Whether you should ship your furniture and personal possessions to the UAE or not is a bit of a personal preference, because of course you can get anything and everything you could possibly want in the UAE – especially if you’re moving to the likes of Dubai where there are not only traditional furniture souks and shops, but there’s an IKEA too!
However, an individual will have to think about cost of shipping versus the cost of storage in their home nation, or the cost of shipping versus the cost of buying new in the UAE, and even whether furniture and personal effects will fit into a new home in Dubai.
There is a whole list of considerations from cost to hassle, and in this article we will look at whether you should ship or shop when you move to Dubai.
Can You Fit Furniture In Anyway?
For those moving to Dubai where rental rates are still exorbitant despite the property market crash, they may find they have to move into a far smaller property than they are used to, and that only half their furniture will fit anyway. Naturally for such expatriates, at least half of their consideration is taken away for them – i.e., they will have to leave at least half of their furniture behind anyway!
Is it Cheaper to Ship, or Shop for Furniture in Dubai?
The next consideration is of course cost. International shipping costs of course depend on where you’re shipping from and companies will give you prices based on a whole or a half container, a container for shipping a vehicle or a cost per kilogramme if you only want to ship certain specific items. The international shipping company will also assist you with information about current regulations and restrictions on importation, because these do tend to alter regularly. There are certain goods that you can’t import, certain goods which are taxed upon arrival and other items that will be scrutinised closely! What’s more, you need to be in Dubai to receive your personal effects when they arrive.
Shipping times vary, and some expats from the likes of American and Australia complain of excessively long wait times of over 6 weeks before their furniture arrives. Naturally this adds another layer of complexity, cost and hassle as you have to find temporary furnished accommodation until your goods land in Dubai.
When it comes to talking about the UAE and Dubai in particular, most expats who have been relocated there in the past by an employer, or headhunted or employed by a local company will have a relocation allowance. This can cover shipping or it can cover shopping. It’s a personal preference. Many goods such as electrical items are cheap in the UAE compared to the relative cost in the West, and in our experience, expats would be wise to do a reconnaissance mission and look at the larger furniture shops and electrical goods stores in advance of their move and think about what they want to ship and what they want to buy new.
Is Time on Your Side?
Another decision-making factor to bear in mind is how long you will be living in the UAE for. Of course, this is not something that you can say for definite as a) you may find you don’t like it as much as you thought or b) your life position changes and you can’t stay as long as you wanted. But if you intend staying for the short-term only, it may be better to buy new and very cheaply just for the duration of your stay, rather than packing everything up and moving it, only to have to pack it up and move it back 6 months or so later.
At this point in time you may well be wondering if it is indeed worth the time, the money and the hassle to import your worldly goods when you move to Dubai. And again, we would say that it’s a completely personal decision.
Who Ships Their Furniture to Dubai and Who Buys New?
Those who are relocating their entire family for a new life in the UAE often find that spending the time and working out which personal effects and goods to ship can make all the difference between settling in easily and not. Children particularly find it comforting to have reminders of home around them when they move to a new country – so it can indeed be well worth the time, money and hassle. Of course, if you can negotiate a good relocation deal with your employer, the money won’t be an issue anyway!
You will be in the majority if you ship stuff out and if you’re planning on staying in Dubai for at least the medium term. Those who do so most often are families or couples, whereas single professionals tend to not mind buying new.
Final Pieces of Advice
And now a final couples of notes for you to bear in mind if you are moving to Dubai and you can’t decide whether to ship your personal effects or buy new in Dubai. As a lot of people are leaving Dubai and the UAE as a result of job losses at the moment, there are people offering furniture and white goods as well as cars for sale for very low prices. This is good news if you’re moving to the region and wanting to buy furniture for a new home for example.
Also, don’t ship your DVDs and CDs, carry them with you and ship the cases otherwise they may well be confiscated for “approval checks” and you will never see them again. The same goes for books, think about storing rather than shipping as they may be confiscated, and finally and most importantly, don’t take or ship food items or drugs of any sort if you want to avoid hassle from the customs officials.
