Hi everyone..
I have some 'general' questions about moving from the UK to the US, which I've just posted them in another part of the forum (new life in America, I think) but having found this sub forum I realise this place might be where I should have posted!

Here goes again....thanks to anyone who can help!

Freight Forwarders
Can anyone recommend a Freight Forwarder in Southern England?
We are wondering if we will get a better rate if we can book some months in advance!


UK Electrical goods
Are there any specific ones that are worth taking /possible to take to the US?
i.e. Computers, printers, laptops, digital radios, fridge, freezer, tv?

Medical Insurance
Can anyone recommend good health insurance? The one I know of is Blue Cross Blue Shield- is there anyone else that's worth looking into?

For people who had their policy start as soon as they stepped foot on US soil, how far in advance did you apply?
My husband (the american) isn't covered on a US policy either as he's been living in the UK for about 19 years now, so we need to start the whole thing from scratch.

We're filing the I-130 on Monday - can't wait to get started!!
Thanks for any thoughts, advice etc! All will be much appreciated.
Jess

Any electrical goods you're going to need a transformer - costs about $30 and you want to be careful with it.

Leave the white goods at home - you will probably get new ones cheaper in the US than the cost of shipping.


your TV will be worthless here since the US uses NSTC


I'd take the computer, laptop and radio.

I can recommend Excess Baggage as a great shipper -- they do whole house removals as well as smaller moves. We had 20 boxes shipped by sea (should be with us by the end of next month). They gave us as much bubble wrap as we wanted, delivered extra boxes when we needed them, picked up the boxes on time and even texted us 15 minutes before the driver arrived to give us the heads up.

I chose them after getting excellent recommendations on this site!

Sounds cool! How much was it to ship everything across and how do they charge? Would do more research myself now but am at work

Our 20 boxes (some of which were BIG) cost about £950 to ship by sea. We probably could have used fewer but some of the stuff in there was nearly irreplaceable -- rare vintage audio equipment -- so in the end it was cheaper to ship than replace so we packed everything in acres of bubblewrap.

Shipping by sea is done by volumetric weight, and the much faster shipping by air is done by actual weight. Most of the time, it's cheaper to ship by sea. Best place to start is at their website: www.excess-baggage.com. You can get a non-binding quote from them, even if it's months before the move. I got an initial quote done before NOA2 just because I wanted to be doing something towards the move!

Ditto..

We used Excess Baggage. They were EXCELLENT. Provided as many boxes as we needed (they returned with extra as I needed more), kept to the quote and kept us up to date on the shipment until delivery at our home here. 19 boxes (most small plus two large picture boxes) by sea 650 pounds sterling in Sept 06. Paperwork was easy to fill out. We packed ourselves but they will do the packing for you if required.

Good luck with your journey.

daisy

Not strictly true, most computer stuff will work at dual voltages. I brought a desktop and computer monitor to the USA with me, worked fine. Laptops would definitely work, as they're designed for travel, you just need plug adapter which can be bought for a couple of bucks.

I'm stripping my computer down, taking my hard drives and dvd-rom drive (so can watch region one and region two ), selling my motherboard and processor and ditching the rest Already have my new case waiting for me in the States - just need a new dual core processor and motherboard