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Seeking mover recommendations


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Thanks for that Ferret, maybe he can post pictures of that as well when he pulls into country without his manifest...unless he already knows the ropes for a little mordida.

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Hey...all the guy wanted was a mover recommendation.  Here's one from me, though I don't know if they do cross border.  I had North American Van Lines storing my household in CA and they brought it to the border when I was ready, and SEYMI moved me on to my destination in Mexico. 3 bedroom house. Everything arrived in good condition and the SEYMI people were very helpful.

In case he doesn't know it for some reason, step one is getting a "menage de casa".  He can consult Senor Google about what he needs to do.😉

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I also happily recommend Winston @ Lake Chapala Moving... 

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We brought a full Ford Explorer down in 2008 with personal stuff, kitchen tools, artwork, sheets, towels, etc etc. We bought all our furniture here. The cost of movers alone make the purchase of furniture here a bargain. Good kitchen stuff, cookware, appliances, etc are either non-existent here or very expensive. Since 2008, Costco alone now has good bedding and bath stuff, KitchenAid mixers (big one on sale now). There is a Weber store in Guadalajara where all the Weber grill line, charcoal and gas, are available at just slightly higher prices than the US. Costco carries Kingford charcoal too.

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Costco has everything I've needed in kitchenware and small appliances. Tio Sams has the large ones, sometimes on sale and they are ready for Mexican voltage.  Moving our furniture was less costly than buying new...and I like our furniture better than what I've found here.  So...that's one persons' experience.

Thanks for the recommendations for Lake Chapala Moving.  I'm planning a move within Mexico after our house here sells, so I'm going to call them today about an estimate. Our last move was with Strom-White in 2008 from San Miguel Allende to here.  They subbed it out to a small time mover in Guadalajara who arrived with no furniture pads and no notion of how art work should be stacked (front to front and back to back:  otherwise, the fasteners poke holes in the adjacent canvas). I had to show them.  It was hard on our furniture in spite of my hurried attempt to attach some wrappings.  Strom-White claimed that they had provided the other mover with furniture pads.  We were required to pay full price anyway.  If they have enough storage at Lake Chapala Moving, we'll use them this time. (We'll need storage for a 4 bdrm. household after the sale happens and before we buy at our destination.)

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17 minutes ago, NobodySpecial said:

Great information everyone!  I was counseled I'd be better off bringing my own furniture/bedding, appliances, and electronics.  But I'm more than open to purchasing local, if it fits our needs.

Barbara's Bazaar on 16 de Septiembre has some fine used furniture, as do some of the other consignment shops.  The dark humor here is that it's lightly used due to the short life expectancy of many who retire here, and their heirs don't feel like hauling it away.

Do bring your sheets and such is you have all cotton.  Hard to find here.

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Just about every single thing in my house is second hand bought at consignment stores or garage/house sales with the exception of pots and pans (Costco), sheets (Costco), towels (Costco), and dishes and cutlery and mattress which I tote around with me wherever I go. Takes a while but there's great satisfaction in the hunt. ;)  YMMV.

Edited to add: I was just thinking about the pressure you're putting on yourself by having your stuff shipped here IF you don't already have a place to move it into. Storage is at a premium and, trust me, just living here is a learning curve that goes straight up without scrambling to find a place or to store it. Again, YMMV.

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We moved in 2005 with most of our furniture.  The only thing we have left now are the beds.  The furniture we brought fit well enough in our first house but when we sold it did not fit in the second one.  We paid dearly to have our things moved and if we had it to do over again all the furniture would stay in the U.S.  We would bring small kitchen appliances, all things kitchen, garden tools, lawn mower, bedding (sheets, etc. as you can find them on sale in the States much cheaper), personal items near and dear.  Another thing to consider is that you can have furniture made here.  My bedroom furniture and the buffet and hutch in the dining room were made here and we think they are wonderful.  

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Having furniture made here is a good idea.  Since my ancient house had no storage closets, I had attractive units made by a local which house everything that doesn't fit into the kitchen cabinets.  The cost was very reasonable and there are some excellent carpenters.

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When we moved here in 2008 there was no Amazon in Mexico.  Now that there is, the old saws about not being able to find quality kitchen (and other) items are no longer true.  If you can bring items in your car or in your airline luggage, that's a good thing.  But if you can't, between Amazon, MercadoLibre, Costco (store and online), and local shops and furniture makers, you will find what you need.  Even Coppel, Walmart and Home Depot have stepped up their game in the past few years (and again, both in-store and online for all 3).  

Plenty of high end stores are in Guadalajara; I have purchased at Liverpool (both in-store and online).  

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Unless you are really 'somebody special' with a very special bank account and income stream, you may want to calculate the cost of moving stuff.  It will cost a few dollars per pound!  Bulky stuff may cost even more! 

We found it less expensive to sell, or otherwise dispose of all furniture, and a lot of stuff that had not been used for awhile.  An SUV, cartop pod and a U-Haul trailer did the trick. We dropped the U-Haul in Laredo, TX, and its load went into storage there.  We picked it up a month later.  Finding stuff in Mexico is much easier now, than it was then, but we had no problem, and enjoyed the experience. Yes, that was before Walmart, Costco, Home Depot and Amazon, etc.

But, if you have money to burn, ignore my advice.

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8 minutes ago, timjwilson said:

I used Winston as well. Less expensive and better than the competition. I did not buy the insurance. Not one thing was damaged. Delivery was smooth and everything was placed where I requested. Winston is very amicable. (BC to Ajijic)

We used Winston's company in 2002 moving from Houston to Ajijic.  Back then it cost us around $5000 US for a whole 40 foot trailer and they did not break anything.  Would not have done it except we had purchased a 5 bedroom, 7 bathroom house that we were turning into a BnB. As many have said, comfortable mattresses were not readily available so we brought 5 and all the bedding to go with them. A six person hot tub!  Why not, we had the whole trailer for a set price. 4 sets of propane fireplace logs which were also not available back then. Nowadays much better idea to bring only those items you can't replace and with the money you save...have fun shopping in all the already suggested places.

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