Love the Way You Move – How to Choose an International Mover
Corporate relocations are always an exciting time for those involved, but as always that sort of urgency can come hand-in-hand with stress and challenge. There’s already more than enough for you to think about during your move to justify hiring a professional moving company to help handle the finer details – but be careful. Not all movers are created equal, and making the choice of who to hire hastily or based on the wrong information could end up having the opposite effect on your stress levels, and even ruin the move before it’s begun.
To help you do your due diligence in this most vital matter, here is our guide to choosing a mover:
Assess the competition
Obviously in the lead-up to a relocation your time is at a premium, and it can be very tempting to just hire the first reasonable-seeming option you come across. But there are definitely differences in service across this industry, and it’s still important to make sure you’re getting a good deal for your money. Try and get at least 3 different companies to quote you a price based on the specific moving services you need, and you’ll at least have a better idea of the price range you’re in and where the majority of the costs lie.
Read the small print
This is obviously good practice when setting up every business deal, but it’s surprisingly common in the rush of relocations to take a moving service for granted when there can be significant differences between the service you expect and the service you receive. If that’s the case, you’d probably much rather find out before you’ve booked and paid for it than after. Make sure to ask about or look up a mover’s policies on terminal/DTHC charges, packing and unpacking fees, worker insurance, and delivery fees involving addresses on higher floors. The unexpected and significant price hikes any of these can incur are not worth the risk.
Check their accreditation
Between the industry jargon and the fact that few people use these services regularly, it can be hard to find a reliable source close to you who can recommend you for or against a specific mover. But for international movers there is a global governance and standards organisation whose accreditation is as close to a gold stamp of quality as you will find – FIDI.
Check whether your mover is certified AIM – Accredited International Mover – by FIDI, and think long and hard about your potential risks if they aren’t. AIM companies such as Allied undergo rigorous and regular assessments by external professional boards to maintain that status, so the slightly higher fee they might demand is really a small price to pay for peace of mind. After all, why else are you engaging a mover to begin with?
To find out more about Allied's moving services, or to book a consultation, visit www.allied.com/sg/ or call +65 6862 4700.
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How to Enjoy Chinese New Year as an Expat in Singapore
For many native Singaporean residents, the rapidly approaching Lunar New Year represents the single most important date of the year. Also known as Chinese New Year, the spring festival holiday is associated with traditions thousands of years old and is celebrated by communities the world over. Singapore marks the auspicious date with a public extravaganza of light and dance, getting fully into the festival spirit with food, fashion, and public events.
If you’re an expat currently living in Singapore, the advent of such a raucous and colourful holiday might be the perfect cultural experience, but it also could be a bewildering drain on your energy if you aren’t prepared. With that in mind, here’s a short guide to the key facets of Chinese New Year in Singapore.
Paint the town red
One of the most visible cultural foundations of the Spring Festival is the veneration of the colour red, which is simply everywhere in Singapore at this time. Seen to signify luck and prosperity, you will see people buying new clothes, cooking food, and daubing their homes in the colour.
If you plan on celebrating or at least blending in during the festival, it’s a good idea to plan your best “red” look. Buying new clothes – especially ones which are red themselves – is considered good luck at this time of year, so don’t be afraid to splash out a bit in order to look the part.
It’s all about family
Togetherness and family unity are a huge cultural theme of the holiday. One of the central moments of the holiday season is Reunion Dinner, when scattered family members move hell and high water to get home for dinner on the eve of the Lunar New Year. If you’re a lonesome single expat far from home on a night like this, it can be very easy to feel cut off from the celebration and sink into a melancholy homesickness.
Take the opportunity to match like with like; Allied recommends looking into local expat bars and social media groups to see if anyone else is partying against the grain on reunion night.
It’s not just about the New Year
In Singapore, the Lunar New Year is traditionally marked by a 2-day public holiday, sometimes 3-day, and the revellers will make those days count. But if the holiday itself is too intense or just not your style, the festive season persists for a good month around this crimson crescendo. Featuring a range of mouth-watering seasonal food prepared only around the New Year, colourful public decorations and a cheerful, relaxed atmosphere, this could be the perfect antidote to frantic New Year’s Eve celebrations. Make sure to witness the legendary Chingay Parade, held 8 days after the Lunar New Year and one of Singapore’s most cherished public traditions.
To find out more about Allied's moving services, or to book a consultation, visit www.allied.com/sg/ or call +65 6862 4700.
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