American in Perth: You Want Me to Put What in Where for how Much?

It has come time now to commence packing. This is not the easiest task as I will explain. When Larry accepted his position, he received a very generous moving allowance that the company gave us full reign to manage. We bought our tickets, rented our temporary apartment and have used the last of it to pay for our move.

Back when we first found out we were moving, I made an inquiring on a website regarding international moves. After that time, our phone did not stop ringing and I received a few e-mails with quotes. The first real quote I received was to move a one bedroom apartment. The total charge was $6,000 which didn't include this other $750USD THC fee nor the $220AUD customs search fee. Really?

This was the reason that we decided to go with our present mover, Ken Chen from Unity Van Lines (BBB gave them an A- and I don't even want to contemplate the minus). Ken talked to us at length in his Asian/New Jersey accent about the trip our belongings will make (about 2 months), what not to bring in terms of prohibited items, and discouraged me from packing a case of peanut butter since the cargo hold of the ship was not climate controlled. He didn't really laugh when Larry made the joke about the ship being attacked by Somali pirates. Just another factor I am trying to keep out of my mind.

Ken got us all signed up and energized to move in our 5' x 5' x 8' container that is costing $2800, which to me is a bargain because it includes the THC fee. We will still have to pay the Australian customs agents to sort through our belongings with their sniffing beagles, but I am willing to shell out the $220 for the luxury of being able to cook with our All Clad, ride my Specialized bicycle and gaze upon our Julie Keaton Reed watercolor. For the sake of the customs inspection, Ken gave us another tip: do not get boxes from the grocery store and especially not the liquor store because a customs agent looking at that will think you are importing cases of Jack Daniels and will really want to know what is in that box.

The first thing I did was tape out a 5' x 5' x 8' space on the floor in our spare bedroom. I then sat in the 5' x 5' x 8' space and called Larry into the room. "Are we INSANE?!?!" He reassured me that the items that were going into the container were well worth the price and it would be nice to have some reminders of home and a few things to start out with so we didn't have to buy everything all at once. I was calmer after that.

Then I decided that since the move was going to happen mid week with Larry in St. Louis, I didn't want the movers trekking upstairs. We moved around our dining room furniture (which is for sale by the way)and taped out our container in the dining room. For some reason it thankfully looked bigger downstairs.

We started packing but are not quite done yet. On the advice of moving guru Ken, I took my bike to have it professionally cleaned and boxed. Now I have the urge to ride it every day. Soon enough, I will be able to explore the extensive bike trail system between Perth and Freemantle. It is only a 10 mile bike ride to the beach. At least that is if the pirates don't get it.

Here are some pictures of the process: