Too much to ship ...

[pihlaja]

I should be moving to Finland soon (cross my fingers). A week's vacation in April, applying for the permit in May, and hopefully shipping off to be with the boyfriend in June.

But I have so many things that I do not want to part with here (the majority of the items being BOOKS) that I am puzzled as to how I am going to manage to SHIP all of it.

Are there any Americans here that have had experience with shipping large boxes to Finland?

Another problem that I seem to be facing is getting my cat there as well. I have already checked the quarantine laws and all the health regulations, but has anyone here had experience flying with pets in-cabin?

I would greatly appreciate any and all advice!



- rowan

[Hank W.]

Apart from being radically optimistic you shall be given the permit in such a short notice; quite relevant questions.

[pihlaja]

I expect the permit to take aeons (if all the stories I've read are true).

However, that does not mean I cannot go to Finland for below three months while waiting for the permit.

Nevertheless, I'll try to maintain my optimism that things will not follow Murphy's Law ('what can go wrong WILL go wrong') and that things work very smoothly instead.



- rowan

[Hank W.]

True, but al the optimists are 'I can stay naturally cause I'm an... eejit?' while the realists are 'after 3 months I must return home, maybe...'

So it all depends on things, kinda...

[pihlaja]

Well, perhaps I can be lucky and the all-seeing eye of Finland will forget that a little Irish-American from the South is hiding away in Finland, maybe peddling Southern goods on the street.

Not really. Sami (the boyfriend) has called UVI several times to inquire all the little nuances of visas and permits. We're still working the specifics out ourselves, and honestly he is more optimistic than me. When he says we can do something, I say show it to me in writing because (from experience with my own government) what one official says another writes something totally different.

But surely, eventually, I'll be there for good and living there in a permanent basis. And that is the pinhole light at the end of the tunnel (but let's not hope it's a train).

But none of this still solves the problem of shipping the books I'm so fond of. I decided to part with the car, the bed, the chest of drawers, and other large items that I know would costs too much to ship and probably would not do me much good anyway, but how could I ever part with my life's collection of books? Never! So, they must be shipped (along with the cat who has a wool eating disorder).

[boO_fi]

it's going to be EXPENSIVE for shipping. pack light and only bring what you really really need...if you can confirm you can buy any of the items you have here in Finland, then don't ship it...

i went back and forth from London to Finland about 4 times before i moved here...i was only allowed less than 30 kilos each time. then, i had to ship 2 boxes to Finland which were 100 kilos. overall it cost me about a few hundred quid to get all my stuff here to Finland...

try shipping with USPS or TNT...rates are quite cheap compared to other courier services.

hope it all goes well for you.

[Great Scott]

Actually if you already have an address in Finland and are most worried about the books, there is hope. The US post office has a great rate for just books (I think it's called just book rate). You go to your local branch and pick up these giants sacks, pack all your books inside (try to waterproof them as best as you can) and then bring them back. When I moved to Finland in 1998 I think we had almost 200 pounds of books and it cost us maybe 60$. Takes about a month for shipping.

Incidentally when I moved I was married to a Finn. We applies for the permit the day after we got married and got it after 2 days. Not bad at all.

[Hank W.]

what one official says another writes something totally different.

OK, good. This means you are quite ready to tackle KELA.

BTW That 'book rate' makes magic, takes aeons too.

[dw]

when i moved here i brought about half my cds, they weighed lots, so if i was doing it again id just bring the cds (leave the boxes at home) or even better just put them onto mp3. i would have saved loads of weight there.

also, books. they may be great, but are incredibly heavy. bring the essentials.

also, you mention you are an irish american, couldnt you apply for an irish passport? therefore you'd be a EU citizen and that would make things easier.

didnt we speak one time on #sigur-ros on irc? (nice to bump into you again!)

dw

[TrishPaakkonen]

There seems to be a few issues here:

1. Transporting kitty: We didnt bring any pets with us from the US here so cant help you.

2. the permit: I am married to a Finn and have a child together. We applied for my residency permit last March and it took until late June to arrive. During that time, I couldnt visit Finland where Timo had already moved ( to set up house and continue his work at IBM) because the Finnish Embassy had my passport. It is returned with the resident visa attached.

3. Parting with a lifetime of books:
I know how you feel as we owned over 1000 books . May I ask which part of the US you will be travelling from? We shipped out books and household items from Houston to Helsinki for about 700 USD ( in over 50 boxes). This also included 3 beds. I can give you the name of the Finn who has a company in Houston. If it is from any other part of the US, then I think you might want to check online. I found many places that charged varying amounts. Id look for ones that charge by dimensions and not by weight.

Any questions, feel free to email me at:
paakkonen@aya.yale.edu

Trish

[Miss Jones]

I also had the book problem. I shipped out the ones I really couldn't be without (and have hardly looked at since arriving!) by UPS. As for the rest, each time I visit my family in the UK I bring a few more books back in my suitcases.

Always try to get an upgrade on your flight class. If you travel business or first class then you are usually entitled to more kilos. I think it's something like 45 kilos for first class. These classes also allow you more weight and dimension on the hand baggage. You can just ask for a free upgrade. Some airlines are picky and will give you an upgrade only if you work for a major corporation, are a journalist (yay!) or travel frequently. But it's worth a try. Some may even have a heart and give you the upgrade if you explain that you need it for the baggage allowance.

About your cat. I don't envy you this predicament. It can be done, and you are more likely to be in a blind panic about it than your cat, who may well sleep through the entire adventure. A good friend of mine moved from the UK to the US and took her cats with her. She said that her vet was extremely helpful, so if you have not already done so, ask your vet for advice. The cat will need to be tranquilised. My friend's cats were heavily sedated and she was extremely worried about them but they were fine. You can get natural sedatives for cats (Skullcap and Valerian) but in my experience these would not be powerful enough for a long flight.
Ask the airline you plan to travel with about their pet policy too so you can put your mind at rest.

Good luck with the permit! As I came from another EU country, things were different and much easier for me, so I can't suggest any words of wisdom here.

[Hank W.]

Read about bringing Cats & Pets:
http://www...com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1768

[awol]

We travelled with our two cats from Heathrow to Helsinki a couple of years ago and they were ok. To be honest I was the one who would have needed sedatives .
You need to remember that some airlines will NOT accept your pets for transport if they ARE sedated because of the high risks involved i.e. the sedatives lower the body temperature and every year some pets die during a flight due to complications caused by sedatives. For example BA/Finnair will not accept any pets beeing sedated, but I'm not not sure about the policy in US. Do check with your airline to be sure.

Also you could have problems this end if your cats are sedated and might not be allowed to collect them from rahti (cargo) before they get a vet in (and bill you..).

Are you aware of the documents/health certificates/vaccinations required for a cat to enter Finland? In my experience not even all vets know enough about this..But help is at hand..check the website for Maa-ja metsätalousministeriö (Ministry of Agriculture etc.) http://www.mmm.fi/english and your airline for information on their specific requirements on transportation boxes, documents etc.

[sayx]

I used a freight forwarder to ship my items from San Diego (LA) to Helsinki. Look in the yellow pages under freight forwarder for someone in your area. I had a crate about 1.5 cubic meters shipped for around 150$ US. It took about 5 weeks from door to dock. Shipping personnel items is not a problem if done with in 90 days (I not to sure of the time anymore) of your arrival to Finland. Cat or Cats in my case was also no problem. All you will need is documentation on the cat’s health it had to be done with-in 14 days of the cat’s arrival in Finland. I all I had to do was drop the cats off at the cargo terminal at LAX and walk away. The two cats cost more then the container from what I remember. If you are not flying with the cat then call around to different airlines cargo departments and get prices. I have also taken my dog to Switzerland with me when I lived there and it was much easier since I just took her to the check-in desk with me for my flight.

Dave

[Nathan Lillie]

The more you ship, the cheaper it is per volume.

You can ship a whole shipping container (10X10X40 feet) for about $3500 door to door from the US. With that, you can fit a car, and a whole appartment full of junk in, furniture and all. So this is probably close to the upper limit that anyone should have to pay. Unless you hire somebody to do lifting, which is extra.

If it is less than that, but still more than you would think of sending with the post, try shipping pallets port-to-port. It cost us about $800 for two pallets stacked about 6 feet high. (150 cubic feet). There were alot of extra costs attached to it, but we got away with about $1100 after everything.

These figures were from Newark, but I don't think they are that much different for different US ports

If you ship like this you have to be very careful with the packing. It should be done with sturdy new boxes, and all shrink wrapped together. Moisture can also get in anything that goes on a boat (that may seem obvious, but we don't always think about what happens to it in between times).