Obviously we won't be working up to the day we board the plane to leave, but how much time did (will) you take off?
And when did you arrange for the movers to pack your stuff? We're not taking furniture and everything else will be shipped by sea... so do we arrange for 1 month prior to departure, or earlier?
TIA!
Hilary
We didn't have furniture shipped either and I think (if I remember correctly) our stuff took 2 months to arrive. I remember the removal company telling us that if you don't have a full container it takes longer than those who do. The reason being is they wait for the containers to be full before they ship them. So if you are only using, say, a quarter of a container with your stuff, then you have to wait for the other 3/4 to be filled before the container will be shipped.
Also, it depends on where it is going to. Our stuff was already waiting at Liverpool for the go ahead from us to be shipped (they needed our visa number and we didn't have it when they packed everything) and it only had to go to NY as we were moving to NJ. If we were going to Ohio it would probably take a little longer, maybe.
As for time taken off - my husband, who was the one working at the time, had 3 weeks off after we moved here. He finished work on the Tuesday and we flew on the Wednesday. then had 3 weeks vacation time owing him so took it all at once. But then, he was a company transfer so I'm sure that makes a difference. To be honest, though, it wasn't the time before flying out that we needed, it was when we got here so having that 3 weeks after we moved here was great )
I did forget to say where from/to, didn't I?!
From Edinburgh to Alabama, USA. We're both currently working, but I'm hoping to telecommute to my current employer. Husband will be jobhunting once his visa arrives!
I'm not overly worried about how long our stuff takes to arrive - we'll be renting for at least 3 months to give us some credit info so we can get a mortgage, so it'd be nice not to have all the stuff crammed into a small flat rather than our own house! We might end up paying for storage on the receiving end for a while, but it'll probably be worth it.
In that case then, I wouldn't worry about how long you have off. It sounds as though you don't have children to organize? In which case you don't have schools to consider. Registering at a doctor can wait until you get the medical paperwork sorted.
However, you may want to think about having a bit of time to find your way round your surrounding, bank accounts, initial supplies of groceries etc. Also to give yourselves time to come down from all the emotion of moving.
Good luck. Where in Alabama are you moving to? Not that I know much about that state at all roll wink
North. Birmingham or Huntsville, most likely.
Just trying to figure out how much time I'll need beforehand for all those little things that you never think about first (need to give employer as much notice as possible for this as we're a little short-staffed).
Hi, licon. I'm originally from the Edinburgh area too. )
If it's any help, I stopped work two weeks before I moved, although they knew 2 months beforehand that I would be leaving. (we were short-staffed too).
Don't know anything about Birmingham, AL, but Huntsville is supposed to be gorgeous. Used to work with a girl who was from AL; she was divorced and always referred to her ex as "My baby's daddy", in her long Southern drawl. I always got a kick out of that! D