Moving from Ireland to USA - shipping, pet moving, help!

SpideogBeag · 05-11-2012 5:11pm #1

Hi All -

My partner and I are moving to California in 7 months. I am a US citizen so the visa isn't the issue - rather it's everything else!

Can anyone who has recently made a similar move give any advice on shipping our stuff and moving our cat.

I enquired with a company called 'multi cargo' regarding the cat - but they quoted me €650, which is about the same as my one way ticket! If only they would just let me book her a seat on the plane in that case.... I have heard it can be complicated to bring a pet with you and going with a pet shipping company is best, but has anyone brought a pet with them? What airlines are the best for doing so? (we'll be flying from Dublin to San Francisco, so we will have a stop somewhere in the US).

Also has anyone had items shipped - where is a good place for reasonable shipping costs? We aren't bringing our furniture and will probably sell our bicycles and anything we could easily replace, however I think between his guitars, record collections, and my various books, we probably have about as much stuff as would fit into a carload. (ie. not enough for a shipping container but too much to just bring an extra suitcase or two).

Thanks to anyone who responds, I know there are lots of moving threads but it would be great to get some up-to-date advice. Also feel free to chip in with other advice, I am feeling overwhelmed and not sure what to do first!

missmyler · 05-11-2012 5:26pm

I cant help you with any of you questions but just wanted to say good on you for bringing the cat with you!

I was always under the impression that bringing a cat abroad ran into the thousands the way previous posters have said they could not possibly bring their pets with them due to cost. While €650 is a lot of money its not the hundred year loan they try and make it out to be.

Best of Luck in California

silja · 05-11-2012 5:54pm

It's not that complicated to bring the cat as long as it is up to date on vaccinations and has a pet passport- get started on that now as she may need several rounds of injections. Cheapest way is usually to bring the cat as extra bagage, and you will need to pre-book that with the airline when you book your tickets. Cat will fly in the cargo hold for the international flight but may be in the cabin with you for any domestic flights, depending on airline.

Bagage may be more difficult. I think An Post still have special media rates for books, CDs etc, so look into that. If you will be going over on holidays once or twice before the big move, or visit soon after, you could also bring some stuff over then, or when friends and family visit.

We rented a part cargo hold, it was quite expensive (if I remember right 1000 euro for 70sqf) but worth it as we had four people's clothes and some nice paintings to ship, and also didn't want to deal with a lot of oversized bagage and packing everything ourselves as we had baby twins at the time of the move. Don't ship anything you need soon, as it can take 3+ months to get back.

él statutorio · 05-11-2012 6:01pm

Friends of ours moved back to Denver a few months ago and brought their Irish rescue kitty with them. As best I recall they flew with delta who carry pets and they took the cat in the cabin (this was more expensive than the cargo hold but still wasn't crazy money, about $500 I think). As far as shots were concerned the cat had its regular shots over here and they consulted their regular vet in Colorado who said they were fine and they wouldn't have any quarantine or paperwork requirements. The whole process was very simple.

Long story short, the US (Colorado in this case, worth checking with a vet in CA) doesn't care if you're bringing a cat into the country from Ireland.

Myself and my wife will be moving to California in the next year or so as well and we'll be bringing our two cats as well.

coylemj · 05-11-2012 6:59pm

Doesn't deal with the cost issues but here is the official line on bringing cats into the US. I'm sure the OP is aware of the fact but for others, the 'CDC' is the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, a federal agency.

A general certificate of health is not required by CDC for entry of pet cats into the United States, although some airlines or states may require them. However, pet cats are subject to inspection at ports of entry and may be denied entry into the United States if they have evidence of an infectious disease that can be transmitted to humans. If a cat appears to be ill, further examination by a licensed veterinarian at the owner's expense might be required at the port of entry.

Cats are not required to have proof of rabies vaccination for importation into the United States. However, some states require vaccination of cats for rabies, so it is a good idea to check with state and local health authorities at your final destination.

http://www.cdc.gov/animalimportation/cats.html

InTheTrees · 08-11-2012 11:35pm

We brought a cat and a dog and most of our flat with us. Its good to have the rabies shot but its not even required in the USA.

The "stuff" went by sea which can take months (we were going to San Francisco) but it was considerably cheaper than by air.

MartyMcFly84 · 26-11-2012 1:10pm

I think its bring back the cat or dog which is the main issue.

(If you are planning on returning.)

As Ireland is rabies free, the animal will need to go into quarantine for 6 month upon return to Ireland. Even if it has had a rabies shot. But would be best to ask your vet.

InTheTrees · 26-11-2012 4:06pm

MartyMcFly84 wrote: »

As Ireland is rabies free, the animal will need to go into quarantine for 6 month upon return to Ireland. Even if it has had a rabies shot. But would be best to ask your vet.

A friend of mine did that and its seriously expensive. Fluffy has to be in a kennel for six months. Thats years for the poor animal and a huge chunk of change.

Its not just any kennel but a government approved quarantined kennel so you'll be paying the maximum.

coylemj · 26-11-2012 6:44pm

The procedure/costs/quarantine/rabies shots/pet passport issues involved in bringing animals back to Ireland from the US is needless speculation.

The OP hasn't responded since his/her first post and did say in their first and only post that they were 'moving' to California so by the looks of things they are not planning on coming back permanently.

rockonollie · 27-11-2012 9:21pm

We brought our dog with us when my wife and I moved to the states......50euro with aer lingus, basically you pay for an extra luggage item. Don't know if it's the same with cats.

The other issue is travel during the summer. Almost all airlines have bans on carrying animals in the luggage hold during the summer for connecting flights (unlike the transatlantic flights, the domestic flights don't have a climate controlled cargo hold) This wasn't a problem for us because we flew direct to Chicago and drove home to Cincinnati. Do Aer Lingus not fly direct to San Fran anymore?

wearyexplorer · 02-06-2016 11:48am

Sorry to bring up an older thread - I seek recent recommendations of decent shipping companies. We're moving from Ireland to the US in July and have about 4/5 large boxes of stuff to move. Taking them as extra baggage on the plane is outrageous and so far am seeing fairly ludicrous prices (to me!) to ship them. All recommendations or experiences/prices you have paid in past welcome. Thanks.

Dave1442397 · 02-06-2016 12:43pm

Here's a decent article explaining the process. Bringing boxes as extra luggage is a very expensive proposition these days, so your best bet might be to have them shipped as part of a container load. Slow, but a lot cheaper.

http://www.movingscam.com/articles/a-guide-to-international-shipping

él statutorio · 02-06-2016 3:31pm

Dave1442397 wrote: »

Here's a decent article explaining the process. Bringing boxes as extra luggage is a very expensive proposition these days, so your best bet might be to have them shipped as part of a container load. Slow, but a lot cheaper.

http://www.movingscam.com/articles/a-guide-to-international-shipping

Not always the case.

Depending on how much you're bringing, it may be cheaper to take it as extra baggage.

When I moved we got movers to ship out stuff (they took the stuff in June so we'd have it in August when we arrived). The stuff didn't arrive until November.... We were rushed into packing up as they said they had space in a container but the container sat in Dublin port for 7 weeks.

In hindsight, we should've just paid for 3 or 4 extra suitcases and filled them to the brim. We didn't actually need a good chunk of the stuff we shipped. Our shipping was (i think) around $3k and we'd have got the lot into luggage for under $1k.

Dave1442397 · 02-06-2016 6:47pm

$3k is crazy, especially if it would have only cost $1k to bring it on the plane.

I was lucky enough to move here before they went nuts with charges. I brought five boxes that weighed between 80lbs and 100lbs each, and they took them. Those days are long gone.

circular flexing · 03-06-2016 5:45am

él statutorio wrote: »

Not always the case.

Depending on how much you're bringing, it may be cheaper to take it as extra baggage.

When I moved we got movers to ship out stuff (they took the stuff in June so we'd have it in August when we arrived). The stuff didn't arrive until November.... We were rushed into packing up as they said they had space in a container but the container sat in Dublin port for 7 weeks.

In hindsight, we should've just paid for 3 or 4 extra suitcases and filled them to the brim. We didn't actually need a good chunk of the stuff we shipped. Our shipping was (i think) around $3k and we'd have got the lot into luggage for under $1k.

How much stuff did you have? We got 3.1 cubic metres shipped from Dublin to Vancouver for 750 euro in a shared container. It took a few weeks (was offloaded at Montreal and moved by train across Canada) but it was definitely cheaper than flying with it.

silja · 03-06-2016 12:30pm

One caution about bringing a lot of oversized lugage on the plane- they are not obliged to accept it. If the plane is full, they may not (I have sen this happen, though on flights to India, not to the USA).

él statutorio · 03-06-2016 3:57pm

circular flexing wrote: »

How much stuff did you have? We got 3.1 cubic metres shipped from Dublin to Vancouver for 750 euro in a shared container. It took a few weeks (was offloaded at Montreal and moved by train across Canada) but it was definitely cheaper than flying with it.

I don't recall, but there was a lot of stuff, kids toys, clothes some furniture bits like that.

wearyexplorer · 08-06-2016 7:31am

After having a look at multiple companies, ironically our very own An Post is what I am going for (note we are only shipping some light kitchen items like Nespresso Machine), books and clothing etc). Decent-ish size box with weight max of 20kg for 75 euro plus insurance (which to be fair is the major downfall - you will not get huge amount back if anything did happen). Thanks for the info everyone - legends.

él statutorio · 08-06-2016 9:10pm

wearyexplorer wrote: »

After having a look at multiple companies, ironically our very own An Post is what I am going for (note we are only shipping some light kitchen items like Nespresso Machine), books and clothing etc). Decent-ish size box with weight max of 20kg for 75 euro plus insurance (which to be fair is the major downfall - you will not get huge amount back if anything did happen). Thanks for the info everyone - legends.

Sell the nespresso and buy a new one in the US.

Unless the Nespresso supports 110V it won't work.

Ditto for any other appliances.

MadsL · 09-06-2016 5:46am

él statutorio wrote: »

Sell the nespresso and buy a new one in the US.

Unless the Nespresso supports 110V it won't work.

Ditto for any other appliances.

Couldn't bear to part with the Jura, cost $1000 to have 220V installed. Have to say worth every penny

Hell of a coffee machine.

wearyexplorer · 09-06-2016 3:11pm

él statutorio wrote: »

Sell the nespresso and buy a new one in the US.

Unless the Nespresso supports 110V it won't work.

Ditto for any other appliances.

MadsL wrote: »

Couldn't bear to part with the Jura, cost $1000 to have 220V installed. Have to say worth every penny Hell of a coffee machine.

Ah crap, believe it or not had totally forgotten this. We were going to bring the Nespresso, Nutribullet, PS3, kettle, toaster etc. A look at all of them say 230v or similar (a few things like hair straightner say 110-240v, which I assume means will work with normal adaptor).

So basically none of above will work, unless I buy expensive conductor (which I;ve read you're not supposed to use long-term anyway)?

él statutorio · 09-06-2016 3:22pm

wearyexplorer wrote: »

Ah crap, believe it or not had totally forgotten this. We were going to bring the Nespresso, Nutribullet, PS3, kettle, toaster etc. A look at all of them say 230v or similar (a few things like hair straightner say 110-240v, which I assume means will work with normal adaptor).

So basically none of above will work, unless I buy expensive conductor (which I;ve read you're not supposed to use long-term anyway)?

If they say 110-240V then they'll work just fine (with a travel adaptor so they can plug into the US sockets).

If you want the other ones to work then you'd need a step up transformer.

I bought one for myself (it was around $30) as I use it for power tools that I shipped over, but it's rather bulky and wouldn't really be practical to have in a kitchen as it would eat up counter space.

The PS3 should be fine I think.

If it's not the right voltage just flog it in Ireland and buy it over in the US.

wearyexplorer · 12-06-2016 7:24pm

As ever a weatlh of info, thanks él stautorio.

wearyexplorer · 23-07-2016 9:28pm

Forgot to mention posted boxes on a Wednesday, they were delivered 2.5 days later!

Moving from Ireland to USA - shipping, pet moving, help!

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