Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Apr 14th 2010, 8:06 pm
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 54
Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Hi All, would be very interested to hear from anyone who has successfully attempted something like the following!
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
Apr 14th 2010, 8:19 pm
#2
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: Google Town
Posts: 7,532
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Hi All, would be very interested to hear from anyone who has successfully attempted something like the following!
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
There are some companies that do furniture rentals but they are expensive and normally require 3 months rental.
When you get here you could always check out Craigslist for a cheap sofa/chairs... to get you buy for a few weeks.
As long as you have a bed to sleep in, I find you can make do without most over things for a little while
Apr 14th 2010, 8:27 pm
#3
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukie, Oregon
Posts: 9,966
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
As N1cky says you will be amazed here at how quick deliveries are, also how much they cost. Our local cable company if you call them before 3pm will have you up and running the same day as an example. All the furniture we got over here was delivered same or next day.
We did much as you did container arrived about 6 weeks after got here you will certainly be able to make yourselves comfortable in a 7 day time span.
We did much as you did container arrived about 6 weeks after got here you will certainly be able to make yourselves comfortable in a 7 day time span.
Apr 14th 2010, 8:28 pm
#4
The Kwisatz Haderach
Joined: Aug 2008
Location: North Wales
Posts: 8,080
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
You could get a Patio set and use it in the house for a while till the stuff arrives, we had a patio table and chairs inside then moved them out afterwards.
Check Craigslist.com but you pretty much have to have a way to transport the stuff, not many people deliver unless they are dealers.
Local furniture stores are fast, and will deliver in a day or so sometimes the same day if you shop first thing in the morning.
Funny I had to do this in reverse one time, rental in UK and no furniture, I borrowed two armchairs and we slept on the floor for 4 weeks waiting for stuff I bought to arrive, I was expecting the same as here, next day delivery.
Check Craigslist.com but you pretty much have to have a way to transport the stuff, not many people deliver unless they are dealers.
Local furniture stores are fast, and will deliver in a day or so sometimes the same day if you shop first thing in the morning.
Funny I had to do this in reverse one time, rental in UK and no furniture, I borrowed two armchairs and we slept on the floor for 4 weeks waiting for stuff I bought to arrive, I was expecting the same as here, next day delivery.
Apr 14th 2010, 9:24 pm
#5
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Beautiful Dorset, UK
Posts: 2,195
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Hi All, would be very interested to hear from anyone who has successfully attempted something like the following!
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
We had a rental car sorted out so picked that up as soon as we landed.
We ended up staying in a motel for 5 nights - arrived on a Saturday and moved into our house on the following Thursday.
On the first couple of days (Sunday & Monday) we trawled round loads of local furniture/appliance/kitchen shops etc to price up the few bits we had decided we would need - couple of beds, new sofa, few kitchen essentials, tv, washer & dryer, fridge freezer.
We also looked into renting furniture but rejected that idea pretty quickly - too expensive and pretty horrid stuff (at least in the places we looked).
In the end we got electricals from Best Buy (yes, we could have got cheaper online or maybe elsewhere, but time was important). We ended up with the few furniture bits and some kitchen essentials from IKEA to tide us over until the first batch of our UK stuff arrived on the flight consignment a couple of weeks later.
All the stuff was delivered on the same day we checked out of the motel and moved into the house.
We also sorted out our SSN numbers those first few days and arranged for all the utilities to be connected in the house. Internet & TV/phone got booked, were installed the following week.
When we booked the motel, we made sure it was one with free wi-fi as that meant we could check on locations for shops/social security office etc.
If we were doing it all again today, the only thing I would do differently, is to get a GPS for those first few days - I think that would have helped us getting around town.
Apr 14th 2010, 9:53 pm
#6
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Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Houston, TX - Officially Not Shit since 2009
Posts: 2,324
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
We did it the easy/expensive (but then we weren't paying for it way). We had an apartment for 6 months and rented all the house stuff - furniture/bedding/kitchen stuff/towels - until our container arrived. We were building a house so when our container did arrive everything went into storage until the new house was ready.
The nice thing was it gave us time to really look for the things we needed/wanted for the new house. My head was spinning as it was without making decisions about furniture etc. but as I said DH's company was footing the bill so we didn't have to worry about the costs. If I remember correctly they paid for the first 12 weeks rent, rental stuff, utilities so what we 'saved' in those weeks paid for the other 12 weeks.
The nice thing was it gave us time to really look for the things we needed/wanted for the new house. My head was spinning as it was without making decisions about furniture etc. but as I said DH's company was footing the bill so we didn't have to worry about the costs. If I remember correctly they paid for the first 12 weeks rent, rental stuff, utilities so what we 'saved' in those weeks paid for the other 12 weeks.
Apr 14th 2010, 9:57 pm
#7
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Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Beautiful Dorset, UK
Posts: 2,195
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
We did it the easy/expensive (but then we weren't paying for it way). We had an apartment for 6 months and rented all the house stuff - furniture/bedding/kitchen stuff/towels - until our container arrived. We were building a house so when our container did arrive everything went into storage until the new house was ready.
The nice thing was it gave us time to really look for the things we needed/wanted for the new house. My head was spinning as it was without making decisions about furniture etc. but as I said DH's company was footing the bill so we didn't have to worry about the costs. If I remember correctly they paid for the first 12 weeks rent, rental stuff, utilities so what we 'saved' in those weeks paid for the other 12 weeks.
The nice thing was it gave us time to really look for the things we needed/wanted for the new house. My head was spinning as it was without making decisions about furniture etc. but as I said DH's company was footing the bill so we didn't have to worry about the costs. If I remember correctly they paid for the first 12 weeks rent, rental stuff, utilities so what we 'saved' in those weeks paid for the other 12 weeks.
Apr 14th 2010, 10:03 pm
#8
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 806
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
if you're trying to save some to, go for a futon or two. They can become couches overday, and later on when you pick the bed/couches you want, you can put them in the basemetn and they last forever plus they're always a good backup for guests.
i've slept 3 kids on a futon easily, or 2 adults.
i've slept 3 kids on a futon easily, or 2 adults.
Apr 14th 2010, 10:23 pm
#9
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,542
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
We bought garden chairs, an airbed and a small tv. Pretty much lived in one room for a few weeks.
We bought a few plates, cups etc and the basics for cooking. Its amazing how much you dont need.
We bought a few plates, cups etc and the basics for cooking. Its amazing how much you dont need.
Apr 14th 2010, 11:19 pm
#11
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,023
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Hi All, would be very interested to hear from anyone who has successfully attempted something like the following!
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
With visas in place and a rental property secured we are going to be moving to Florida at the beginning of July. So we leave our house spend a couple of nights with the in-laws while our possessions are packed up before flying to Florida. We plan to spend as little time as possible in a hotel on arrival and we will have 7 days to get us up and running as a family home before I start work (with a 10 day tour of US customers). So we have a working kitchen, shutters on the windows (good - no curtains to buy) and a max of 10 suitcases of clothes and a few toys for the kids but nothing else until our stuff arrives. We plan to buy new beds and have them delivered asap - our UK beds will be dumped or used for guests. So 7 days to hit superwalmart, bed, bath and beyond, target etc to get food, some fold up chairs, a fold up table, some bed linen and general stuff. After 3 to 4 days I would like to get broadband in so we can get skype up and running to communicate with family in the UK. Any advice / recommendations / suggestions to help us camp in our new home as comfortably as possible until our UK shipment arrives? thanks
Day 1. We ordered a bed for us and one for our daughter. Then we went to get our SS number...14 yrs ago this was possible. Went to have a look around our new apartment...when we viewed it 2 months earlier it was still under construction.
Day 2. Bought essentials ie food, toiletries, cleaning products etc. Started to unpack some of our suitcases. Bought 4 plastic garden chairs, plastic table and bedding.
Day 3. Moved out of the hotel into our apartment. Beds delivered.
Day 5. Ordered 2 sofas. (Out apartment was unfurnished.)
Day 6. Husband back at work. Passed written driving test and got NJ driver's licence.
Day 7. Leased 2 cars and arranged car insurance. Sofas delivered.
6 weeks later our belongings arrived from the UK.
Apr 15th 2010, 12:09 am
#12
Arrogant ****
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 4,323
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Back in 2003 we went the expensive route and rented all furniture, linens, kitchen implements and crockery etc. from a rental company.
Given how much we rented (enough for a family of 4 to live in complete comfort in a 2-bedroom apartment) I thought it was reasonable at ~$450 per month. If you are prepared to be a little more spartan, I'm sure you can rent the bare necessities for much less.
There was no minimum term either, so we just rented for as long as it took for our stuff to show up.
Given how much we rented (enough for a family of 4 to live in complete comfort in a 2-bedroom apartment) I thought it was reasonable at ~$450 per month. If you are prepared to be a little more spartan, I'm sure you can rent the bare necessities for much less.
There was no minimum term either, so we just rented for as long as it took for our stuff to show up.
Apr 15th 2010, 1:13 am
#13
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Bring a can and bottle opener with you....saves hassle that first night 
Apr 15th 2010, 4:33 am
#14
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 31
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Apr 15th 2010, 5:11 pm
#15
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Joined: Jul 2009
Location: Bishopbriggs - now Bethel, Connecticut
Posts: 1,439
Re: Saying goodbye to UK and arriving in US - but possessions weeks later!
Absolutely!!! 
We arrived on 16th February. Were in a Comfort Suites with wifi (essential as said before to research once you're here) for approx 1 week until the rental property was ready.
Bought the essentials ie new sofa, 3 x kids beds, basic bedding, basic kitchen stuff (ie 5 of everything) and have been living like that for 7 weeks. I have to admit, I've found it really annoying, but I think that's because I've been stressing about everything else. We have extremely kind neighbours who have leant us a dining room set and sofas for the family room. They have been fab.
The sleeping arrangements are still not great as my 2 youngest are sharing, but they seem to not mind.
I have to say, it looks like its going to be another 2-3 weeks before our stuff arrives at the house and it seems like an eternity and I can't wait for my bed to arrive - heaven!!!
All in all, it's been ok. You just make do and after a couple of glasses of wine of an evening after a long day, you don't really care whether your on the floor, bed or upside down in a cupboard. (Oh sorry - am I making us Scots sound like heavy drinkers) LOL
We arrived on 16th February. Were in a Comfort Suites with wifi (essential as said before to research once you're here) for approx 1 week until the rental property was ready.
Bought the essentials ie new sofa, 3 x kids beds, basic bedding, basic kitchen stuff (ie 5 of everything) and have been living like that for 7 weeks. I have to admit, I've found it really annoying, but I think that's because I've been stressing about everything else. We have extremely kind neighbours who have leant us a dining room set and sofas for the family room. They have been fab.
The sleeping arrangements are still not great as my 2 youngest are sharing, but they seem to not mind.
I have to say, it looks like its going to be another 2-3 weeks before our stuff arrives at the house and it seems like an eternity and I can't wait for my bed to arrive - heaven!!!
All in all, it's been ok. You just make do and after a couple of glasses of wine of an evening after a long day, you don't really care whether your on the floor, bed or upside down in a cupboard. (Oh sorry - am I making us Scots sound like heavy drinkers) LOL