When you moved

[dorothyokay]

When you moved from another country, what did you bring with you? We are a family of four with two dogs also. Most of our furniture isnt fancy ; Ikea stuff so I dont mind about it, but I would like to bring the beds etc.

Also is it a pain to have a car from the USA? How early did you start planning the move? The way I am figuring it, we will probably move during the summer of 2012. So that gives us 18 months to sell 3 houses and a business, make a few trips to France, check out schools etc. We are all dual citizens with Ireland so visa's arent necessary. The last time we moved from ireland to the States, it was just me and dh and our clothes. Now 25 years later and two kids and two dogs, its a totally different kettle of fish.

Thanks
dorothy

[Coton90]

Originally Posted by dorothyokay

When you moved from another country, what did you bring with you? We are a family of four with two dogs also. Most of our furniture isnt fancy ; Ikea stuff so I dont mind about it, but I would like to bring the beds etc.

Also is it a pain to have a car from the USA? How early did you start planning the move? The way I am figuring it, we will probably move during the summer of 2012. So that gives us 18 months to sell 3 houses and a business, make a few trips to France, check out schools etc. We are all dual citizens with Ireland so visa's arent necessary. The last time we moved from ireland to the States, it was just me and dh and our clothes. Now 25 years later and two kids and two dogs, its a totally different kettle of fish.

Thanks
dorothy

Hi Dorothy,

Double check the VISA requirement as you will need a long term one, which I don’t think is automatic for you. This should be your starting point.

I take it you don’t have a house in France yet. This will be a factor in determining how much you can bring.

For our move, we brought our nice furniture that we know would be hard to find here. This included most of our beds. The not so nice furniture we got rid of. Room size was not a consideration for us regarding the furniture but it is for some who move here.

We brought clothes as good quality clothes are expensive here. In fact, I bought some extra pairs of sports shoes to take here. We brought the books and hobby/collectible stuff that we couldn’t bear to part with. The size of your home will be a factor in how much you can bring. Prior to our move, we had yard sales and I sold quite a bit on eBay.

As computers are cheaper in the US, I bought a second laptop and traded my old desktop for a new one. Also the keyboards are different in France and I absolutely can’t use them.

We brought some food stuffs that we knew you can’t find here. Same for over the counter medicine such as allergy pills and Rogaine (Don’t laugh, it works).

We brought no large appliances such as refrigerators. We also got rid of many of the 110V appliances. We still had some of the 220V appliances from when we were in Europe.

It is a major pain to bring a car to France and I wouldn’t think about it unless you have one that’s irreplaceable.

Once you’ve cleared the VISA hurdle and decided what you can bring, look for reliable overseas shipping companies and get three estimates.

For the dogs, here are the requirements: Information for private individuals - Pets - France in the United States/ Embassy of France in Washington

Good luck selling the homes as it's a buyer's market right now.

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by dorothyokay

Also is it a pain to have a car from the USA? dorothy

As others have said the process for importing a car to France can be a royal pain, it can also go smoothly - your mileage may vary. Elsewhere on here I am running a thread "Bringing your car to France" as I intend to keep my car. You will find a lot of data to help determine if your car will comply or not.

The pointers are really what is your car worth in the US, what is it worth in France, what are the shipping costs and possible modification costs? Does it add up? To find the price of cars in France go to Voiture occasion - Annonce auto, achat et vente voiture occasion - lacentrale.fr use New & Used Cars for Sale, Auto Dealers, Car Reviews and Car Finance Advice and/or Kelly Blue book in the US.

Hope this helps

David

[Bevdeforges]

If you're planning on bringing the beds from the US, be aware that mattress and sheet sizes can be very different over here. If you're near an IKEA, you can get queen size sheets, but pillow cases and pillows here are square, not rectangular. You can get US format pillows and pillow cases in Germany. If you do bring the beds, bring lots of sheets and bedding with you.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the car, but do a search on bringing a car from the US to France. There is a thread on it - one of our regulars is planning on bringing one of his cars, but gave up on bringing the other. Depends quite a bit on the model you have and to what extent it meets current European standards.

Computers are generally dual voltage - only requires a change of the power cord. QWERTY keyboards are available here, though you have to shop around a bit, and there are a few minor differences between UK and US keyboards, if you decide to get a keyboard from the UK.

Like Coton90 says, I'd forget about bringing over any large appliances. Most small appliances are easier to replace here than to run off transformers.

Schools are an issue only if you're planning on sending the kids to private or international schools. Otherwise where you live determines where the kids attend school.
Cheers,
Bev

[scrumpyjack]

Originally Posted by dorothyokay

When you moved from another country, what did you bring with you? We are a family of four with two dogs also. Most of our furniture isnt fancy ; Ikea stuff so I dont mind about it, but I would like to bring the beds etc.

Also is it a pain to have a car from the USA? How early did you start planning the move? The way I am figuring it, we will probably move during the summer of 2012. So that gives us 18 months to sell 3 houses and a business, make a few trips to France, check out schools etc. We are all dual citizens with Ireland so visa's arent necessary. The last time we moved from ireland to the States, it was just me and dh and our clothes. Now 25 years later and two kids and two dogs, its a totally different kettle of fish.

Thanks
dorothy

We brought every thing we had from the UK to France but.....
I wouldn't do it again. We are moving back to Blighty after nine years in France and are being selective what we take back big stuff is staying or being sold on. Cars are being sold. Its just as I said selective clothes and ornaments and animals to return.
Fred

[kliebetanz]

Originally Posted by Coton90

Hi Dorothy,

Double check the VISA requirement as you will need a long term one, which I don’t think is automatic for you. This should be your starting point.

I take it you don’t have a house in France yet. This will be a factor in determining how much you can bring.

For our move, we brought our nice furniture that we know would be hard to find here. This included most of our beds. The not so nice furniture we got rid of. Room size was not a consideration for us regarding the furniture but it is for some who move here.

We brought clothes as good quality clothes are expensive here. In fact, I bought some extra pairs of sports shoes to take here. We brought the books and hobby/collectible stuff that we couldn’t bear to part with. The size of your home will be a factor in how much you can bring. Prior to our move, we had yard sales and I sold quite a bit on eBay.

As computers are cheaper in the US, I bought a second laptop and traded my old desktop for a new one. Also the keyboards are different in France and I absolutely can’t use them.

We brought some food stuffs that we knew you can’t find here. Same for over the counter medicine such as allergy pills and Rogaine (Don’t laugh, it works).

We brought no large appliances such as refrigerators. We also got rid of many of the 110V appliances. We still had some of the 220V appliances from when we were in Europe.

It is a major pain to bring a car to France and I wouldn’t think about it unless you have one that’s irreplaceable.

Once you’ve cleared the VISA hurdle and decided what you can bring, look for reliable overseas shipping companies and get three estimates.

For the dogs, here are the requirements: Information for private individuals - Pets - France in the United States/ Embassy of France in Washington

Good luck selling the homes as it's a buyer's market right now.

For an Irish citizen there are NO visa hurdles. They are EU-citizens, so they need no visa, work permit or residence permit. They can just come to France and start living. There is a new law that from what I understand has not really implemented everywhere, which states that EU-citizens need to register with the mairie (not the préfecture as resident EU-citizens. You would have to inquire with your local mairie.
But again: no visas, no residence permits for EU-citizens

[dorothyokay]

I wasnt thinking of bringing any fridges or things like that. I was also wondering about the TV's ; most of ours are pretty new and flat screens.
We have a motorbike that will go with us, maybe a car, but that is up in the air ; one car is a VW 03 Jetta and the other is a 07 Honda minivan, but they both have over 80,000 miles so I think it maybe better to wait til we get there. Furniture ; honestly, just the beds and a couch, three armchairs. Maybe one dresser. The rest can wait. The clothes, bed linens etc and you know the small ornaments and pictures.
I am not a huge shopper, so most of our stuff is old and worn out and i wont miss it. Of course some of the boys old toys are more memories than anything. It will cetainely force us to downsize and that is a great thing.
Still looking at the possibility of Gite to run there.
Thanks for advice ; keep it coming. Sorry to be a pain.

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by dorothyokay

I wasnt thinking of bringing any fridges or things like that. I was also wondering about the TV's ; most of ours are pretty new and flat screens.
We have a motorbike that will go with us, maybe a car, but that is up in the air ; one car is a VW 03 Jetta and the other is a 07 Honda minivan, but they both have over 80,000 miles so I think it maybe better to wait til we get there. Furniture ; honestly, just the beds and a couch, three armchairs. Maybe one dresser. The rest can wait. The clothes, bed linens etc and you know the small ornaments and pictures.
I am not a huge shopper, so most of our stuff is old and worn out and i wont miss it. Of course some of the boys old toys are more memories than anything. It will cetainely force us to downsize and that is a great thing.
Still looking at the possibility of Gite to run there.
Thanks for advice ; keep it coming. Sorry to be a pain.

Your TV's would need to be PAL/SECAM capable, in the US signals are based on the NTSC standard. Also they would need to be dual voltage. So unless you have a multi-system TV, forget it. You could buy a multi-system here, check out Region Free DVD Players, MultiSystem LCD TVs, Region Free DVD Recorders, Multi-System Plasma TV, multi-system TVs, PAL LCD TV, PAL TV, Step Down transformer, Step up transformer, Chicago - that's what I did and I'm good to go. Also note that DVD players are also region coded, if you plan on taking US commercially bought DVDs you will need a region free player to watch them - again check out world-import.

The VW Jetta in France (05 model, diesel - closest I could find) is around $15,000 - locally here for the similar car about $12000. Not worth it, sell it and buy one in France, you'll be better off with a diesel anyway but you'll have to learn to drive a stick shift, very few automatics around. Can't figure the Minivan but it is likely to be the same story. In addition, you'll need a rental car until your arrives and that will add to the costs, figure €500 per week minimum with insurances etc.

Cheers

David

[dorothyokay]

Thanks. Actually the Jetta is diesel and its a stick. I must check with dh about the Tv's. Thats his dept!!
Love the diesel ; gets 42 mpg.

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by dorothyokay

Thanks. Actually the Jetta is diesel and its a stick. I must check with dh about the Tv's. Thats his dept!!
Love the diesel ; gets 42 mpg.

Even so, the shipping costs, registration costs and taxes, rental costs and most importantly the unknown costs of getting a Certificate de Conformite could make this very expensive. Even though I have done a ton of research into this, I'm still wary of those possible modifications.

I suggest that you write a very "french-style" formal letter to Volkswagen, France and provide your VIN. They may tell you if they can provide the Certificate; they may not (as Lexus did to me) and tell you that it is in the hands of the Dept of Mines (DRIRE). If you can get the Certificate, most of the doubts are done.

Good luck

David