Costs to relocate

[V1DL3R]

Hi All, I'm currently discussing a relocation package from cold UK (London) to warm UK (Gibraltar). This is my first relocation negotiation and I wanted to see if any wisdom resided in PH as to how much I should budget. The firm has proposed a relocation package which involves a budget limit (paid on expenses with proof of receipt) to cover associated costs of moving, flights and 3 months accommodation. The problem being, I actually have no idea how much it would cost to pack up my things and have a company take them to the south of Spain... (cough) I mean the UK, plus any associated costs that I undoubtably would have overlooked. I will ring around some firms but before i get lots of sales calls, I thought I would ask on here first, has anyone made a similar move recently? How much roughly do you think it costed you and would you do anything differently?

[thainy77]

V1DL3R said:

Hi All, I'm currently discussing a relocation package from cold UK (London) to warm UK (Gibraltar). This is my first relocation negotiation and I wanted to see if any wisdom resided in PH as to how much I should budget. The firm has proposed a relocation package which involves a budget limit (paid on expenses with proof of receipt) to cover associated costs of moving, flights and 3 months accommodation. The problem being, I actually have no idea how much it would cost to pack up my things and have a company take them to the south of Spain... (cough) I mean the UK, plus any associated costs that I undoubtably would have overlooked. I will ring around some firms but before i get lots of sales calls, I thought I would ask on here first, has anyone made a similar move recently? How much roughly do you think it costed you and would you do anything differently?

How much stuff are you shipping? is it just you or with your family?

Will you sea freight everything or will you send the essentials by air?

I've done Greece from the UK with my family and it came in around 11k, the company paid but i could have done it for about 8k.

[The jiffle king]

I've done a couple of moves and the things which you forget and need to take into account are:
- buying appliances/things for the new country
- wills/passport/legal costs
- cost of deposit if renting
- banks will not give you favourable rates, so most companies give 1-2 months of salary as a help for this and other things e.g. increased car insurance
- pets....
- contract terminations
- home allowance (can I be paid to go home 2 x a year)

There are other things, but the inconvenience is quite large but it's well worth doing as it really does broaden your horizons

[BaldOldMan]

Every country is different - so you will need specific Gibraltar advice.

Is it a 'permanent' move vs a fixed term secondment ?

It's all the small stuff that gets you - selling cars - then buying a new one and having zero no claims etc. As above, larger deposits when renting, may not be able to buy straight away - no credit history so even getting a bank account can be more difficult that you'd imagine

You'd want to get specific tax advice too - it will make a difference whether you own property or not and when you plan to move, but it can cost you a lot if you get it wrong.