arizzy

Am emmigrating to the US specifically ATLANTA,Can anyone tell me if it is advisable to bring one's personal belongings(Furniture, Electrical appliances etc) when coming to the States in order to save money. Also i was wondering how to get round the voltage difference when using electrical appliance bought in the UK in the US.Finally are you liable to be taxed on your personal belongings that you ship to the US? Cheers!!!!

Pulaski

(i) It depends on what you have, whether your furniture is worth keeping, and what sort of electrical appliances you are planning to bring. Certainly I would not bring a fridge, freezer, or laundry appliances, nor a TV and video (they won't pick up US TV, so are useless unless you want to watch PAL videos you are bringing with you). Furniture is a marginal question, you might save a little by bringing it, but you'll significantly increase your shipping costs. I brought most of it with me, and wish I had left a number of things behind.
(ii) Transformers (try dvdoverseas.com - make sure to buy them with plenty of power handling capability, and buy a "voltage stablizer" transformer for hifi equipment. Having said that, you may be better off buying new things when you get here - electrical things are cheaper here, unless you ship six - eight weeks ahead of leaving you'll have to do without for the first six - eight weeks after you arrive, and you save on the shipping costs.
(iii) Personal effects are tax free when you emmigrate to the US, so long as you have owned them for six months.

dudleydowg

Computers can be taken to the US there is a switch usually found on the back of your processor that changes the voltage from 240 to 110 volts, then all you need to buy when you get to the states is a power cable.