What and what not?

[Kirschlein]

Well, me and my SO will close the distance next summer. He will live here in Vienna with me in a apartment. We have planned everything already, except of one thing: How does he get his things to me?
We know that it is possible by flight, but i wanted to ask how much something like that usually costs? Was someone in the same situation? Are there other ways?
And what would you take with you, when you finally go to your SO? Which things would you consider as important and which not?

Thank you already for the coming answers. This community rocks 8D

[sam]

Well, moving to Finland for me is a long way off so I havent really thought about what I'd take, or how I'd get it there.

The only thing I'd really want to take with me is my guitar.. Cant really think of anything else other than clothes

For bigger stuff maybe you could contact the airport or something to see if they fly stuff over? I'm sure there must be some companies out there who.. specialise in people who're moving countries

[maielle]

I spent 4,5 months this year abroad. So technically you would be fine with just clothes and some personal items (a computer, pictures...) but when the plan is for a longer period (like forever) I guess I would pack all the clothes I still wear, all my books and dvds and my two computers. And of course pictures and lots of memories.

I guess there are some moving companies (and it's not even that hard within Europe) but I also though it would be a cool idea to drive a van to another country.

[Élan]

You should be able to pack everything and ship it. I'm not sure about breakables (tv, etc). Everyone I've known that's moved internationally has just given their big breakable stuff to friends. But as far general things like clothes and books, you should be able to ship them easily.

I've talked to my SO about what he wants to bring and it's not a lot. He plans on shipping some books, trinkets and clothes over and packing one large suitcase for the plane + his guitar. The rest (playstation, video games, DVDs, CDs) will be given away to friends who are staying in the country.

[Mio]

Depends on where he is coming from. Try freight, trucking services or bring the things while in the plane.

[annamorgan]

I would take things like my clothes, books, ipod, and everything else I can't easily replace. Things like toiletries, hygienic products, etc. aren't necessary. If it can be easily replaced, don't take it.

[Silviar]

Usually if you're shipping many large items, the best (cheapest) way is by boat. If you can't do boat freight, you may want to consider having him sell everything he can and just come cash in hand to the country. Pretty much every other way for large bulky items is too costly.

If it's just a bunch of small things, you can do freight mail, which takes about a month or so for you to get the package, but is waaaay cheap and is perfect for mailing, say, a bunch of personal small items he just wants with him.

Personally, when I move to Australia, I might pack 1-2 boxes to ship with a few small personal belongings, such as pictures, but other than that, I'm only taking essentials or things with sentimental value.

[London-FortCollins]

If I move to America I would really love to ship my bed and mattress because it was kinda pricey but SO comfy and would totally be worth the cost IMO. Of course saying that I dont know what the cost is exactly (plans not being even close to finalised - not wanting to get hopes up just yet)

If you google something like "shipping internationally" it'll bring up websites such as this https://www.shippinginternational.com/

Hint on obtaining quotes: You can nearly ALWAYS haggle Just stay polite, slightly cheeky but confident. Even if you get say 5% off - thats still something!