To: bovik@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU
Reply-to: bcp@PROOF.ERGO.CS.CMU.EDU
Subject: [bcp@CS.CMU.EDU (Benjamin Pierce): Moving to Europe!]
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 91 16:06:36 EST
Message-ID: <15545.692744796@KURT.TIP.CS.CMU.EDU>
From: Benjamin_Pierce@KURT.TIP.CS.CMU.EDU


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To: cmu.cs.general (bcp)
From: bcp@CS.CMU.EDU (Benjamin Pierce)
Subject: Moving to Europe!
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 91 14:28:47 -0500
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Nntp-Posting-Host: kurt.tip.cs.cmu.edu
Distribution: cmu
Originator: bcp@KURT.TIP.CS.CMU.EDU


Wow, there certainly was a lot of community expertise to draw on for
this one!  Many thanks to all of you.

	Benli
	
P.S.  For the other people who were interested, here are the replies...	

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When I did a similar manouver in 1987, I got the best rate
from Pan Am freight service.  I think they gave me a special
rate because I also had a Pan Am passenger ticket.  

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the last time i moved from england to here (hi, the other direction).
all my books are shipped by the good old "Royal Mail" in the book
rate, that is fairly reasonable, but if you have a lot of other misc
stuff (not books, not printed matter) or you want to ship by air, i
would like to hear your summary

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For books, there is a special rate offered by the Post Office, which is way
cheaper than regular shipping. I paid about 70 cents per pound, surface mail, 
to send my books from Seattle to Indonesia. Expect a couple of months delivery
time. 

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Going over I used "sack mail" for my books.  The idea is that the post office
will give you your own mailing sack which you stuff with your things, up to a
certain weight limit.  You seal and address the sack, and send it off for
fairly cheap.  It'll take about a month, but it'll get there.  And it's cheap.
On the way back I used an air freight company.  It cost lots more, but CMU was
paying (actually, I wound up paying 30% because the moving expenses became
taxable that year).  That was much quicker, but it didn't really matter.

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In the past, I have shipped books through US Mail quite successfully.
You have to package the books in boxes and then in these huge sacks they
give you, and I forget how much it is - like $50 a sack - but it was
cheaper then than the alternatives I considered.

They have two rates - it's cheaper for bound books than for papers, I
guess because they are less careful. I put bunches of papers in amongst
books, claimed it was all books, and it all arrived home in good condition 
about three weeks after I posted it.

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When I moved from Holland to the States, I mailed my stuff.  It
is the cheapest method, especially for books.  It takes around
6 - 8 weeks to arrive, and the boxes are not gently handled.  I
even lost most of the contents of one box, but it was insured.
So it is a good method for non-fragile possessions that you're
prepared to replace if they are lost.  I think one reason my
boxes were badly handled is they were heavy (20 kilos).  Lighter
boxes are treated better.

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You can send books to the UK via US mail at a really cheap rate if
you have enough books to send. They actually give you a whole
mail bag to yourself, and I ended up getting to keep mine at the
other end (how exciting). I don't remember whether that was air-mail
or not, it may be very slow. Also, be warned that I did this a couple
of years ago so it may not be available any more (although if Joe
mailman says it's not available, ask another -- I had to go through
a couple of clerks before one knew what I was talking about). Also,
mail from the UK to the US is EXPENSIVE. For what it's worth, on my
way from the UK to the US Brithish Airways let me take an extra (heavy)
bag free (Although ahead of time they told me I'd have to pay).

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Just had a summer job in Europe over the summer.

Unless there are complications with carrying heavy stuff in and out of
airports, it would be better to carry some of your heavy boxes with
you because your ticket allows for ~2 pieces of luggage at ~75 lb
each.

Sending a 75 lb box of books by UPS to Europe is at least $200.
It's about $100+ by sea (6-8 wks).

I forget the cost for excess baggage.  Call the CMU post office and
your airline to compare rates.

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If you just want to send books there's a good thing you could do. Send
then by boat via the post office. They put the boxes in what they call
M-bags, and it only costs 70 cents per lb.

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Its been a while, so all I have is general advice.  There is one question
that you have to ask, IMO, "how soon do you want your stuff?"  This question
ties in naturally with "how much time do you have?"

I think a great way to handle the whole situation is to pack up your 
belongings and give them to the shipping company, fly over and then 
tour the country for a few weeks.  If you've never been to England, there
is so much to see.  So much history -- not just 300 years, but 3000 years.
You could spend weeks just in London...  By the time you finish the touring,
your stuff will have arrived and then you can unpack.

I haven't moved in quite a while, but thats how my family did it. 
With an entire family, the cost of vacationing for three weeks is less
than the cost of getting the stuff in less than two weeks.  If you are
moving alone and don't have much stuff to bring, like no sofas or beds
or desks, then it may just pay to take it on the plane.

I'd just call a moving company -- United or Allied, whomever.  See how
much they charge and ask how fast.  Then call up the airline or UPS
and ask them.  Then consult a travel guide and see how many days of 
vacationing you can get for the difference.

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In general, if something is really important to you, ship it by air.
If it's REALLY important, ship it on the same plane with yourself.
Buy a new alarm clock, etc., when you get there, but be aware that
textiles in particular are going to be more costly.  (I hope you are not
allergic to wool, because I found it the all-around best fabric for
dealing with the weather there, at least when it's not summer.)  In
general, clothing suited for Pittsburgh in winter will work just fine
there this time of year; it's at least as damp, most of the time.


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