Packing lists and moving tribulations
Since I am in the process of moving to Australia, I'm in a frenzy of figuring out what to bring, how to get it there, why i want it, and what the heck I'm doing. Although I'll be studying at a university in Perth for at least a year, shipping furniture cross-continentally is ultimately pointless; it's expensive, slow, and I could probably buy the same kind of couch from Goodwill when I get there.
Instead, I'm mired in having to sort through my belongings, decide what I need to take (pants, medicine, good shoes), what can sit in Bangkok airport's left-luggage office for two weeks while I traipse through southeast Asia (all decorative clothing, books, costume jewelry), and what needs to be mailed (computers, backup hard drives). For those of you who have effectively moved house across continents: how do you decide what to bring? What do you do with the stuff that remains? What is necessary? What is unnecessary?
2010-01-12 00:44
When I moved to Brisbane, I just brought a duffel bag with clothes and some books. I did have to cart it around Fiji, which wasn't fun, but never in Oz did I think I had too few things. (I did rent a furnished apartment though, which wasn't that much more than an unfurnished one). The answer is different for anyone, of course, but the less is more mentality usually works out for the best.
2010-01-12 14:00
I'm moving to Australia in about nine months (with travel along the way), likely for two years, and have been looking for resources on doing this with little success (everything I find seems to be geared towards elderly British expats, not mid twenties North Americans). Keep posting on what you figure out!!
2010-01-12 19:04
Wow, Perth? That's awesome. I've always been curious about such a large city that is so far removed from most of the rest of the continental population on the east and north.
2010-01-12 23:45
Just packed a Honda Civic to the gills and can relate to your questions...
2010-01-13 23:47
Hey, you're coming to Perth? Email me when you get here, and I'll take you for the best coffee in Perth. Or hot chocolate, or Tim Tam milkshake!
Regards
Mikala in Perth
2010-01-16 15:14
Digitize everything you can! ebooks beat real books when moving, and you can always photograph any relevant school / work stuff in good quality
Hope your flight's weight / luggage restrictions aren't too crazy!
2010-01-25 00:12
I moved to New Zealand a few years ago and ended up staying for nearly 3 years. I had stored everything I owned in a 10x10 storage unit back in the States, which in retrospect, was a big mistake. Like you said, everything you want can be had on the cheap at Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. When I came back, I realized that all of this stuff in storage had been sitting there for years and I never had given it a thought. Also, living abroad made me realize how little I really needed. Now that I am back in the States, I have sold heaps of what was in that little storage unit that I paid so much to rent, not to mention a lot of stuff that decayed, went out-of-style or completely lost my interest. If I had it to do over again (and I am planning to do this kind of thing throughout my life), I will have the rule that nothing is worth keeping in storage unless it has HUGE emotional significance (family heirloom, etc) otherwise, storage is a waste. Enjoy your time abroad...it will change your life. Its one of the best things I ever did. And I can hardly wait until next time. Without the storage unit! :-)