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Sending My Childhood Across the Atlantic
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I had already been living abroad for several years before this move happened. First it was for work, and later it became about love. Over time, Finland stopped feeling temporary and started feeling like home.
Eventually I realized that the last pieces of my life in the United States were still sitting at my parents’ house. They had very kindly held onto boxes of things that meant a lot to me—items from childhood, favorite books, games, and other personal belongings that I never wanted to part with but didn’t yet have a place for.
Once I had settled into what I now consider my forever home in Turku, it felt like the right time to finally bring those things across the Atlantic. It wasn’t a huge shipment, but it was emotionally important.
Finding a company that could help manage the move while I was already living in Finland turned out to be an important factor. The time difference between the United States and Finland can make communication tricky, and not every company seemed willing to adapt to that.
Logicstics stood out very quickly during my research process. From the start, their team was extremely friendly and understanding about the situation. Since I was already living in Finland, normal U.S. working hours often meant the middle of the night for me.
What impressed me most was that they actually adjusted their communication style to work around that difference. Instead of calling during inconvenient hours, they relied on emails and other methods that worked better for both sides. It was a small detail, but it made a huge difference compared to other companies I contacted.
Shawn and Nur from the Logicstics team were also incredibly responsive. Whenever I had questions about the process, documentation, or customs considerations, they answered quickly and clearly. That kind of communication made the entire move feel much more manageable from another continent.
Because I wasn’t physically in the United States during the move, preparation required a bit of coordination with my parents. The items needed to be packed carefully and organized in a way that would make pickup easier.
The shipment included a mix of things like:
Since everything needed to be inventoried for international shipping, labeling the boxes properly became an important part of the preparation. We also tried to pack efficiently to use space well while keeping the boxes manageable in weight.
The boxes were eventually placed in a location in the house that made it easy for the pickup crew to access them quickly when the time came.
The most complicated part of the entire move ended up being the pickup process, and interestingly, that had nothing to do with Logicstics themselves.
FedEx was responsible for the pickup logistics, and unfortunately things didn’t go exactly according to plan. First, they arrived on the wrong day. Then they missed the scheduled pickup day entirely.
This was understandably frustrating, but Nur at Logicstics stepped in to help resolve the situation. They coordinated with FedEx and pushed to make sure the pickup actually happened.
Once the drivers finally arrived, the process itself went smoothly. They were friendly and clearly appreciated that the boxes had already been placed in an easy-to-reach location in the house. The loading process was quick, and they handled the boxes carefully.
The delivery phase in Finland also involved a bit of unpredictability. FedEx communication about delivery timing was not always very clear. I occasionally received emails saying the shipment would arrive that day, only for nothing to happen.
The uncertainty made it a little difficult to plan around the delivery, but eventually the boxes did arrive in Turku.
When the delivery driver finally showed up, the experience was very positive. Despite dealing with snow and icy conditions, the driver remained friendly and professional. He moved all the boxes without any issues and handled everything carefully.
Most importantly, every single item arrived exactly as it had been shipped.
For a shipment that had crossed an ocean and involved multiple logistics partners, that was a huge relief.
Once the boxes were finally inside my home in Turku, unpacking became a surprisingly emotional experience. These weren’t just random household items—they were pieces of my past that had been waiting years to be reunited with me.
Books I grew up reading, games I played with friends, and little pieces of childhood memorabilia all suddenly had a place again in my everyday life.
It made my home feel more complete.
One of the most pleasant surprises about the entire move was the final cost.
The shipment actually ended up costing less than the original quote. That was something I definitely wasn’t expecting with an international move.
Logicstics had also walked me through the possibility of customs taxes before the shipment left the United States. Because of my specific situation, I did need to pay customs fees, but those costs were also much lower than I had anticipated.
Overall, the move ended up being significantly more affordable than I had imagined when I first started researching the process.
If you are planning to ship personal belongings internationally, especially from the United States to Europe, a few things I learned along the way might help:
Moving a lifetime of memories across an ocean could have been a stressful process, especially while coordinating everything from another country and another time zone. But thanks to clear communication and helpful coordination from the Logicstics team, the process felt far more manageable than I expected.
There were definitely a few logistical bumps along the way, particularly with FedEx scheduling, but in the end the most important part was that every single box arrived safely in my home in Turku. For me, this move wasn’t about furniture or large shipments—it was about finally bringing the pieces of my past into the life I’ve built in Finland.
