New York is the most expensive location for residents leaving the UAE to relocate their belongings. This is according to MoveSouq.com, an online marketplace for home services in the UAE, and the international movers ISS Worldwide, which say it can cost between Dh20,000 to Dh25,000 to shift the contents of an average two bedroom apartment to the US city.
If you are getting ready to relocate from the UAE, here are the four main factors that play a major role in determining how much your international move is going to cost:
1. Volume of move
The greater the number of goods you move, the more it is going to cost you. For air freight, the cost is calculated based on the total weight of the goods, whereas if you are shipping goods by sea or land, the cost is calculated based on their volume (cubic metres)
2. Type of shipment
Depending on how much furniture you are shifting, you will have the option to ship them as FCL (Full Container Load), LCL (Loose Container Load), or Groupage. FCL means you will have an exclusive container which will only carry your items and personal belongings. It is the fastest and most secure way to ship your items, but also the most expensive. If you are moving a small amount of furniture (ie furniture for a one-bedroom apartment or less), then ship your items with LCL or the Groupage option, whereby you share the container with other items being shipped to the same destination. Groupage is generally more cost effective than LCL, however, it is the slowest form of shipment as you need to wait for the groupage operator to get sufficient volume to fill the container. This can take up to four weeks.
3. Mode of transportation
You can choose to move your goods using air, land or sea, and the costs vary accordingly. Generally, air freight is considerably more expensive compared to shipping by sea – as a rule of thumb, you can pay almost three times as much for air freight. However, it is also the quickest way of transporting your goods. Although shipping by sea is comparatively cheaper, you should also allow your goods a good eight to 10 weeks to get to the final destination. If you are planning on relocating to a nearby country, such as Qatar, consider transporting your goods by land since that is the most cost-effective solution for short distances for those moving within the GCC.
4. The type of service you need
There are three main types of services for international moving: door-to-door, door-to-port and port-to-port. In door-to-door moves, you can leave the movers to deal with the entire move, from packing the goods in your Dubai home and delivering and unpacking them at your new home. They also handle all the paperwork at customs. However, this is done at a significant charge. At the other end of the spectrum is the port-to-port service, where the mover only handles the shipping of goods overseas. You will be responsible for packing the goods, handling foreign customs and delivery of the boxes to your new house. This is a cheaper option compared to door-to-door and door-to-port service, but it will be more time consuming.
To find out the top destinations UAE residents are moving to and how much it costs to shift your furniture, check out this infographic.
pf@thenational.ae
