Wh431

Dear all,

i had to defer my move to the US for a year but now is the time.

Has anyone got recent~ish 2019/20 experience of shipping household items i.e. a 20 ft Container from UK (Surrey) to US (Chicago)?

If so, how much did it cost? How long it took? And with whom?

Many Thanks for any help.

PetrifiedExPat

If it's electronics, just give it away to charity. I guess some pieces of furniture I would consider taking but apart from essentials just give/sell/dump the rest.

tht

My situation was not normal but I moved by carry on on UA. I had already been “homeless” for a few years living in corporate rentals and hotels so I had no furniture anyway.

It took me about 2 years and cost $0. Every trip I made I would bring a second collapsable bag of personal effects, then on the next trip to UK fold the bag up and put it in my backpack. Rinse and repeat...

The only personal effects this did did not work for were ski gear and a Bromptom. For these I checked a bag, both were free and I was able to put some items that were not allowed as carry on in these bags...

Unless you think your move will be permanent I would not bring any big stuff.

Wh431

Its a permanent move.

I have a 5 bed house to vacate here, so even if i leave electronics and big furniture items like beds (due to size compatibility issues with the US bed sizes) and wardrobes etc behind, i still ve quite a bit of furniture.

I was thinking of leaving more stuff behind but then i ve to reacquire similar (half decent) quality furniture in the US, it probably will cost more than the price of a 20 foot container.

scrubbedexpat099

I brought 2 bikes as personal luggage on different trips. Mountain and Road bike.

steveq

We did it all DIY. PM me if you're interested in the details.

Steve

SanDiegogirl

We moved from 4 bedroom house in Guildford to initial rental properties in SoCal. The last thing we wanted was to HAVE to go out and buy furniture and all the smaller kitchen items. So we shipped two beds and their relevant bedding, couple of sofas, dining room table and chairs, couple of coffee tables, all crockery and cutlery, towels, couple of table lamps. Can't remember the size of the container. We kept all the furniture even when we moved into the first house we purchased.
Buying furniture takes an age here - you could be waiting months for delivery. If it's a company move and they are paying for it, pack as much as you think you will need in whatever initial accommodation you will be moving to.
Bit irrelevant as we moved to US 20 years ago, but we used Pickfords and it cost thousands then. ! (No need for wardrobes usually as US modern accommodation has closets)

steveq

We took a lot with us too, its one thing to say things like electronics are cheap, its another when you have to go out and spend a bunch of money to replace the stuff you left. Our old TV still works fine, and is in our spare room

lizzyq

We used that TV for the first few years and then upgraded at our leisure. Earlier this year it got wall mounted and whichever son is visiting (neither at the moment ) uses it as a big monitor while lying in bed or with a games console, OK it isn't as great as a brand new Ultra HD or whatever, but is acceptable on a temporary basis. I used the IKEA USA website to see how much it would cost to replace everything with mid range items and it was surprising how fast it added up. As well as necessary furniture there would have been new kitchenware, new bedding, bookshelves, dining stuff (crockery, cutlery, glasses) other gadgets, non-powered tools, power tools (you can get new batteries over here as they shouldn't be shipped) etc etc. Some electrical items will need replacement, but I still use my UK sewing machine and overlocker with a bit of a work around for the latter - replacing those would have added another $1000. Also my knitting yarn & needles, fabric, sewing tools etc etc.

Wh431

How are you using your 230 v UK TV in the US, where voltage is 120 V?

i assume you had to buy some kind of electricity converter for all UK electronic items.

Wh431

I too am moving from Guildford area, will miss the beautiful countryside around here.

steveq

It's my experience that most electronics, with modern power supplies are universal input. They will actually run happily from 90..280 volts. For the telly, that was on the labels. I think our Xboxes needed new supplies, but since they lived in "rat in a snake" units, we just got new ones from the game shop.

Things with big motors though are very difficult to build universal, so forget things like washers and dryers. If you really know what you are doing, there would be hope there too, but not for an amateur to attempt.

Steve

scrubbedexpat099

Messing around with a washing machine now but not due to this. I can see it could be done but doubt it would be cost effective to do so.

tht

Things with a transformer yes... for a non laptop PC (tower) some older ones have a little switch on the PSU, less if an issue UK to here, but I remember getting 3 US PC’s in the mail for a new office setup... plugged in the first “pop”, thought it was just broken.. plugged in the 2nd “pop”... luckily I thought to google for the 3rd and flipped the switch to save it..

tht

Things with a “transformer” on the power line yes.. many even let you juts swap out the plug part like a smaller kettle cable... for a non laptop PC (tower) some older ones have a little switch on the PSU, less of an issue UK to here, but I remember getting 3 US PC’s in the mail for a new office setup in London from the US... plugged in the first “pop”, thought it was just broken.. plugged in the 2nd “pop”... luckily I thought to google for the 3rd and flipped the switch to save it.. I have always used US laptops before I moved here... normally cost the same for the flight and laptop as the laptop at home and I got a free weekend trip to visit my GF or friends in NYC.