Introducing myself

[kaybee85]

I told myself I'd wait until we heard from the secretary at the job my husband has unofficially been offered, but meh lol. Hopefully I don't jinx this!

My husband is wrapping up his PhD in November and was offered a postdoctoral position in Toulouse, France. I'm guessing we'll be moving between February-April, but I don't really know yet. It is a 2 year contract with the possibility of a 3rd year.

We have a  9 month old (for those who can't see my sig) and plan having another child during the time we'd be living there. My understanding is that we'll qualify for health care through their state/government provided system, but I am not 100% sure on logistics with that yet. 

Right now my head is swimming. I'm SO excited. We've always wanted to have his postdoc be overseas because of the opportunity while still having a shelf-life. On the other hand, I'm freaked about money (don't think I'll be working there because of logistics of finding a job and getting a visa, plus the kid). His take home pay is not a lot (not terrible, but significantly less than we take home here). Looking around the apartment and thinking about what the heck to do about our stuff, what to bring, what will it cost to bring?, etc etc is definitely overwhelming. I highly doubt we get financial help for the move. 

Anyway, HI! lol    

[rupertpenny]

Congrats! So exciting!

Are you sure you need to secure your own visa? Different country obviously, but I know in the UK the spouse of someone on a work visa also has a right to work.

You're an English teacher, correct? That is one of the easiest jobs to bring abroad. Look into international schools, they usually pay quite well. I know several American/Canadian people who teach in international schools in Hong Kong who have previously worked in France. Even elite schools that aren't necessarily international might have openings for English language literature teachers in secondary school.

As for what to bring, we had no assistance, brought nothing that wouldn't fit in a suitcase, and just went to ikea when we got here. Since we had a small place we only spent about $2k to completely furnish it, including setting up the kitchen.

[dorothyinAus]

Welcome!

I have no advice for France as I'm in Australia, but Welcome to our Group!

[kaybee85]

Oct 14, 2015 19:10:54 GMT -5 rupertpenny said:

Congrats! So exciting!

Are you sure you need to secure your own visa? Different country obviously, but I know in the UK the spouse of someone on a work visa also has a right to work.

You're an English teacher, correct? That is one of the easiest jobs to bring abroad. Look into international schools, they usually pay quite well. I know several American/Canadian people who teach in international schools in Hong Kong who have previously worked in France. Even elite schools that aren't necessarily international might have openings for English language literature teachers in secondary school.

As for what to bring, we had no assistance, brought nothing that wouldn't fit in a suitcase, and just went to ikea when we got here. Since we had a small place we only spent about $2k to completely furnish it, including setting up the kitchen.

Thank you! 

I'm not sure about the visa stuff yet. I've only looked at very basic stuff with that until we hear from the secretary.

Yes, I am an English teacher. I actually recently got a job teaching online that I was hoping would be mobile, but I can't continue working for them when I leave the state. I looked into the International School in town, but you have to be a French citizen. From what I've read, many cities in France are inundated with English teachers (as a foreign language), but I was going to keep an 'ear' out. 

We were also leaning toward not taking anything, but I am worried about the cost of replacing a lot of baby gear. There is an IKEA in town, which we've already scouted.

[kaybee85]

Oct 14, 2015 20:48:06 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

Welcome!

I have no advice for France as I'm in Australia, but Welcome to our Group!

Thank you!

[rupertpenny]

kaybee85 that sucks about the international school only taking French citizens. Hopefully the visa thing won't be an issue. I am obviously not an expert or anything but there seem to be two extremes: either the spouse can't work at all period, or it is NBD and they can look for work and be hired almost as easily as a citizen or permanent resident. Hopefully it is the latter in France. Also, I would think an actual legit English teacher would be a more desirable canidate for ESL jobs than someone on a gap year or something, but who knows.

Ingrid will be about over a year when you move, right? She will need way less gear then than she does as an infant. You won't need any big containment devices or things like that anymore. Bea was 6 months and we brought a stroller, bottles (not that she ever used them, ugh), a variety of baby carriers, clothes, crib sheets/blankets/towels, small toys, and all of her board books. Pretty much just one suitcase full. The only larger thing we have purchased since is a high quality travel crib (we have the Phil and Ted's traveller) because many hotels in Asia don't offer baby cribs, or if they do they are weird and scary. If you think you will travel often I think it's a good investment, and you can use it until you can make it to Ikea or wherever.

[kaybee85]

rupertpenny, yes, she turns a year Jan 11, so I doubt we'll move before that. Great point about the gear.

Did you bring a car seat? We don't plan on driving,but we'll probably rent cars here and there to do traveling (or go to IKEA lol).

[rupertpenny]

Oct 14, 2015 22:26:23 GMT -5 kaybee85 said:

rupertpenny, yes, she turns a year Jan 11, so I doubt we'll move before that. Great point about the gear.

Did you bring a car seat? We don't plan on driving,but we'll probably rent cars here and there to do traveling (or go to IKEA lol).

No, we did not. I forgot about that. Yeah, I guess in Europe you would need one more than I do here. We pretty much only get in cars to go home from the airport. For occasional use I'd bring whatever I was using at home, but if I thought I'd be driving a lot I'd buy one there to make sure it was completely up to French standards. 

[mrsukyankee]

I would also ask if there is a "I'm leaving the country, wanna buy my stuff" board at the uni where your H is going to do his post-doc. If you are in an area with expats, you may find people who will give away or sell for cheap a lot of items.

[pittpurple]

Welcome to the board!

Random thoughts in a not-well-organised way:

He might get a relocation budget, we recruit a lot of overseas post-docs and they get a standard relocation budget of I think £5000 (so $7500) so worth checking that out.

Don't bring your car seat, the standards are different here and you'll just need to get one here (if you're a tourist it's a different level of risk, but carseats technically don't fulfill other country's requirements so it potentially voids your insurance if anything happens). We have a USA carseat that we bring back and forth with us when we are in the states as our family is really spread out. If yours are in the same place, you can just leave it there to use when you're 'home'.

I would encourage you to bring as little as possible - we eventually shipped 'most' of our stuff over but we've been here 10 years and counting and just bought a house. When we moved over here we brought 7 suitcases on the flight. However... UK flats come furnished (including dishes, etc) so we wouldn't have needed anything. Not sure how it works in France.

Don't bring electronics, might be worth bringing specific little baking/cooking gadgets (like measuring cups if you bake a lot, took me AGES to find them here, spices if you're attached to anything, some Kraft mac and cheese packs when you're feeling homesick - that might just be me!), worth bringing a few sentimental knick-knack type things so you feel at 'home' but keep it minimal. I was totally shocked at how tiny flats are here so make sure all your stuff is worth it.

We sold our cars and furniture before we moved (to a post-doc who was arriving in Pittsburgh) and stored many, many boxes of wedding gifts in various basements.

Two years really isn't very long so I wouldn't pay twice to ship most things.

For baby stuff - so much stuff doesn't even last that long (like the toys she likes now will be boring by the time you're here!) and you might want things that are better for where you're living (like we walk a lot more here so have a stroller with really rugged tyres). It's not like things won't be available in France - there are way different lists for people moving to China, etc but for coming to Western Europe, you can find everything here. Any large university will have tons of people moving back and forth between countries so you'll likely find anything you need used anyway (do either of you speak French?). There will likely be an American club of some sort where you are as well so you can network.

I've rethought the stroller - if you have one that works for day-to-day use with cobblestones and whatnot, or want to buy one in the states, it might be worth it. Stuff really is a lot more expensive over here. I find that I still buy a lot of clothes for all of us when we're in the states as it's cheaper (and I'm addicted to Old Navy) so worth considering some basics though there will be gorgeous clothes for your daughter in France!

[kaybee85]

Hey pittpurple!

I'm definitely hoping we get some money, but still waiting to hear from the secretary for particulars and semi-planning for the worst.

Our stroller is pretty great for varied terrains, so I think we'll bring it. The downside to it is that it is big. (Jogger style with inflatable wheels instead of plastic). Good points about the toys, except that we plan on having a second while there, so maybe it's worth bringing (assuming there is space in whatever bags we bring..) I don't want to deal with shipping furniture or anything super big. Part of me would love to bring our pots and pans, I want to bring my own spices (crazy? I feel like it would help with homesickness...lol) and man, it'd be nice to have some of the other kitchen gadgets (crockpot, food processor), but those seem less likely.

[loira]

Well done for your H snagging a post-doc! Toulouse is a great city. A good friend of mine did his PhD there in economics and loved it.

[pittpurple]

Electronics are almost entirely not worth bringing. You'd have to get a voltage converter which is heavy/expensive and it anecdotally doesn't work well with anything that changes power - so a food processor / hair dryer / etc. We have one for my DH's xbox that we brought over when we moved but the rest we just had to replace or live without.

Spices are light so worth it IMO and pots/pans I would decide when you know a budget and have your piles ready to go. We did regret not bringing our nice set but we have been here a long time.

I do understanding wanting another baby but kid/baby stuff is the easiest to find lightly used as things are used for such short periods of time so I would encourage you to stick to items that are personally important to you (I would prioritise pots and pans for example!)

[pittpurple]

Sorry - should have been more clear. Electronics that are American voltage aren't worth it. Phones / cameras / laptops etc that are dual voltage are definitely worth bringing!

[G22]

Oct 16, 2015 3:59:07 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

Sorry - should have been more clear. Electronics that are American voltage aren't worth it. Phones / cameras / laptops etc that are dual voltage are definitely worth bringing!

I will second this! We are still unpacking boxes and realizing we should have just gotten rid of most of our electronics before moving here, as all seem to be 120v and unusable without a converter.

[rupertpenny]

I had nice calphalon ss pots at home and they are now in storage at my dads house. The ikea ss ones I use now are really almost just as good.

[GilliC]

Ditto the sentiments about electrics, but not electronics. Things like kitchen appliances are pretty useless. Even if you voltage-convert them, the different frequency can still cause problems.

However, most electronics these days are dual voltage. Even some things they claim aren't actually are if you crack them open and look inside or look up the details on the internet (this was our experience after importing a PlayStation that claimed to be 110-120V only). Take a look at the cords and power supplies for anything you want to bring and see if it says 110-240V. If it doesn't, you'd need to convert it. Anything under 50 Watts is pretty easy. 300W is possible. Above 300 starts to involve a pretty hardcore converter.

The bigger issue for a lot of these kinds of things are region restrictions on films and video games. e.g. If you bring a Blu-ray player, bring the discs too, because you won't be able to play anything you buy in France unless you find a solution online for removing the region restrictions.

Since it's a short-term move, I'd definitely plan to leave most things behind (in storage or rented out with your place) and try to rent a furnished or partly-furnished place. Ditto pittpurple about looking for ex-pat or university buy/sell groups for things you need.

An old tip around here for the Kraft Mac & Cheese is to weigh the macaroni and then give it away so you only need to bring the cheese packets. Lighter weight and much less space. I also like to bring chili seasoning packets for a quick taste of home (making stuff from scratch is not my favorite activity when I'm sad and homesick).

No one has covered the deodorant/antiperspirant thing yet? Does that mean that France has better deo than the rest of Europe? (Usually everyone suggests bringing a good supply of your favorite, because unless you really like roll-on, there isn't much selection in most places.)

[kaybee85]

Thanks everyone for pointing out (what should be) the obvious about electrical items. I knew about this to a certain degree (we've traveled to Europe a few times), but I guess in my mind we have some converters, so that would be fine.

There is a group in Toulouse called AIT (Americans in Toulouse, although now it is any internationals who speak English). I plan on joining once we have official word because there is a fee to join. (We were told the secretary would get to Michael this week...gotta love academia ) I'm thinking they likely also have a forum for selling/buying items.

You guys are cracking me up with the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese! I'm not really a fan, but that is an awesome tip (mining for cheese packets). If anyone is in France and wants me to bring them some before I come, let me know

Good call on the deoderant. What about shampoos and other toiletries? I just remember feeling like the grocery stores were expensive when we traveled before, but I don't have a sense for what is 'worth' transporting (aside from clothes, as someone mentioned).

You guys are amazing. Thank you for talking to me and getting me thinking about logistics and what makes sense.

[rupertpenny]

Obviously not in France, but we're kind of half and half on getting toiletries at home or in HK. I've never really had problems finding anything, but it is easier/cheaper in the states. I also probably live in the expat capital of the world though, so things might be easier to find here.

I would look into what OTC medicines are available in France. It is hard/impossible to get ibuprofen, Benadryl, or sudafed here so I try to stock up at home. I met my dad in Iceland a few weeks ago and made him AND my mom make separate trips to cvs for me before he left so I could have an adequate supply of sudafed.

ETA: I was really worried about toiletries before moving. The medicine stuff wasn't on my radar at all.

[GilliC]

Oct 16, 2015 8:39:10 GMT -5 kaybee85 said:

What about shampoos and other toiletries? I just remember feeling like the grocery stores were expensive when we traveled before, but I don't have a sense for what is 'worth' transporting (aside from clothes, as someone mentioned). 

If there's something you absolutely love, I'd bring a few months' supply if you can afford the space/weight in case you can't find a replacement. For the rest, things like shampoo are usually one place where you have to bite the bullet because you need to refill them so often and they tend to weigh a lot.

Tampons are one thing I continued to import. I don't know about France, but the places I've lived have had a lot of OB and sometimes regular Tampax, but I liked the Tampax compact since they were small enough to palm on the way to the bathroom but still have an applicator.

The other thing that I still import is OTC medicine. It's worth bringing some initially, because you don't want to deal with finding new products when you're sick or in pain. But I still buy them in the US because there's more variety and larger quantities.

If you won't be working, you might consider bringing a few hobby supplies that might be harder to find.

I guess my rule of thumb is to skip anything you can find at a small grocery, at Duty Free, or at IKEA. For anything else, first try to find out whether it's available. Then make a call based on desire & price vs space & weight.

[kaybee85]

Oct 16, 2015 9:13:57 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Oct 16, 2015 8:39:10 GMT -5 kaybee85 said:

What about shampoos and other toiletries? I just remember feeling like the grocery stores were expensive when we traveled before, but I don't have a sense for what is 'worth' transporting (aside from clothes, as someone mentioned). 

If there's something you absolutely love, I'd bring a few months' supply if you can afford the space/weight in case you can't find a replacement. For the rest, things like shampoo are usually one place where you have to bite the bullet because you need to refill them so often and they tend to weigh a lot.

Tampons are one thing I continued to import. I don't know about France, but the places I've lived have had a lot of OB and sometimes regular Tampax, but I liked the Tampax compact since they were small enough to palm on the way to the bathroom but still have an applicator.

The other thing that I still import is OTC medicine. It's worth bringing some initially, because you don't want to deal with finding new products when you're sick or in pain. But I still buy them in the US because there's more variety and larger quantities.

If you won't be working, you might consider bringing a few hobby supplies that might be harder to find.

I guess my rule of thumb is to skip anything you can find at a small grocery, at Duty Free, or at IKEA. For anything else, first try to find out whether it's available. Then make a call based on desire & price vs space & weight.

OMG this reminds me of all the great yarns I can get!!

[origami]

Welcome!!

I studied abroad in France but that was a while ago, and I live in Korea now so I'm not sure if anything I say would still apply today, but here's my 2 cents.

We shipped a ton of spices over, pads/tampons, and a year's supply of contacts. I don't regret bringing any of those, even though some of the spices are available here. Not all of them are so I'm glad we did that. I also advise packing your own measuring cups and a tape measure in your checked baggage. We landed and needed to buy new furniture and had no idea what the size of our new space was because we had no tape measure and couldn't find one in the stores.

DH's company paid for us to have a big moving shipment so we did move a bunch of other toiletries like shampoo, body wash, razors, deodorant, facewash, etc. But the only thing I actually needed was the deodorant. Everything else I am fine with buying local. I would not ship all that again if I had to pay for it myself.

I also recommend stocking up on OTC meds, especially children's meds. I always bring a ton of children's benedryl with me when I go back and forth to the US. You do not want to be in the midst of figuring out your new city, have a surprise stomach virus and no idea what to use for it. I went to costco before we moved and bought a box of every OTC med I thought we may have a remote chance of using. They're light so it's not a big deal to transport. When I lived in France I had terrible allergies in the summer (I never did in the US) and their allergy meds did not do a damn thing for me. So I would advise stocking up on that too, unless the AIT club advises you that the drugs are fine there now. I also bring a metric ton of children's food pouches with me, but that is because they're horrifically expensive here. Hopefully France is better about that or your kid(s) doesn't use those. The toys I wouldn't bring, except what would fit in a checked bag. Infant toys aren't that expensive so I would buy new and save the space for big items.

For electronics, ditto not bringing appliances. We have a bunch of those big heavy duty power transformers because they randomly came with our apartment, and even one of those fried out our US DVD player within a week of being here. Those little travel voltage converters don't work well and don't last long. My hair dryer killed one on my first trip to France actually. They make region code-free DVD players, which is what we have now. I recommend buying that, if you watch DVDs. I would just buy cheap replacements of the other small appliances/non-dual voltage electronics there. Maybe your AIT group knows of someone who is moving away and you can get a deal. I would also ask them about the size of the kitchens in case the cabinets are too small for US dinner plates or the ovens too small for large bakeware.

GL and have fun! France would be such an amazing opportunity so I hope it works out for you guys!

[gigem]

Hi there! So I am a longtime lurker (found the forum after googling for advice on how to make my toddler stop throwing food during meals) and when I saw this post I decided I finally had to join because I can be tons of help to you! My husband is French and we lived in southwest France for 2 yrs (we just left 6 months ago) and both of my kids were born there (we were about 1.5 hrs west of Toulouse). France has changed a ton since we moved there in 2012.... it is becoming quite "Americanized" and over the years that I've been traveling to France (over 10 yrs now!) I find more and more things that are familiar to me from home. 

So, I don't know if you have any updates, since when you first posted, regarding what you are allowed to bring- if they will let you ship or you will come with your suitcases only...

Electrics like things for the kitchen/home (toaster, microwave, waffle maker, irons, food processor, blenders, etc etc) buy that once you arrive. There are some good brands "made in France" that have a variety of price points: Seb and Moulinex. Of course you can find Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid and Kenwood, Bosch- higher end stuff. The stores you want to look for those items are called "magasin grande surface" that iss sort of like a Target or Walmart but not exactly- just in that it has both homewares, food, clothes, cleaning stuff, electrics/electronics. They are also called "hypermarche" and some common ones are Auchan, Hyper-U, L'Eclerc, Carrefour. The "supermarche" would be mostly food (obviously cleaning supplies, baby things, beauty/bath). I don't know what they have in Toulouse but those stores I mentioned are usually the right place to be for the lowest prices. Specific electronics stores, e.g. one called Darty are like Best Buy- so expect higher prices but also higher-end items.

I think the dual-voltage advice was well-given already so I won't go into that. Just to say that I find it frustrating that most electrical stuff in the US is not dual-voltage but you will see that many things you buy in Europe are dual-voltage (so you could use it with a plus adapter when you move home or to another country). When we left Houston for Africa 5 years ago there was a store that sold dual-voltage stuff, so we got a tv that has been traveling with us now to 3 countries, also a blender but it wasn't necessary. Oh! buy lots of plug adapters on Amazon for your phone chargers and stuff.

So in France there is Amazon and it is actually pretty decent- nothing compared to US Amazon but it has improved so much over the years. I buy diapers there (they have a monthly subscription, also for cleaning supplies and some other bulk things) and they deliver either to your house or some things can be delivered to a "point relais". You will see this with internet shipping a lot- usually the best way to get free shipping. It is a shop or post office (could be a bakery, hair salon, gas station) that accepts packages and then you have 7 - 14 days more or less to pick up your item (also they do the returns there).

Speaking of internet shopping, it has also greatly improved in the last 5 years- Toulouse is a much bigger city than I was in so I think you will find plenty of things locally and won't need to online shop too much. 

For your baby! Jogging type stroller sounds great for going on walks in a park, along the river etc, but that will be much too bulky to walk around the city center, and I didn't quite understand your car situation but the BOB that we brought from the US to France took up the entire trunk of my VW Golf (unless i unmounted all the wheels). Strollers in France are very expensive, if you bring anything with you I feel quite strongly it is strollers (so do bring the jogging stroller because those are so hard to find and very very expensive in France) but also you must bring as well an umbrella type stroller.  I haven't lived in Toulouse but I know from the city I was in, also Paris, Bordeaux, and small towns- you will struggle to go around the center for shopping or whatnot, and in and out of smaller shops like the bakeries with a jogging type stroller- plus if you use the bus and it is rush-hour you will never get the space for that big of a stroller. Also taking a train with a big stroller is really a huge hassle (or metro/tram in Paris). Maclaren is a popular brand in Europe but I feel like they go for at least $150, and I think in the US you could get a nice umbrella stroller for less than that.

Car seats- we travel with a Combi Coccorro when we go to the US because it is super light, but if you don't have a car and you just rent time to time I guess your US seat would be fine. Brick and mortar baby stores are expensive- but at least they help you. Or buy something in the grande surface stores, or online- my absolute favorite online baby store with very good prices is allobebe . fr . Also a website called baby-lux . com (has a little higher end brands). Or I can just explain euro car seats to you here: so Group 0+ is the infant seat up to 13 kgs, Groups 0+/1 is a convertible 0-18kg, Group 1 is forward-facing only 9-18 kg.
 
The second most important thing to bring is clothes!!! Baby clothes in France (kids clothes and adult clothes too, also shoes) are expensive. There aren't Carter's outlets or Baby Gap sales, there is Petit Bateau where a baby sweater will run you easily 40 euros. I always bring tons of baby clothes and also my own clothes and my H's and shoes for everyone back from the US- you just can't beat outlet or sale prices that we have in the US. In France there are two big sale periods, one in mid-summer and one in January- but it just isn't the same. There are some okay priced clothes at the grande surface stores I mentioned, also a store DPAM isn't bad.

As for food- now days the only food I really bring back is chocolate chips- because in France I only find wee little tiny chocolate chipso in wee tiny little bags. But things like food pouches for kids are exploding in France- there are so many brands now and they aren't too expensive. They tend to be mostly fruit only, but I see more and more veggie, and somewhat rarely veggie + protein. Almost never yogurt + fruit but probably those will come soon as well.

Anything else that I used to bring like baking stuff (there was a time where the only place to find baking soda was at the pharmacy) now I find it everywhere. I do second the suggestion to bring baking cups because the US sized baking pans I never can find the muffin cups for those. 

As for big and heavy items like dishes or furniture- don't bring that. Ikea is still pretty cheap in France. Also mattress sizings are a bit different (there are two "full" size mattress sizes in France). Also pillows tend to be square- so don't bring too many rectangular pillow cases (although as I've said many times, more and more rectangular pillows- sounds silly but it is true!). 

Absolutely join that Americans in Toulouse group, in the city I was in there was a baby playdate group that met twice a week, also book club, Halloween parties, plus a great way to make friends and get advice. Also for websites I just thought for used items leboncoin is great- tons of baby gear, toys, well just about anything (furniture, cars), I guess it is like craigslist but not creepy. I probably wouldn't bring toys, toys are maybe more expensive but they are super bulky in a suitcase. 

Hmmm what else- oh about having a baby! France is an awesome place to have a baby- maybe I am biased but the pre/post natal care is amazing. With the government social security health care pre-natal you get 8 preparation classes with a mid-wife (free) plus post-natal you get 10 pelvic rehabilitation sessions and after your baby is born a mid-wife will come to your house every few days for the first two weeks if needed (all that is free). After the first two weeks some baby visits with the mid-wife and lactation consultations will also be free. Pedi appointments until 6 months are free, oh and after you are 6 months pregnant all your prenatal ob/gyn appointments are free (including all blood work and ultra-sounds), and all the appointments until your typical 6 or 8 weeks postpartum check-up also free. The health system is awesome, I always got appointments when I wanted, I spent basically no money on medicine (one time I lost the box of medicine so I went back with the script and the pharm said okay but you have to pay out of pocket and it was 3 euros for a months supply which is basically free in my mind, would have cost $90 at home). 

I've gone on long enough, I guess let me know if there is anything else. Good luck I am excited for you! France can be dreary in winter and fall and early spring but Toulouse is a great place to be- much less rainy, and much more calm than Paris. 

Oh just one last thing- ask about how to get your daughter into a public creche- so awesome (super yummy food) and so inexpensive- but the wait lists can be long. 

[gigem]

I was just rereading and maybe I sounded harsh about not bringing toys... I would bring lots of English language books because you won't find that very easily, but look in Toulouse for a ludothèque- it sort of part library for toys (usually you can check-out some toys or games or books and bring them home) part playground, place to meet-up for playdates, I am not sure how to explain it. You probably pay a bit to register and there will be specific times/days depending on the age of your kid.

[azure]

Hi! Do you have more news now about the move?
I live in France too. You've gotten good advice from everyone. You should also look into Halte-Garderie, you drop your child off for a few hours a few times a week.

[kaybee85]

Hi gigem and azure, I just realized I hadn't checked back in a while. Sorry for taking so long to respond.

I haven't gotten a ton of new information. What I know now is that we are definitely moving and that they are not giving money to move. The guy in charge said he is going to see if my husband can get a salary increase to offset, but we aren't counting on it. (He's working for a national lab, not an academic institution exactly, so from what we can tell they are quite stringent about sticking with whatever matrix they use).

[pittpurple]

kaybee85 - I'm really surprised that there isn't a relocation budget. I would think then that you'll want to pare down 'stuff' as much as possible to avoid paying to ship it twice? In your situation, I'd be tempted just to stick with whatever you can bring on the plane, almost everything will be cheaper to replace than to ship if you buy IKEA / used.

[kaybee85]

Oct 28, 2015 4:39:41 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

kaybee85 - I'm really surprised that there isn't a relocation budget. I would think then that you'll want to pare down 'stuff' as much as possible to avoid paying to ship it twice? In your situation, I'd be tempted just to stick with whatever you can bring on the plane, almost everything will be cheaper to replace than to ship if you buy IKEA / used.

I'm thinking the save. We're going to look into the cost of shipping a crate and decide based on that. It's hard to conceptualize what I really want to bring at this point (the sum of the 'little' things)

[pittpurple]

upakweship.com/ was by - far the cheapest i found (after asking here and reviewing options). It's self packing and you drop off at one of their terminals (ours was Pittsburgh airport) and they deliver to your door. Just to give you an estimate, for 100 cubic feet (maybe 20 large plastic boxes) it was $1500 or so. It was by size, not weight. I think it took 7 weeks to arrive?

[kaybee85]

Oct 28, 2015 7:04:01 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

upakweship.com/ was by - far the cheapest i found (after asking here and reviewing options). It's self packing and you drop off at one of their terminals (ours was Pittsburgh airport) and they deliver to your door. Just to give you an estimate, for 100 cubic feet (maybe 20 large plastic boxes) it was $1500 or so. It was by size, not weight. I think it took 7 weeks to arrive?

thank you!!!