How to Move Your Stuff Overseas

You're taking on a job overseas or living abroad as part of your educational experience. Or maybe you're just fleeing the IRS. Whatever your reasons, as you prepare for moving overseas there are a number of things you need to do if you want to take your possessions with you.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Recognize that you can't take it all with you. This should be obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people suddenly decide when moving overseas that they can't live without everything they own. Take a good, hard look at everything you think you want to take. You won't need to ship or take most of it.
2. Recognize that you can't take it all with you on the plane, either. Airlines have specific limits on how much you can take, and they will enforce it. Don't be stuck in the airport trying to unload an entire suitcase worth of possessions on your Uncle Bob. Know the guidelines (often larger for international flights) and weigh your bags before you go.
3. Pack sparingly for all seasons. Clothes can be bought overseas, sometimes for less money than it would cost you at home. If you have three bikinis, odds are you don't really need to take them all. You can always have them shipped later, should you really need them after you finish moving.
4. Ship things you won't need immediately as slowly as possible. This is just to save money. Moving your valuables overseas is going to involve a shipping company or the post office. Neither option is cheap. If you want to take your winter coat, but won't need it for a few months, put it in a box and ship it as cheaply as you can.
5. Leave the big items at home. Even if you're giving up your apartment locally to live abroad in a new home, you're better off not shipping your furniture. Either rent a place overseas that already has furniture, or, if your move is more permanent, buy it when you get there.
6. Leave the valuable or one-of-a-kind items at home. Put them in storage, leave them with a friend or relative, because moving them overseas means you run a very real risk of having them stolen or damaged.

Tips & Warnings

• Provide a return address for things you ship so that, should it be returned, someone can collect it for you. Otherwise your stuff could end up in shipping limbo. Parents or other reliable friends and relatives are good for this.
• Don't pack things yourself. Unless you're a professional, or have lots of experience, let the shipping company do it for you. It will cost you more, but your stuff will arrive in one piece and that will save you money and heartache in the long run.
• Don't ship anything fragile. No matter how well you package it, it's unlikely to survive. Even if it makes the trip there intact, moving it back once you return from overseas just doubles your odds of turning the family heirloom into pieces.