When it came to planning our family’s move to France, one of the biggest stressors for me was the logistics of actually moving our stuff. What did we need to bring with us for a year or more abroad? And how would we get it to France safely — and affordably? I spent a lot of time researching the best way to move our stuff from the U.S. to France, and now that we’re here, I can confidently say I’m happy with how we handled it.
Step 1: Deciding what to pack for a year abroad
I wrote a previous post about packing for our family’s move to France — you can read that here. Essentially, we started off with a lot of soul-searching about what was important enough to pack, and what we could leave behind. We are renting a furnished apartment and renting out our own home fully furnished in the U.S., so that made the process quite a bit easier.
Really, there wasn’t a whole lot besides clothes that we needed to bring, but it was very important to me that we not feel like we were vacationing in an Airbnb. I wanted to make sure we felt at home in France. There’s also the possibility that we’ll be staying longer than a year, and I wanted to make sure we had things we might need or want longer term.
During this stage in the process, which took place in the months leading up to our move, I made a lot of lists. Several times, I went through our home in the U.S., room by room, writing down specific items that I wanted to bring. After doing this a few times, I had a general idea of the amount of stuff we’d be bringing, so I could move on to step two.
Step 2: Choosing an international moving method
There are a lot of ways to move your stuff abroad. Some people hire entire shipping containers, while some will pack a pallet and send it via container ship. These options can both cost many thousands of dollars, and we did not want to invest that much money, especially since we’re still not sure how long we’re staying — and we don’t have that much stuff!
One of the most cost-effective options is actually bringing your stuff with you on the plane, which was our original plan. We upgraded our flights to include two checked bags per person, and most airlines will allow you to add additional checked bags for under $200. But when we factored in the costs of actually transporting all of that baggage with us from the airport to our new home — which would have involved renting a van and driving across France — we adjusted our plan to bringing only the luggage we could easily manage between the three of us through the airport and on a train (three large checked bags, three carry-ons, and three personal items).
This luggage contained the majority of our three wardrobes, including clothing for all seasons, coats, shoes, and accessories. For the rest of our stuff, we decided to pack it up in boxes and ship it using SendMyBag.com.
Step 3: Packing and shipping our stuff abroad using SendMyBag.com
During the research phase, I read a lot of expat forum posts on moving abroad and noticed that many people recommended SendMyBag.com as an easy, affordable option for moving internationally. I looked into it, and I was impressed by their door-to-door service as well as the promised delivery speed (two to three business days). Shipping prices vary based on the size and weight of the shipment.
Ultimately, we packed four large heavy-duty moving boxes and one small heavy-duty box from Lowe’s to ship. The heavy, large boxes cost $200 each to ship while the small box (filled with heavy books) cost about $170.
Here’s what we packed for our move to France, in a nutshell:
- Home goods: Measuring cups, knives, framed family photos and art, office supplies, books, a few random tchotchkes, holiday decorations
- Kid stuff: Toys, stuffed animals, books, blankets, art supplies
- Sporting goods: Bike helmets, baseball stuff, frisbees
- Extra coats, shoes, etc. that didn’t fit in our luggage (including one full suitcase of summer clothes)
There are a few things that are forbidden to ship through SendMyBag.com because of customs regulations in France, so instead we packed these in our luggage. These included medications and first aid supplies as well as toiletries. Food is also not allowed. (There goes my idea of shipping a year’s supply of ranch dressing!)
Step 4: The nitty gritty of shipping our stuff to France
In the final days leading up to our move, I carefully packed each box, using plenty of strong tape and stretch wrap. I then labeled them according to SendMyBag’s clear instructions. I had to fill out several customs forms noting the contents and value of our goods and confirming that they were used, personal items being sent for a move — to hopefully help us avoid any customs fees or taxes. We then scheduled a pickup time and crossed our fingers that we’d see our stuff on the other side.
As scheduled, a DHL driver picked up the boxes from my in-laws' garage a few days later, and I received a notification that they were on their way to us. I loaded the SendMyBag.com app onto my phone so I could track our bags’ progress from Richmond, VA to Ohio and all the way to France! I was notified when our bags had passed through customs in France, and when I was required to pay a 36€ tax on our goods.
On delivery day, I was given a wide window of when our boxes may arrive in Bordeaux, so we stayed close to home. Since we’re in an apartment building with a locked entrance, we left a note with our new French phone number by the buzzers for the delivery driver. By midday, all of our boxes had arrived safely via DHL. Then we faced our final challenge: Moving them up three flights of winding stairs!
Besides one ceramic mixing bowl (which I had packed poorly), all of our stuff arrived safe and sound in just three business days. Our grand total for using SendMyBag.com to ship five boxes and one large suitcase was around $1200.
As I propped family photos on the mantle, and our son giddily unpacked his toys in his new room, and we decorated our Christmas tree with our beloved ornaments, our little French apartment began to feel like home — and I knew we’d made the right choice in bringing our favorite things to France.
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