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Leaving France - shipping/removals/hiring a van - what's the best option?


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I am leaving France at the end of the month after almost 5 years in Strasbourg.

I wanted to ask what other people who have left have found to be the best/cheapest option in terms of bringing all their stuff back. I am moving back to London so will probably be swapping living alone in a F3 flat for a small bedroom in a shared flat in London.

I will try to sell all of my furniture but that still leaves me with a  lot of stuff to bring back. So far I have had quotes from removal companies charging between £1200 and £2500. Another option is just hiring a van and driving it back myself which would be cheaper but would then need to drive back from London to Calais so that the van would be dropped off in France.

I was told that using a shipping company who would basically wrap the stuff and send it over would be a cheap option but even for that I am being quoted the same kind of prices as the removal companies.

Does anyone have any tips from their experiences from moving to or from France? When I first moved here the company subsidized the move but I need to finance this one myself.

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[quote user="Matt09H"]

so will probably be swapping living alone in a F3 flat for a small bedroom in a shared flat in London.

I will try to sell all of my furniture but that still leaves me with a  lot of stuff to bring back. [/quote]

Just a thought ... if you will be occupying a small bedroom in a shared flat, are you planning to put most of your stuff in store? 'Cos you will find it impossible to live in a small space surrounded by lots and lots of boxes - IMHO of course.

Edit: When we brought our stuff over from France we had a part load on a van that was evenually heading to the south of France and then on to Spain - very good company, very good price. Perhaps you could find such a company that covers your area.

Sue

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Sharing a van could be an option..is anyone else leaving end of May in the Alsace area?

I'll probably be dumping some excess stuff in my parents house...sure they'll be delighted. I am trying to sell all of my furniture so it's unlikely I'll have too much anyway.

Sue - do you remember which company you used?

 

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Hi

We used this guy - Alex - Tel: 07831121555.  He regularly does part/full loads to and from all over France and is very reliable and reasonable.  He can also recommend an excellent storage company.

Good luck with your move

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[quote user="Matt09H"]

Sue - do you remember which company you used?

[/quote]

I don't, but I can find out. Though I don't think they will cover your area - I am almost 100% sure that they only do runs through the west and middle of France down to south coast and then onwards to Spain, and then the reverse, of course.

Sue

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" Another option is just hiring a van and driving it back myself which would be cheaper but would then need to drive back from London to Calais so that the van would be dropped off in France "  When I checked about 5 years ago none of the national van and car rental companies offered one way hire on vans .
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thanks for the info everyone.. I will try the companies and nos. that you gave me...

Re the van....another colleague of mine left last year and had to drive the van back to France as they couldn't leave it in UK. Like you say they don't seem to do one way deals.

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If you've already had a quote for £1200 the that sounds like quite a good deal to me.  By the time you hire a van, pay for the crossing/tunnel, pay for the diesel, pay the tolls and buy a few drinks and a meal for whoever you get to help you, then it will probably end up costing not far off this amount anyway.

If you want to do it yourself then it may be more cost effective to take a cheap flight over to London, hire a van there and make the return trip. At least then there won't be any problems with returning it to the same depot and you should be able to get a cheap return on the ferry or tunnel.

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