Virtual personal assistant (or something) to help with moving overseas?

October 17, 2023 4:19 PM

A good friend of mine is starting the process of moving back to the US from the UK, alone. It sounds like a ridiculously complicated process logistically, and I'm wondering if this is something a virtual assistant could help with.

The long list of this to do and/or coordinate include:

* Figuring out how, when, and what to pack for three separate shipments of stuff over 3 months.
* Arranging trans-Atlantic transport for a cat on British Airways (this alone sounds like a PhD project)
* Finding multiple types of short-term lodging in the US, possibly including hotels, AirBnBs and/or furnished rentals.
* Booking tickets for flights within the US after arrival, plus hotels for a half-cross-country drive, around both holidays

I'm sure there are layers upon layers for everything. Could a virtual personal assistant help with the planning and execution? Or are there other options? Even some kind of organizational system/app?

posted by gottabefunky to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

It seems like a travel agent could help with quite a bit of that, maybe even point your friend to someone to help with the packing question. Perhaps search for "relocation travel agent" or "relocation services" if you haven't already.
posted by happy_cat at 4:36 PM on October 17, 2023

ChatGPT might be able to help with the first one - what to send and when in 3 separate shipments.
posted by lulu68 at 4:55 PM on October 17, 2023

This is called a Relocation Agent. They're usually hired by an employer to support a specific employee and their international move, but you can hire many of them directly.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:28 PM on October 17, 2023

A lot of this has nothing to do with relocating. Relocation is move from point A to point B. Moving a cat would be part of normal move. But your friend is not planning a standard move, not even a standard international move.

In terms of shipping stuff, most standard moves somebody comes and packs you up all your stuff takes everything away you don't take yourself as luggage, not three separate shipments over three months...

The multiple temporary accommodation in diverse locations suggest that your friend is using the life event 'relocation' to take care of various other business in a range of different location before settling again. That is what makes this extra complicated and goes beyond what a single specialist type person would take care of normally.

It seems your friend may want a travel agent for the post move travel. And perhaps a relocation agent for the move itself. I'd be surprised if they can find a person to take care of all of it.
posted by koahiatamadl at 3:50 AM on October 18, 2023

This sounds like the kind of convoluted idea I would have, and I'd just say that, from the inside, it's not always obvious how overwhelming complex it sounds to other people. I mean, I would be aware that it's going to be a lot to plan, but I wouldn't be thinking about hiring help. Because the thing about hired help is, unless they're going to stay with you the whole time, eventually you really need to have the entire plan in your head so you can adapt to the inevitable moments when reality doesn't comply. So it's possible your friend is actually going to be fine on their own!
posted by teremala at 9:12 AM on October 18, 2023