Need help; Travelling for first time

[toxicdevil]

My questions in list form:

- What is the baggage limit and what stuff should I pack? (Qatar airlines) What should be in my hand carry (documents, clothes?)?

- Where do I buy a sim card? Will I need a credit score to buy it?

- When I make a bank account what would be the most convenient way for my parents to send me money? Quick and cheap.

- How much money should I bring? And in what form (cash, card etc) My apartment is unfurnished so I need to buy furniture and utensils etc.

- What are the options for moving furniture to my place? e.g. where I live we can easily rent a small truck (or a donkey cart) to move items, the driver often helps in unloading the items to the room.

[TakeruK]

56 minutes ago, toxicdevil said:

My questions in list form:

- What is the baggage limit and what stuff should I pack? (Qatar airlines) What should be in my hand carry (documents, clothes?)?

- Where do I buy a sim card? Will I need a credit score to buy it?

- When I make a bank account what would be the most convenient way for my parents to send me money? Quick and cheap.

- How much money should I bring? And in what form (cash, card etc) My apartment is unfurnished so I need to buy furniture and utensils etc.

- What are the options for moving furniture to my place? e.g. where I live we can easily rent a small truck (or a donkey cart) to move items, the driver often helps in unloading the items to the room.

Baggage limit depends on your ticket. When you buy your ticket, your airline will tell you the baggage limit. 

All important documents and valuables should be in your hand carry if possible. For long trips, I usually pack one change of clothes in my hand carry. It's helpful if you want to change into fresh clothes when you arrive, and also just in case your checked baggage is lost or delayed, you can at least have a fresh change of clothes while dealing with this extra problem.

You can usually buy a sim card at a store in the airport, and they are available at convenience stores and phone stores around the US. You don't need a credit score to get on a pay as you go plan. This type of plan means you pay for some credit on your account and as you use the phone, it depletes your credit. However, I found that most phone companies will allow you to get on a plan without much credit at all. T-Mobile, for example, uses your I-20 or DS-2019 instead of a SSN to open your account.

I think wire transfers are the easiest way to receive money from other countries. 

I think you should bring money in a form where you can access it within a few days easily. I would say you would want money in cash to last you for one week and a US dollar money order drawn from a US bank to last you the first 2-3 months if possible. Open a US bank account right away and deposit the money order---you should be able to access it within a week. Note that if you cannot get a US dollar money order drawn from a US bank in your home country, it might mean that you cannot access this money for many weeks, so make plans for that. 

Usually, you are responsible for moving the furniture you buy from the store. Some stores will charge you extra for delivery if that is helpful. For places like IKEA (good place for cheap furniture), they will deliver for something like $100-$200, depending on distance. Many people will rent a big van or a big truck and buy all their furniture in one day. Renting a truck like this will probably cost around $50-$100, depending on the size of the truck, how much you drive it, and how long you take.

Note: There is an exception for really big items, like mattresses or sofas. Usually, the store will deliver this to you, and they might even set it up for you in your apartment too! Sometimes this is part of the purchase price, but sometimes you pay extra. It depends on what price you agree on.

[hippyscientist]

5 hours ago, toxicdevil said:

My questions in list form:

- What is the baggage limit and what stuff should I pack? (Qatar airlines) What should be in my hand carry (documents, clothes?)?

- Where do I buy a sim card? Will I need a credit score to buy it?

- When I make a bank account what would be the most convenient way for my parents to send me money? Quick and cheap.

- How much money should I bring? And in what form (cash, card etc) My apartment is unfurnished so I need to buy furniture and utensils etc.

- What are the options for moving furniture to my place? e.g. where I live we can easily rent a small truck (or a donkey cart) to move items, the driver often helps in unloading the items to the room.

TakeruK has thoroughly answered a lot of your questions but I wanted to add a few more things.

The baggage limit will be on your ticket from the airline. It's normally ~23kg per bag for international flights and you can pay extra for more bags if you need it (but you will have to keep each bag under the weight limit).

Things that you will need to pack will depend on circumstances but generally: clothes, shoes & toiletries that you want to bring with you. If the climate you're moving to is drastically different it might be more effective to buy this stuff on arrival but if you have good things you want to bring, bring them! You'll also want things for school - a laptop if you use one, phone etc. Remember a plug converter if you need it! Also any sentimental things from home. That's all I will be packing for. In hand-luggage I keep my electronics (phone, laptop, camera, ipad & kindle), key papers (I20, passport, visa paperwork, apartment lease etc) and fresh undies and T-shirt (you never know if flights get delayed). I also bring a blanket on with me for long-haul flights as it just makes me a lot more comfortable but this is by no means necessary as the airline should provide one for you.

Sim card - it also depends on what network your phone is on. For example, in the UK mobile phones are GSM, but the US commonly uses CDMA, so make sure your phone is able to use CDMA or you might need a new handset. Alternatively, places like T-mobile and AT&T offer GSM signal so this might be good to set up initially. 

I have a credit card which converts purchases using that day's exchange rate so you don't incur massive fees and that is what I will be using to purchase furniture. I'll then pay it off out of my UK account and transfer the rest of my money using TransferWise to my US account once it is open as this reduces the number of intl fees I'll have to pay. Might be worth looking into things like that from your country.