Physical moving of Belongings to mexico

dennissira wrote:

HI all,
I know most people recommend ditching as much stuff as possible before you move to Mexico, but lets assume there is a t least a couple of rooms worth of furniture which you want to bring. Has anyone had any experience moving belongings to Mexico from US, what kind of cost (approx) was involved?

Yes dennissira,

many of us recommend that you really limit the number of items you bring, for very good reasons.  So just let me give you a little research project, seriously look at those things you want to bring, then check online to see if those items can tolerate where you plan to go. Many metals and woods can not tolerate Mexico. I'm sure you don't want to see your items crumble in front of your eyes. Mexico has very hard wood, and yet some ambitious termites did serious damage on one doorway in my house. The arch on the door way had to also be replaced because of rust. I figure now that the door is fixed it might last another 6 years before it needs total repair again. Mexico is nothing like the U.S., yes there are some cities where there is simular wind , heat or humidity , like NOLA, but overall it is very different in many ways.

If you still want to move 2 rooms of things, I suggest you look under tools at the top of the page and check out movers. In older blogs are posts on moving experiences.

Prices on moving things is very high. One medium box at fedex is 350.00 One 54inch by 54inch by 60inch packing crate is almost 4000.00!! I am going down two trips, with two large suitcases. I am 70years old so wish I could take more but impossible. I will be staying the rest of my life.

My wife and I have moved with 4 suitcases of stuff that's was it (23kg/50lbs ea.).
Gave the rest to family, friends and sold the rest including the 2013 Hyndai Sonata with only 25000 miles.

Mexico has all required stuff for a perfect life.

Adios y buen dia a todos, GyC.

I bought a new 6X12 cargo trailer and packed it to the roof for our move down here.
Trailer was $1200 and I sold it down here for $600. 
Worked perfect, took our time and saw as much of the sights as possible.

jiminchelem wrote:

I bought a new 6X12 cargo trailer and packed it to the roof for our move down here.
Trailer was $1200 and I sold it down here for $600. 
Worked perfect, took our time and saw as much of the sights as possible.

Hi "jiminchelm", I presume you did that 10 years ago.
I am not an expert but today, it would different.
First, to enter with a foreign plated vehicule, you must not have a permanent residency status.
Second, you must have a "menaje de casa" certificate from the Mexican consulate if you have a visa permit (temporary or permanent) glued in your passport.
Third, selling a non legalized vehicle is s riskier business if you want to move permanently because more information is now computerised in Mexico.
But still saying I am not an expert.

Adios y buen dia a todos, GyC.

You can have a foreign plated car in Mexico, but you are not allowed to have it once you have a reached permanent residency status!  Not everyone has that, in fact you usually get a temporary one for 4 years before you qualify for a permanent one.
You only need the menace de casa to bring in the contents without its contents being taxed.  And then they only give you a 6 month window for to qualify for that.
Selling foreign vehicles or trailers (in this case) only comes up on the computer if it is being driven out of the country.  I did not intend to sell the trailer as it was a perfect storage room, but the Mexicans kept making me offers until I finally didn't need it any more and let it go, never intending to take it back out of the country anyway.

Well, I'm in process, and may be a resource in about a month, but it's looking like roughly $10,000 from LA for reduced 1300 square foot house, but with many fragile antiques and art pieces.

I leave on the 8th of May yes tomorow. I am taking two overweight suitcases, and a cat. I will set up my new home in the next week, fly back and one last trip with friend so I can get my other two cats with me. I am giving away. I am still actually happy about move. 70 yo woman.

Thanks GFWtres,
thats exactly the kind of thing I am wondering about. My house is larger here, but here is much I will not be bringing with me, it might end up being of a comparable size. If you could keep me in the loop with more details I would be thrilled!  And good luck on the move.

bothner06 wrote:

I leave on the 8th of May yes tomorow. I am taking two overweight suitcases, and a cat. I will set up my new home in the next week, fly back and one last trip with friend so I can get my other two cats with me. I am giving away. I am still actually happy about move. 70 yo woman.

Hi, How are you getting your cats there? I am not moving, yet, but this is my biggest concern. My cat is too big to fly with us in the cabin in a carrier and I won't put an animal in cargo.

Hi,,  I am in a similar boat.  Three dogs and a cat.  I know finding a rental will be hard!  And it will require two trips to get them all there.   Any suggestions/advice appreciated. 

As for your cats, have you considered driving them down?  This might be easier than flying them, in some respects, if you can make the drive in one day without driving after dark.  This consideration is actually steering my choice of locations for the time being.  Driving distance to the Texas border in less than 10 hours via mostly toll roads, so I can get the dogs down there without an airline, and get them back the same way if necessary.  SMA is a prime candidate for me on that basis. 

There are services that transport pets for you, as well.    I think that is primarily by plane but you could check it out.

Driving down Cabo San Lucas from the Northwest with a foreign plated vehicle on a temporary visa.  We have MX auto insurance and we received a letter of authorization to drive into MX from the lien holder. Car will need to be returned to US after visa expiration. Allied is transporting household goods approximately 2000 lbs. for $6900. Import of household goods must be used for at least 6 mos. old and you'll need to have processed at the MX Consulate prior to move with an inventoried list in Spanish and English. Electric items are to be listed with brand name, model and serial number including kitchen appliances. Processing of paperwork (menaje de casa) could take up to 2 weeks or 10 business days after the documents have been submitted. You will receive an appointment for signing of inventory and pick up of certificate for you to forward to your mover. Mover is works with customs agent. Transport of household goods can only be once and must be done within 6 months of the date of issue of the temporary visa. Payment of consular fee is $127. Pets (or in our case dog) must have shots and certificates no longer than 10 days prior to crossing the border. Please check with your local Mexican Consulate Generals Office for their specific requirements.

Thanks mtmysels. Very concise and informative overview of shipping goods/transporting pets from US to Mexico. Lo agradezco...gracias! —Barb

So mtmysels ,

What I don't see is that you have rented property. I assume you have visited and are aware of the recent violent cartel activity and that the roads going down there are not very good because most people fly in. You have probably also been told about hurricane season and that Cabo was struck last year which is a shift in the patterns of the recent past.

If you are unaware of these things please check them out.  I was recently in Rosarito and was told by more than one person to please not go to Cabo.

Please Be very careful.

Thank you for your email. We will travel by the day and it is going to take us 3-4 days. We own property in Cabo and have a tenant in the unit. In the interim, we've rented a place in San Jose for the month after we arrive and will do all the maintenance required to our house after the tenant moves out.

The MX Navy has secured Cabo. We have never had an issue with security in Cabo. We are originally from Florida and we are very used to hurricanes. The last 2 hurricanes are relatively small. The last hurricane the issue was more with the water flowing through the arroyo's and the lack of infrastructure in handling.

Correction: 3-4 days after crossing the border.

mtmysels wrote:

Thank you for your email. We will travel by the day and it is going to take us 3-4 days. We own property in Cabo and have a tenant in the unit. In the interim, we've rented a place in San Jose for the month after we arrive and will do all the maintenance required to our house after the tenant moves out.

The MX Navy has secured Cabo. We have never had an issue with security in Cabo. We are originally from Florida and we are very used to hurricanes. The last 2 hurricanes are relatively small. The last hurricane the issue was more with the water flowing through the arroyo's and the lack of infrastructure in handling.

Good, it sounds like you're on top of it. Some make major moves and are not prepared.
It sounds like you are not one of them.

Buena suerte y bien viaje

Sorry, I wouldn't trust the mudanzas (movers) in Mexico.  There are some that cost an arm and a leg in San Miguel for example.  What we decided to do was move everything to a storage locker in Brownsville, Texas, and then take things down in the car and trailer.  I can recommend [link moderated] where you can get an 800kg Caja Seca (Dry Box) for about 30,000 pesos.  You obviously need a tow bar and lights too.  The only wrinkle is you have to drive through Tamaulipas but as long as you stay behind the police or military vehicles you wouldn't have any worry.  Or you could just take the Carreteras and 'pay' for you security.

That is what we did, and if you use a broker,  your trailer is officially sealed so no one can mess with it.  (including the police)

We are looking to move, possibly to Guanajuato or the Queretaro area in the next 6 mos, and will not be bringing furniture, etc.  Only our big new TV, clothing, 2 cats, some personal mementos.  But we do have a LOT of over-the-counter toiletries and stuff, like vitamins, allergy meds, eye and ear drops, antibiotic creams, herbal supplements, etc (our health insurer gives us credits to buy each month, so we stock up), also lots of shampoos/conditioners, tooth pastes, body lotions, liquid soaps, etc.  Any suggestions re: bringing them across the border, either on multiple preliminary "tourist" trips, or on a temporary visa?  I read something about being able to seal boxes and avoid police/border inspection if you use a broker?  We will probably drive down to rent a place, and make one or two additional trips (the idea about renting a short-term storage locker just north of the border was great!) before selling the car back in the US and flying down for the permanent move.  Thanks everyone!  We're very eager to get out of Trumplandia. . .

FLgranny73 wrote:

We are looking to move, possibly to Guanajuato or the Queretaro area in the next 6 mos, and will not be bringing furniture, etc.  Only our big new TV, clothing, 2 cats, some personal mementos.  But we do have a LOT of over-the-counter toiletries and stuff, like vitamins, allergy meds, eye and ear drops, antibiotic creams, herbal supplements, etc (our health insurer gives us credits to buy each month, so we stock up), also lots of shampoos/conditioners, tooth pastes, body lotions, liquid soaps, etc.  Any suggestions re: bringing them across the border, either on multiple preliminary "tourist" trips, or on a temporary visa?  I read something about being able to seal boxes and avoid police/border inspection if you use a broker?  We will probably drive down to rent a place, and make one or two additional trips (the idea about renting a short-term storage locker just north of the border was great!) before selling the car back in the US and flying down for the permanent move.  Thanks everyone!  We're very eager to get out of Trumplandia. . .

Having a sealed box is not a good idea, what you have needs to look used not new. If there is a lot of it that is a problem also because it looks like multiple things you plan to sell. If they don't know what an item is it could be stopped at the border especially things that look like drugs. So make it part of your personal items bag. Are you flying or driving.?  A broker for that would seem a needless expense and possibly a problem

You know many personal items are sold here and some things do not require a doctors script. I never had a problem with personal items, but I have heard of people having problems with multiple items of the same type.
And denture cleaner I used to clean silver jewelry, as well as a natural toothpaste was shipped and they rejected both. If I need something I use i-herb and they are usually able to ship it, it takes a while but they can ship the same supplements as you can buy in the U.S.

Good luck.

Thanks!

Hi,
I live in Queretaro and I can tell you that is a very progressive city with all you need and plenty new homes to rent at a reasonable  prices.   It is clean and safe!
It is extremely expensive to bring your belongings here from the US.  I have bought now most of what I need here for less of what would have cost me if I have brought my belongings.  Thus, I recommend to leave as much as possible or sell it there.
Good luck!
Martha

I would not recommend shipping anything unless you truly have to and is not replaceable. We moved from Hillsboro, OR to Cabo San Lucas and our big screen TV and antiques were damaged.  When Customs inspects a box they sometimes don't put things back the way they were packaged.  Live and learn!

Hello, I'm moving to SMA in June and am not sure how to find a broker? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

@mtmysels how was the move and how are you adapting?

@Carmelgal65

Hello and welcome !

Please note this is an old thread and that member hasn't logged in for the past 4 years.

If you have any questions, feel free to open a brand new thread on the Mexico forum to seek advice from active members.

All the best

Bhavna

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