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-   -   On the finishing straight... (https://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-57/finishing-straight-861313/)

loubiblu Jul 6th 2015 1:50 pm

On the finishing straight...
 
Almost 18 months after my OH was offered his new role, the flights have finally been booked this morning!

We leave 4 weeks today, flying via Dublin to Chicago. I thought I'd open this thread as a sort of final countdown to the move so that others could maybe see how we manage our timeline in these last 4 weeks in England.

Skipping back to the beginning of June, I started arranging for shipping companies to come out and quote. A decision was made to go with Allied Pickfords and we engaged their services last week (5 weeks before the move date). They'll be coming to pack up the house w/c 27th July and will take 4.5 days. I'm looking into temporary accommodation from then until we fly.

We're going to rent out our home for the first year at least, so I signed up with a managing agent on Friday. There's a photographer coming tomorrow to take pictures for the marketing.

Confirmed the cat's transport details with PetAir UK this morning and paid their 25% deposit. The balance is due 7 days before his flight.

16 yr old is compiling a file of her curriculum and syllabuses that she's studied for her GCSEs and sorting out her report cards from the past 5 years.

12 yr old is doing the same with his report cards from KS2 and his first year of KS3. We have copies of the National Curriculum for his Middle School Guidance Counsellor to look at with hi reports.

Am now waiting for a follow up call from IAS. Hope I haven't left it too late to sort cars. Kind of ignored all the advice and recommendations of IAS, but they cold called me last week to set up a call today.

I'll add to the thread as I go through my checklist.

PS We did have the services of Cartus Relocation, but decided to do most of the stuff ourselves.

Guindalf Jul 6th 2015 1:52 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 
With respect, that's not the finishing strait (yes, that's the correct spelling ;)), it's the rush to the start line!

Good luck with everything.

loubiblu Jul 6th 2015 1:59 pm

Re: On the finishing strait...
 

Originally Posted by Guindalf (Post 11692807)
With respect, that's not the finishing strait (yes, that's the correct spelling ;)), it's the rush to the start line!

Good luck with everything.

I stand corrected :starsmile:

You're right about it being the start line. I feel that because of all the delays and postponements we've had, that we've done a marathon or two already! So much of what needs doing is time sensitive and can't be done until close to the departure date. Hopefully the year of prep and the amount of threads I've read on here mean that my checklist goes well...

We'll see :unsure:

Owen778 Jul 6th 2015 2:11 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 

Originally Posted by Guindalf (Post 11692807)
With respect, that's not the finishing strait (yes, that's the correct spelling ;)), it's the rush to the start line!

Nope! "Finishing straight", as in the straight section on the racetrack as it approaches the finish line. A finishing strait would be a narrow passage of water. Not sure how that would work.


Good luck with everything.
I agree on this one, though!

Guindalf Jul 6th 2015 2:13 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 
Hmmm, maybe you're right, Owen, but the sentiment is the same and that's the important thing! :p

kimilseung Jul 6th 2015 2:16 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 
It must be 'finishing strait' when you are going overseas.

NatashaB Jul 6th 2015 3:01 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 
The most annoying thing about the whole moving process is all the stuff that you can't do until nearer the time!

MsElui Jul 6th 2015 3:08 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 

Originally Posted by NatashaB (Post 11692872)
The most annoying thing about the whole moving process is all the stuff that you can't do until nearer the time!

yep then its all about going through every cupboard in the house and getting rid of the junk. ie clear as much stuff out as you can. we had our shipping paid for and i did clear tonnes beforehand but still ended up shipping things that i never took out of the box in the us.

loubiblu Jul 6th 2015 3:38 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 

Originally Posted by NatashaB (Post 11692872)
The most annoying thing about the whole moving process is all the stuff that you can't do until nearer the time!


:goodpost:



Originally Posted by MsElui (Post 11692875)
yep then its all about going through every cupboard in the house and getting rid of the junk. ie clear as much stuff out as you can. we had our shipping paid for and i did clear tonnes beforehand but still ended up shipping things that i never took out of the box in the us.

Because our original moving date was January 12th, I'd done the clearing and sorting already. Have had 7 months to accumulate more cr@p!!

Springy6 Jul 7th 2015 6:11 am

Re: On the finishing straight...
 
Loubilu,

Looks like we've got the packers coming in the same week as you! Like you, we seem to still have so many moving parts and every time I think one fits into place, along comes another - yesterday's was a great big spanner in the works! Just when I thought my stress levels couldn't rise anymore .....!

Hubby ordered his car from IAS - they seem to have been most efficient in the whole process (so far). Why did you opt not to use Cartus? They are the company used by hubby's company - interested to hear your views.

loubiblu Jul 7th 2015 12:55 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 

Originally Posted by Springy6 (Post 11693451)
Loubilu,

Looks like we've got the packers coming in the same week as you! Like you, we seem to still have so many moving parts and every time I think one fits into place, along comes another - yesterday's was a great big spanner in the works! Just when I thought my stress levels couldn't rise anymore .....!

Hubby ordered his car from IAS - they seem to have been most efficient in the whole process (so far). Why did you opt not to use Cartus? They are the company used by hubby's company - interested to hear your views.

No reason in particular not to use Cartus. As I've wound down my working hours to around one day per week, I'm in a position to do a lot of things myself. Even though the company would pay their management fees, it didn't seem that they were adding any value to what we could do for ourselves.

Good luck with your move. Am I right in thinking you have a post GCSE child too? Have you sorted schooling yet?

Phyzz Jul 7th 2015 1:11 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 
Good luck with the move and 'final' chaos. I wish I could offer more advice, but things moved at such a pace it is difficult to remember. I am sure that your updates will be useful for others when their time arrives.

I would also be interested to know why you chose not to use Cartus? I was offered their services when we moved last year and grabbed everything they offered with both hands. [Ignore that I have just seen your reply].

So we did no research for moving companies both for our household goods and pets. We did speak with the companies that were suggested to make sure that we were comfortable with them before 'pressing go'.
I think that this relieved a lot of our stress levels as it then became less for us to organise. We set dates and everything rolled in.

MsElui Jul 7th 2015 3:39 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 

Originally Posted by loubiblu (Post 11692897)
:goodpost:

Because our original moving date was January 12th, I'd done the clearing and sorting already. Have had 7 months to accumulate more cr@p!!

i think to some extent - unless you are very familiar with realistic us life (and i hadnt stepped foot in the us before we started the visa process) you will always take stuff with you thats wholly inappropriate/waste of time.

For example -we took our christmas tree (we didnt take the lights though). when we got here - the style here is MUCH bigger and we ended up in much bigger houses - so the UK tree looked utterly pathetic (it had looked just fine in our English homes lol). Plus most of the trees here seem to come pre lit etc. (or 'lighted' as they say here uggg). i still use my ornaments (well some) but needed to buy many more here to fill the new larger tree. many of the homes ive seen here have 'two storey' halls or 'lounges' so trees that are 12 foot or so dont look out of place. that would have been bent in an L shape and going along our ceiling in the uk lol.

Or our artwork. we brought all our favorite framed artwork/pictures from the UK. Most of them are still in the attic years later because the houses are much bigger and have more walls and space and our 'little' pictures looked totally stupid in situ. Ie - where in the uk we had one picture in a room because that may have been the only wall with no window or furniture etc - here we needed bigger pictures and multiple matching or complementary pieces to use in a single room.

Pulaski Jul 7th 2015 9:43 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 

Originally Posted by NatashaB (Post 11692872)
The most annoying thing about the whole moving process is all the stuff that you can't do until nearer the time!

Which is why it makes sense to do as much as you possibly can ahead of time. I am amazed at how many people plan on going shopping for vehicles in the days after they arrive, as if they don’t have enough to do with driving licenses, opening a bank account, insurance (car and medical), finding a home, getting their children into school, coordinating delivery of their stuff, setting up utilities, etc, etc. It makes a huge amount of sense to get a car (at least one) ordered ahead of time for most people. :nod:

Tom1981 Jul 7th 2015 11:21 pm

Re: On the finishing straight...
 
I agree re the cars - remember that with IAS, you have to place the order before arriving in the US (personally, I've been impressed with them so far, so would recommend them).

Other stuff you might want to think about:

- Mail redirection with Royal Mail (if you want to do this)
- Healthcare cover in the US, if your other half doesn't get immediate coverage through his job (there's a decent recent thread on this)
- Check out banking arrangements - I was able to set one up in advance due to my employer's corporate relationship with HSBC, so worth checking if your OH has access to anything similar (it came with a credit card, which has proved to be very handy indeed)

Good luck with your move - exciting times ahead :)


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