Hi everyone, I'm soon to relocate to Switzerland from London. I will be given a relocation consultant to support me in a couple of weeks but would like to prepare as much as I can now as the weeks fly by when I'm working.
Does anyone know if I will be able to ship dried food, of course it would be unopened/sealed. I'm thinking things like my favourite Tilda basmati rice, various dried beans and lentils. Also canned food? Ideally I would pack them in a couple of boxes.
I am a fussy eater and want to bring my own food with me. I know I get really nice brands here that I love and I don't want to leave them behind. Also I was in Ch a few weeks ago and couldn't get what I wanted I the migros or coop so I know I will have to find specialist shops.
I also want to bring my own laundry detergent and my plants - particularly my avocado and red pepper plants.
I know the general relocations websites say no to food and plants but has anyone here been able to bring in their food and if so how? I'm also toying with filling up a suitcase and just taking that on my flight if my relocation company won't manage it.
Might be worth Googling in a bit more detail about your preferred brands to see if they are actually available in Switzerland first. Also some British brands are available in Aggarwal (Indian Supermarket chain bigger cities in Switzerland, e.g. Basel / Zürich / Berne) though you‘ll not find the details of what they online. EDIT: actually Aggarwal do have their product list online.
Are you using a relocation company or is this do it yourself? We bought a freezer full of food when we moved, maybe other foodstuffs as well - I can’t remember - but we used a relocation company and that dealt with all that.
You’re going to have to leave your favourite foods behind sooner or later so better to start right away. There are other shops besides Migros and Coop; Denner, Aldi, Lidl, some food also at Otto’s and Radikal if they’re in your area.
You could also check Britshop’s website to see if they have any of your favourites. They’re not cheap, but have been supplying Brits here for decades. https://www.britshop.ch/
I will be given a relocation company soon. But can I check, when did you move, was it pre-Brexit or post-Brexit as I want to know if the rules have changed? I know I need to leave my fav foods behind but taking a lot to keep me going for a few months will help with the culture shock after living in London
How long ate you coming for? A few weeks? A couple of months?
Anything longer and you will need to rethink your plans. You will never be able to bring enough for anything longer and importing food from a non-EU country will be painful. Some things will be impossible.
I'm moving abroad for the long term. But its going to be culture shock and cold when I move. I have a relocation company so I just want to bring my fav foods with me to last me through the winter until spring when I can get out and find places that might sell my quirky foods that I can get in London.
So this question only relates to how I move it as part of my relocation and asking if others managed to do this with a company from the UK/London.
I am not 'delicate', but I do like certain things. I am asking for support on this forum as I thought others might have made the move from UK>CH and I'd like tips so I can plan my packing accordingly especially on how to move my dried foods and laundry detergent.
No longer allowed to bring plants since Brexit. When we moved here in 2009, having bought the house here in autumn 2007- we brought several trailor loads of plants and trees everytime we visited. Could not do that now. Removals will refuse all plants.
Perhaps you could mention which laundry detergent you use, so we can tell you if it is available here or in nearby Germany or France.
>>>> So does this mean you moved from the UK to CH in 2009 and back then you could bring as many plants as you wanted to without question? Did you do that yourself or via a company?
>>>> Re Detergent, I like persil non-biological 3 in 1 capsules. I also use comfort softener. I think you can get persil in CH but not sure they have the blue non-bio variety as I though that was a very UK thing?
Yes, that was the case before Brexit. All removal agencies refused to take plants- so as we bought our house over 1 year before we moved, everytime we visited we filled the car and the trailor with plants, and even trees.
We have 3 rowans, 1 oak and 1 red black elder here that settled very well as well as many roses and about 50 perennial outdoor plants and house plants.
I don't use any of those detergents- but perhaps someone else does.
You can buy stuff like Tilda, dried beans, lentils etc from the Aggarwal shops, they also sell quite a lot of British stuff like Colmans mustards and horseradish, Bisto granules, Patak's curry pastes,PG Tips, biscuits etc. I use the one in Kleinbasel. Once you've been here a little while you'll know where to find things.
Just an update. I got in touch with the Swiss Embassy and they confirmed I can take all my belongings with me from London to Switzerland including my favourite dried food and plants !!
I just to check the relocation team will do it when they contact me.