Long story short:
I moved to Ireland 4 yrs ago with pretty much the clothes on my back and some suitcases. I will be flying back to Cali on Sat. with the intention of getting the things I’ve had in storage since then shipped out. It’s only some household goods and items of sentimental value. Really not alot.
So…does anybody have any recommendations on a good international moving company that can handle a move on such short notice? I tried doing research on the net but virtually every moving company I’ve come across has an attendant horror story.
Sigh.
If any of you Expat dopers or anybody with any experience in these matters could pleeease help me out, I’d greatly appreciate it.
What’s in it for you? My undying gratitude as well as a few pints of the black stuff if you ever find yourself in Ireland.
Thanks in advance,
G.
I’m afraid I don’t have any moving advice, but I’m just curious: how did you manage to get to move to Ireland? Did you marry an Irish person, or get offered a job or something?
Good luck with it all!!
We have been moved around internationally a fair bit. We found Crown Relocations to be good
Couldn’t tell you much about costs though
How big is your stuff? If there’s no furniture, it’s only “boxable” items, I’ve used both the Post Office and courier services.
A moving company will charge you for boxing and so forth which is not needed. If it’s small, already boxed items, forget about a moving company and do what I did.
Well, first things first:
~I ended up in Ireland because my husband was an Irish citizen. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma and was given 6wks to live in Nov. 2004. He wanted to come home to die, so we literally dropped everything and came over in the beginning of Dec. He was buried 1 Jan. 2005. I stayed on because one of his final wishes was that the kids be reared here.
~Thanx for the link! I’ll have to give them a call when it starts to be a reasonable hour in the US.
~I’m basically moving some sentimental things as well as books, some clothes, toys and housewares that I either can’t get/afford here in Ireland. A few small items of furniture as well. I thought about the courier route as well as bringing it back on the plane with me but it just wouldn’t be feasible.
Keep 'em coming Dopers! Any suggestions or top tips are welcome.
Thanks again!
G.
A lot of expats in Indonesia used Allied Pickford www.alliedtoallied.com, but I hear they are expensive.
We used Paxtonto move a bunch of stuff from storage in the US to Doha. They were good. One thing–shipping by weight is very expensive. It is often cheaper just to go with a half container or a container (even a small container like a 20-footer) than to pay per pound. When we moved from the US to Beirut back in 2000, we made the mistake of shipping by weight, and were severely limited in what we could take with us. Live and learn.
Pack as much as you can into your luggage. The most sentimental items.
Find out how much an extra bag fee is. It might be worth it to get the largest peice of luggage you can and just load it to the gills.
If the rest is smaller, I would mail it to myself and insure it.
I am sorry about the loss of your husband, but how wonderful it is to be able to raise the kids over there.
I moved from England to US several years ago. I lived in a big college town. College towns have a lot of academics who transfer around the world on a semi-regular basis. I just asked around until I got a good recommendation.
I had about a half a van load of stuff and it was $1000 door to door.
Seconding this. There’s probably at least one or two American lecturers at your local university- call the registrar’s office and see if you can get their contact info.
Sorry I haven’t responded before now but have been up to my teeth in trying to get ready for this trip. I’m telling ya, it’s doing my head in.
Thanks to all that have replied to the thread. Some really good advice has been taken onboard. I’ve three different moving companies coming in to give estimates. The storage place will give anything I don’t want to The Salvation Army. I’ve got a few extra hands coming up to help sort through the crap. So, Og willing, if every thing goes to plan, I can have this ready to roll on Wed! A few days of sightseeing, sushi scoffing and the occasional In and Out burger will definitely be in order.
Updates when I get back!
Cheers again to all for helping make this a bit less painful!
G.
I also want to give a special thank you to Miss Shirley for your kind words.
It’s the first time I’ve been back since my husband passed away and the thoughts of going back and going through all our old stuff is highly stressful. But I need to do it for myself and the lads and to help bring a bit of closure after our loss.
California here we come!