[papaia]

I have been able to find quite a few recommendations for international shipping (which - of course - require further research/due diligence), but none which offer local storage in France (more specifically in or around Montpellier). My thinking is that if the proper way to move to France requires a few months of temporary living arrangements (e.g. AirBnB, or ... ?!?), enough to offer the time necessary to look for the longer term solution (e.g. 1-3 yrs rental), the large majority of items required in France shall be stored in some facility, containerized, and only opened/used when needed, until we find the final resting place for them.

Obvious Q: does any one know of an international shipper, whose "door-to-door" service actually ends up depositing the container w/our belongings (not short term ones) in a local storage facility? Has anyone having moved been challenged and resolved such?

 

[NickZ]

Do you want a shipper with storage? Or do you just want a shipper that will deliver to a storage warehouse?

They won't care about delivering to a warehouse. It'll actually be easier for them than many homes.

If you want a shipper with storage be careful how they charge.

The shippers French partner are the ones who would provide you with storage.

 

[papaia]

Do you want a shipper with storage? Or do you just want a shipper that will deliver to a storage warehouse?
They won't care about delivering to a warehouse. It'll actually be easier for them than many homes.
If you want a shipper with storage be careful how they charge.
The shippers French partner are the ones who would provide you with storage.

Thank you for replying. Here is what I am concerned about: if the shipper responsibility stops "at the door", then if it was to be delivered to a house I could conduct an inspection and attest to as much as possible of what I could observe as being accurate and not damaged. If the shipper delivers "to the door" of a storage facility, then they may be off the hook for any damage or misses, and blame any such on the storage facility, which could then point fingers back, by the time I get to see what arrived. I assume that an end-to-end shipper will be responsible until I arrive at the storage facility and attest to what has been received ... or I may be wrong, of course.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Be careful what you assume when it comes to shipping internationally. Moving practices can vary greatly from one country to the next, and in the case of international moves, the company you work with in the US generally hands the load off to their contact company on the other end.

The business of storage can also differ from one country to the next. We have had folks through the forum here who strongly advise storing your household goods in the US rather than trying to find a storage warehouse here in France. As I recall it had to do with the rates charged as well as with the availability of long-term storage for household goods. Probably a good thing to discuss with any international mover you are considering - as a part of the quote you get from them. There are other factors involved - such as insurance - that will affect the ultimate cost of your move. And you may well want to consider shipping in two lots: one a small load of those things you'll need pretty much right away even if in temporary accommodation, followed by the bulk of your stuff (which will take a good 6 to 12 weeks or more to arrive by sea).

You definitely want to know where you are moving to before deciding what stuff to ship and what stuff to sell or otherwise dispose of (or continue to store until your return date). French homes (houses or apartments) are definitely smaller than you may be used to and in some cases large US furniture simply won't fit into French homes.

 

[Peasant]

Do you want a shipper with storage? Or do you just want a shipper that will deliver to a storage warehouse?

We shipped our stuff using UpakWeShip and had it delivered to a storage facility (www.shurgard.fr) while we looked for a permanent place. We wound up getting thongs out of storage after about two months. Our stuff left the US from Charleston, SC and arrived in Rotterdam, then sent onwards to France. Everything went smoothly.

 

[papaia]

We shipped our stuff using UpakWeShip and had it delivered to a storage facility (www.shurgard.fr) while we looked for a permanent place. We wound up getting thongs out of storage after about two months. Our stuff left the US from Charleston, SC and arrived in Rotterdam, then sent onwards to France. Everything went smoothly.

What was the timing, if you don't mind me asking, i.e. placing the order with the shipping <x> months in advance and the actual travel time from your door to the storage facility door in <y> months? Have you had someone at the receiving end (storage company) receive and attest to integrity of package(s)?

 

[Peasant]

What was the timing, if you don't mind me asking, i.e. placing the order with the shipping <x> months in advance and the actual travel time from your door to the storage facility door in <y> months? Have you had someone at the receiving end (storage company) receive and attest to integrity of package(s)?

We started making arrangements about 3 months before leaving (fall 2017).

We received the knocked-down crates quickly and packed everything ourselves and we took an easy three weeks to do that, although you can pay extra and have it all done for you. If you're determined you could probably do the packing in 3-4 days.

The crates were picked up about six weeks before our departure and were trucked to Charleston, SC where they waited to be fitted into a container (all this was explained by the shipping company, who did an excellent job).

There was, of course, a bundle of paperwork to do but as long as you're methodical and follow directions they don't present much of a problem.

Our crates were loaded onto a ship and sent to Rotterdam and, by prior arrangement and at a modest extra cost, held there while we settled into an AirBnB and booked a room at a storage facility. We told them when we were ready and three days later the truck arrived at the facility.

The two crates had been disassembled and all of our stuff (it had all been boxed inside the crates) had been loaded into the truck, but everything was there and they had good records of what was in the crates and that it had been transported. The drivers are only required to off-load your stuff at ground level but I'd thought to bring along some €50 notes to encourage them to help me get the stuff into the storage room on the second floor (big freight elevator, wide corridors, no problem aside from the bulk of the stuff. It took about 30 minutes to get everything into storage, a lock was put on the room and I went back to the AirBnB.

Once we'd found a flat, had some minor work done, the kitchen overhauled and the rooms painted, we would rent a car for a weekend and make a few trips back and forth to the storage facility to shift things over. That took three weeks as, again, we took it easy.

Our daughter moved from Denver to London late last year and used the same shipper and method. She and her husband also had a good experience with the shipping firm (UPakWeShip International Shipping Company | International Moving Rates).

 

[papaia]

Thank you so much!!!! Extremely useful information!