# What not to take when moving



## Cinzia (Nov 20, 2012)

Hi! 
I have written before that like many in this forum I am planning on moving to Italy. I would like to know from the experienced expats:
What can I take from NY to Italy?
I will be living in a house in a small town. Should I take any electronics or anything at all or should I just take what ever money I have and plan on buying the things I need instead of spending in shipping fees.
I have heard electronics work on different type of electrical circuits. 
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.


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## ruefguet (Dec 8, 2011)

US appliances normally work on 120V,would not make sense to bring them. Laptops will normally work anywhere in the world but desktops won't unless they have a switchable power supply.


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## Cinzia (Nov 20, 2012)

Thank you. That was e tremelly helpfu


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## italy (Aug 21, 2009)

i would also avoid cars .. should you be thinking of that.. very difficult and costly to get approved here.. i think your basic idea of buying what you need here is the best.. you might well find it will cost a lot more but you might as well get used to italian prices .. and maybe shop for essentials first and as you get more familiar with things here you will learn what stores are more reasonable to shop in .. oh yes i would get your cell phone unblocked i believe the charger for that should work here or buy a new charger if the phone is worth much.. unblocking means you should be able to just get an italian sim card and use it that way..


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## Cinzia (Nov 20, 2012)

Thank you for taking the time to give me the great information. I will not take a vehicle. I lived in Dominican Rep. I took a vehicle and I know by experience that transporting a vehicle oversees is very costly. Regarding the cellphone, I did not think to take a phone to Italy. I thought it would be cheaper to purchase a phone there. is it really cheaper in NY?


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Personally I'd only consider things like family objects. Or personal items like clothes.

No point bringing a phone. If you bring an US phone first it'll need to be GSM . So AT&T, some Verizon and I think TMobile. Then you'll want it to be quad band. Then you'll want it unlocked. Charger for all new EU phones are USB chargers. So if the phone uses an USB then no big issue. If the US phone is 4G then the frequencies aren't likely to work in the EU. 


Things to think about. Voltage. You can check your US stuff to see if it supports 220V and 50Hz. The numbers should be on the powersupply or the back of the device. Obviously plugs are different put you can often just change cords.

Size. A normal Italian oven is 60cm wide. A large North American roasting pan won't fit. 

Room sizes are smaller. Stairs etc can be smaller so just get things upstairs might be a project.


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## zenagrin (Jan 6, 2013)

this may be a sill question but here goes ... I have a kitchen aid stand mixer that I use almost daily here in Canada, will I be able to use one of those transformer plug things with it ?


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## backporchdreamer (Dec 27, 2012)

zenagrin said:


> this may be a sill question but here goes ... I have a kitchen aid stand mixer that I use almost daily here in Canada, will I be able to use one of those transformer plug things with it ?


If you read the specs on your appliance you can confirm if it will run on 50 Hz. 240 Volt. In North America we run on 60 Hz. 120 Volt. Some appliances run on either but not all will. If it does not show that, your appliance will fry when you try to plug it into the adaptor plug.


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## Giacomina (May 30, 2012)

If I had it to do over again I would bring nothing from North America with me.

Reasons are: finding the right place involves moving perhaps several times. Things get ruined and broken by movers. its extremely expensive to move things from place to place in Italy and there are NO inexpensive storage facilities. All electric appliances, small or large are charged with a tax if you bring them and usually they dont work here. Computers are another thing, most have universal voltage, but you will have to buy plug exchangers, which arent costly.

Good luck! 
I wish someone had told me this before I left North America.


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## Cinzia (Nov 20, 2012)

Hi Giacomina!
Thank you for the sincere comment. 
Your response is extremely helpful and saved me from unnecessary frustration, and will save me useless moving expenses and you actually gave me a little piece of mind

Grazie!!


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## dr_italia (Dec 10, 2012)

Something you should buy but not bring is a voltage regulator for your computer equipment if you have any significant amount. I had three hard drives die in five months in Ukraine; as well as a MacBook adaptor. You can have voltage varying wildly without any obvious signs such as lights flickering or the like.

The false understanding most people have is that "spikes"-- higher than normal voltages-- are the culprit. From what I understand, lowered voltages or brownouts are as much or more damaging.


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## aRoma (Feb 6, 2013)

*Using Brita in Rome?*

I lived in Florence for several years back in the 1980s and have visited frequently over the years. I am about to move from the States to Rome. The apartment that I love near my job in the Aventino is not as convenient to supermarkets as I would like and I'm wondering if a Brita filter pitcher for the refrigerator would suffice to not have to lug liters of bottled water home every few days (besides the monthly stock up trips out to the suburbs.) How is the water quality from the tap these days in Rome? I see that Amazon.it sells a variety of Brita, which we use here in Maryland.

Grazie mille!


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## niceguyjohn (Feb 7, 2013)

zenagrin said:


> this may be a sill question but here goes ... I have a kitchen aid stand mixer that I use almost daily here in Canada, will I be able to use one of those transformer plug things with it ?


I cannot think of anything with a motor in it that will work in Europe, unless it has a switch to change it to 220 V 50 HZ.


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