how to move my stuff from West US to Doha?
Hello all,
I have accepted a job in Doha and need to move in August. One issue is, how to move all my family stuff to Doha? I have two kids and we have plenty of books and kids stuff but our relocation allowance is very limited ($4k for luggages + air tickets). what is the best way to move these to Doha from the west coast of the U.S? Definitely, I will get rid of most of them except indispensable things such as clothing, books, and basic toys.
Any advice or information regarding relocation such as airfreight companies, your good and bad experience with cargo services, and recommended private/international cargo companies would be really appreciated.
Many thanks.
Think twice about what you're going to bring. So far there is only one thing that I can't find here that I was able to get in the US, and that's coconut water. People told me I wouldn't be able to find a salad spinner here. I found one. They said I wouldn't be able to find panty hose or tampons here. They're here. Toys R Us is here, too. It would probably be a challenge to find Korean books here, though. Good luck in your travels, and welcome to Qatar.
(Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug...)
Qatar Air Cargo
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I just looked into different options from Europe to Doha and found that moving companies ask a lot for rather little work. I was looking at 3 cubic meters with sea fright, and waiting for 6 weeks it almost completely cost as much as your allowance. Packing myself using my own packaging materials and using UPS or something similar and receiving the things within days only costs a fraction of that. Might be different from the US, but maybe worth a check.
I posted a long response to your question in the ExpatExchange but it hasn't come through yet. Keep an eye on that forum - I'm Expat Mum there.
I'll also send you a PM.
Mandi and Bluemountain,
Thank you for your answers. To clarify, our relocation allowance is four air tickets and additional $4k for non-carrying baggages. As my kids are bilingual, Korean and English, we need lots of Korean books. I don't think we can buy non-english books there. Absolutely, we will give away most of things for charity except indispensable books, clothing, and minimal toys. More advice will be more than welcome. Thanks.
That is low for a relocation allowance - I hope it's more than $4,000 for four tickets! Each of you will have a 30 kg(?) weight allowance so that can be in boxes etc. If you need a moving company, our school used Allied (as in Allied Van Lines) from the US, just check the phone directory.
Mandi
I think you accept an offer from Qatar University and take a villa that is somewhere near Rose Garden. And that might be fully furnish. I don't think you need to bring everything to live here as we brought here only 25 Kg backages plus 7 Kgs hand carry plus laptop and USB, CD and DVD instead of books.
Think what you need and you don't need just give away for charity if you decided to live here for long.
GOOD LUCK