The International Schools Review Forum

Hello all,

I am in the midst of nesting, since I'm in a serious relationship that if it works out (likely), I'll stay where I am. That means acquiring possessions, which in my case means books and art.

I am not planning on moving on from here, but in the chance that things don't work out here and I head on out into the world, WILL I BE ABLE TO BRING MY STUFF? I'm at a top school right now so I assume that I can get a job at a tier one school if I move on from where I am. How is the shipping allowance at tier one schools? How much stuff (as in, how many boxes) does the shipping allowance work out to?

Seems like a silly question, maybe, but something to consider as I pile onto my massive book collection (a lot of which are for the classroom and/or professional books).

In my experience, for a single person half a container, double if partner/dependents are included.

Sounds about right. Give or take a bit. If you have lots of big furniture to go with your stuff, then you might have a problem. If you just have the stuff, you are more than fine.

Whoa. That's a lot. Sweet. I will continue to hoard without doubts.

FWIW, I think ours was a bit less, but still--books and art are not on the same scale as, for example, all the furniture people sometimes ship. Having a few boxes of books and even a crate of artwork is probably not too difficult. Hoard away. Unless you are collecting heavy bronze statues, as some schools or shipping companies do it by weight (books are heavy). In that case, I advise caution.

On another note, why would someone ship furniture? One or two special pieces, maybe, but doesn't it make sense to buy most of the stuff when you arrive?

In the case of Bangkok, BPS provides a generic settling-in allowance of 40,000 baht for singles or 70,000 for couples, which can be used for shipping costs. NIST provides a shipping reimbursement for up to 450 kg for singles and 675 kg for couples (as well as additional weight for dependents) and another 50,000 baht as a settling-in allowance. I don't know the current standards for ISB, but I assume they're comparable.

Depends on the quality of your furniture--antiques or special pieces one might ship--and if they give you a shipping allowance, why not use it and save on what you have to buy? Obviously that also depends on what furniture you have and how much of an allowance they give you. If they are paying for space enough to include a table and chairs, why not ship your table and chairs rather than buy new ones? Costs you nothing!

I guess that's true. I'm generally a bum who buys cheap second-hand furniture.

I dont disagree with the prior contributors those are certainly values Ive seen, but a lot is going to depend where you go and the IS, and a whole bunch of factors that are really hard to state with any certainty. I would however advise caution as some upper tier ISs have very small shipping allowances, and many less that whats previously stated. Ive seen values that are a palette to a few hundred USD.
Additional considerations include distance, and time. Your costs will go up dramatically when considering how to get them from the port to your IS depending how inland you are. Time is also a consideration can you wait months half a year to get your stuff, thats not unrealistic, if you want it faster you will pay more. Also consider how risk averse you are to damage, container ship is more prone to damage than air cargo, air cargo costs more of course.
The second issue to consider is your exit, if you leave your IS and use all your relocation you may have to pay for all those books and art on your own coin.
Lastly, consider the cost of space, your next IS may be in a location where living space is a premium, half a cargo container or even anything close to that might be what is commonly considered an apartment or home where you end up. This becomes more important if you move into what would be fully furnished housing, the property owner may not be willing to store/move furniture out.

Some ITs are very attached to their furniture, they have heirloom or antique pieces that are as much a hobby as they are practical. I know an IT that brings their 4 poster canopy bed with them.
The problem is your not likely to get your furniture before you arrive, meaning you have to sleep and eat and sit on something anyway. While not always an option you can negotiate a shopping allowance over a shipping allowance.

Mine pays for up to 1500 pounds for singles and 2500 for couples with kids.

I received $3500 USD, and will get about half that again as a leaving shipping allowance.