Moving Companies

If you are planning to move internationally, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed. If you want to make the transition easier, make sure you come up with a good plan. This will help eliminate some of the stress so you can enjoy the process. Here are a few ideas to help you out.

Get a Local Contact

Work with a local realtor when buying or renting a home. They will know the area and local customs. The help they can give you will be immeasurable. They will know the phone numbers to places you will need like the local phone and electric company. They can also give you the exact sizes of the rooms in the home. This is important because overseas homes tend to be quite a bit smaller.

Bringing Your Vehicle

Plan carefully if you want to take your vehicle. Remember that your vehicle will need to be shipped before you actually leave so you will have to plan to do without a vehicle for a while. If you have lien on your vehicle, you will need to check with the lien holder and make sure they will allow you to take it out of the country; most will not. Shipping a vehicle costs quite a bit, you may be better off selling your vehicle before you leave and purchasing one when you get there.

Selecting A Mover

Make sure that you hire an experienced international mover. The cheapest quote may not always be the best quote. Read your contract carefully, movers tend to include a lot of loopholes in their contracts. Get references from previous clients. You should also look into insuring the belongings you plan to move.

Don't Pack Everything

A huge mistake made by those moving internationally is that they pack too much and send it with the movers. Take advantage of the maximum baggage allowance given to you by your airlines. The more you have with you, the less you have to do without while your waiting for your belongings.

Personal Documents

Carry all your personal documents with you. This should include social security cards, birth certificates, marriage records and wills. Make a copy of each item and give it to a trusted family member or friend, just in case you lose them. Keep bank records and credit cards with you, don't pack them where they can get lost or stolen.

Taking you Pets

Check with the country you are moving to, they each have their own requirements for allowing pets into their countries. Most just require recent proof of vaccinations.

Bring Money with You

Before you leave, make sure that you have plenty of cash on you to be able to live a few days while you set up your bank accounts. You should have both US currency and the common currency used by the country you are moving to. This will save you a lot of headaches trying to exchange money when you first get there.

Moving With Kids

To help make the move easier on your kids, try contacting the school several months before your moving date and seeing if they can fix your child up with a pen pal. This way, they will know someone when they get there and it won't be as scary for them.

More Resources.....