Englishmum

If you like to have roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, do remember to pack a Yorkshire pudding tin, also if you like things like jam tarts, fairy cakes or mince pies at Christmastime bring some of those little 'patty tins'...they only have muffin tins here which are much deeper and larger.

Actually if you want to make any British dishes in general don't forget a good cookery book...if you only bring one, bring Delia Smith's 'Complete Cookery Course' even if it's only to remember how to make the (thin) pancakes on Shrove Tuesday which is something only we Brits seem make before Lent!!!. I had one of Delia's books as a wedding gift and still often refer to it many years later! Again - bring a UK jug with imperial and metric measurements if you're going to use British recipes and definitely bring kitchen scales - all measurements for US recipes are in cups, not grammes or ounces.

You will have to learn to weigh yourself in pounds only...they don't have 'stones' or kilogrammes in the US...you're bound to put on weight when you first arrive as food portions are so large....if it's important/of interest to you, bring some UK scales.

Also agree with all the comments about duvet covers...not so easy to find here and all the ones I've seen are either horrible or/and are an extortionate price.

I think a trip to Argos is in order LOL! (They have nothing like Argos stores in the US...).

PS. Bring gravy granules (or Bisto powder) and bottles of orange squash...unheard of over here. Maybe also some Angel Delight/Instant Whip packets too.

PPS. A St.George's flag if you're English, or the Welsh or Scottish equivalent. Or/and a Union flag. Perhaps even a book or tourist guide of your town or some postcards so you don't forget your 'roots'.

mandpete

If you have children bring plenty of underwear and nightwear. I don't know why but girls' socks, knickers, vests and nightwear over here are nowhere near as good. My husband also buys himself a supply of cotton rich socks when we go back.

Elvira

I think they have a law here that stipulates that children's sleepwear has to be made of 'flame-retardant material' - which rules out cotton. So bring plenty of cotton PJs for the little ones!

But you can get good quality black cotton-rich socks from Costco.

mandpete

All the nightwear here is seems to be made of man made material with labels warning about the danger of fire. I remember as a child my cousin's (nylon?) nightie melting when she sat near the fire but luckily my Aunty noticed and ripped it off her before it melted to her skin. So the stuff here may be flame retardent but maybe not "melt proof". I think I have been emotionally scarred by it and have always bought cotton nightwear for my kids.

peacelover

No to the alchohol we were told, and as for food items I wouldn't put them in the container. There are actually very strict guidelines about what can go in the container.

mandpete

Our shippers supplied us with a ring binder full of useful information about moving to the USA. It contained a list of what foods you can actually put in the container and we stuck within those guidelines.

woodsey

We were told by Allied Pickfords not to put any food stuff in our container, under any circumstances, I even had to empty my spice rack and wash it out otherwise they wouldn't pack it! Alcohol was a definite no no as well. Be very careful if you bring garden furniture or garden tools, clean them well, any sign of dirt and you'll be in big trouble, again Allied told us that they'd had someones container sent back because of this!
Leave your bed behind, buy a king size when you get here, its bliss, don't know how I ever managed to sleep in a double bed!

Elvira

Do they allow gardening tools in at all? I mean, surely these could be used as weapons!!!

Agree about the bed - when they say king they really mean king (not queen...)

mandpete

Perhaps the rules have changed but I bought new packets of herbs and spices and those went in the container. As long as every food item on the list was factory sealed we were told it was OK to ship.

We had to thoroughly clean and disinfect all our garden equipment, outdoor toys and bikes and they were then completely wrapped in clingfilm before going in the container.

woodsey

bedding is horrendously expensive though for such a big bed, no more buying a 30 quid duvet cover from Next..

Elvira

Have you tried Marshalls? Their bedding is pretty reasonable, and sometimes they even have 'duvet covers'!

Don't like the fact that they're 100% cotton though - ironing just isn't "me"...

I usually get bedlinen from Peter Jones/John Lewis - they stock 'super-king' (roughly equivalent to US king).

britvic

Alright king size beds if you have a kingsize bedroom, or other wise your bedroom looks like something out of princess and the pea!!!

mandpete

Especially if you have to move back to the UK where master bedrooms are much smaller than here.

We had just bought a brand new UK king size bed when we found out my husband was being transferred so that came with us, we did leave the kids' beds though.

Dimsie

Yes ! I was amazed at the bedroom furniture in shops here - it's all enormous faux-Victorian looking stuff! :scared: They must think we all live in houses like Southfork (Dallas-style), yet most houses in this town are nowhere near big enough to take those dressing tables, armoires, bed-heads etc. Bring back minimalism!!!!!

smeg

As others have said:

Don't bother with electronics (I brought my computer, but made sure the PSU was switchable between voltages, then just got another power cable). I didn't bring my DVD player, my monitor, my stereo or anything like that. Small electronics (hair dryers etc) are so cheap here it's not worth it.

Bring bedding, the bedding is just not the same here.

I still, two years later, have my family bring me a bag full of "Original mint source" shower gel

I'm lucky to have some English shops nearby, and can pick up mince pies, orange juice etc. My local Stop and Shop has an "Irish" section selling crackers, chocolate bars, lemon barley, baked beans, mushy peas etc. It's fantastic