Relocating internationally from Abu Dhabi to Lebanon is a challenging endeavour that requires a lot of time and planning in advance. From finding the right international mover to assist you with everything to cleaning out your house, you’ll have to tackle a lot of different tasks. The moving experts at ServiceMarket have prepared this guide to help make your move to Lebanon smoother and ensure you don’t miss anything.
Plan in advance
Planning in advance will help you set a timeline of things that need to be completed. If at all possible, start planning at least six months in advance to give yourself time to make adjustments and maneuver your plans if you need the extra time or if you need to bring some things forward. As a part of this timeline, you should put together a comprehensive moving checklist. This will help you make sure that all the tasks get done in advance and will help you make your moving process to Lebanon a little clearer in your mind. You can also put together a packing checklist, especially if you are packing up your own home without the assistance from a relocation company. You can start the checklist room-by-room and everyday do a little bit so that by the time the big day comes, you have very little to worry about.
Clear out your home
Clearing out your home before your move from Abu Dhabi to Lebanon will be one of the most important tasks that you undertake in your moving process. It will help you decide what to take along to Lebanon and what you should leave behind. If you decide to let go of your bigger furniture items, this will substantially lighten the load in your shipping container. A lighter container means that you will pay far less for your move than if you moved with a full, heavy shipping container.
If you have furniture, clothes, or kitchen appliance that you want to leave behind, you can opt for either donating or selling your goods. Selling your goods may help you bring in some extra cash to help you with your move, but sometimes it can be hard to sell some items. In that case, you can consider donating your unwanted goods to charities, who will then distribute it to the needy.
If your move from Abu Dhabi is temporary (less than a year), you may want to consider simply storing your items in a storage facility. This could prove to be much more cost-efficient than buying new household goods when you return. There are a range of storage options available in Abu Dhabi which are reputable and secure, so you can rest assured that your goods will be in one piece when you return from Lebanon.
Research shipping companies and shipping methods
Air vs Land vs Sea
Air freight: This method is quick and efficient, but it comes at a high price. You might also face weight limitations, so if you want to ship your entire household to Lebanon in one go, this may be a issue.
Land freight: This a handy mode of transport, especially for countries, like Lebanon, that are nearby. This is possibly the easiest and most direct method for your move as Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates are not too far from each other via road.
Types of shipping services
- Door-to-door: the international moving company will take care of everything, from the initial pack, to the shipping and will even unpack your goods for you in your new home.
- Door-to-port: For this option, you will have to take care of everything after your boxes arrive at the port in Lebanon. You will have to take care of the customs paperwork and moving and unpacking your cargo.
- Port-to-port: With this option, the international moving companies in Abu Dhabi will take care of shipping your cargo from from port to another. Any other job on either side of this shipment will have to be handled by yourself.
Full container load and groupage
When you book a shipping container, you will be charged for the volume/weight of the container. Therefore, if your container is not completely full, you can opt for groupage. Groupage is sharing the container with someone else who is shipping goods to Lebanon and then splitting the costs. This will shave a lot a of money off your final relocation bill.
Other services to consider
Not all services are included in your quote, and you will have to specify the different types of services that you would like the international moving company to help you with. Some of these may be:
- Packing and unpacking:
- Furniture disassembly and assembly
- Transit insurance
- Storage (at the destination port in case there is a delay in your arrival)
- Split pick-up and delivery (in case different items have to be collected from or delivered to different locations)
Get all quotes in writing
Ensure that all correspondence and quotations are captured in writing, including amendments to the original quotations. If an international moving company gives you a quote over the telephone and without surveying your belongings first, you need to consider looking into a different moving company as it might be a fraudulent company.
Also, make sure you get quotes from multiple international movers in Abu Dhabi so that you can compare the costs with the services that the moving companies have offered.
Avoid scams
You can avoid fraudulent shipping companies by initially doing a few quick checks such as reading reviews online on platforms like ServiceMarket and by swinging by the offices listed on their website to see if they really exist. Read more about avoiding fraudulent shipping companies here, and save yourself the time and the money of a scam.
Personal travel
It’s best to book flights as soon as you know when your shipment will arrive in Lebanon from Abu Dhabi and to try and time your flight as close to the arrival of your shipment as possible. It is sometimes best to arrive a day or two in advance to give yourself time to prepare things in your new home and understand exactly how the process is going to work. If you arrive after your cargo, you will have to pay storage costs at the port and the insurance that goes with it.
Inform the relevant people and companies and start the paperwork early
It is important that you inform various companies and people about your move from Abu Dhabi to Lebanon within two months of your move. You may have paperwork to sort out, cancellation forms to submit, final bills to pay and you need time to make sure you can collect all your security deposits. Some of the institutions you will need to notify are:
- Your kids school(s): so you can start collecting transfer papers and enroll them in a school in Lebanon
- Banks: close accounts, settle loans and get clearance certificates
- Phone company: cancel subscriptions and settle final bills
- Utility companies: cancellation of subscriptions, which can take a while
- Car insurance company
- Landlord: inform as per the notice period specified in your contract and collect security deposit
- Friends and family
- Pet paperwork: pet vaccinations, pet passports and pet relocation
Get started with your move from Abu Dhabi to Lebanon by visiting ServiceMarket and getting free quotes from multiple vetted international moving companies in Abu Dhabi.
