A lot of mental exercise goes into moving abroad. Once you’ve decided to make a move from the US to the UK (and sorted your visa status!) you now have to decide what to pack and what to leave behind.
Deciding What to Bring
For Americans moving to the United Kingdom it is rarely so simple as packing up everything and boarding a plane. Especially for those moving to London, you are likely downsizing your living space significantly.
Before you build your packing list, start thinking of your belongings in these categories:
Things you use regularly and need to access immediately
This often means clothing appropriate to the season you’ll arrive in, important paperwork, and personal electronic items like a laptop. This category will make up your on the flight suitcases and perhaps a small group of fast shipment boxes or extra suitcases.
Things you feel strongly about and are willing to wait up to 6 months to access
Unless you have a massive relocation budget, you’re likely to use an ocean shipping method for goods exceeding the first group above. This shipping method is much more cost effective than air shipping, but it can take a very long time. On my most recent move in 2021, I sent off a crate in July and received delivery the following January 2022. This category is therefore usually nostalgic items you want to keep but can live without for a time.
Plenty of people move from the US to the UK without shipping anything. It is absolutely possible to move with suitcases alone and repurchase your necessities in the UK. The final decision here is going to depend on your budget and how strongly attached you are to your stuff.
Things you want only if you return to the US
Maybe you’re only planning to move to attend university or take a defined term work rotation. In this case, you likely have items you’d like to have long-term but can’t justify moving with you. When I moved to the UK the first time in 2014, I left several boxes with my long-suffering parents.
You may also consider renting a storage unit while you’re away for these items. Try not to rely too heavily on this option without an exit strategy. I have come across hundreds of tales from people who made the move just for a year or so and have now been in the UK for decades. Those who had to plan a special trip back home to clear out storage generally report regretting holding on to those things for so long.
Things you own but don’t need
It can be overwhelming to realize just how much you own that you don’t need or can’t justify moving abroad. A whole lot of getting ready to move is simply sorting through items in this category and figuring out how to sell or give it all away.
A note on American furniture and electronics
Furniture
Your sofa is too big. One of the most common regrets I hear from Americans who’ve made this move is bringing furniture that just won’t fit in a UK home. Unless you have a very strong emotional attachment AND are certain the furniture item can fit into your new lifestyle, I strongly recommend getting rid of it before moving. It’s easy to find furniture at all price ranges here and there are tons of vintage markets if that’s your thing.
Electronics
Anything that plugs into the wall needs to be checked for voltage compliance. In the US, voltage runs on 120V. In the UK, it’s 240V. Laptops and phones are often dual-voltage compliant and you can purchase a new power cord rather than replacing the whole item. Check the power label on anything you’re unsure of. Dual voltage will typically be indicated by something like “120/240V” on the label. This article from Magnified Tech gives a handy overview.
Kitchen appliances and items like hairdryers are rarely compatible and usually better left behind. The one item I’ve found many people bring despite needing a transformer/converter to operate is their KitchenAid mixer. For the bakers out there, you are likely to burn this out even with a transformer eventually. Whether it’s worth bringing it anyway is a personal choice, but make sure you get the right transformer to avoid literally burning things up.
How to get organized (without losing your mind)
Start with a general clean up and declutter. This can quickly become overwhelming. You are going to realize you own much more than you thought. It’s also when you’re likely to first really question whether you’re doing the right thing. Remind yourself regularly that taking apart a life is hard, but it’s necessary to start your new life. Your new home will feel like home eventually and this will all seem easier in hindsight than it does right now. I promise.
Work through one room at a time and try to start somewhere with less important stuff, like a guest room or the junk corner in your living room. Do NOT start in the kitchen.
Go ahead and take photos of things you know you’ll want to sell, even if you’re not ready to sell them yet. This will make your life easier later when it’s time to post them for sale.
If you have the available space, set up an area for things you’d like to ship and start moving these items there. This will help with packing later and will help you visualize how much space you’ll need when booking shipping.
Options for Shipping What You Want to Bring
Relocation Companies
There are many moving and relocation companies out there willing to organize your personal goods shipments. I’ve personally used U Pak We Ship and Sevenseas Moving. Both did what they promised without major incident. Our most recent shipment with Sevenseas did take nearly 6 months to reach us, but we had been warned that this was likely thanks to the many staffing issues experienced at ports since the pandemic began.
If you’re funding your own move, cutting out the use of a moving company can be a massive savings. Our all-in cost for shipping in 2021 was little under $4,000 including insurance and customs fees. We brought the equivalent of a small UHaul truck full for that amount. Had we not been moving with a corporate relocation package, I would not have brought so much. When we moved over on our own in 2014, it was suitcases only for us. Unlike that first time, though, I did not leave a closet full of boxes at my parents’ house for this move.
Excess Baggage
The other side of the shipping pendulum is to pack everything you’re taking into luggage and move it with you on your flight to the UK. Check out your airline’s policies on excess baggage and overweight fees to gauge how much you can bring and what it will cost. Don’t forget to factor in transport to/from the airport and any help you’ll need managing it all since this won’t be your normal vacation trip.
Luggage Shipping Companies
Luggage shipping is a great in-between option if you have more than you want to carry yourself on your move, but not so much that you need a moving company.
These companies will pick up your extra suitcases and deliver them a few days later at your destination. Many will also carry boxes up to a defined weight and size if you have items to send but no suitcase to send them in.
Pricing on this varies by bag size and the speed of delivery, but in some cases can be even less expensive than the baggage fees charged by your airline to schlep your bag yourself. I’ve used SendmyBag multiple times and love the convenience of their service.
Send My Bag has graciously offered a 5% discount for A Life Away readers!
How to Sell, Give Away or Trash What You Don’t Need
Once you’ve started to go through things and identified items you want to sell or give away, it’s time to find potential buyers.
Selling Online
Higher value items such as furniture and electronics can usually be sold online locally via social media or online marketplaces. I found Facebook Marketplace useful in my area, and sold a few items on Craigslist. This was the most lucrative method for selling things, but I kept it to those things I knew would have the most value and sell easily.
For anything you are posting online to sell, make sure you have clear pictures to include and be up front about any damage or wear on the item. You will get an annoying number of messages from people asking if the item is still available only for them to ghost you once you respond. Be cautious when inviting strangers to your home for pick-ups and make sure you aren’t home alone when they’re scheduled to arrive.
Selling to Your Network
I found this to be by far the most effective method for selling our stuff. I created a Google Sheet listing each item, price, and one or two photos. I then shared a link to that sheet to local friends and had my husband post it to his company’s employee buy/sell intranet page. As people requested to purchase items I’d put “ON HOLD” next to the item title, and then move them to a separate sold page after pick-up.
The reason this worked so well was because everyone with access to the page either knew us directly or at least knew my husband was a fellow employee of the same company. They all lived locally and didn’t have to wonder whether the items we posted were part of an online scam.
A copy of the Google Sheet tracker I used can be found in the Free Resource Library!
Giving to Charity
I left the country with a stack of Goodwill receipts in my important paperwork folder thanks to the several carloads of things we dropped off to donate. You can certainly go all in on selling as much of your stuff as possible to maximize your pocket money for the move. I found that anything I’d ask less than $25 for was just not worth the effort to photograph and post it for sale.
Don’t overlook local charities in this effort as well. I gave all of the bed sheets and towels we weren’t taking to a local dog rescue.
Buy Nothing Groups
This find was another massive help during the final couple of weeks clearing things out. There’s a lot of stuff we own that’s not donatable but can still be useful for someone. I joined a local buy nothing group through Facebook to find new homes for so much of this.
For instance, I posted “baking supplies” with all of my flour, baking powder, sugar, etc. These were a mix of new and open items, some of which I’d put into reusable canisters. I didn’t need the canisters or the baking supplies but found someone willing to pick up the lot same day. I used the same method to clear my laundry supply shelf and my spice rack.
To find these groups, search for “buy nothing” or “freecycle” + your area or town.
Dumpster Hire
Even after all these steps, you’ll still be left with stuff that is just trash. If you live in an apartment or small home, you may be able to get by with using your building’s dumpster or your regular bins. If that won’t cut it, contact your trash service about a one-time dumpster hire. I arranged through our city trash service to have a dumpster for 3 days prior to our final move out. We didn’t come close to filling it, but it was a lot more useful than I like to admit.
Packing Your Carry-On for the Trip
What you carry on your person when it’s time to board the plane will look much different than your standard vacation routine. In addition to things that will keep you comfortable on the plane, you’re going to need to keep some important items safe.
First, expect to carry a file with important documentation. This will include things like birth certificates and other identification, tax records, pertinent medical records, and anything else you need to have on hand in paper format. I purchased this expanding file which had more than enough space to organize all our documents and our pets’ travel documents.
In addition to that file, I used these individual pouch files to separate each family member’s passport and visa documentation. This was particularly helpful because we did not all fly over on the same flight but could easily access what we needed individually.
In addition to paperwork, you should expect to save room for high value items such as jewellery or personal electronics.
Finally, a handy travel tip is to bring in your carry-on a travel-sized amount of any beauty products you will want to access in the first week and don’t plan to immediately purchase here. You can bring full-size bottles in your checked luggage, but it is nice to have quick access to your normal supplies without having to dig into your bags. This is particularly helpful if you will be in temporary accommodation when you first arrive.
Timeline for Packing
Once you’ve made the decision to move, it can be tempting to use your excited energy to start packing right away. There are some steps you can take immediately, but don’t go crazy and sell your bed or dining table with over a month to go.
Here’s a general timeline for what to focus on when:
Start Right Away
Clean and work room by room to decide what you’ll want to bring along. Smaller items that don’t make the cut can be used up, sold, donated or trashed as you go.
Start 1-2 Months Out
If you’re going to send an ocean shipment, get this arranged and start packing the items to be shipped. Keep a detailed inventory as you go so that you don’t have to reopen things to complete your customs forms accurately.
You can also start selling some furniture at this point. Keep to the decorative stuff or extra things that you can still live comfortably without. For us, that meant selling an extra table and chairs, most of our patio furniture, and a few decorative items. This is still not the time to let go of things you use every day.
Start in the Last Few Weeks
In your last few weeks, it’s time to get serious selling items and making those trips to donation drop-offs. Look for local “buy nothing” or “freecycle” groups on social media to set up giveaways of items you can’t donate.
You can also now get moving on packing your suitcases with as much as can be set aside. This is a great time to try out that capsule wardrobe idea you’ve flirted with in the past. Everything else should be packed so you can avoid last minute surprise at how much room things are taking up. Don’t forget to keep access to clothing for when you first land in your new home if the climate will differ greatly.
Start in the Last Few Days
Get all your documentation organized and ready to go. Pack up your carry-on and at most one designated suitcase that will be your wardrobe when you first land. Packing cubes can be very helpful to separate wardrobe bits for various family members within the same suitcase.
Remember to Breathe
Your timeline and method for packing will ultimately be a very personal decision based on what works best for you and your family. This is an exciting, but highly stressful time. Make sure you save time to enjoy your local area, friends and family before you go.
Also recognize that it’s 100% normal to doubt your decision when you start packing up the life you know. This part is hard, but you’ll be on to your new adventure before you know it!
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