Share Your Relocation Experience To Seattle
I am going to relocate from Midwest to Seattle and join Amazon in December. Planning to use their relocation service (instead of taking $10k lumps sum). Would you please share your experience dealing with moving companies and corporate housing? Appreciate your tips and recommendations. We have a 3-br townhouse and a toddler. - Did you have missing or damaged items after moving? Did you stay in house to oversee packaging ? - How many days it takes to get your car? - Which one of the corp housing that Amazon offers is better for a family with a toddler? Do they have vacuum cleaner ?
I haven't worked for amzn but I know someone who came from india to Bellevue. They even got their indian beds and wardrobes(just because you can), it was all properly packed and moVed and reassembled(remember india has no ikea, so the reassemble process is significantly custom for furniture). They got 3 months od housing, depends on family size, you should be a 2 room fully furnished apartment complete with biweekly maid service. You will get a car till your car reaches you. All u need is groceries to start over, the apartment has utensils and everything. Tv cable,phone everything. Vqccumm cleaner too. Dishwasher in unit laundry. If you have damaged items you get 180 days to claim it. Even if it is a scratch, you will get compensated. Here is an example, my friend got his dresser damanged, something the size of a penny, and he got i think 500$ for that. At your source, where you live now, you will get 3-4 days of hotel and a car, since your house is being packed and moved. The hotel per day can be as much as 250$. You also get reimbursement for parking etc if the hotel charges it. Also you get a perdiem for those days in the hotel. Ar the destination as well, as I said before you get a car, and corporate housing or hotel. Since you are a toddler you might opt for the apartment thn a hotel. One example of a provider is abodaa(google them). They are the ones who provide housing for msft as well. They will also support special packaging for tv etc means if ur tv was wall mounted u will get special movers who will dismantle the assembly, pack it and make it ready to ship. At the other side they will come and mount it back exactly as is. The packing costs includes a few months warehouse storage, if it arrives before you got a house, so loading and unloading costs covered. At the source, you over see packing, and ain off on number of crates you have. Kitchen items are proper handled, glass etc. At the destination u over see unpacking, inspect each item and claim insuranCe. Within usa you car will reach within 7 days. So you might just use your rental at destination for just a few days. Oh I think u get as many cars as u have, so if u have two, u might get two(not sure).
Really appreciate it. It was very comprehensive and addressed almost all of my concerns.
After reading the other posts, i think it finally comes down to the sub contractors doing the loading unloading and packing. U have to ride their asses. They will come in a batch of few ppl, one will focus on the kitchen where two others will work on ur bed, make sure u have friends or fsMily watching over. Stealing is not my concern, shabby packing is. Especially the ikea beds etc. Of they lose parts, then the guys putting it back in can't. Usually they will make a 'parts package' separate. Make sure everything goes into it. If u have carpeting then it is easy to lose nuts in them. While unpacking, the part bag is what they need first, so u need to be diligent. If the screws are broken or lost or stripped, u gotta go and replace them before the unpacking starts(easy if it is ikea, a hassle, but easy).
I relocated a couple times, both for MS. The experience I can share is relevant for any co though. Our first move we had the movers do everything. They even packed up hubby's motorcycle. When we received the goods, they had forgot to have us sign for the special packing of the motorcycle. When we uncrated the bike, I thought my husband was gonna cry. Half the fairing had been cracked/ripped off. We called mover poc and they said we signed for it like that. What?! We get a copy of the moving paperwork and it was clearly forged. They had forgot to have us sign for the bike after it was created, so they thought they could get away with the damage by saying we had signed for it in that shape. I took all the paperwork to the MS moving lady and she took one look at the signatures and turned red. She took care of everything and someone paid the 6k to pay for the new fairing. If u have alot to move, let the company take care of it. They will help u with hassle items like that, if they pop up. My second move, I took the lump sum cuz I just drove up with a few personal things. I came out way ahead in that case. Good luck and welcome to the PNW!
Thank you very much. So I “should” stay at home until they finish packing and put everything in shipping containers?
Oh, boy...u better believe it. You want to count the boxes and make sure the numbers match your paperwork. If you have anything u really care about, make.sure you note the box number so u can confirm receipt, etc. Be nice to the moving guys and tip them, if you think they do a good job.
We just moved last week with a 6 month old, below is what is included - 1. All expenses paid house hunting trip to Seattle 3 nights 4 days 2. Upto two cars transported - They will give you a rental until you get your car. We got our cars within a week. 3. Packing + Moving + Unpacking - They give you a date, the packing is done by them, and the stuff arrives two weeks later. They come and unpack everything. It's pretty hassle free. Only thing is, you will be without your stuff for two weeks. 4. Tickets for the whole family for the final trip 5. Upto $3000 for breaking your lease. This is great as we had to break our lease. 6. Upto $3000 towards your rent or a 30 day accommodation in a fully furnished apartment. 7. Hotel accommodation for upto 2 nights upon arriving in Seattle, we asked for two more and they accommodated us as our lease was starting later. 8. Miscellaneous expenses - $2500 9. Career services for the spouse ( they provide a career coach who will help you with your job search) 10. These benefits are valid for upto a year, so for example if you and your spouse want to move at different times, that's possible too. Good luck with your move!!
Thank you very much. How did you get your babies essentials shipped ? Did take them with you in checked in bags ? Do they also provide hotel in my original city? I can’t oversee the movers and fly on the same day. Do you need to submit receipt for misc. expenses to get the $2500?
Yes, so we packed stuff up in suitcases and basically lived out of it for two weeks in our old house. The baby stuff like crib, cradle etc was packed and shipped. We held on to the essentials and kept it in a suitcase. Amazon pays upto a 100 $ per person for check in bags so that is covered as well. We timed the movers thing two weeks before moving out of our old house, such that when we land in Seattle, our stuff also arrives (it takes two weeks). We did that cause it was easier staying in a familiar place without our stuff where we had friends to help out rather than stay for two weeks without our stuff in a new place. They do provide hotel in either places for upto two days only. For miscellaneous expenses, they just transfer you the whole amount to your back account.
Yes hotel and csr in same city is a guarantee. And should not plan to fly in the same day. Usually u ship car one day, get packing done on another and fly the third. Also since u have a toddler, u might need to carry ur csr seat, just a friendly reminder
Btw all this should have been told to u by ur moving rep. Ask them they are gonna tell u everything
Thank you for your tips.
Yeah, the movers broke our stuff as well. Pay attention as they unload, and as soon as you see something that seems broken or ruined, let them know. They have a sheet where they write /mark stuff. The company will basically reimburse you for that item. As far as the unpacking thing goes - I thought it was convenient because they basically unpack, assemble, and arrange all your furniture, clothes, utensils, and other stuff. It's a *significant* amount of effort and time saved for you. All you need to do to make sure it's smooth is to guide them every step of the way.
I am planning to relocate in the next two weeks and the relocation agent did not contacted me yet. They should have called me last week according to the recruiter. Should I start panicking?
Ask ur hr. They will poke them
I hope not. I have heard horror stories but decided to give it a try anyway.
But really... Buy a sun lamp, take vitamin D pills, go on at least 1-2 sunny vacations during the winter, and prep as best you can for 5+ overcast/rainy days per week until June Mostly just cross your fingers that you aren't one of the people that gets hit by SAD