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International Mover Question
daveNYC
Why universe hate Waspinator?Registered User regular
Why universe hate Waspinator?Registered User regular
I'll be moving in about a month. From NYC to Prague, Czech Republic. Unfortunately, the company is not interested in paying for movers, and after seeing some estimates neither am I.
So the question is: Cheap-ass international movers, know any? And specifically ones that aren't scams and I can feel confident that my stuff will show up on time and not on fire. Because all the cheap guys on-line seem to have hidden charges and losing shipments as core elements of their business strategy.
So the question is: Cheap-ass international movers, know any? And specifically ones that aren't scams and I can feel confident that my stuff will show up on time and not on fire. Because all the cheap guys on-line seem to have hidden charges and losing shipments as core elements of their business strategy.
Shut up, Mr. Burton! You were not brought upon this world to get it!
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In this instance there's probably very little reason to bring much with you but clothes and maybe a computer. Find a way to store it or get rid of it, IMO.
If you are looking to save money, slow boat shipping is the way to go. You can move stupid amounts of stuff for a few hundred dollars that way. If its stuff you can find a way to crate up, look for a freight forwarder(shouldn't be hard in NYC) and see what they will quote you DAP your address in Prague. Just be aware there may be customs delays and such.
Or look at like DHL/Fed-Ex freight options. I air mailed like 80lbs or about $5000 worth of tooling in a 3'x3'x5' box from Malaysia to the US for like $350 via DHL.
Clothes and such you can just stick in a large plastic tote that you seal with zip ties + tape and pay your airline for the extra pieces of luggage when you fly out.
If you're moving temporarily and intending to come back to the US, it's probably worth your while to look into long-term storage for most stuff and just buy second hand/ikea once you get to Europe. Any reliable movers are going to cost a lot, and take time, which means even in the best case scenario you can end up sitting around owning nothing for a period.
The cheapest way to get all of your items out of the country is to load them into a conex container and ship them to yourself. If that cost is greater than the value or your items, liquidate and buy new items.
If you're thinking of furniture and other household stuff, you are seriously better off just selling it or storing it than trying to ship it freight halfway across the globe. Unless it has some incredible sentimental value or is a unique/priceless piece.
You could re-buy all that stuff in Prague for less than what it will cost to get it there reliably
As far as miscellaneous stuff, like personal belongings, photos, your tooth brush, your computer, etc, I would recommend speaking with DHL about just shipping it there.
TL;DR don't move your stuff. just take the essentials with you and rebuy it all when you get there
If you ever watch HGTV, you'll notice that all the shows about people moving overseas always involve them wanting pre-furnished housing, etc. there is a reason for this.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
1) It's an open ended move, so no year long assignment or anything, I'm there for the duration.
2) I've already moved on from moving furniture. First price quote did that for me. Unfortunately I'm a bit of a book addict, so yeah... lots of boxes of that. About 200 c.f. There should be a 12 step program for me to not go to be cause I don't have a problem damnit!
3) I'd store stuff at the parental unit's house, however the book addiction is genetic, so squishing more stuff in there just isn't going to happen.
4) The company isn't paying because the move is my idea. I asked for it, and they set it up. Nice of them really, it's not like I was likely to be able to wrangle the documentation and find a job on my own over there.
Thanks for the advice on everything. Beer on me for anyone who visits.
It's probably going to be upwards of a few grand though. Moving companies would be likely as bad, if not worse.
How often are you actually re-reading those books? I know the joy in having big full bookshelves, but that it one expensive house decoration to get shipped.
For reference, I've moved continents twice and countries four times. My last move cost me upwards of $US3000 for about 430 cubic feet, but that was basically shifting my entire life from the UK to the US. You should not pay anywhere near that much for some books and random household items. One tip is that finding movers who do self-pack pods and suchlike will save you money on both ends, and pods/crates usually cost a flat fee, you can store anything up to a certain volume (usually 200-250ft^2 but there might be smaller ones).
I am pretty sure that DHL offers boat freight, which is the cheapest thing you could do...
I'm sure there are third party companies that also do this, but you know.. DHL is really good.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other