My husband David and I recently relocated to London, England from San Francisco, California. This process held many new experiences for us, the greatest of which was that it was our first international move. We have both moved cross-country (from Michigan to California), but never across the world.
After two months in our new home, our shipping container finally arrived in London last week. Since then, we've gotten to unpack, arrange, and store all of the items we packed up back in early December. Since then, our items have made the harrowing journey across the world to us. Luckily, most of them made the trip safely.
Now that they're here, our house definitely feels a lot more like home. There are many items I am psyched to have back in my possession while others probably didn't need to make the trip.
When we packed our shipping container, we didn't actually know which house we would have. This meant packing was a bit of a guessing game and, at the end of the day, we did a pretty great job. To save others some time in this mind-frazzling process, here's how I'd break it down next time.
Ikea Furniture
The moving company that packed up our San Francisco house told us that they don't recommend shipping Ikea furniture. This is due to the quality and sturdiness of these pieces. The likelihood that they might not make it safely to a far-flung destination is high. We took their advice and left behind all our Ikea furniture other than our coffee table. We love it and it's a higher-quality product than our other Ikea furniture. However, we now regret sending our coffee table for several reasons.
Firstly, it's very large and British living (or reception) rooms are small. Secondly, the trip damaged several parts of the table. Lastly, because we have an Ikea store about twenty minutes away and they sell the exact same table. Meaning we didn't need to pay to ship it here. Chances are, wherever you're moving will have Ikea too. Check and see and consider leaving that stuff behind—it's not worth high shipping costs and will probably get damaged.
Ah well, live and learn. But learn from us and wait and go to Ikea when you arrive in your new home! You'll have the furniture so much sooner, it won't be damaged, and Ikea's products are virtually identical all over the world so it'll still feel like your old stuff.
Lighting
Although we had some lamps that we really liked, I'm so glad we didn't pack them for the UK. Almost all American light fixtures are the wrong voltage for European sockets. Ergo our lamps wouldn't have worked here and probably would've been damaged if we'd tried to use a converter.
Rest assured that wherever you're moving, they'll have lamps. They'll probably even have Ikea. You can buy some affordable lamps you won't feel bad about leaving behind when you move back to your home country. Don't spend money on expensive light fixtures since you'll have the same voltage issue when you head home.
Kitchen Electronics
We also ended up having to store most of our small electric kitchen gadgets due to voltage mismatch. This was particularly hard because it meant leaving behind our KitchenAid stand mixer. We had grown very attached to it and it had gotten us through many a delicious recipe.
Alas, our mixer, toaster, blender, microwave, and other small kitchen appliances are safely stored back in the States. We'll be happy to have them (especially the KitchenAid!) back when we return in a couple of years.
We replaced necessary appliances (toaster, microwave) with British products that work just as well and are cute to boot.
Fun fact: electric kettles (a must-have here) and toasters often come in matching styles, so that's fun.
Bulky Furniture
Unless you're moving to the States, it's pretty unlikely that you'll have more open living space than you did back home. Doorways and stairwells are much narrower in Europe than in the U.S., meaning our bulkier pieces wouldn't fit comfortably in a room in our new house or be able to get there. The road to our house, for example, is seven feet wide...so you can imagine how narrow the interior is.
Unless you know for certain that they will fit comfortably in your new space, I would recommend that you leave large sectionals, bulky chairs, and particularly long or heavy pieces behind. They probably won't look right in the new space. Our sofa isn't huge, yet in our London house, it looked so much bigger than it had back in California.
Fragile Items of Value (Sentimental or Monetary)
Although only two of our items broke on their journey across the sea, the experience is hard on furniture. We're pleased that most of our furniture shows minimal wear and tear from the trip, but it wouldn't be a good idea to ship anything too valuable or expensive.
Don't ship your valuable jewelry, crystal glasses, or any important documents. Either bring these in your suitcase or have a trusted loved one bring them when they come to visit (thanks, Mom!).
Now that we've gotten through the packing and unpacking aspect of international moving, we've certainly learned a lot. There are definitely things I would leave behind next time and probably a couple things I would pack.
What to Bring
Whilst I'd love to be a minimalist, the truth is that some material items bring comfort and warmth to a situation full of unknowns.
Bring photos—framed or unframed, these will instantly add a touch of home to your new place. A few small sentimental items are also nice. Pack a couple of these safely in your suitcase—since you'll probably be without most touches of home for quite a while!
Pack clothes and footwear for a variety of situations and weather conditions. Our shipping container ended up taking much longer than originally predicted, so you never know. Chances are you'll be glad to have a more formal option as well as things like a bathing suit and workout gear.
If you're moving with a pet, make sure to bring some of their food (enough for a couple of weeks would be ideal) and their favorite toy(s). The move is a big deal for them too, so it's best to bring a bit of home for them as well. Our dog Spark really enjoyed having her "friends" with her when we arrived at our new and unfamiliar house.
Take the opportunity to see this as a new adventure. You'll probably be surprised (as we were) at how little you'll think about most of your old possessions. It's also fun to accessorize your new home with local finds that reflect its backdrop!
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