>
Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 00:43:15 -0500
X-Mailer: Atlas Mailer 2.0
Hi Pierre,
I can definitely recommend Allied Prime Movers (the ones with the big
orange trucks) for doing your move (http://www.allied.com). I used them to
move my stuff from at that time Germany to California and had an extremely
good experience with them. Allied has offices all over the country and
worldwide, including Switzerland (http://www.alliedintl.com/europe/switz.htm).
They provide true door-to-door service, i.e., they come and pack your stuff
up at one place (at your home in Seattle) and pack it out for you at the
other place (your new home in Switzerland). Everything is insured by them.
If ANYTHING goes wrong, you know whom to call, because there is only one
party responsible for all your stuff.
If you use another mover, who maybe subcontracts the shipping to one party,
and insures to another party, and in Switzerland your things will be
delivered by yet another company, you might end up that nobody wants to be
responsible if something is missing or broken, or if the shipment doesn't
arrive in time.
Allied prides themselves to be the "careful movers", and I can confirm they
ARE careful! I had an antique cabinet shipped here, and there was not the
slightest scratch. All my tableware arrived in perfect condition. If I ever
will go back to CH, I would definitely take them again.
You don't need to pack yourself. Even before 9/11, Allied did ALL the work,
and extremely speedy (you would be surprised). They put more wrapping and
packing materials than I would have done myself. What they do is they
assign you space in a container (I had 1/3 container). They arrive at your
home with the container, you can watch them put everything in the container
and seal it, and the same container will be shipped to Europe. That's what
they did when they moved my stuff (When they arrived here in CA, they
arrived at my home with a truck, so the stuff was onloaded in Los Angeles
onto the truck.) They have a shipment tracking system, so you will know
where your stuff is, and when it will arrive.
Air shipping means prohibitive costs and is probably not worth it. I would
ship by sea and just take the most essential things with me by air. Where
will you stay in CH for the first few weeks ? I guess you will not need all
your furniture from the beginning. If I remember correctly, it took about
three weeks to ship my things to CA by sea.
Moving boxes vs. container: If you have a household of four, I would
consider part of a container. This is possible. This also solves the issue
of the mountain bikes and the Burley trailer. If you go with Allied, let
them worry about how they ship it. They know the best way.
Insurance issues: Allied insures all your stuff for you.
Quote: Somebody comes to your home to see how much stuff you have. Then you
will get a free estimate for the move.
Plants, pets: If you have indoor plants like me that you really like, you
can take them to Europe (requirement: soil-free plants or cuttings). This
involves some paperwork and an inspection by the US Department of
Agriculture, but it can be done. Plant inspection stations are at major
airports and seaports (Seattle: (206) 764 6547). This is an interesting
experience. I don't know about pets, but they need to go through quarantine.
Allied Prime Movers are not the cheapest movers, but the additional cost is
well worth the price. In exchange for the higher price you will get a
worry-free and pleasant move, and don't have to run around to do everything
yourself. And don't forget that the time that you spend yourself to run
around and organize everything yourself is not for free either.
Let me know, if you have any other questions. I will be happy to assist you.
Best regards,
Peter Buerki
*******************************************************
Peter R. Buerki, Ph.D.
Inorganic Chemist
Laser and CVD Synthesis - Nanomaterials
Analytical Chemistry - LabVIEW
456 Blue Sage Way
Oceanside, CA 92057-7651
USA
Phone: (760) 722 8198
e-mail: pbuerki_at_netscape.net
Web: http://www.geocities.com/pbuerki
"Brawand, Pierre" <brawandp_at_amgen.com> wrote:
>Hi everybody,
>
>We have to start thinking about moving back home, after almost 3 years in
>Seattle.
>With two kids that were born here in the US, we will be carrying more stuff
>with us than when we came in 2000...
>
>I'd like to know whether you might have some tips for:
>- moving things by air or by sea: which option
>- good moving companies in the US that would not charge too much for doing
>the job
>- are we still allowed to pack our stuff ourselves or not (I know that there
>were some security issues post 9-11...)
>- moving boxes vs. container: where is the limit where a container might be
>considered?
>- we've got two mountain bikes and a Burley trailer. How should we move
>these things?
>- insurance issues
>- etc...etc....
>
>Thanks a lot for your help and thanks to the Swiss list,
>
>
>
>
>Pierre Brawand, PhD
>AMGEN Inc.
>51 University Street
>Seattle WA 98101-2936
>tel (direct): (206)265-4780
>fax: (206) 624-7496
>email: brawandp_at_amgen.com
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Received on Thu Feb 20 2003 - 05:56:17 PST
