Shipping personal effects to Amsterdam

jmcwobbles

Hi everyone,

I'm moving to Amsterdam at the end of October for at least a year (got a 12 month contract with work with a view to being made permanent after that). I'm planning to find short term accommodation for a month or so until I get to know the city and then find somewhere more permanent. During that time I'll be storing my stuff in my brother's house.

When I do find somewhere more permanent I would like to ship the rest of my stuff over - stuff like my TV (32" LCD), Wii (+ balance board), DVD player, some books and DVDs, some more clothes, and other bits and bobs. Does anyone have any idea how much I would expect to pay for this, and anyone have any recommendations for shipping companies to go with?

Thanks a mil!

OH now that I think of it, also, I booked my flight over with Aer Lingus and booked 2 checked suitcases - but when I looked again at the website I see that the weight limit is 20kg per passenger, not per bag!! There doesn't seem to be anywhere on the website indicating that you can pay, say, a tenner extra for extra weight, which I know you can do with Ryanair - anyone have any experience with extra weight with Aer Lingus?? Is it possible to pay a little extra for two 20kg bags and not the penalty price of €9 per extra kg??

D-Generate

If it is not possible to pay for an extra bag then pay for a friend to take a seat on the plane and check a bag in with them too. Who wouldn't want a free trip to Amsterdam! It will be less than paying 9*20 I imagine.

Jim2007

- About the TV, check out if it will work In the Netherlands, I know for instance that Swiss TVs will not work in the UK or Ireland.....

- Check out the bulk rates from DHL/UPS and so on, you might find something there...

- Concerning the flight, I'd say your first worry will be to see if they even have capacity to take your extra Kgs and you can expect the price will be high

- If you search around the net, perhaps you can find someone with free space in a container....

Good luck with that,

Jim (Switzerland)

keithclancy

jmcwobbles wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I'm moving to Amsterdam at the end of October for at least a year (got a 12 month contract with work with a view to being made permanent after that). I'm planning to find short term accommodation for a month or so until I get to know the city and then find somewhere more permanent. During that time I'll be storing my stuff in my brother's house.

When I do find somewhere more permanent I would like to ship the rest of my stuff over - stuff like my TV (32" LCD), Wii (+ balance board), DVD player, some books and DVDs, some more clothes, and other bits and bobs. Does anyone have any idea how much I would expect to pay for this, and anyone have any recommendations for shipping companies to go with?

Thanks a mil!


OH now that I think of it, also, I booked my flight over with Aer Lingus and booked 2 checked suitcases - but when I looked again at the website I see that the weight limit is 20kg per passenger, not per bag!! There doesn't seem to be anywhere on the website indicating that you can pay, say, a tenner extra for extra weight, which I know you can do with Ryanair - anyone have any experience with extra weight with Aer Lingus?? Is it possible to pay a little extra for two 20kg bags and not the penalty price of €9 per extra kg??

http://www.aachener-international.com/aachenerinternational-enquiries.php?menu_id=234

I used this crowd to ship 5 massive boxes of clothes, personal effects etc, didnt cost too much.

You could try some of the air freight companies in Dublin/Cork Airport as well, at the time i got quotes of 1.80 / kilo from Cork to Schihol.

zeds alive

I helped a friend move there recently and the most cost effective way for him was to drive there with the stuff in my car. return Dublin-Liverpool & Hull to Hook of Holland including petrol worked out at €325 for the whole lot. And it took 18hrs , not an ideal way to do it but compared to some of the pallet prices quoted from DHL/TNT it was about 75% cheaper.

your TV and electricals will work , Holland is on the same voltage as Ireland, just remember to bring some travel plugs

easynote

All your belongings may seem really important to you now, but once you get there you might realise you don't need them. There is probably already a tv in the house you are going to be renting and you might not be as interested in all your old stuff anymore, and find different interests and also not have time to watch tv etc. as much. If I were you I would store the stuff, go there, and once I get my permanent place re-consider whether I want all my stuff shipped over or if I can do without them and also just get the few bits and bobs i still want to have cheaply and possibly second-hand where I am.

Fysh

easynote wrote: »

All your belongings may seem really important to you now, but once you get there you might realise you don't need them. There is probably already a tv in the house you are going to be renting and you might not be as interested in all your old stuff anymore, and find different interests and also not have time to watch tv etc. as much. If I were you I would store the stuff, go there, and once I get my permanent place re-consider whether I want all my stuff shipped over or if I can do without them and also just get the few bits and bobs i still want to have cheaply and possibly second-hand where I am.

I understand the suggestion you're making, but it's pretty unhelpful in the context of the OP's question. Especially since you haven't provided any suggestions of where the OP should look to place his current possessions in long-term storage rather than taking them with him.

When I moved from Cork to London I was lucky enough to be able to leave a bunch of stuff at my parent's place, but not everyone has that option and paid-for storage space isn't a cheap commodity, especially if you're in the middle of moving country and getting yourself set up from scratch.

easynote

Fysh wrote: »

I understand the suggestion you're making, but it's pretty unhelpful in the context of the OP's question. Especially since you haven't provided any suggestions of where the OP should look to place his current possessions in long-term storage rather than taking them with him.

When I moved from Cork to London I was lucky enough to be able to leave a bunch of stuff at my parent's place, but not everyone has that option and paid-for storage space isn't a cheap commodity, especially if you're in the middle of moving country and getting yourself set up from scratch.

Having moved to different countries before this is the way I have found it to work for me. I would make a deal with my brother re the storage, and say he can use any stuff he needs if it can be stored there. I would not pay for storage space, if I had no other way, I would either sell my stuff or bring it all with me. Question is whether it is worth paying for the transport and the hassle though. I do think that is a valid point. Especially since that is my personal experience. Maybe the OP finds it helpful.

jmcwobbles

Thanks for all the tips and advice peeps, I will be able to store my stuff in my brother's house for a while until I get set up, so no storage worries. As for not needing everything once I'm there, I am taking that into account and have already sent off loads of bags and boxes of clothes, books and DVDs to the charity shop, so am really narrowing the list of stuff I do want over there with me to the bare minimum and only stuff I have an emotional attachment to

I called Aer Lingus to see if there was any way they could help out with the extra weight considering I'm moving there for good and they were completely unhelpful - I just find it amazing that you can pay a little extra for some extra weight with RYANAIR of all airlines, and Aer Lingus refuse to do that. It's overweight charges or nothing - they wouldn't even let me book another seat under my own name and get an extra bag on that way, and they won't refund me the cost of one of the bags I had booked! I think I'm just gonna have to cut down the initial baggage as much as possible and just pay the extra weight charges if I go over the limit. Which is highly llikely.

Thanks for the links for shipping companies, I went to the Working Abroad Expo over the weekend too and chatted to some other shipping companies there too, so hopefully should be grand to ship everything over for <€500. I'm not gonna stress too much about that anymore til I have everything packed up though and have a better idea of exactly how much I want to ship. In retrospect I probably should have looked more into the driving thing, but I don't have anywhere to live at the moment and don't want the extra hassle of finding somewhere with parking, not to mention the driving distance to get there...

My main concern is finding somewhere to live now!! I have a friend who has a friend who has an apartment there but is home in Melbourne at the moment and I was really praying he would let me take the apartment just for a month or so (and pay his rent obviously) until I found somewhere more permanent, but just heard this morning that it's a no-go, he already has someone staying a couple of nights a week. So I guess it's gonna be a hostel or something for a couple of weeks and pray to God that I find something quickly enough once I'm over there!! Keep your collective fingers crossed...

keithclancy

jmcwobbles wrote: »

Thanks for all the tips and advice peeps, I will be able to store my stuff in my brother's house for a while until I get set up, so no storage worries. As for not needing everything once I'm there, I am taking that into account and have already sent off loads of bags and boxes of clothes, books and DVDs to the charity shop, so am really narrowing the list of stuff I do want over there with me to the bare minimum and only stuff I have an emotional attachment to

I called Aer Lingus to see if there was any way they could help out with the extra weight considering I'm moving there for good and they were completely unhelpful - I just find it amazing that you can pay a little extra for some extra weight with RYANAIR of all airlines, and Aer Lingus refuse to do that. It's overweight charges or nothing - they wouldn't even let me book another seat under my own name and get an extra bag on that way, and they won't refund me the cost of one of the bags I had booked! I think I'm just gonna have to cut down the initial baggage as much as possible and just pay the extra weight charges if I go over the limit. Which is highly llikely.

Thanks for the links for shipping companies, I went to the Working Abroad Expo over the weekend too and chatted to some other shipping companies there too, so hopefully should be grand to ship everything over for <€500. I'm not gonna stress too much about that anymore til I have everything packed up though and have a better idea of exactly how much I want to ship. In retrospect I probably should have looked more into the driving thing, but I don't have anywhere to live at the moment and don't want the extra hassle of finding somewhere with parking, not to mention the driving distance to get there...

My main concern is finding somewhere to live now!! I have a friend who has a friend who has an apartment there but is home in Melbourne at the moment and I was really praying he would let me take the apartment just for a month or so (and pay his rent obviously) until I found somewhere more permanent, but just heard this morning that it's a no-go, he already has someone staying a couple of nights a week. So I guess it's gonna be a hostel or something for a couple of weeks and pray to God that I find something quickly enough once I'm over there!! Keep your collective fingers crossed...

I think i paid around 400 euros for what must have been about 200 kilos of stuff.Much less hassle than going down that driving route.

Check out couchsurfing as well, might be an option for a bit at least !

http://www.couchsurfing.org/

I'm further down the Country, about 1hr45 on the train, its hard to find accomodation in the dam

www.funda.nl is your ownly man.

jmcwobbles

A few people have passed on the funda website link to me - but I don't have a word of Dutch, how do English-speakers navigate this site?? I know you can find an apartment and see the price and pictures, but I can't understand any of the spiel!

I was only joking with my friends the other day about having to resort to couchsurfing, but it's looking like more and more of a possibility!:o

easynote

jmcwobbles wrote: »

A few people have passed on the funda website link to me - but I don't have a word of Dutch, how do English-speakers navigate this site?? I know you can find an apartment and see the price and pictures, but I can't understand any of the spiel!

I was only joking with my friends the other day about having to resort to couchsurfing, but it's looking like more and more of a possibility!:o

Whatabout your employer, they should be able to pass on some contacts for possible accomodation arrangements. Just let them know you still haven't found a place to stay. I understand if you don't want to seem demanding and helpless.

jmcwobbles

easynote wrote: »

Whatabout your employer, they should be able to pass on some contacts for possible accomodation arrangements. Just let them know you still haven't found a place to stay. I understand if you don't want to seem demanding and helpless.

They're not being too helpful about accommodation because I'm moving over on a contract, not a permanent position - they have provided me with links to accommodation websites but that's about it - but I had already been thinking about getting back onto them and asking for more help cos I'm having real issues just finding something short term, so I think I'll have to do that. I have no problem seeming demanding, after all they head hunted me and are expecting me to move to Amsterdam and arrange and pay for everything myself which is obviously very difficult! I just keep telling myself the hassle will all be worth it once I get settled into my new life over there...

easynote

Ring the universities and ask them how foreign students usually arrange their accomodation. I know you are not a student, but there might be somewhere the university knows about that accepts both students and professionals. They are usually very friendly also.

jmcwobbles

easynote wrote: »

Ring the universities and ask them how foreign students usually arrange their accomodation. I know you are not a student, but there might be somewhere the university knows about that accepts both students and professionals. They are usually very friendly also.

Thanks for the tip I'm willing to try anything at this stage!!

easynote

Glad to be of help.

keithclancy

jmcwobbles wrote: »

A few people have passed on the funda website link to me - but I don't have a word of Dutch, how do English-speakers navigate this site?? I know you can find an apartment and see the price and pictures, but I can't understand any of the spiel!

I was only joking with my friends the other day about having to resort to couchsurfing, but it's looking like more and more of a possibility!:o

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=nl&tl=en&u=www.funda.nl

That'll translate the main page for you

Stick the postcode in of where your working +5km and work from there

After that you can copy and paste in the spiel about the apartments.

Bottle_of_Smoke

BTW if you download google chrome it will automatically translate the page into english. Much handier than manually using google translate.

I live in Utrecht about 40km south of Amsterdam. In both areas it is notoriously difficult to find a place. When I got here my work had set up digs with a woman nearby who had a spare room but she was nuts and painful to live with.

Luckily after 2weeks on www.kamernet.nl I found a nice place but i only have t until January and I was lucky to get it.

My advice is book somewhere cheap like a hostel for two weeks and use that time to find a place. near impossible to get a place whilst you're in ireland as flatmates will want to meet you

dudara

Several colleagues of mine who are short-term contractors found apartments via Craigslist.