moving to Finland next year

[mailis]

Does anybody have any ideas on bringing a car ,2 dogs & some household items to Finland from boston,obviously shipping but has anyone gone down that path? Thanx!!!

[Hank W.]

the cars need to be owned by a different person for the 6 months before import - if you imagine doing it within the tax limits.

[TopDog]

Hello Well, been doing tons of research for my move to Finland from New Mexico next year and shipping charges are outrageous. For me, I've decided to sell everything (furniture/electronics) and only take personal items and my 2 cats. I'll be shipping a few smaller boxes via USPS or FedEx....way cheaper and it'll be delivered right to my door. Since most of my electronics won't work in Europe or I'd have to buy power converters, I decided to sell it all and buy new.

Cats are small enough to take in the cabin on the plane, not sure about the dogs. You can check American Airlines web site: http://www.aacargo.com/shipping/animals.jhtml
That may or may not be the answer you're looking for. You can cargo the dogs but am not sure if you can take them on board.

As for moving household goods, I've called several overseas shipping companies and for a small 1 bedroom apartment they wanted well over $4,000 plus another $2,000 to ship my Jeep (not including taxes). I opted out of taking the car due to the taxes/fees incurred with the shipping AND who'd even be able to fix a Jeep without it costing an arm and a leg and several months to get the parts. If you send anything with an official "mover" it will arrive via ship and you'll have to arrange transport from Helsinki to whatever city you'll be living in.

There are others from the states that have made this move and it is entirely possible they had a completly different experiance...I'd love to hear about it too!!! I'm already having separation anxiety when it comes to leaving behind my computer desk.

[neil]

Don't worry, they do sell computer desks here as well.

Before you decide to ditch your car, check it's an available model in Finland and its approximate street value: http://www.nettiauto.com

After you have checked Nettiauto and have discovered that for the same money here you will probably only be able to afford a rusting '87 Opel Ascona with 700,00km on the clock you may want to reconsider your position entirely (as you could import your jeep tax free as removal goods). Search for threads on car as removal good and you will unearth a wealth of useful information.

Say for example you did ship your jeep, how many cubic meters of your gear could you squeeze in there v's paying a courier company to do it for you?

[Xochiquetzal]

Neil's advice is very sound (I guess I should say 'spot on'!).

Here's how I moved car/household:

bb/viewtopic.php?t=10535

[mumboman]

I moved a couple of weeks ago Top Dog and did the same thing you are considering. It was much cheaper and when it all came down to it much more convenient to sell everything before I moved. Still have a couple vehicles for sale at home but they'll sell eventually. A small apt in the US or Canada is a large apt. in Finland. I came over with a couple of suitcases a bike and a couple of cats. Depending on what your looking for in a vehicle you'll also find some models are much cheaper here if you don't mind a few km on the guage. for example a 90 BMW 3 series will run you a couple thousand euro, I know in Canada the same care will run about 12000 CDN. You'll also find you won't drive near as much when you arrive. Biking, Walking and public transit are just as convenient and with gas probably double what your paying in the U.S. your more than likely to hop on your bike or walk to most destinations.

[Hank W.]

Yeah, what mumbo says if you bring "american furniture" and a bed that fits a family of 6 in it, the only room you can fit it in an average Finnish flat is the living room... For a Finn people in the USA live in "mansions". I could put up a picture of my room - with furniture + bed. Tight.

Also electronics. Nothing will work. (tv, vcr etc.) And playing with the power converters will get the blue smoke come out one day. Computer and stuff with a separate power you can get a new power and you're fine.

[Xochiquetzal]

Yeah, what mumbo says if you bring "american furniture" and a bed that fits a family of 6 in it, the only room you can fit it in an average Finnish flat is the living room... For a Finn people in the USA live in "mansions". I could put up a picture of my room - with furniture + bed. Tight.
.

You're not kidding about that, either. I have a wrought iron queen sized canopy bed I brought from the States and that took up the WHOLE master bedroom. There was barely enough room to walk out, nonetheless open the closet doors. It was the same between the duplex in Kaunianen (2 years old) and the rivitalo in Laurinlahti (20 years old).

But ohhh, I could not *live* without my man-eating bed!

Here's an idea of what Hank W is talking about. This is the 'master bedroom' of the modern finnish duplex:

[Hank W.]

I didn't know the venus flytraps grew that big

[littlefrank]

All the mosquitoes I suppose. I wondered why I hadn't been bitten so much.

[Hank W.]

Now I know the Finnish Man™ is a primitive troglodyte, but I've never seen such an elaborate a natural habitat made to house one.

[TopDog]

I moved a couple of weeks ago Top Dog and did the same thing you are considering. It was much cheaper and when it all came down to it much more convenient to sell everything before I moved. Still have a couple vehicles for sale at home but they'll sell eventually. A small apt in the US or Canada is a large apt. in Finland. I came over with a couple of suitcases a bike and a couple of cats. Depending on what your looking for in a vehicle you'll also find some models are much cheaper here if you don't mind a few km on the guage. for example a 90 BMW 3 series will run you a couple thousand euro, I know in Canada the same care will run about 12000 CDN. You'll also find you won't drive near as much when you arrive. Biking, Walking and public transit are just as convenient and with gas probably double what your paying in the U.S. your more than likely to hop on your bike or walk to most destinations.

Finally! Someone who agrees with me. By the by...did you have to cargo your kitties or were you able to keep them in the cabin with you when you flew over?

I just don't have the patience (or the cash) to move items I can replace with "new" (new to me, not necessarily never used). I'd love nothing more than take my Jeep (a 1994 Wrangler rag top with a 4" lift and over 100,000 miles) with me but alas, it's just too expensive to ship it. I can sell it here for about that much if not more. Depends on what happens with gas prices in the next year.

Yea, I have a HUGE bed and I will miss that as well. It is my mission to find one just as large when I get there and I don't care of it takes up the entire room. My fiancee is a big guy and his "Nazi-bed" is a lesson in how to sleep on a bare wood floor. tiny tiny tiny bed. hated it. We girls need room to spread out (no pun intended).

[Hank W.]

My colleague at work just had his Jeep a new catalytic converter tuned; so a Jeep actually is one of them "cars that exist". Not ubiquituous, but if I had the nads I'd go find me a Mahindra in Germany as you can get old parts as well.

You have looked what cars cost here have you looked?

[mumboman]

I put the cats in cargo, they could have flown in the cabin but I was on a 22 hour trip, and really didn't want to deal with them. They were in the same kennel and are both pretty laid back cats so the flight didn't bother them at all. I'd recommend cargo, they were fed and watered along the way so we're quite happy when I picked them up.

[TopDog]

Thanks mumbo...I'll take that into consideration. Hank..I had the chance last time I was there to have a look at some cars so I have a general idea what I'd be spending. Looks like I'll be getting a motorcycle license so watchout!