Returning resident shipping goods from UK

Don't forget that as a returning resident, you can ship a container of household effects plus a vehicle duty free.  This providing that none of the items are brand new and you have owned the vehicle (registered in your name) for at least a year and it is not over 8 years old (vehicles also need a pre-shipping inspection and clearance).

We did this a long time ago (in 2004), but i think that the process is similar.  You need to find a shipping company that has a branch, or is partnered with a clearing agency in Kenya - this is absolutely essential.  We have subsequently used Maina Freight (based in Southall), for example, though I can't remember the company which we used first time around.

There are a number of levels of service, from having the container dropped off and you pack it, to a full door to door service.  When we used Maina, we took the car and items to their depot and they packed the container. 

The size of the container affects the price too.  You can also part load a container, sharing with another shipper.

We opted for the full door to door service.  So, so some guys turned up with all the stuff needed for packing, wrapped and packed everything and kept an inventory of what was being packed (Important for the Bill of Lading), writing on the outside of the boxes, what was inside.  All the packed contents were taken to a warehouse and we separately drove the car there.

The container took around 3 months to arrive.  It was brought to Nairobi by rail and we attended the customs clearing.  The container was then loaded onto a truck and taken to our home, except for the car, which was offloaded and driven.  The container was emptied and all the unpacked boxes were left for us  to unpack as a when we were ready.

At the time, there was far less choice and availability of 'white goods', decent sofas and so on, so it was absolutely worth it.   Still think it would be worth it if you were taking a vehicle, due to the high cost of these in Kenya ad maybe if you have lots of personal effects and clothes that you really want to keep.  Don't forget that Kenyans love imported stuff and there would always be the scope of selling some items to offset the cost.

You say that you don't know where you will be living.  As part of the process, my wife went out to Kenya for a month and found a property to rent, travelled to the UK for packing etc, then she and I travelled to Kenya.  Not sure container storage would be a good idea, container may be broken into.  It really is best to have somewhere that your stuff can be taken.