What did you bring when you moved to the US?

[okko 1]

Hi,

So I am currently packing and oh my I have a lot more stuff than what I thought! I almost feel helpless when I look at what I have that I would like to bring.. What did you guys bring to the us? What is something that you brought and realized you could've simply bought once arriving and therefore save some weight? Who knew moving could be so exhausting. I feel like I'm leaving parts of me behind. Sending a package from my home country to the us is the price of a flight ticket so I am trying to avoid that..

[Mick & Janni 11]

I might have this exact issue in the future. I'm worried, haha. But at least I have my family here in Sweden so just in case there's something I really want to keep and can't bring with me when I leave I'll have my family store it for me in the meanwhile. I can come back and get it later or.. after a year or so I might not even miss the item, whatever it may be, then it'll be easier to get rid of it.

I hope you get a lot of responses as I'll be asking the same questions as you.

[kris&me 572]

He bought important papers like orignals of birth, our marriage and his school and college transcripts

Then just clothes as they are so much cheaper in his country

other than that he sold his car but kept apartment for his mom

hopefully all you will need is here in the US

Best to you both

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

***** Moving from General Immigration to Moving Here... forum *******

I would recommend not being electronics unless they are super expensive; these things are usually cheaper in the USA, plus many countries have different voltages so you need an adapter, and electronics break easily in transit.

Similarly, with large furniture, especially the cheaper stuff, it is usually cheaper to sell at home and re-buy than to ship it.

[TabeaK 517]

I brought all my favorite clothes, books, household items, electronics...

I felt I was leaving my life behind and knew waiting through the AOS would be hard, so I at least wanted some things that make me comfy.

I sent quite a few boxes via DHL which was very economical (about 70 dollars per box).

[Unidentified 2,930]

Hi,

So I am currently packing and oh my I have a lot more stuff than what I thought! I almost feel helpless when I look at what I have that I would like to bring.. What did you guys bring to the us? What is something that you brought and realized you could've simply bought once arriving and therefore save some weight? Who knew moving could be so exhausting. I feel like I'm leaving parts of me behind. Sending a package from my home country to the us is the price of a flight ticket so I am trying to avoid that..

I still have a bag full of things at my parents house I couldn't fit on my way here But I brought everything that I wanted to keep that couldn't be replaced. Important documents (vaccination papers etc), 1 photo album from when I was an infant (have plenty more but that one felt important).

Have you looked into air cargo companies? You can get a pretty good price with those if you are planning on sending a lot of things.

In my case, after all calculations back and forth trying to decide if I should bring things, send them or just leave them behind, I just decided to deal with an overweight bagged and pay for it. It turned out to be WAAAAY cheaper than I expected it to be. I flew with Icelandair that states on their website that they charge $100 dollars for an overweight bag, it wasn't even close. Ended up paying $40.

[okko 1]

I brought all my favorite clothes, books, household items, electronics...

I felt I was leaving my life behind and knew waiting through the AOS would be hard, so I at least wanted some things that make me comfy.

I sent quite a few boxes via DHL which was very economical (about 70 dollars per box).

That's really cheap! I assume they were lightweight/small packages? I just checked with the DHL price calculator and it ended up with an absurd price of $741!! 20kg

[okko 1]

I still have a bag full of things at my parents house I couldn't fit on my way here But I brought everything that I wanted to keep that couldn't be replaced. Important documents (vaccination papers etc), 1 photo album from when I was an infant (have plenty more but that one felt important).

Have you looked into air cargo companies? You can get a pretty good price with those if you are planning on sending a lot of things.

In my case, after all calculations back and forth trying to decide if I should bring things, send them or just leave them behind, I just decided to deal with an overweight bagged and pay for it. It turned out to be WAAAAY cheaper than I expected it to be. I flew with Icelandair that states on their website that they charge $100 dollars for an overweight bag, it wasn't even close. Ended up paying $40.

I've looked into the air cargo but I'm just afraid it would be risky? Do you have any experience and maybe can you suggest me a company that is good? The reason I'm a little concerned is the fact that with a cargo usually you share with bigger companies and not other people (unlike mail) and this would maybe result in a more rough handling of the packages and less guarantee that it will arrive intact.. Correct me if I am wrong of course

[Georgia16 2,858]

That's really cheap! I assume they were lightweight/small packages? I just checked with the DHL price calculator and it ended up with an absurd price of $741!! 20kg

How much do you have?

I have to move for two K-1 and K-2 and kind of figured out it would be cheaper to bring 4 suitcases of 23kg each and pay online fee for the ones we don't get for free. (max was 4 cases each and we get 1 for free) then shipping. It is so expensive from here no matter which service I have looked at.

Edited February 7, 2016 by Georgia16

[okko 1]

How much do you have?

I have to move for two K-1 and K-2 and kind of figured out it would be cheaper to bring 4 suitcases of 23kg each and pay online fee for the ones we don't get for free. (max was 4 cases each and we get 1 for free) then shipping. It is so expensive from here no matter which service I have looked at.

My ticket allows me max 20 kg and I'll pay the extra 2-3kg in each luggage, I totally agree it is so ridiculously expensive! I'm planning on having my parents bring laughs full of stuff for me when they come visit

[Dohan 133]

My husband moved here last June so he brought mainly his summer clothing and some outfits to be able to go to interviews. His laptop and iPad and all the important documents. I bought some of the winter stuff for him and then his friend came to visit at the end of the summer so another suitcase of his came with winter stuff. The rest of his stuff came little but little because his family came to visit from India and then we went to India in December and brought more stuff. Our main issue is that we have not figured out a way to bring back his guitar. Anyone have any ideas? Some airlines say you have to purchase a separate ticket others say yes you can carry it, so not sure what to do. Don't want to to show up at the airport and be told to pay for another ticket.

[Georgia16 2,858]

My ticket allows me max 20 kg and I'll pay the extra 2-3kg in each luggage, I totally agree it is so ridiculously expensive! I'm planning on having my parents bring laughs full of stuff for me when they come visit

How many luggage are you bringing? Are you going with sas?

[okko 1]

How many luggage are you bringing? Are you going with sas?

2 x 20kg and one hand luggage, flying with Norwegian

[Georgia16 2,858]

2 x 20kg and one hand luggage, flying with Norwegian

Okay don't they allow more luggage if you pay a fee for them? ... Look at their webside most airlines do and it's cheaper then the price we have to pay from here to us

[TabeaK 517]

That's really cheap! I assume they were lightweight/small packages? I just checked with the DHL price calculator and it ended up with an absurd price of $741!! 20kg

Maybe it is an offer only available from Germany. How far do you live from the border? If not too far it may be worth driving over and dropping packages of at a German post office.

From Germany, DHL has flatrate shipping to the USA, weight based (boxes must stay within certain measurements).

Here is the link: https://www.dhl.de/en/paket/pakete-versenden/weltweit-versenden/paket.html

I sent around 10 packages with 17-20kg each, per package it was 68.99 Euro (currently ca. 77 dollars). Packages up to 31.5kg are 94.99 Euro.

The packages are tracked and insured. In the US, they are delivered by USPS. Each of my package arrived in one piece (I taped them up very well and packed everything very good). No damages or losses, individual packages took between 7 and 15 days.

In Germany, they can be dropped off at any post office.

PS: Welcome to a future NJ resident, I am in NJ myself, up in New Brunswick, Middlesex County.

Edited February 7, 2016 by TabeaK