International Moving Blog

  Moving from one home to another is considered one of the most stressful things people do in their lives. To move everything you own-much of it fragile and important to you-from one place to another involves careful planning, organization, good equipment and tools, the right moving materials and a heap of plain common sense. Plan Ahead for Your Move The first thing to remember is to get started and plan your move ahead as much as possible. Have too much stuff? Let us help! Use this link to Hire a Mover Having a written plan or checklist is a smart way to stay organized, as well as having plenty of moving boxes, tape and marking materials before you begin. Write down everything in each room and how you'll deal with moving it. You'll also want to decide whether you'll do the packing and loading or whether you want a professional mover to do those tasks. This decision is never easy. Think through as much of the hassle and cost of doing it yourself, compared to a professional moving company. Click here if you want to read more about moving companies. Packing for Your Move Packing is an art form in...

  International Relocation The Electronic Embassy Information on all of the Foreign Embassies of Washington D.C. forms the core of the Electronic Embassy. Real Estate & Mortgages Century 21 Do a property search online, contact the Century 21 office nearest to you, help with your mortgage, security systems for your new home. HomeFair.com A comprehensive page filled with information on real estate, mortgages, cities and other useful tips. LoanPage.com An international database of mortgage brokers that allows you to shop for a mortgage by state, city, county, mortgage speciality, loan type, loan rates, etc. Market Street Mortgage Mortgages and refinancing from the lenders at Market Street Mortgage. National Association of Home Builders NAHB has assembled a wide variety of For Consumers materials and information. NAHB creates new For Consumers information regularly, so remember to come back often! Realtor.com Information on how to get started looking for a home, buying, selling, making an offer and closing the deal. RelocationCentral.com Source of relocation information, including state directories for everything from apartments to churches to utilities. Salary Calculator Calculate relative salaries between cities. Other Sites of Interest 1StopMove Your One-Stop, Instant and Complete Change-of-Address Service.  ...

  The idea of moving is stressful enough. Uprooting and trying to transport all your belongings across the country or even a few hundred miles is pretty daunting. On top of the logistics, you're probably trying to say goodbyes to friends and loved ones. Money, too, is often an issue. A new driver's license, vehicle registrations, and other common extra expenses all await you at your new home. Finding a reliable long distance mover is vital to ensuring a reasonably stress-free move and, if you plan ahead and take some time getting multiple quotes, can be done without spending an arm and a leg. Full-Service Long Distance Movers If you've got a little extra money to spare and/or become homicidal between packing, moving, and unpacking, you might hire full-service long distance movers. Movers offer more services than ever before. Not only can they pack, move, and unpack your stuff, they can clean your new home before you move in, arrange wall hangings and other home accents according to your instruction, and move any extra belongings into a storage unit. They can also sell you packing supplies for you to professionally pack your stuff on your own. These services, naturally, come...

Moving can be a stressful time. Moving overseas can multiply the stress ten-fold. Here are some helpful tips that can reduce the stress.   RESEARCH Research where you are moving to see the type of culture, climate, customs, currency and other important information. If possible visit the country before you make up your mind, don't rely on other people's impressions. Ask yourself if the new culture will really suit you (and your family). BE PREPARED Murphy's law: If it can go wrong - it will. Don't assume that you'll be able to find the perfect job or house immediately. If possible make sure you've got enough money to see you through the first couple of months at the very least (preferably longer). Start preparing as early as possible, just getting all the necessary paperwork in order can take a long time. Make a checklist of everything you need to do! CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET Good budgeting could be what makes the difference between a successful relocation and a disaster. Before you go, work out what everything is going to cost during those crucial first months when you're trying to find your feet in a foreign land. CHECK YOUR BENEFITS If your...

Below is general information regarding Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move. The booklet is written by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Introduction by FMCSA Administrator - Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move AdministratorFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 Dear Customer: Welcome to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) booklet, "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move." We have prepared this booklet, which your moving company is required to give to you, for several reasons. First, entrusting your possessions to another can be a stressful experience. The booklet explains to you what you have a right to expect from your mover and what you should do to help ensure your move is a smooth one. Secondly, we have revised the booklet to reflect recent changes made to the Federal regulations to help consumers like you who need the services of a moving company. Additionally, you can obtain more information on how to choose a moving company and learn more about the mover by accessing FMCSA's Web page at www.protectyourmove.gov. This Web page provides the latest information on how to plan your move, where to register a complaint against a moving company or...

Below are online sources for those seeking to move overseas. Online Forums Here's a list of online forums; places where you can chat with others who are in the same situation as you and those who are already living in the country you're moving to. It's a great place to get the current news and advice from people who know.   Expat Forum: www.expatforum.comprovides a guide to moving abroad, including a guide to buying property, overseas jobs and forums. Expat Exchange: www.expatexchange.com is another informative site with a very active forum for people on the move. It also lists advice for buying real estate, job hunting and moving tips. Transitions Abroad offers a list of yahoo groups you can join, along with expat blogs and websites - it's worth a look. Yahoo groups: This is usually the first place I go to when thinking about doing something new, whether it's a hobby or traveling or moving someplace new. You can join for free, sign up for the group you're interested in then receive daily postings in your email box. If you haven't signed onto yahoo groups, I highly recommend it.   Consular Information Sheets Consular Information Sheets are produced and distributed...

International Resources to help you move, including websites, books and other tools. Moving Glossary Salary Calculator Career Builder Monster.com Country Reports Country Watch Tips for Buying Your First Home Mortgage Calculator Online Home Appraisal Tool Find a Community From a Bird's Eye View Find Rentals with this Interactive Map   WEATHER World weather (www.weather.com), (www.nws.noaa.gov/), (www.wunderground.com), (www.weather.org) TIME World time (www.worldtime.com) or (www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/), (www.worldtimeserver.com/), (www.worldtimezone.com/) EDUCATION Education Services (www.wes.org) MORTGAGE Mortgage calculation (www.realestatejournal.com), (www.dinkytown.com), (www.bankrate.com) Real estate market (www.zillow.com), (www.trulia.com), (www.greatschools.com), (http://frontdoor.com/) Appraisers (www.appraisalinstitute.org) ECO-FRIENDLY Environment/conservation (www.ftc.gov/energy), (www.the-dma.org/environment/), (www.greenbiz.com), (www.gwenet.org), (www.climateemergency.org), (www.ifg.org), (www.epa.gov), (www.environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/climate-change) Home improvements (www.energystar.gov) Fuel (www.gasbuddy.com), (www.gaspricewatch.com), (www.gasprices.mapquest.com) Recycle - Items (www.myboneyard.com), (www.greenphone.com), (www.ebay.extradein.com), (www.craigslist.com) Recycle - Waste/broken (www.freecycle.com), (www.earth911.com), (www.junkmanoline.com), (www.1800junkusa.com), (www.erecyclingco.com), (www.mountainrecycling.com) LANGUAGE Language/translators ( www.dictionary.com), ( www.freetranslation.com), (www.bartleby.com ), (www.grassroots.org), CURRENCY Culture Grams (www.culturegrams.com) Conversions (www.xe.net/currency.com), (www.oanda.com), (www.onlineconversations.com), (www.gocurrency.com) Exchange Rate Calculator (www.oanda.com/convert/classic), (www.xe.com/ucc) HEALTH World health (www.who.int/) PET RELOCATION Pet Relocation (http://www.petrelocation.com/), (www.happytailstravel.com), (www.petmove.com), TAXES/FINANCIAL (www.irs.gov/businesses/international/), (www.taxworld.org/othersites/intenational/internationl.htm), EMBASSIES & CONSULATES (www.usembassy.gov/), (www.embassyworld.com/) RELOCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES ERC (www.erc.org) IAM (www.iamovers.org/) Canadian Employee Relocation Council (www.cerc.ca) Society of Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org) American Payroll Association (www.americanpayroll.org) EXPAT: Expatriate General Resources Expatriate exchange (www.expatexchange.com) Expat Forums (www.expatforums.org) Expat Women (www.expatwomen.com) Shanghai Expats (www.shanghiaexpat.com) Malaysia (www.lalaysia.alloexpat.com)...