As promised in the last article, today we’re sharing our experience of moving to Spain. First, it’s important to note that the information shared here relates to our personal situation. Your costs and efforts will likely differ. Fuel prices fluctuate, and since July 1, 2024, vehicles under 7.5 tons are also subject to toll fees per kilometer in Germany. Fortunately, we avoided that, as we completed our move during the last week of June.

We spent a lot of time debating whether to bring over the furniture we had stored in an overseas container in Germany to Spain. Would the moving costs exceed the actual value of the items in storage? Logic said, “Just sell everything.” But our hearts said, “So many memories are tied to these things; we can’t just dispose of or sell them.” And well, this article wouldn’t exist if we had listened to our heads.

 

Starting Point

A quick overview of our situation: In Germany, we rented a 20-foot shipping container with a volume of just over 30 cubic meters. If we stacked everything to the ceiling, the container would be about three-quarters full. One major advantage was that the container was in an industrial area, allowing us to easily park a truck right up to it for loading. With this in mind, we reached out to various moving companies and received quotes ranging from €4,800 to €5,500. Since every penny counts as we start our new life, we wondered if there was a cheaper way to do it.

This led to a lot of research and calculations, and eventually, we found a solution that saved us €1,300. Before taking any further steps, we spent hours in the container sorting through items, deciding what we no longer needed, and weighing the rest. Why weigh everything? Because for the move, we needed a truck, a driver, and helpers, and each truck has a maximum allowable weight. If we exceeded it, we risked fines or having the trip halted. Plus, we were crossing through three countries, so we had to familiarize ourselves with their traffic and toll regulations.

To our surprise, our belongings in the container weighed a hefty 2.1 tons. With the weight confirmed, we could now focus on finding a driver. Luckily, we found a professional truck driver in our circle of friends who was willing to take on the nearly 2,000-kilometer journey. We’re incredibly grateful for his help.

 

The Supply and Demand Truck

With a driver secured, the next step was to rent a truck. Since there aren’t many truck rental companies in Germany, we compared the options and chose one that met our insurance and mileage needs. As mentioned, with a nearly 4,000-kilometer round trip ahead of us, anything could happen, and having a high insurance deductible could make the venture expensive. Additionally, extra mileage can cost €0.30 to €0.50 per kilometer, so we had to account for that.

We ended up renting a 7.49-ton truck, which (at that time) fell below the toll radar in Germany. The rental was for eight days, with 4,000 kilometers included, and came with full insurance coverage and no deductible for a little over €1,500—that was the internet price. Since we were in Spain at the time, my mother-in-law handled the rental process in Germany and kept us updated. The local branch assured her that everything would work out, and if no truck was available, they would arrange for one from a different location. So, we proceeded with the booking, assuming everything would go smoothly.

Just two days later, the rental company informed us that no truck was available for our desired time frame. However, the next day, they said one was available again—but at a significantly higher price, almost €300 more. When we asked why the price had changed, the only response we got was “supply and demand.” We found this quite unprofessional, but since we desperately needed the truck, we bit the bullet.

 

Many Helping Hands

Now that we had a driver and a truck, we just needed some moving helpers. It wasn’t that we couldn’t manage the furniture and boxes on our own—after all, we had loaded and unloaded the container ourselves in about two hours. But it was cheaper to hire three helpers than to fly back to Germany, which would take around seven hours (with layovers) and cost about €500. In the end, it was the right decision: within less than 1.5 hours, the container was safely loaded into the truck. And all the helpers were familiar with proper load securing, which was a bonus.

A Bag of Gold Coins

We also provided our driver with a credit card, so we didn’t have to hand him a literal sack of gold coins. This made paying for fuel and tolls much easier and faster. However, we did have concerns about whether the card would work in hotels. These days, you often don’t get a traditional credit card but rather a debit-credit card. This means the payment is deducted immediately from the bank account. If there’s no money available, the payment can’t be processed. A traditional credit card, on the other hand, allows for immediate payments. The charge is processed later, typically the following month.

Two days later, we welcomed our friend with all our furniture. He mentioned that the drive had gone smoothly, and the credit card worked everywhere without any problems. The three of us unloaded the truck, and a few hours later, he was already heading back. Although we offered him a place to rest, he declined—youth these days. He had weekend plans and needed to return on time. Surprisingly, those plans saved us an extra €300. We returned the truck two days early and received a refund from the rental company.

 

That was our cost:

Truck Rental	1500 EUR
Truck Toll, Diesel, Food/Accommodation	1800 EUR
Professional Moving Helpers	200 EUR
Total	3500 EUR

 

It was definitely a nerve-wracking endeavor, but we managed to save some money. Would we handle the next move ourselves again? Absolutely. Now we’re a bit wiser and would approach things more calmly and confidently next time. The main advantage of hiring a moving company is working with professionals, so you don’t have to worry.

 

We hope these tips will help you to master your everyday life as an expat even better! Do you have your own experiences or further recommendations on the topic of emigrating? Feel free to leave us a comment! Share this post with others who could benefit from the tips and stay tuned for more inspiration from life as an expat.

Your Steffi & Marius