Moving list 🙂

i brought everything except most of the furniture. i had my pillow on my carry on. everything i brought, i needed at the time.
i wish my car had arrived sooner. real sense of isolation with out it.

Someone else posted a similar question a few months ago, so try doing a search. I thought there were lots of good responses in that thread.

I say bring as many battery operated devices you can find, because the power goes out every now and then. I have a battery operated 10" fan, DVD player, cell phone charger, etc.

What you really have to do is weight the benefits/costs of items. For instance, if you plan to ship a plain ole coffee maker, nothing special, and the box is going to be 1.5 cu. ft. How much will that cost to ship? How much will a brand new one cost once you're here. Keep in mind, too, that maybe you can sell the old one for a few bucks to go toward the new one here, which you can find on sale!

I just picked a coffee pot as one example. I believe the less you bring, the better. Most apartments will come furnished and even have house wares. And here's the part most people don't want to believe. You may not like it here, and you may want to leave in a very short time. Now....what do you do? Ship it all back?

Just look at cars for sale on this forum..You can click on the seller's name and see all their posts, including way back when they were SURE they would be staying for the rest of their life. Here they are selling their car, furniture, etc. because they are leaving island.

Travel light!!

I travelled light, too. After nearly a year, going back to the States for vacation -- and selling the car I still have there and raiding the storage unit! :@) I don't want to ship my car here because I have one here and I can get a good price for it there. The storage unit is being raided for my favorite DVDs (I can buy them again, but I have them already and I can send them for cheap) and some other home decor that I miss, oh and the surge protector that we thought was packed but apparently got missed.

ms411- I have tried to search for that thread. I searched before I posted and after, so I guess I'm not using the right words?? Any ideas would be helpful. I don't want to waste people's time, but it's def something I want to hear lots of opinions on so I can feel somewhat educated about mine . *-) (I only have until the end of Jan.)

I would love more opinions on this thread and thank ya'll so much for the ones that have posted already!! (BTW- surge protectors were something I hadn't thought of that I have already so I don't need to buy them. Should be cheap to bring, too!) 😀

Bring bathing suits. We have day of the week suits.That's how we tell what day it is.Less is more

Awesome...it's a good question, however, it doesn't have a good answer. Everyone is different, and some can "get by" with Kmart sheets (LOL...that's always the one that gets me...people always say bring sheets.)

A couple of very good suggestions are ....bring your "hobbies", like beading, crochet, etc.; stock up on prescription meds; right now, in the states, summer clothes will be at give-a-way prices. Stock up. It's what we wear year 'round; anything you can't live without...*-)...I sat here for at least 3 minutes, and couldn't come up with an example.

Try that search again, and be sure you change the default setting to all dates. Try "what should I bring", something like that.

Here's the way I look at it. Whatever you do bring will eventually get used up or worn out. Then you do what we do....buy locally (whatever is available) or shop on line or have friends/family send you stuff or stock up when you travel.

Truly...I have friends who travel much more than I, and when they ask if I need/want anything from the states, it's always no thank you (with extremely rare, if ever, exceptions).

The one thing I really miss is my Kettubah - it's a Jewish wedding contract - they are traditionally created as a piece of art to hang in your home. We got married 3 months before moving here, so it's sentimental and beautiful. But in truth, it probably would've gotten ruined down here since we don't live in a house with AC.

What I didn't really need.... 3 pairs of Jeans and 2 suits.
Jeans - 1 maybe... for the winter, or when I travel stateside.
Suits - Think I wore one to an interview, but if I did, I was totally over-dressed.

I think we did well considering our circumstances.... we moved with 5 weeks notice. Had never been here before. So we got a short-term rental apartment and went from there.

Recent thread on the topic:

https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,160671,160780

Most comprehensive thread about it:

https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,90834,91172

FYI, I got these by searching for "wish" and "sheets". 😀

Thanks so much everyone! I love hearing everyone's experiences and I also appreciate all the advice!
@fdr- those are words I haven't tried. Thanks! 🙂

CAtoSTX reminded me about jeans for travel. As odd as it may sound, do bring a few cool weather clothes for when you travel back to the states. I keep mine stored in a suitcase.

Buy bulk medication (100 generic benadryl, aspirin, dramamine, etc).

Only do the bulk med thing if you know you are going to use it quickly. I find I don't get sick as much living here as in the States, so everything has expired before I used much at all! Also, you can get all that stuff through Drugstore.com very cheaply.

humblechick:: 😉
I have a question for you. Are you high or low maintenance? If you are high maintenance- uh, oh. If low, just bring clothes and essentials. You will find what you need pretty quickly and can send for it.

heck i brought books, fabric for quilting ,my rock collection my grown sons books from when he was a child. i had a storage unit at one time and hated it. so i brought everything of personal meaning with me. hey, i am very sentimental. btw i have free books if any one wants them.

@ East Ender- I'm super low maintenance. I love hiking, camping, I don't really wear makeup, i would rather live in shorts, a tank top and a swimsuit. I hate sleeves- even on t- shirts ( I know- I'm weird) and I love my flip flops and vibrams. I only want to make sure I'm not going to end up leaving something important at home that would have cost me a few cents to bring and a fortune to buy. Just trying to be practical is all. And quite frankly- I'm scared to death of WAPA! That's my biggest concern. I have a very practical grip on reality that it is not paradise down there. I'm going to have to work my butt off to make ends meet. And I would rather do it there than here. The only difference is if I do get an occasional day off I will be at the beach with my dog and my Spf (sans sleeves). And the only thing I know for sure is that the colors of the water down there soothes my soul like nothing else. 😉