UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

How to Choose a Mover During a Pandemic

November 22, 2021

Hi everyone! The past 7 months have been really tough for our family as we moved last April 2021 from Manila to Geneva, Switzerland. Writing & content creation have taken a back seat as we adjust to a new life, new country, new language & new home! Most days I’m just proud that I’ve kept myself, DiploBaby & DiploDog alive!

But I’ve made a promise to myself to get back to my passion for writing on the blog, sharing my expat/diplolife experiences and also decluttering. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to share information on something as traumatic as moving, but I find that writing it down & sharing what I’ve learned along the way therapeutic. So here is my first post on the move!

I want to share our moving process last April 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, because it is a unique time in history. We all know that moving is one of the most stressful things in life, but it’s 20x more difficult with the pandemic! There are so many things about moving that I really only learned through our experiences – and mistakes! – moving 4x within a span of a dozen years. So I am sharing it here with you because I know I wish I would have been giving these information & advice when I was new to it!

Filipino Diplomats usually have 30-60 days max to depart for their new assignment once we get our AO (Assignment Order) from the Department of Foreign Affairs. So it was really quite crazy the moment TD (The Diplomat) received his AO.

For diplomats from other countries, they have different timelines. Some know 6 months before. It really just depends on what the system is for moves in each foreign service/country.

SCHEDULE AN ASSESSMENT TO GET AN ACCURATE QUOTE

When it comes to our stuff, we’ve tried doing it DIY but the best really is to hire a professional mover who will handle it all for you, so you can focus on decluttering the things that you cannot bring with you. Whether you are moving across town or across continents, I’ve learned the hard way that hiring professionals is best for my physical, mental & relationship health!

We asked everyone we knew for the movers they used and TD got in touch with all of them to schedule an assessment and get a cost quotation- from the ones who are well known (Crown Relocations, Asian Tigers, etc.) to ones that we have never heard of before.

The first moving company to come over to so a survey, asses and give an quotation was CROWN RELOCATIONS. The MOVE MANAGER was quick and super responsive. We were amazed by how professional & thorough they were. This was already a nice green flag.

The surprising thing was that most of the movers TD got in touch with did not even come over for an assessment. The unknown moving companies just sent quotations that were even more expensive than the industry leaders. We were shocked.

WHY ARE THE RATES 2-4X THE NORMAL COST?

The reason why the quotes were so high is because of PANDEMIC PORT CONGESTION. With port staff getting sick & sometimes operations taking a pause when staff get COVID & it spreads, only half the shipping containers are leaving the port.

So with only half the opportunity to get a shipping container out, the cost has double to quadrupled… especially for smaller companies that just don’t have the volume or the clout.

EXPECT DELAYS DURING THE PANDEMIC

With only half of the container vessels leaving the port, there are huge delays. So say if the normal ETA from Manila to Europe or Africa is 2 months, expect your stuff to arrive in 3 months instead. In the beginning of the pandemic, I had a move coaching client whose container arrived after 4 months instead of the usual 2 month ETA!

However I also had a friend who chose a lesser know shippers and even if we had our pack up on the same month, our shipping container arrived already and hers had not yet left the port in Manila. This is why it’s so much more important during the pandemic to choose a mover that has the reputation & the volume.

TIPS ON CHOOSING A MOVER DURING A PANDEMIC

Get an industry leader that has the volume and connection to get your shipping container going, the moment you have an address to ship to. This is super important during the pandemic or it will take your stuff a long time to arrive.

Some embassies like the US embassy, their diplomats already know where their housing is going to be so it’s easy to ship immediately.

For multi-nationals, there is usually a go-see where they visit the new posting to view homes & schools (CROWN can help with this too!) and they get to choose their new home before they leave for good.

In these 2 instances, the shipping container can leave when they fly to their new posting..

However there are a lot of ministries, wherein there is no assigned housing. The Diplomat themselves have to go house hunting when they arrive in the new posting. Some embassies put up their DiploFamilies in hotels while they look, or for a certain period like 2 months. For Philippine Diplomats, we have a 2 week hotel allowance. After that we use our rent money to stay in serviced apartments because it’s unlikely that we find a place to rent within the 2 week hotel allowance.

This means that there is no address to send the shipping container to yet. We usually ask the shipper not to send our shipping container until we have an address, because if the shipping container arrives and we have no address we might be asked to pay demurrage. This is super expensive, so avoid at all costs. So remember that it’s important to find a mover that:

  1. Is responsive & immediately visits you for an accurate assessment of your belongings. They will tell you how many cubic meters you will need & how much it will cost. An experienced professional will even let you know what items you have to let go of to be able to keep within your budget & give you other advice to make your move easier.
  2. Can store your stuff at the point of origin, while you are looking for a home in your new posting without charging you extra
  3. Is an industry leader that can get a spot in the shipping containers that are leaving the port This is so important because I have a friend who packed up on the same month that we did from Manila and when our shipping was delivered to our flat in Geneva, their shipping container had not even left Manila yet. This is the disadvantage of using a smaller mover during this time.
  4. An established company that takes care of & trains their employees. This will also make you feel safer knowing that they invest in their staff because you know they will be coming to your home & will be in close contact with you while they pack/unpack.
  5. Can give you some leeway if your shipping container arrives in the new country and for some reason you cannot receive the shipment yet.
  6. Can handle your air shipping of you have an UAB (Unaccompanied Air Baggage) allowance. It makes it so much easier to deal with just one company.
  7. For us it was also very important to get a shipper that also has their own office in the destination country. For us this is the most important because after using very reputable shippers when we were moving from Jakarta to Berlin, then Berlin to Manila… we noticed that the service in the orgin was great, but not necessarily to the same standards in the destination because they only had a local partner instead of their own office. Sometimes there are things in the fine print that will be suddenly different because it’s a different company already in the destination country.
  8. Gives you a door to door quotation, meaning there will be no extra charges that were not included in the original quote. Confirm this in writing so that there are no surprise charges when you arrive.
  9. Will deliver for free to at least one floor on top of the ground floor. In the Philippines we call this the 2nd floor. Here in Europe, it’s called the 1st floor. Again get this in writing. This is important because if you choose a 2 or 3 floors above the ground floor and the place doesn’t have an elevator big enough for your furniture, the extra charges will be very expensive. You do not want to be stuck looking only for an apartment on the ground floor because you wont be able to safely keep windows open at night & you may be liable for the maintaining any green spaces, shoveling the snow in winter, & any accidents that happens to people outside your door if you don’t.
  10. The shipper will dismantle (if needed), pack & box your belongings. Then during delivery they will unbox, unpack, assemble & position the items where you want them. I never experienced this as thoroughly & well done as we did with CROWN RELOCATION. I don’t think I can go back to how it was with other shippers.
  11. Will take tender loving care of your belongings, pack & unpack them carefully. I remember when the local partner in Berlin delivered, they were very rough handling our belongings. They even took out a chunk of one of the century old doorway. Insurance covered it but it was still stressful. You wont know this until you’ve already chosen, but I can say without bias that I’ve never encountered packers handle our things so carefully & thoughtfully as crown – both their staff in Manila & here in Geneva were super nice & mindful during the whole process, from pack out to delivery.
  12. Then they will also take away all the packaging materials & boxes after everything is delivered & unpacked. Again super important especially in places where you will have to pay for disposal of big boxes or bring it yourself to a garbage dump, because the likelihood is that you wont have a car yet or wont be able to drive yet.
  13. If you have pets, you may want to check if they have pet relocation services so they can also help you with the complicated requirements.

Number 7 & 8 is important because those extra fees can be very expensive, especially if you have to personally cover it because it was not part of the original quote that was given.

Recently my friend Bernadette, who also availed of my move coaching “Ask Me Anything” consultation told me that though they booked door to door going to Australia, the local partner’s contract did not include taking the items up one flight of stairs. Thankfully their mover was nice because he was the one who handled the move out of the same apartment, so they took the items up even if technically they should have charged extra. So we always make sure to clarify these details.

In the end only 2 industry leaders were super responsive & actually came to make an assessment, give an exact quote and discussed with us their companies’ process for moving. But in the end we decided on CROWN RELOCATION because they ticked all the boxes above.

And we could not be happier! We didn’t know that this level of service existed, so now we now why some people choose CROWN every time they move! If you have any questions above choosing a mover and other moving related questions, feel free to comment or send me a DM in IG!

I did a shorter version of this post during our move when I had no time to write a blog post about it yet. You can see it here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ayessa | UnDiplomaticWife (@undiplomaticwife)

OTHER MOVING RELATED POSTS:

CROWN RELOCATIONS Pre-move Customer Support
The Experience Packing Up Our Home
What is Unaccompanied Air Baggage or UAB
Delivery of Our Shipment & Unpacking Our Lives
The Importance of Getting Transit Insurance #CrownCare
What is a Mobility Advisor?

CROWN RELOCATIONS

Get a quote today!

MANILA

+63 28 822 1123 • manila@crownrelo.com
Mon – Fri 8:00am – 5:30pm • Sat 9:00am – 1:00pm
Lot 5 Block1, Phase 7-A,
Laguna Technopark – Special Economic Zone, Binan, 4024 Laguna,Philippines

CEBU

+63 32 520 7206 • cebu@crownrelo.com
Mon – Fri 8:30am – 5:30pm
Warehouse 9 Forestview Realty Development, Kapaz Road, Brgy. Catarman, Liloan, Cebu

I hope you find this post helpful for your future moves! Please feel free to share it on Social Media & with friends who might need to read this too!

Leave a Comment · Expat Life

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Tool-Free Bidet Install Hack

Glass Restaurant Rovaniemi

Glass Resort Finland

GENEVA FINDS: Victorinox Souvenirs

Patisserie Sofia Geneva

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

One of the things people love about the Philippine One of the things people love about the Philippines is the warmth & heartfelt friendships of the Filipino people.

And was reminded about that when @pattylaurel & her wonderful family took the time to meet up with us on their last day in Geneva.

Though we’ve only seen each other in person once before… lifetimes ago when I was handling marketing for @beautybarph and she was our gracious model for Dashing Diva, hanging out with them felts so warm & natural. 

Even @diplobaby was so happy to have such quick friends and playmates.

Thank you Patty for letting me use your photos. You & @patrickfilart take such amazing ones! Perfect combo of influencer & IG husband 🤪🤪🤪

And thank you for bringing the warmth of the Philippines 🇵🇭 & the Filipino people with you. ✨🤍✨ sobrang saya!

We had such a beautiful day together… the kids (and us) didn’t want it to end so we went from playground/dinner to a walk about in our neighborhood Château & even to the house! 😂

Thank you for the epic day Patty, Patrick, Theo & Astrid. Till we meet again! More adventures in Switzerland I hope!

#udwingeneva #pattylaurel #diplofriends #diplobaby #diplofamily
TOOL FREE BIDET INSTALL One of the things we miss TOOL FREE BIDET INSTALL

One of the things we miss about living in the Philippines & Indonesia is having a bidet in our bathrooms.

Here we have a MUJI TABO & TOTO PORTABLE BIDETS (dm for link if you want), but nothing beats the water pressure & convenience of a handheld bidet that’s connected to your plumbing IMO.

When I was in @jumbo.schweiz recently I saw a bidet that can be installed with the sink.

It only works if your sink is near your toilet so sadly it won’t work on our master’s bathroom.

I wasn’t sure our faucet was the correct size but I took a risk for CHF20.

Today I finally had the time to install it. I was # #mariomama again LOL!

The only time you might need a tool (pliers) is if you can’t loosen the AERATOR to remove it from your faucet.

HOW TO INSTALL HOLDER WITHOUT DRILLING

As a renter, I want to avoid making holes in the walls whenever I can. Even if I weren’t a renter I don’t recommend putting holes on tiles coz they might crack.

So I used the strongest @tesa_de  double sided tape on the bidet holder. You can see how I did it step by step on the video. Be sure to use Teflon scissors so they don’t get damaged by the adhesive. Clear monster tape will also work well for this.

*** Amazon affiliate links on my bio under BIDET HACKS ****

WHY CANT YOU INSTALL IT IN YOUR TOILET

The toilets here are all built in. There are no exposed tubes to connect bidets to like in Asia. 

That’s why this hack is a God send! No plumbing experience or tools needed! YAY!

WHERE TO BUY

https://undiplomaticwife.com/bidet-install-hack/

Feel free to dm me if you have any questions!

#DiploHome #diplohomegeneva #diy #bidet #bidetlife #expatlife #expatliving #genevaexpats #genevaexpat #genevaexpatwomen #expatinswitzerland
HUMIDIFIER HACK Did you know that each home shoul HUMIDIFIER HACK

Did you know that each home should have humidifiers whether it’s in winter or summer?

Yes! It should be in
- closets
- caves
- storage lockers
- basements
- attics
- bathrooms
- any other area that doesn’t have through air or air conditioner 

To prevent molds from damaging your property!

Here’s the hack: Don’t throw the container because you can buy refills. 

DM me on where to buy wherever you are!

#diplohome #homehacks
WHEN’S THE BEST TIME TO GO TO SANTA CLAUS VILLAG WHEN’S THE BEST TIME TO GO TO SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE?

The concern going to Rovaniemi is that it’s too cold 🥶 I’ve heard of people going in winter & didn’t enjoy it coz they felt like frozen popsicles. You have 2 options:

1. Go in SPRING like us so prices are lower, no long lines/crowds & no need for super thick snow suits, but low chance of seeing Aurora Borealis & some places might be closed/melted. 

3. A friend who lived in Scandinavia told us for Aurora Borealis, the best time is SEPTEMBER coz it’s not too cold yet. Though some resorts might only be opening in OCTOBER like @glass_resort.

FOR US:

❄️ End of first week of April: We didn’t really know  that we picked the perfect time. We were there for only 3 days & 2 nights because that was all our budget would allow. The lows were -3/5 C but the week before it was literally -18C YIKES! 🥶

❄️ At lows of -3/5 and 0-3 highs it’s manageable layering our @uniqloeurope Ultra Light Down Jackets. We didn’t end up using our waterproof snow jackets.

 ❄️ bring waterproof shoes/boots so you don’t get sick if melted snow gets in. 

❄️ If you will touch snow/have snowball fights, waterproof gloves are a must

❄️ Ask hotel if sleds are free to borrow

❄️ Bring SPF coz snow reflects sun

❄️ As you can see in the reel on our first day it was winter wonderland. The day after things started melting. On our last day things were starting to puddle. After I imagine rivers!

❄️ there was this gigantic snowman & I was too tired to take a pic. It disappeared the next day to my disappointment.

❄️ The SNOWMAN WORLD was already closed when we arrived. It would have been so cool to see the ice resto/bar, slides & disco!

❄️ We found out that the day we were leaving was also the last full day of our hotel. So though Santa Claus Office is open 365 days a year, check with the hotels to see which ones are open.

☀️ Summer activities are different. For example the huskies pull sleds with wheels.

🌈 BONUS TIP: If you pick a resort inside @santaclausvillage_rovaniemi, 3 days is enough. Because of the perfect location of @glass_resort we were able to make SO many wonderful memories in such a short time.

#udwinsantaclausvillage
PARTIES & PLUMBING #diplolife + OUR FIRST TIME TO PARTIES & PLUMBING #diplolife

+ OUR FIRST TIME TO HOST AMBASSADORS IN OUR SWISS #DIPLOHOME
(Except for my FIL of course)

This has to have been the most hectic weekend in recent memory here. Each day @diplobaby had a kid’s party to attend. (Thankfully here you leave the child for 2-2.5hrs & parents can do errands while waiting)

TD & I also had commitments for both days. We were hosting a lunch, attending a lunch/ playdate with #diplofriends & meeting up with a fellow Pinoy @remfelrem who has just arrived in Switzerland. 

Last Saturday, TD and I were hosting a lunch for his boss & also a little farewell for the boss of the other mission. And as you guys know we were really stressed with a clogged kitchen sink drain. Not the most convenient or sweet smelling when you are having people over.

So thankfully with the help of a friend I got tips on how to dismantle the pipes to clean them. Guess what? It was still clogged in the pipes inside the wall!

Cleaning the pipes under the sink might NOT HAVE RESOLVED the problem, but at least our home did not smell! Also I learned to do something new! Win-win! 

TD told @diplobaby that I’m #MarioMama (from Mario Bros) 😂🪠

And I am quite relieved that TD & I managed to pull off a lunch in our little home with not just one, but TWO Ambassadors. Having one’s boss is always somewhat nerve-racking right??? I’m so happy we finally did it! 

We had pork adobo with mango, tomato & cilantro salad. And our fave spaghetti bolognese. I bought small cakes from our favorite boulangerie in the little French town next door. 

P.S. 
For those of you were asking if we finally had to call a professional for our kitchen sink. In a way yes we did. After all our best efforts, we finally had to ask for help. We feel so lucky to have such a lovely landlord who came and had the knowledge to remove the clog from the pipes that were built into the wall. We are ever so grateful to him for coming on his weekend.

This is #diplolife guys… PARTIES AND PLUMBING! LOL!!!

#UDWinGeneva #undiplomaticwife #diplofamily #thediplomat #thediplomaticwife
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.