International Move

Added: Oh, I almost forgot! Take a smallish fake Christmas tree! Run out and get it now! We had a 5 footer and I sat it up on a box. Asians don't have Christmas trees and you don't want to do without that!!

Original:
So happy for you! I lived in Asia for 6 years and dearly miss it!

If your storage facility is temperature and climate controlled, it is certainly better. All of my stuff was just fine for 6 years. In fact, I got rid of a lot of it when I got back because I wondered why I needed most of it when I hadn't seen it for that long!!

If you are able to take wine with you, use heavy plastic bins with snap-on handles. Have the packers wrap each bottle with bubble wrap and paper and pack crumpled paper between them. The nice thing about doing it this way is that if one bottle breaks, the liquid will be trapped in the bin. You may have to sign a waiver of liability - we did that, and were happy about it. The last thing I wanted to do was let go of so much great wine that we had.

Bring silverware. You will need to use chopsticks outside of the home, but you really want the silverware to use at home. And make sure you have the kitchen accoutrements you want, as well as pots and pans. Know in advance if there is an oven in the apartment - many Asian kitchens do not have ovens. There's no point in taking a lot of ovenware if you can't use it...

I would take some of your children's photo albums. I left half of mine and brought half. I'm awfully glad - my sons had to do projects where they required baby pictures and info from their birth certificates. Also, we thought we would be there for 2 years - turns out it was times 3. That could happen to you and you wouldn't want to not have your children's pics to look at!

I also brought all my kids' toys and books, and in our case, that was a lot. Then my boys were still all over Thomas the Tank Engine and Legos. I had an extra bedroom that I used as the toy room, with a train table and shelves against the wall, and bins for organization. I put the books on book shelves in the TV room because my kids loved their books so much. It's a good thing I did it - if I had not, they would have grown out of every book and toy we had in the time we were gone. I did yearly purges of stuff they grew out of by giving them away for school fundraisers or bringing some of the stuff home as "ballast" in my suitcases to give away during the summers because I bought all our school uniforms, clothes and shoes in the States to bring back.

Make sure you get every single bit of medicine that you think you might need here in the US. Do your kids swim? Get over-the-counter (OTC) drops to put in their ears to dry up their ears to help prevent swimmers ear. Ask the ped to write you a script for drops in case they do get swimmers ear. Fill the prescription right before you leave, because you cannot fill a US prescription out of the country. Then you will have the medicine to use. (The school nurse told me that - what a blessing!) Buy syrup of ipacac here and write down the poison control number to call back home - it's okay that you call them from abroad. They will tell you if you should use ipacac or not, and will tell you if you have to take your child to the hospital. Thankfully, that did not happen to us, but I had my ipecac!!

If you know what size dining room table you will have, buy some disposable white paper tablecloths. You'll probably end up having folks over for luncheons, and the disposables are wonderful. I also brought a BIG box of CLEAR plastic forks, knives and spoons for those luncheons, and Chinet heavy duty plates. I also tried to get seasonal lunch and dinner napkins, spring, fall, winter, and Christmas. The reason is that Asia pays so much attention to the seasons. And the truth is, according to where you live, it is either impossible to find this stuff, or you can find it and it costs a freaking boatload of money to buy!!!! So if you just stock up and bring it with your household items and clothes when you move over there, you will save so much money. Ditto with bringing Tide for your clothes. I brought enough for the first year because a bottle of Tide there cost me $35.

Unless you are teeny-tiny, don't expect to be able to buy clothes for yourself in Asia unless they custom make them for you or you are moving to India, where the clothes are not tight and older Indian ladies of means are heavier. Take at least a year's worth of tampons, buy plenty of baggies, especially if you are going to make your kids' lunches to send to school. (My kids wouldn't eat the Asian lunches when we got there, plus the lunches at the school cost the equivalent to $7.00 each per day.) It would have cost me a nickle a piece for those baggies, and I used a lot of them! I also brought with me 2 lunch boxes per child for the entire year in my suitcases coming back each summer. (I liked the Costco ones. They are being sold in August before coming back, so the timing was great.) I also bought my kids' shoes the week before coming back. My gosh, the shoes. Payless loved me. I bought 3 sizes per child, 1/2 size up to hopefully last through the year. We were allowed 2 suitcases, 50 pounds each, per person, so the shoes, uniforms, clothes, etc, were carefully planned and brought each summer to make it through another school year.

(Oh, and Frenchtoast.com sells uniforms. They are SO cheap compared to what you will be buying in Asia. Find out about the uniforms before you leave, and look online to see where you can take your kids locally to try on Frenchtoast clothes. (Sears, Target, etc - look at the frenchtoast website) If the store doesn't carry the color, just figure the size by trying them on at the Target or Sears and then order the color online. I will be eternally grateful to the sweet lady who told me this, because the grey pants my kids had to have were $75 a piece overseas. I bought one pair per kid and washed them every night until my younger son blew out a knee - ugh!)

I would also see if Costco has a big first aid box that you can buy and bring with you. Hopefully you'll never have to use it. Once you get in your place, buy a ton of bottled water, just in case of a disaster. You will need that water. Make a copy of your passports and scan them into your computer and put into an email so that if you are traveling and something happens to your passport, you can go on a computer, access your email, and print out a copy of the passport. That will help you get to the embassy in the country you are in to get another one so that you can get home!

I would try to use the same bank where you are moving as is one here, if you possibly can. You would open the US account here before you leave, and then open the account with their bank over there. Of course, they would be separate accounts, but the two banks would work together because they are within the same company.

Take your tax stuff with you, in case you have to address something from years past with the IRS. Get the company to have in the documents you sign that in case your husband (or are you the employee?) dies while abroad, that they will cover the expenses of getting you home and getting all your belongings brought out of storage at no expense to you. Sometimes companies say in their contracts that you have to stay a year, or you have to pay the moving expenses, which can cost worse than a boatload. MAKE them put the caveat that if the employee dies before that year is past, that they waive you having to pay that back. (I insisted that this be in our contract - they wrote that in for us.) You should also have in your contract that the company has their accountants do all the taxes for you and that the taxes you pay are equalized. You don't want to pay more taxes for living over there than you would pay in the US.

Make sure you get renter's insurance when you get over there as well. Even though the furniture isn't yours, it would cost a lot to replace your clothes and jewelry.

Bring your kids' school records and medical/shot records. You should figure out what immunizations are needed in the part of Asia you will live in. Some of these shots need to be given in stages - start them in time that you can get the series done. Your company should be able to help you find the group who can help you figure out what shots you need - I believe this is called a travel clinic and is sometimes found in a hospital. And the company should cover the costs of the shots. Even if the school your children attend doesn't make you get measles or mumps immunizations, please do it. You cannot believe how that runs through a school in foreign countries, especially if the international school has 50 plus countries represented. Because all the different countries' laws are different, usually the schools don't make you have the immunizations. I can't tell you how grateful I was that my kids wouldn't be getting the measles. Even my husband's office had measles going through it one year. (We both had gotten a booster just in case...) So, you can see just how helpful a travel clinic can be.

Lastly, I would take my spices with you if I were you. We were not allowed to have the movers move them when we came back to the US, so I carried them home in my suitcases, but we were able to put them in our shipment to Asia. It is so expensive to find spices in English over there, and you really want to have what you are used to. We ate American food at home, and Asian food when we ate out. So having our spice rack was really helpful. I also brought with me cake mixes that I closed up in gallon ziplock bags, as well as cylinder boxes of grits, since you can't find them there.

Lastly, if you can hire help there, do it. You will enjoy life so much more if you aren't having to handle everything at home while you are trying to figure out things as basic as dialing the phone, finding the grocery store, picking food that you don't know what it is, and getting to know the school and the difference in that school and US schools. You also need to make friends, and that is easier for expats than it is here in the US, to be honest. If you have someone cleaning the toilets and keeping the kitchen clean, and even doing some cooking if you like, you will enjoy your experience oh so much more.

My best to you in this endeavor. It can be a wonderful life if you prepare well and have an adventuresome attitude!!

Dawn

I would NOT store any food for 2-3 years. Use what you can before you leave and donate the rest to a food bank.

Is the company allowing you max weight for moving? or just suitcases and one box per person?

This is VERY exciting!! i hope you enjoy your time over there and see many things!!!

If you are not renting your home out furnished, I would have a garage sale and sale everything that you don't want to store for 2 or 3 years. Use the monies from the garage sale to purchase good storage containers for things you are not taking.

If you have kids? I wouldn't store their clothes as they won't fit by the time you get back so either sale or donate. Take the toys with you that they actively play with now.

Be frugal about what you want to store. You will be surprised at what you don't need. Christmas decorations can (might depending upon the company) be shipped so the kids can have familiar things. But overall - furniture and books would be all that I store.

HAVE FUN!!

GOOD LUCK!!

How exciting! We moved from CA to South Korea in July and it has been great so far. Here are a few tips. Dawn did a great job highlighting the biggies.

I started planning right away what we were going to ship and what I was going to sell or store. We ended up selling a lot less than expected and gave most of it away.

Depending on where you are going you will want to bring different things. Let me know where and I can be more specific.

Some things I brought that I was happy to have:
Halloween costumes, candy and treat bags for my children
Clothing in the next size in brands and styles they liked
Presents for Christmas and birthdays
Food staples that we didn't want to be without - almond butter, mixed nuts, coffee, maple syrup, etc. It depends on where you are living. I was just in the Philippines and they had so much Western food products, I really stocked up. Korea has Costco, so that is a good place to get western things.
Granola bars - especially if your favorites are Cliff, Luna, etc. These are impossible to find.
Holiday decorations for the holidays you celebrate.
Favorite toys - we brought a lot and I am glad we have what we have.
Craft supplies
Books - English books are hard to find - or pick up Kindles and plan on downloading everything - we are now doing this for ourselves and our children.
We brought our bunk beds and I am so glad - it meant that we shipped a lot, but they are "home" to my boys and give us so much space. Plus they are really expensive in Korea.
Bedding
Hair dye if you need it unless you dye it black.
Hair conditioner and products unless you have straight hair.
Spices and seasoning packets if you use them.
Sun screen
Rain coats

Most things you will be able to buy - it just is a little bit different and sometimes very expensive. I have found where to get just about everything I need, so it is just the little things that I miss. What ever that is for your family, make sure to bring it just in case. We make chocolate chip pancakes on weekends, so for us it was pancake mix, chocolate chips and syrup.

One other thing I found really helpful for baking is the powered buttermilk from the grocery store. I can back just about everything with local ingredients and that and it feels like home.

Ovens are often smaller, so you may want to pick up some pans that are not longer than 16".

I am happy to answer questions if you have specifics.
Enjoy this planning and the move!

I think you should take a lot of non perishable food that you love to eat that you will not be able to get in Asia. and that way when you are feeling a little homesick you can have a little piece of home with you.

How exciting! I'm wondering where you are going! I feel the urge to live vicariously for the moment.

I lived in Japan for over two years, but I did it when I was single. Moving an entire family would certainly change a few things.

It is amazing what I thought I would miss became replaceable. I had heard that oj was expensive there, and it was. What I had not known was that the tangerine juice was local, less expensive than orange juice, and actually more delicious! I wish I could get my hands on some of that now!

Take a camera and computer equipment, of course BUT also look into the electricity issues. Do you need special adapters? If so, will it just make more sense to buy new while you are there, as computers often need updating every three years or so? Same with the iPod or other music players.

Make a good friend here at home who will supply you with anything you find you need once you get there. Be willing to do without until the slow boat reaches you.

I agree about the adult clothing and shoes. I was one half size too large for shoes (at a size 8). Also look into what is considered appropriate clothing for daily wearing. I wore a sleeveless dress once. As I was walking down the street, drivers were swerving off the road. Showing one's shoulders was considered immodest.

What are your favorite kinds of activities? If you are avid hikers, be sure to have good hiking boots, and perhaps backpacking equipment. (You can see what I was doing!)

I agree about the medication, too, especially birth control. Some types are not available in foreign countries. Check with your doc if she is willing to write scripts that are typical to you while you are gone. Going to a doc in a foreign land can be unnerving.

Get a rice cooker when you get there. They are amazing.

It's true about the oven situation. I did find a small one, and had tiny baking sheets for cookies. I also found the cake shops worthy of my money.

Don't expect to make a turkey or large piece of meat. Perhaps you can treat yourselves now before you go.

Look into taking a crock pot (or getting one there).

Careful with the spices. They may be taken from you by customs on either side.

Even food storage containers will be an issue, as the fridge is also smaller. Just go to their version of Target and get that stuff. (Or, that was a possibility in Japan. Maybe that's not true for where you are going.)

I'd go with less rather than more, and decide to immerse myself in the culture. Then, plan to bring a lot back with you in order to remember fondly the time spent there.

And by all means, take language classes while you are there. I was with someone who was resistant, so I didn't start immediately, and one day I found myself sobbing in the laundry detergent aisle trying to find bleach. Sometimes you'll just want things to be easier.

Enjoy yourself!!!