Furnishing Your Home After an International Move

 
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Moving country can be a challenge – not only culturally, but in logistical terms too. Whether you are migrating to a different country, or returning home from living abroad, an international move takes more than just hiring a mover to pack and transport your belongings. International distribution can be an expensive route, and you may have to sacrifice possessions if you wish to pay a little less.

Depending on your situation, you may have to organise and set up everything yourself unless your move is work-related, where some employers provide a moving allowance. Investigate any allowances or direct contracts with international movers that your employer may offer – this should prevent you from missing out on any benefits and clear any confusion in the process. Take a look at our article on how to plan, prepare and pack for a long-distance move.

 
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The challenges of shipping furniture

Hiring movers to ship your furniture can be a convenient or an easier alternative to ‘doing it yourself’. However, there are certainly some challenges that come with this choice:

  • Customs – depending on what you are transporting, possessions and furniture could sit in customs for a month or longer after arriving in your new country. You don’t want the hassle of filling out forms and waiting several weeks, just to clear your favourite rug out of customs.
  • Costs – International movers base their rates on volume. Considering delicate and large pieces of furniture take up a lot of space, the cost of using movers is excessive for most people. Quotes often exclude additional costs such as local duties and taxes, insurance, customs inspection and scanning fees, packing and storage.

When should you buy or rent furniture?

As opposed to paying for belongings to be transported, many movers choose to buy or rent furniture. When choosing rental furniture as an option, you only need to look at packing your most important items such as clothes, personal mementoes and other essentials in your luggage. You may be wondering about the furniture you’re leaving behind. By selling everything else in advance of your move, not only are you taking the responsibility for handling off your shoulders, but you can make some extra money to cover additional costs during your move.

 
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