Container removals from Sussex to Florida and the South-East, routed via New York or Houston with onward road delivery. Packing for heat and humidity, HOA rules checked and US customs handled.
Removals to Florida and the South-East from the UK are mostly lifestyle moves rather than job moves. The people calling us are retirees heading for the Gulf coast, families who have owned a holiday home near Orlando for years and are finally moving into it, and a steady number of professionals relocating to Atlanta or Charlotte. The pace is different from a corporate transfer: there is usually time to plan, and the priorities are the furniture arriving dry, the community rules being met and the delivery avoiding the worst of the weather.
Miami and the Atlantic side of south Florida mean high-rise condominiums, marinas and a city that feels as much Latin American as North American. Naples, on the Gulf coast, is quieter and popular with British retirees, with golf communities and low-rise homes behind gated entrances. Tampa and the St Petersburg side of the bay offer a city with beaches nearby, while Orlando is familiar to anyone who has taken the family on holiday there, and plenty of our customers first bought a villa in one of the resort communities around it before deciding to live in it full time.
The South-East card also covers Atlanta in Georgia and Charlotte in North Carolina. Neither is on the coast, and the people moving there are more often working than retired, drawn by finance, logistics and corporate head offices. Both are reached by road from the arrival port, and both have the leafy suburban houses that make a straightforward delivery.
If you are keeping a UK home and splitting the year, tell us at the survey. It affects both what you ship and how customs treats it, which is explained further down.
Downsizing is part of most Florida moves we plan. A Sussex house full of heavy dark wood, thick rugs and winter bedding does not always suit a bright, tiled Florida home, and many customers ship a smaller, well-chosen load. We walk the house with you at the survey and help you decide what earns its place in the container, and what is better sold, gifted or kept in the UK.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from the start of June to the end of November. Most of it passes without incident, but a storm in the Gulf or off the Atlantic coast can close ports, halt road deliveries and leave communities without power for days. We cannot promise the weather, but we can plan around it: for a flexible move, a delivery outside the peak weeks of late summer and early autumn is the safer choice.
Heat and humidity matter just as much. Furniture that has lived in a dry Sussex house goes into a container, crosses the ocean and is then unloaded into a Florida summer. Wood moves, leather sweats and anything packed damp can grow mould. We wrap for that journey, never seal a container on a wet day if it can be helped, and advise running the air conditioning in the new home before the furniture arrives.
Then there are the rules. Many Florida homes sit in communities run by a homeowners’ association, and condominiums have their own boards. Between them they can set delivery hours, ban large trucks from certain roads, require a lift booking or ask for proof of insurance. A gated entrance will want the crew’s details in advance.
One last Florida habit: garages there are rarely air-conditioned, so they are no place to park a piano, paintings or boxes of photographs while you settle in.
There is no direct sailing on the card for Florida. The container comes in through New York or Houston, clears customs with US Customs and Border Protection at that port and then travels on by road. The filings are the standard US pair: the ISF 10+2, which we lodge at least 24 hours before loading in the UK, and Form 3299, which our destination agent files so that used household goods you have owned and used for at least twelve months can come in free of duty when you are taking up residence.
The Florida question we hear most is about second homes. If you are moving permanently on a visa, the process is straightforward. If you are furnishing a holiday property while remaining resident in the UK, the eligibility rules for duty-free entry are not the same, and we check your status at the survey so the destination agent can confirm the right entry before anything sails. It is far better to settle that in Sussex than at the port.
Plants, soil, fresh food and garden furniture caked in earth cause trouble at any US border, so we keep them out of the container. Golf clubs are welcome, but clean them first.
Allow 5–7 weeks door to door. Because the container sails to New York or Houston and finishes by road, the Florida timeline is longer than the New York one, and the road leg from either port is a long haul down to Miami or across to Naples. Atlanta and Charlotte sit closer to the East Coast route, but the same window applies once customs clearance is included.
A shared LCL shipment adds 2–4 weeks while the container fills, which suits a retiree shipping a curated selection of furniture rather than the whole house. Air freight, at 7–14 days, is useful for a few boxes you want waiting in the condo when you land. If you can choose your dates, spring and early summer avoid both the hurricane peak and the industry-wide rush of late July and August.
We are Mark Ratcliffe Moving, a family-run business founded in 2017 and working from our Lower Dicker depot in East Sussex. Florida customers are often downsizing at the same time as they emigrate, and our team is used to helping people decide what is worth shipping to a hot climate and what is not. The pieces that make the cut go under export packing built for humidity, and a made-to-measure crate protects paintings, mirrors or a glass table on the long road leg south.
Our full packing team can take the whole job off your hands, or we can drop off packing materials for a Florida shipment if you prefer to do it yourself. A family piano can go in the container, handled by our piano removals crew. When a Sussex sale completes months before the Florida closing, we hold everything in secure storage until it ships.
As a member of the British Association of Removers Overseas Group we work to the BS 8564 standard for overseas removals. See what past customers wrote in our independent reviews, read the story of our family firm, and browse our article on relocating to the United States. Our worldwide removals from East Sussex page covers other destinations, and Mark takes calls on 01323 848 008.
Not every North American move is to the sunshine; here are the other routes our crews pack for.
Not on our standard routing. The container sails to New York or Houston, clears US customs there and finishes by road to Miami, Tampa, Orlando or Naples. That is why we quote 5–7 weeks door to door for Florida and the South-East.
If your dates are flexible, it helps. The season runs from June to the end of November, with the most risk in late summer and early autumn. A storm can close ports and pause road deliveries, so spring and early summer are the calmer windows.
It depends on your status. Form 3299 relief is aimed at people taking up US residence. If you are staying resident in the UK and furnishing a second home, different rules apply, so we check your position at the survey and have the destination agent confirm it before anything sails.
Not if it is packed and unpacked properly. We wrap for a long, warm journey, avoid sealing a container in the wet, and recommend running the air conditioning in the new home for a few days before delivery so wood and leather can acclimatise.
Yes. We ask for the association or condo board rules early, register the crew at the gate, and book lifts or loading areas in advance. Some boards also want proof of insurance, which the destination crew provides before the delivery date is set.
Call us for a free, no-obligation quote, or use our online form. Whether it is a shared part-load or a whole house, we have handled the route before and we will handle yours with care.