You Want Me to Move WHERE?
Making International Relocation Easy
I’ve lived in Texas all my life and even Oklahoma is a long drive from Houston, so when my company told me I was being transferred to Panama City, Panama, my first question was, “Is that in West Texas? Or, is it in the Panhandle?” My boss laughed and pulled out a map and pointed south of Texas, way south of Texas, south of Mexico, and then he put his finger on a little strip of land separating two oceans. My response was, “You want me to move WHERE?”
I went home and told my wife of 27 years, Peggy, that we were moving to Panama and she said, “I don’t want to move to Florida.” I assured her that we were not moving to Florida and that we were moving to a tiny strip of land south of Mexico with water on both sides of the country and she said, “Do they have Neiman-Marcus there?” I replied, “I don’t know, but I bet they ship there.”
After the shock wore off, we searched Google maps of Panama and then strolled around our three-bedroom house in the River Oaks area of Houston, and said to each other, “How are we ever going to get all our things moved down there?” We sat down, poured ourselves a glass of wine and stared at each other, partially in shock and yet, excited. This move could be a great adventure or a catastrophe, depending on the mover we chose.
We moved back to the computer to explore our options and found an email waiting for us from a friend at the office with a link to PriceBreak!Shipping Company. The company has been in business for 25 years and they educate their customers about every step of their move to reduce stress and keep them informed throughout their move. They also offered an online price quote, and Peggy and I filled in our basic information about our moving date, where we moving from, and our destination, and how many bedrooms we were moving. Even through my company was paying for the move, I had the choice about which company I wanted to do the move.
PriceBreak!Shipping could also ship our two cars, my Harley motorcycle (yes, Peggy still lets me ride), and Peggy’s collection of antiques. Their website also offered packing and crating services in wood or corrugated boxes to protect all shapes and sizes of our valuable (and not so valuable) possessions. We were also glad to see that they offered a comprehensive insurance coverage plan for their international shipping jobs through a major Inland Marine Insurance Company.
They also offered a unique Ubox-We-Ship option so we could begin packing some of our personal items ahead of our actual move. While they could crate and pack the majority of our household, we could also pack certain personal items ourselves, ahead of time, so when we unpacked, we could find our socks and coffee maker. If you’ve ever moved, there’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to find your favorite bath or kitchen utensils once you arrive, and Ubox-We-Ship solved all of these potential moving inconveniences.
We talked most of the night anticipating the biggest change in our lives since the birth of our two daughters (who are now grown and away from home), and we found ourselves getting more excited about the Big Move. Now that we’d located a moving company, we could think about other things such as learning to speak Spanish other than saying to a waiter, “Una cerveza más, por favor señor.” (“One more beer, please sir.”)
The next morning, a representative from PriceBreak!Shipping called us to begin the process of planning our big move to far (very very far) South Texas. Our representative began educating us about the shipping process and explained the facets we could anticipate in our move from Houston to Panama. They also gave us an approximate price quote that was within reason and that I was sure would be acceptable to my company.
1 x 20′ container: $4695.00 – Door to door service for the household goods and the motorcycle.
The autos: From Terminal Houston to Terminal Colon (Manzanillo) Panama: $1395.00 per vehicle.
We were told we would be assigned a project manager to make sure that every detail of our move was in place to protect our shipment and monitor it against any possible factors that might delay it. Our project manager would also explain the customs process, what goods and items were allowable and what to expect when the shipment arrived. They would also clear our goods with customs, and schedule an exact delivery date. Once delivered, our goods would be unpacked and arranged to our specifications.
Gee, all we needed was a place to live in Panama. We noticed that PriceBreak!Shipping was a Media Partner with EscapeArtist.com. Within minutes of logging onto their site we found dozens of properties that were perfectly designed as our dream house. Just imagine a beautiful Spanish Mediterranean style home near the Panama Canal, surrounded by lakes on two sides in a tropical rain forest with lemon, avocado, guava and papaya trees. This house was typical of the properties we found on EscapeArtist within five minutes.
When it came time for the move, we were prepared. We had returned from our house-hunting trip to Panama and decided to lease a terrific house for a year near Panama City. Our project manager with PriceBreak!Shipping had given us a step-by-step list of expectations and a time schedule for moving our cars and motorcycle, crating our art and antiques, packing our household goods in boxes and collecting our items.
On the day of the move, Peggy and I watched the last of the trucks pull away from our empty house. Our daughter, Melissa, was there to take us to the airport for our trip to Panama. Oh, I almost forgot, we even received a discount on our plane tickets to Panama through Orbitz with Price!Break Shipping. We had no concerns about our move because Price-Break!Shipping had explained every aspect of it with us so now we could relax and enjoy a few days of rest in a Panamanian Hotel before our household items arrived.
I personally recommend PriceBreak!Shipping to anyone. Whether it’s a big move like the one we made, or it’s a small move. They are committed to fulfilling their client’s needs and they do this perfectly. Go with the global name in shipping that you can trust, PriceBreak!Shipping.
To receive a FREE quote on your international shipping and relocation needs please visit our website: CLICK HERE
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loved the article… ready to pack right now…. it all sound like heaven…
thank you for sending it to me.
San Diego is my home now and should my life status change, I am coming to South America to live… I love Mexico and the language and the people and the beauty!
dorothy
I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK. I HAVE MOVED INTERNATIONALLY TWICE AND BOTH TIMES I REFER TO THE MOVERS AS “MOVERS FROM HELL.” BIG NAMES THAT SHIP TO ANOTHER COMPANY THAT DELIVER. EACH ONE PROMISED EVERYTHING WOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF WITH NO PROBLEMS. THE FIRST ONE FROM USA TO BRAZIL. PAID $11,000.00 DOOR-TO-DOOR SERVICE. AFTER THEY HAD POSSESSION OF MY 40 FT SEA CONTAINER WHAT DO YOU KNOW, THERE IS ANOTHER EXTRA CHARGES FOR 3,500.00 DOLLARS. WHAT IF YOU REFUSE TO PAY? YOU WILL NEVER SEE YOUR FURNITURE AGAIN. FIVE YEARS LATER MOVING FROM BRAZIL TO PANAMA. PROMISED NO PROBLEMS. SENT 4 PEOPLE TO PACK ME UP. ONE WAS A DRIVER SO HE DID NOT EXIT THE TRUCK UNTIL HE HEARD LUNCH TIME. AFTER LUNCH THE DRIVER BACK TO THE TRUCK RADIO. THE CREW LEADER DISAPPEARED FOR 7 1/2 HOURS LOOKING FOR MORE BOXES AND PACKING MATERIALS. (DID NOT BRING ANYWHERE NEAR ENOUGH TO PACK A 20 FT CONTAINER MUCH LESS A 40 FT CONTAINER. TWO GUYS LEFT TO WORK SO I WORKED LIKE A DOG PACKING MY OWN ITEMS WITH TWO EXTRA PEOPLE THAT I HIRED. TWO DAYS OF THIS AND THEN RAN OUT OF PACKING MATERIALS AND BOXES AGAIN SO MANY ITEMS HAD TO BE LEFT BEHIND. MOVING COMPANY SAID TWO DAYS ONLY ALLOWED TO PACK SO MEN MUST LEAVE. I LEFT MANY ITEMS BEHIND BECAUSE NOTHING TO WRAP THEM IN. WHEN CONTAINER ARRIVED IN PANAMA IT CAME WITH MESSAGE. MUST HAVE ANOTHER $2,000.00 AND IF YOU REFUSE WE WILL SELL ITEMS. BY THE WAY THIS IS LAST DAY TO REMOVE FROM CUSTOMS TOMORROW THERE IS $175.00 PER DAY STORAGE CHARGES. MORAL IS THEY ARE ALL LIARS AND THIEVES AND ANYTHING THEY PROMISE SHOULD BE WRITTEN AND THEN IT WILL STILL BE A FIGHT. PLUS THERE WILL BE AT LEAST $1,200.00 PORT CHARGES DUE ON TOP OF THE MOVING EXPENSES WHEN IT PROCESSES IN PANAMA. SOMETIMES A LOT MORE.