Container vs air vs sell-everything — overseas moves priced the way expats actually decide
| Option | Cost range | Time | Fits |
|---|
International moves force the question domestic moves let you dodge: is any of this furniture worth $8,000 of ocean freight? The market's three products — air freight (fast, per-kg, brutal), shared containers/groupage (the flexible middle), and dedicated 20/40 ft containers — all price against the strategy most experienced expats eventually endorse: sell nearly everything, fly with suitcases, rebuy there. This tool prices all four honestly.
| Option | US–Europe typical | Reality notes |
|---|---|---|
| Air freight | $8–12/kg | For the two-suitcase life plus a few boxes of irreplaceables — 200 kg is ~$2,000 |
| Groupage (shared container) | $3,500–6,500 | Your crates wait to fill a container — cheap, slow (6–12 wks), occasional handling damage from the extra touches |
| 20 ft container | $6,500–11,000 | A 2–3BR home; the standard family move |
| 40 ft container | $11,000–17,000 | Large households; sometimes house + car (see the car warning below) |
The verdict card runs the honest ratio: shipping cost against the goods' resale value (not replacement — what you'd actually get selling). Past ~70%, selling and rebuying wins on money and usually on sanity; what survives the cut for most expats: quality mattress toppers no (mattresses differ abroad anyway), heirlooms and art yes, kitchen gear maybe, IKEA absolutely not. Books — the heaviest sentiment per dollar — deserve their own ruthless pass.
Dedicated containers: 4-8 weeks door-to-door (ocean transit + customs + delivery). Groupage: 6-12+ weeks (waiting to consolidate). Air: 1-2 weeks. Plan the gap: an air shipment of essentials + a furnished rental bridges the container's ocean month.
Universal: aerosols, flammables, plants, most food. Frequently restricted: alcohol (permits/duties), weapons (usually just don't), some wood items (biosecurity — Australia/NZ famously strict), and undeclared new goods (duty evasion). Your mover's destination agent has the country list.
With a residence visa and goods owned/used 6+ months, most countries yes — under 'transfer of residence' relief, applied through customs forms your mover files. Tourists/short stays don't qualify; new-in-box items get taxed everywhere.
The 70% rule in the verdict card, plus the voltage/format/size realities (US king beds don't fit European linens or staircases). The expat forums' refrain: 'we shipped a container and regret half of it' outnumbers the reverse 10-to-1.
FIDI or IAM accreditation (the industry's vetting bodies), written all-inclusive door-to-door quotes, a named destination agent, and marine insurance offered properly. The rogue-mover problem goes global otherwise — deposits small, everything in writing.
A separate project with its own budget and timeline (rabies titers can take months) — see the Pet Relocation tool. Start pets FIRST; their paperwork is slower than yours.
Yes — every figure computes locally in your browser.
Price the container against the honest resale sheet, air-freight the irreplaceables, and let the ocean carry less than sentiment suggests. The lightest expats are the ones who moved twice.