Everything You Need to Know About Shipping for Retirement

When you retire, it might be time to think about places you’re going to want to visit. Some people enjoy taking extended vacations or a long overdue sea cruise. Others have plans to move away and start a whole new life after retirement. With everything from different countries to different states, you can make the choice to retire somewhere beautiful a reality. If you’re thinking about moving to a new area after retirement, you not only need to consider your options for cities, states or countries to retire to, but you also need to plan on how you will have everything shipped to your new home.  

​Shipping Within the United States

​Shipping personal property as well as a motor vehicle within the United States can easily be handled with a phone call and a discussion with an agent to handle the move for you. You can go about this in a few ways. You can hire a moving company to come in and pack everything and get it loaded onto a moving truck and delivered to the new home or you can pack things on your own and either rent a moving truck to drive on your own or hire a company to load and deliver everything after you pack it all up.

Before packing everything, be sure to take some time to downsize a little. Sort items to donate, give away, sell or trash. It doesn’t make sense to pay someone to move belongings that you will never use. For large items that you may want to keep but don’t want to bring along, you can place in storage to hold until you return or until you are ready to move them later.

For cars, be sure to contact an auto transport company to have the car hauled via an open trailer or an enclosed trailer. An open trailer is the most common way to transport a car via interstate and is also the most economical way to do so. Up to ten or more cars can be loaded onto one trailer for delivery. If you have a luxury car or a classic car, enclosed transport is the safer option as your car will be fully enclosed during transport. 

​Shipping to a Different Country

Though it may seem like a lot of work, shipping your household items and moving a vehicle to another country is not too hard to do with the help of a qualified shipping companies. 

Different countries throughout the world have specific laws, regulations and documents that are needed to move these items there. To make the transition from one place to the next smoother, it is essential that you find out which documents are needed for the destination country. At the very least, you will need these items for customs clearance to most countries worldwide. 

• Passport
• Residence Visa 
• Itemized List of Items 
• Title of Vehicle 

​Transporting a Vehicle 

Transporting a vehicle to another country does come with certain challenges. Some countries will not allow vehicles that are older than a certain age to enter. Some countries make the vehicle pass an emissions test for entry. When you decide which country that you’re moving too, whether it is for a short or long period, check with your shipping agent as well as the customs agency in the country you will move to for information on vehicle requirements including safety and emissions inspections that may be required. 

​Cost of Shipping

The cost of shipping varies widely. It depends on the number of items you’re bringing over, where they’re going too and the type of shipping you choose to use for the items or vehicle. Roll-on, roll-off shipping can provide an affordable rate for vehicles, but container shipping is required for household goods. Expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand to ship the items from one point to another. There may be an option to share a container with another customer who has a shipment for the same destination. Be sure to speak to the shipping company to see if there is a way to share a container with someone so you can save money. 

​Time for Shipping

​You want to make sure that you’re going to be able to get your household items or vehicle within a timely manner. That is understandable. However, keep in mind that some countries have customs that are harder to pass through. By having the necessary documents ready, as well as a professional shipping company, this can reduce the time needed to pass through customs. On average, expect to wait anywhere from 2 weeks up to 2 months for a motor vehicle or household items to be delivered to the destination. 

The specific times, amounts and documents required for shipping depends on the destination of choice. Enjoy your retirement somewhere that you want to be when you make the decision to move. It can be well worth it when you find out everything that comes from relaxing in an area that you thoroughly enjoy. Remember, these are the best years of your life. Make them count!