The perks of Expatriation part 3: Moving

Even though expatriation (to me) is nothing less than a fantastic experience, one of the less exciting parts of it all is moving. For weeks we have been 'stickering' our lamps, pans, glasses and chairs to make it clear to the movers what had to go overseas, what in storage and what had to stay (tough decisions, I can assure you). For days we had been eating leftovers and take away pizza, cleaning the fridge and other appliances. But because professional movers were hired for us we didn't have to do much on the day itself. In fact, all we could do was watch, buy them a cup of coffee and try very hard not to stand in their way.

It is a weird feeling to sit on your couch (as long as you still can) and seeing all of your stuff disapppear in front of your eyes. It is being wrapped and packed in boxes within a few hours and finally you are sitting in an empty house, on the floor, starting to realise what is about to come. That emptiness suddenly made it very real.

It was time for the next step: our lovely little holiday home in the middle of nowhere...

Some tips to make it easier when you have to move abroad:

1. Sticker everything (and I mean EVERYTHING). It is easy for the movers and everything will go much faster.

2. Throw/give away most of your clothing. Especially when you are coming from Europe, clothes are much cheaper on the other continents. And who doesn't like to shop for new things!

3. Make sure all of the stuff you would like to keep with you, such as passports, credit cards, phone chargers and medicine, is not in the house on the day the movers come. Make no mistake, they will wrap and pack everything and once the container is closed and on its way, you will not be able to get to your belongings for around 2 months...