Leaving France to Reunite with Family

Let’s get things started! We’d like to know the origin and destination of your move, and most importantly what made you decide to pack up and leave? How did you experience that?

In my seventies, widowed, with no close family nearby I decided to sell my lovely home in the north Mayenne region and move nearer to family in the South West of England. This was a difficult and painful decision, as I had been restoring and finishing the house and garden – a dream project begun with my late husband many years ago, but the pandemic and lockdown experience made me realise how important it was to do it sooner rather than later. Packing up your life and saying goodbye to friends is a painful, stressful and exhausting business so it was imperative to find a good removal company.

Choosing a good moving company is painful, we know that. Tell us – how did you manage to find the perfect one among the thousands of existing ones?

I tried to source as many removal companies who move abroad from my area to where I needed to go, and who had storage facilities. Several firms asked for quite sketchy details, and a few came back with very high prices. The company I chose, Schepens, organised a video call estimation so they could see exactly what needed to be packed and moved, as well as what needed to be stored. Their attitude was at all times cheerful, friendly, and extremely helpful, particularly in dealing with the Inland Revenue requirements. Something of a nightmare when you have to list every single item in your possession!

Let’s get to the fun part! Take us through the moving day – did everything go as planned?

I was due to sign the final house sale documents and move out on the Thursday afternoon, so the van arrived on the Tuesday evening, with the two men. They expected to be finished and leave by Thursday midday. Two extremely pleasant, friendly and hard working young men! This attitude is so necessary when you are going through probably one of the most stressful times of your life, and they made it more than bearable. They finished their mammoth task by Wednesday evening and were able to leave early the following morning, leaving my daughter and me to finish cleaning the house and tidying the rest of our belongings undisturbed.

Are you master of chaos or is chaos master of you: What are 3 tips that you think could help others make their moving day less chaotic?

1. Research removal companies until you have exhausted every option. List as many queries you can think of and don’t be afraid to ask them.
2. Make a list of everything, yes, everything in your house and then start packing as soon as you are able. List each item as you pack it , put the list in the top of each box (you will forget – you are only human). Then write a general description/ list on the box itself for the removers. Also use a coding system- coloured stickers, labels, for each room you need the box to go into in your new home.
3. Keep tea and coffee making equipment and refreshments out till last to keep you calm and the removal team happy!

Any last words? 😊

Cannot recommend Schepens highly enough. The whole experience worked so efficiently from start to finish.

We would like to thank Nikki for sharing her experience with us and we’re hoping she’s enjoying being close to her family now! If you’re also moving house yourself, our platform is the best resource for useful tips and tools.

Disclaimer: the views shared on this blog belong only to the client. Sirelo is an independent platform and the expat testimonials provided are intended for informational purposes.

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