Here's a list of the things I'm unsure of:
food processor
food dehydrator
crock pot
heavy pots and pans
electric toothbrush
nice iphone bose speakers
linens: sheets, bedspreads, pillows, towels (we need new anyway, buy here or buy there?)
X-mas is coming before we move and we have to have a few things for our kids. What are good gifts to get here and have shipped? Things that might be hard to find there. English board games? Books? Legos? Etc?
These furniture stores give you a slight idea of what quality stuff would cost you what. I don't want to give bad advice but I did definitely regret not bringing my kitchen equipment.
Also think about the power plug. Everything electronic will need a converter. I am EU, so my converter was kindof huge, and I hated using them. But maybe it's just me, because a lot of people are happily using their UK things with these adapters.
Appliances that have an electric motor (even if they are dual voltage) will run 17% slower than they do in the US, because of the hertz difference
Bed linens in Europe aren't typically sized to fit American mattresses, if you are bringing beds, bring linens.
Having kitchen stuff is nice if somebody else is paying the shipping, but some of it may be too big to use effectively. Your American cookie sheets will almost certainly be to big to fit into a Swiss oven.
There are lots of old threads that you'll find with the search function, including a couple that I started last year to deal with questions just like yours.
Later,
DR
Sheet, bedding and linens: bring over if you are taking your bed. buy here if you plan to buy your bed here (bed formats are a tad different).
Bose speakers: worth taking over.
computers/laptop, take. you just need a plug (not a transfo) to fit, and they are quite a bit more expensive (check the Apple store in switzerland and shudder).
Iphone speaker - bah. it fits well in a suitcase.
What I would bring: sport items, skis, bikes, outifits. clothes. your books if you are a reader, your reader loaded with books if you read electronically.
If you are fond of your tv shows, consider a sling box at some friends' home, so you can keep watching US tv from Europe (research that, I will not be around to explain). Otherwise, you will have to adapt. Music, entertainement tend to be expensive
We knew where we would be living and our company was paying so we brought basically everything that we could - and then still ended up spending thousands (seriously) the first two weeks at IKEA.
As others have said, bed linens are different sizes so if you bring the bed bring the linens.
I'd bring all of your computer stuff and get adapters. Sell all other appliances and buy only what you need here.
Before we came we bought a Blue Ray/DVD player that is universal so it lays all regions. This has amazing! Especially if you have young children that like to watch movies. There isn't a lot on the TV that will be in English so we watch movies a lot. (We also brought these.)
As far as kitchen stuff we brought a lot. Spices!!! Our cookie tray fits our oven but barely. (If you bake a lot, try to bring some brown sugar, cream of tartar and vanilla (or other flavored) extracts. Pickle relish if it's a must have in your family. We shopped at COSTCO regularly in the States so when we moved we had lots of food to bring also. This has been nice but be prepared that it might not really fit in your new house. (Fridges are very small.)
We planned pretty carefully and we still didn't get it perfect. When we go home for Christmas we are taking a couple suitcases of stuff back (we kept our house there so we have a "storage" place still) and we have a list of things we are bringing this time.
Good luck with your move and remember that no matter what, it'll all work out.
Also, it seems furniture from places like Pottery Barn sell like hotcakes, when you are ready to leave.
Do you already know where you shall live? If you shall need curtains, have the estate manager photograph and measure all the windows. The US has amazing discount fabric stores, which you'll never find here.
All the best!
I'd take them along. Actually bring everything from your kitchen that doesn't need power. Same goes for table-/silverware.
Take it along and buy a converter to recharge. Ours are from the US as well and they work perfectly.
As far as bedding is concerned size might be an issue. Either bring everything (including some spare stuff) or nothing at all.
Towels, napkins, tablecloths: Bring as much as you can/need. Good quality stuff is overpriced here.
-- food processor - if you use it all the time, just buy here. If you use rarely, just bring and use a converter. We do and it works just fine. Same for the food dehydrator.
-- crock pot - bring and use a converter. they don't seem very common here and I really wish I had mine.
-- heavy pots and pans - bring, as long as they are not too huge to fit in your oven or your cupboards. Bring the lids, too, as lids are different size here. Forget large cookie sheets and your turkey roasting pan. They will not fit the ovens.
-- electric toothbrush - buy it here. You will have a heck of a time using a converter with the bathroom sockets.
--nice iphone bose speakers - bring
-- sheets - Deep-pocket queen-size sheets will fit a 160x200 bed. They don't fit perfectly, but they work and save a TON of money over buying sheets here. Also depends on whether you plan to bring your bed or not.
--bedspreads - epends on size. The washers here are rather small, so we had to leave our comforter behind. It wouldn't fit. There also are not laundromats on every corner here, like in the U.S.
--pillows - if you're bringing your sheets, bring your pillows and pillowcases. Pillows are a different size here.
--towels - buy and bring. you won't be sorry.
Most places do not have built-in closets. The standard here is to buy an armoire or three. Think carefully about large furniture items. Rooms here are not massive. Clothes dressers (imho) are a total waste of space. You're better off buying an armoire with sliding doors as opposed to ones that open out.
Happy searching and happy moving!
The second converter is in the office (we brought both our printers) This one could have been a lot smaller and lighter duty. The third one was intended to sit on the counter in the kitchen for appliances, but we are not using it. We brought most of our lighter appliances (Blender, Stab mixer, coffee pot, etc), but left home the heavy food processor and the like. We finally put away the kitchen transformer and just take the blender into the office when we want to make protein shakes or margarita's.
At the end of the day, it would have been really expensive to replace all the electronics, even shopping in Germany and risking getting stopped at the customs. The only things we bought here were a microwave (cheap everywhere) and a vacuum (not convenient to carry a transformer around the flat).
The other for X-box and guitar amp.
They cost about $20.00 each, depending on the wattage. For the items that I use them for, 500W works just fine.
FYI- you can bring desk and floor lamps, and make them work without too much trouble. Change the plug, put in European 220v bulb and good to go.
Oh, and you may already know this, but you will almost certainly have to put up new light fixtures when you move in. They are actually quite reasonably priced at IKEA and the Migro DIY.
Ditch everything except personal mementos. Buy everything new.
I find having a good clearout of possessions very theraputic. I don't get these people who spend a fortune (even if it's someone else's money) bringing things like their favourite bed, just because it's 1cm wider than you can buy here or whatever.
Unless ... you're coming here temporarily (less than say 5 years). Then either store everything or bring it; whatever's cheaper. Just be prepared to live in a rather cramped space if you do bring all your stuff.
Thanks for all the good info everyone!
For bedding... it's true that flat, top sheets are really difficult to find here. We have a 160x200 Swiss/European-sized bed, which I've found that American Queen-sized sheets fit perfectly on. I prefer a top sheet, so I always order sheets from the States. A lot of the beds here, though are 180x200, which I don't think Queen size sheets would fit. But you can find the matching bottom and top sheets here at a store called Manor. They're quite expensive, though. Also, large blankets (not comforters, but regular blankets) are either really expensive here or difficult to find. It seems most of the blankets sold here don't really cover the entire bed. They're more the size of a twin bed.
Pots and pans are rather expensive here (the ones from Ikea are okay, but not high quality). So if you have the space, I do suggest shipping those.
Something else that I've found to be either really expensive here or just difficult to find is decent decorative stuff -- especially for walls. So if you have any wall art that you like (e.g. framed prints, etc.), I do suggest you bring it. It seems like a lot of the wall art sold in stores here is more like what you'd see in a dorm room in the U.S. -- just kind of cheap and cheesy-looking.
Anything that isn't very heavy, you might want to consider shipping (e.g. dish towels and other linens). Most of the dish towels I find here are like that thin, waffle weave type -- not very absorbent. Another thing you won't find here are kitchen rugs.
Side note -- When I moved here from the U.S., I found the cheapest way to have stuff sent was by the US post office. I simply wrote "personal belongings -- moving to Switzerland" on each customs form, and I never had to pay any customs fees except for my electric guitar. I *think* there is a customs fee, no matter what, for electronics (though I could be mistaken).
I hope you enjoy your time here!
But that's when I learnt my bank allows me to go a thousand minus on a plain account..
Tom