bed frames up the stairs without removing banisters and a lot of wall dings.
We are taking Dh's workshop stuff he's had for years and would be giving away here, but would cost a fortune to replace in UK. That and lots of memories all boxed along with a couple of boxes of books and odds and ends and a few suitcases. We were hoping to keep it to 200 cubic feet (a lift van) but we may well be at 400 cubic feet, but thats OK, still less than a full 20 foot containers worth.

Maltoo

I guess we are the exception here we are Taking the LOT! Well almost the lot. Most of our items are antique or vintage that we have acquired through the 29 years of our marriage for a song (we are Antique dealers and husband restores Antiques for a living) We will sell a few items and probably a ton of books but I have no desire to spend a fortune to restock once back in the UK. I really do not see how £ 10,000 pounds could even begin to touch rekitting a household. If we were younger and just starting out then our decision on what to take would be dramatically different. We are also the exception as we will buy a new California king mattress before we move and taking at least 1 of our 2 queen sz mattress with us. I would like to take them both but that will depend on the room left in the container.

UK vs US Bed comparison

US Twin/Single = 39″ x 75″
UK Single = 36″ x 75″

US Full/Double = 54″ x 75″
UK Double = 54″ x 75″

US Queen = 60″ x 80″
UK King = 60″ x 78″

US King = 76″ x 80″
UK Super King = 72″ x 78″

US California King = 72″ x 84″

Hope you sell your house fast and you are on your way back to the UK ASAP.

jocksternhcle

We are convinced too
Will bring at least one 20 footer from Australia
You are spot on that it is different when you are just starting out
Checked our home contents insurances $160,000 replacement value without paintings etc - freight is looking pretty reasonable

Maltoo

Same here, but I have to admit starting out fresh would be fun but I could never replace all our "STUFF" and being a collector I think I would have issue with the loss.

Wilto

Have an offer on the house eeek we put our house up for sale at a high price thinking it would sit for a month or two but nope first offer is in and it's very good.

Now I realise we are not quite ready to move but so be it!!!

Mummy in the foothills

So things really are picking up. I had thought it was just our neighborhood. Ours was 24 hours to accepting an offer. House at the end of the street just sold too. That took 2 or 3 days, also never got a sign up before selling like us and another round the corner.