Packing Woes

So the trouble we've run into now is giving an estimate of weight and volume of the stuff we'll be shipping.  Um, my dishes are still in the cupboard, and I'm certain our bed won't fit on our bathroom scale.  I understand that they need to know the size container that we need, but how in the world do they presume we tell them when this is not something we do regularly?  I don't stand around guessing the weight of my things, or how many boxes (and what size) it would take to pack up an entire room in my house.  When this is all said and done, I certainly hope I can give some hindsight to this issue so some of you out there will not have steam coming out your ears as I do at this very moment...

Choosing what to bring

I promise this will be my last post today. 

When thinking about what to bring, think about the following things:
How long will you be there?
What can you live without?
What can't you live without?
Do you really need to bring 14 pairs of shoes?
Can you afford to buy new things that you leave behind?
Can your electronics be used with an adapter so you don't need to buy new ones?
If you can afford to buy new stuff, can you find it there?

After you've answered these questions, my number one suggestion to you is CLEAN HOUSE!  Remember, living quarters are much much smaller in the UK.  I haven't even moved yet and I'm still worried that we'll end up bringing too much stuff with us.  Anything you can live without, I would seriously consider getting rid of, unless you're coming back.  I stored all my scrapbook/cardmaking supplies.  Sure I can live without them for three years, but I certainly didn't want to have to start from scratch and buy all new stuff when we get back.  I did minimize the stuff I stored however.  I pulled out a lot of things I didn't think I'd ever use, and put them in our garage sale. 

I threw out a lot of shoes.  I was saving a few nicer pair in case I needed them.  Let's face it; I'm a stay-at-home mom.  I don't need fancy shoes.  If I get to the UK and suddenly have a job and fancy parties to go to, I'll buy some nice shoes.  Until then, out with glam and in with comfort.

I searched online to see if my skin care and cosmetics are readily available in the UK.  Thankfully they are, but I still stocked up on some skin care items because 1) they're small and won't take up a lot of room when packing and 2) they're cheaper here.

So that's basically the mindset I'm having about all our stuff.  If we can live without it for a while, do we really need to keep it?  If we do, then it goes into storage.  If we absolutely cannot live without it, or can't afford to buy it new, it comes with us.  So far, the things that have fallen in this category are: our bed, our son's furniture, our kitchen table and chairs, our clothes, whatever electronics we can use with adapters, my knitting stuff (a girl's gotta have one luxury, right?  Afterall, look at all those shoes I'm not bringing!).

That's my moving lesson for the day: minimize minimize minimize!!

Great helpful document

I found a great document the other day online.  Unfortunately you have to pay for it, but so far it's been completely worth it.  The guy who wrote it talks about all the things you'll need to expect as far as fees, getting through customs, buying/renting a house/car, healthcare, etc.  He includes somewhat of a checklist of things to get done at different time intervals before you leave.  He even had a section about pregnancy and having a child in the UK which I especially appreciated.  Anyway, the document can be found here: How to Arrive and Thrive in the UK

I couldn't find any reviews of it online, but with his money-back guarantee I felt like I had nothing to lose in trying it out.  So far, as I said, I have not been disappointed.  It's 195 pages and has info on everything you can think of, and then some. 

One downside I have found but is easily corrected:  He has written the document for any nationality moving to the UK, not specifically Americans (dangit! *grin*).  So at one point he mentions that you need an international drivers license to drive over there.  This is not true for Americans.  It obviously won't hurt you to have one, but since we live in an English speaking country, our drivers license is good for one year, and it's very easy to convert it to a UK license when/if you choose to do so.  So, even though that one thing was questionable in his document, I was easily able to check up on it with the links he has included.  He has links to all the most up-to-date and trustworthy information. 

I give it an A so far!

So many questions

These are some of the questions I've had tumbling around in my head since it first became clear that this whole journey might really happen:

Where will we live?
How will our belongings get there (and not take forever)?
What do we need to bring with us?
Will I have trouble getting prenatal healthcare?
Will we be able to open a bank account (I've heard it's a nightmare)?
How will we pay bills until we can open a bank account?
What electronics can we bring that will work with adapters?
Will Mr. R qualify for a visa?
How will I help our son adapt to a 5 hour time difference?
Will I be able to get certain products that I like here (makeup, medicine, etc)?
Will we have to get new driver's licenses?
What will I need to do for my new baby to be an American citizen when we repatriate?
How is the best way to pay our American credit cards with UK money?
And most importantly: How often can I come home to visit my family?!

Many of these questions have already been answered, but I wanted a starting point so you can see how clueless we were, and then as we gather information, I'll include it here.

First thoughts

I'm not sure I even know where to start with this blog...  These plans first started to come to order around the beginning of January and have slowly (very slowly) taken shape from there.

This is, as is told by the title of this blog, a temporary adventure.  We will be back living in the states in time for Scooch to start school.  That will be long enough to hopefully fulfill Mr. R's contentment, and probably about as long as I can possibly stand to be that far away from my family.  When we do repatriate, we'll be planting ourselves firmly in the north.  Our goal: New York, upstate.  Reality: wherever Mr. R can find a good job that is within a few hours drive of my family.

 As is the way with all plans, these are subject to change.  I wouldn't say that we are for SURE moving until we have purchased plane tickets and have sent our belongings on their way. I'm a little nervous about the long plane trip with a toddler who doesn't like to sit still, ever.  And the time change.  Oh the time change.  An hour for Daylight Saving Time is bad enough; 4 hours should be...an adventure *grin*.

Mr. R has an amazing business opportunity with people he has previously worked with.  I will continue to stay home with Scooch and our rapidly growing new addition; as well as continue to work on my own little venture (more to come on that).

To start, we'll be living in beautiful Ilkley, which is north of London.  Mr. R will have a short commute to work and hopefully I'll be able to walk to the market, since I've heard the refrigerators over there are college-sized and I'll probably be making the trip several times a week.  I'm hoping that will help me work off the baby weight too; lots of walking. 

The purpose of this blog, is to (hopefully) eventually help others who are making the same transition.  There are a lot of questions I have about this adventure, and a lot of information is scattered all over the internet, or not there at all.  I plan to chronicle our times with the hopes that someone will find it helpful for them in the future.

So ready or not, here we go!!