Recommendation for Moving Her Stuff

[St&Sv 33]

Hey everyone, it's been awhile, I hope all is well and that spring weather is coming your way. So now that we are getting closer to the next step we have started to talk about how to actually move her stuff here. Well the internet has been unhelpful so far, and keeps telling me how to move my stuff from USA to Russia. Maybe it's trying to tell me that I should go there instead, but hey we will give this USA adventure a go first. So I was wondering if any of you could recommend any companies. I'm not 100% sure what all she intends to bring (clothes and shoes are a no brainer) so recommendations for all sizes and weight would be great. If this question has been asked a billion times already, I guess I will make it a billion and one since I had a hard time finding the info I was seeking. Or perhaps that was just a internet Jedi using mind tricks on me.

[Andrea&Henry 311]

Hi! Well...when I moved in a year ago, I couldn't brought anything but clothes and some personal belongings...my husband went to my homecountry to pick me up so I can his used luggage "spot" (american airline only allowed 2 per person) so I brought almost 6 suitcases and payed only for 2. I didn't bring furniture or heavier stuff cause it was toooo expensive (and Venezuela is only 3 hours from Miami). So it never crossed my mind. I know a company name "Clover" who makes international movings (They are expensive but works with a lot of countries) and the other option is send her stuff by sea. My mom inlaw lived a few years in Mexico and when she decided to return to the States she rent some sort of "moving storage" (I dont the word in english) and this storage was bring to the US by ship (sea). She brought her entire furniture and other belongings but I don't know how much she payed for it

Edited March 13, 2013 by Andrea&Henry

[Andrea&Henry 311]

I know that leave your stuff behind is not cool at all but that's part of starting a new life. Bringing ALL her belongings is going to cost a LOT of money, so if you already have a home ready for her, maybe she can bring the most important things and leave the rest with her family or friends, for a while. But she should think about what I'm saying so u can have a plan B. Even when I left so many important things behind, my new life here brought me so many great stuff and all new. Hope you find what you are looking for

[1HappyGuy 45]

Since you live near Buffalo, you should tell her a few pieces of clothing suitable for Siberia but the rest should be summer wear. As far as electrical appliances like hair dryers, etc. leave that in Russia. Too much trouble with the electrical conversion. Also, consider that you are probably going to go shopping a whole lot so keep it to a minimum what she brings. If you are thinking about large stuff, think about storing it first before trying to ship as it might cost more that what you could get here as replacements.

Also, bare in mind that you will be making trips back so, if she can leave some stuff, plan on bringing it back on subsequent trips.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

My advice is to not bring tons of belongings including things like "I don't feel to throw it away". Relocating to the new country is the great wayr to get rid of many old things and to start a new life. I brought 2 big bags with me on the plane (it was free, Aeroflot and American Airlines didn't take any cant for them) and sent 2 big boxes by regular Russian post. These boxes were traveling about a month and I paid about $100 for each. To make example of their size, in one box I fit my big winter coat, nice full-size wool blanket and about 10 valuable for me books, another box was the same size. It was enough for me, and I even took several things "just in case", plus souvenirs to my wife and her family. Just one advice - don't send anything brand new and expensive by Russian post (it easily can be stolen even before crossing the border), something like used coat or used shoes should be fine. The problem is that very many Russian (and other post-USSR) citizens have a lot of troubles with getting rid of old things and would take with them everything to the last old sock and stained potholder if they could. Talk to your fiancee what exactly she wants to bring and why. Does she sure that all clothes/shoes she wants to bring will look adequate where you live? Like an example - I really know some Russian immigrants bringing fur-coats to the US. I have never seen anybody in fur-coat in my city in US, so it would look weird here, and many people would think that it's cruel to wear dozes of dead animals on yourself. Does she know that clothes and shoes in America insanely cheaper than in Russia (if you shop in reasonable priced places like Target, Kmart, etc., of course)? I couldn't believe that here you can buy a nice 100% cotton shirt for $15-20 and really comfortable and sturdy sneakers for about $50-60 (and it's before sales and deals where you can save even more!), in my city in Russia for these money you usually could buy only real junk from street vendors with no warranty. May be instead of bringing tons of old clothes she would like to buy a few new things? If it's not clothes/shoes, what does she want to bring in such big amounts that luggage on the plane and couple of post boxes wouldn't be enough?

- Victor from Russia

Edited March 13, 2013 by Amy_and_Victor