Moving Story Part Two - Wahoo!

Hello All,

Okay, I am adding a paragraph to the top of this. I got a little long winded, so if you are not interested in how we got our truck here, skip down to the -------- line. 😉

We have arrived! We picked up our truck today, licensed and all! It came in great condition or rather the same condition. 😉 All that work to get it here is behind us. Such relief. We have a new Ford Explorer and getting it here was one of the biggest challenges we have faced. We brought it all the way from Kansas City, MO. We drove it to the docks in Florida to ship with Tropical Shipping. Lee from managed freight took care of it from there. My husband picked it up just a few hours ago. Lee called us to follow up and make sure everything was okay. I am so happy to have my vehicle. Weird how you miss things you take for granted.

Sidenote: We could have shipped it from our house in K.C. via a crate with our household goods, but the cost was about triple. We would have also had to either rent a vehicle to drive to family's house where we stored more stuff or we would have had to fly out of K.C. to STT. Either way the expense would have been so much more.

What we did do was drive to Florida (via family's home dropping off stuff) and then flew out of Fort Lauderdale to SJU (San Juan) and then on to STT. Our one way plane tickets were $250/each. We thought that was a great deal.

To get your vehicle here via boat you need the following: Money (all kinds of fees, taxes, and charges are involved), vehicle title and notorized copies of titles (at least three copies), insurance (normal coverage and in certain instances marine insurance), notorized copies (at least three) of a permission letter from your lien holder (if applicable). You have to comply with the shipping company, customs, STT 'laws', and lien holder's rules. Sometimes these things overlap and even contradict. You have to have patience, perseverence, will, and a way. The shipping company will help you a lot with information, however they do not know of all things involved. For example they know nothing of what your lien holder needs in order to give you permission letters. They couldn't. One, there are uncountable lien holders and Two, the 'rules' change from vehicle to vehicle. Customs too seem to mold to the situation or vehicle. It is really hard to get a straight and correct answer to what you need. I do know that currently there is a law that you can not transport computer or electronic type equipment in your vehicle that is being shipped. Have not found out why. You can have up to 30 cubic feet of stuff in your vehicle while it is being shipped, but I understood that it could not block windows or be in the front of the vehicle.

Insurance was tricky as well. Our former insurance company would not cover the vehicle here in STT. So my husband got insurance here in STT. The marine insurance we needed to get our lien holder's permission was not going to be granted until they saw the vehicle at the dock. Which was a catch 22 since we needed the permission letter before we could take the truck to the dock. We ended up getting the permission letter by getting a letter from the insurance company that stated they would give us insurance once on the dock. And I believe we paid for the insurance before we got there to assure our lien holder that we would have it.

Our truck was new and I don't know if anyone else will have this issue, but we had to license it in the state we bought it before we could ship it. This was tricky too because you have to send in your title to the capital of the state with your license application. So we had to get our notorized copies of the title before we licensed the vehicle.

After your paperwork is in order and you have paid in full the amount owed the shipping company, you drop off your vehicle at the dock or as I said before you can ship from home and just drive it on to a crate. We dreaded going to the dock. I had snacks and drinks packed in the rental truck and tons of things for the kids to do in case we were there all day. It turned out to be a five minute ordeal. My husband walked in with the paperwork and a few minutes later they came out to look over the vehicle and ask a few questions. He signed some paperwork and we left the truck there to clear customs later. It was so easy at that point that we had the giggles. We were able to relax and enjoy our short day in Florida. We flew out the next morning.

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So now here we are. I have been on STT exactly two weeks and we have all our belongings in our house (not quite unpacked) and our vehicle and not one thing was damaged. (We used Crowley to ship our household goods and Managed Freight to ship our vehicle - they also did the licensing/customs work) We did pack well and did our homework. It was stressful the last month before we moved. I know stress is not a word used here on the islands, but we are talking previous. Packing and shipping breakables was nerve racking, but we used newspaper, bubble wrap, and double boxed with towels, sheets, blankets, pillows or anything soft around them. Using clothing or blankets, etc for packing material worked and saved room. No reason to waste space with styrofoam. We did spend money buying sturdy cardboard boxes for packing dishes, t.v., and other breakables. Since we used a crate, we didn't ship anything thru U.S. Postal Service, but we have heard that is the other most reliable way to ship items under 70 pounds.

Having all of our belongings around us and our vehicle has just made the tension slide off our backs. I didn't realize how tightly wound I was until now. Life is starting to slow down a bit.

I have decided to homeschool our kids and am excited about it. I hope to get them caught up and within a few years they will be back into school. I hope to join a homeschool group soon since I want them to develop social skills as well. All very important.

In all honesty, these first two weeks on STT have not been easy and not too enjoyable. We did take days off from unpacking and errand running to go to the beach. That made it bearable. Now, I am used to driving on the left, know where the grocery stores are located, have school situated, have everything I need, and all the excitement I can handle. We have so many goals and things we want to do here. I am looking forward to the next VINOW get together and to exploring not only STT, but STJ and STX. I want to meet some people, make new friends, find good restaurants, sail, and everything else that you don't have as much opportunity to do in the Mid-west. Island life is completely different from the Mid-west life and vacationing here is completely different from living here. It is weird talking to family and friends back home. They always talk about being jealous and wanting to hear all about the fun we are having. I guess I would be the same way if I were in their shoes. I want to tell them about all my 'hardships', but I tell them about the beach and the ocean instead. It is beautiful here and warm. I understand now that you can not describe life here because it is so different for everyone. It is wonderful and at the same time you still have to clean house and do routine things that are not anything to be excited about. Instead of an ocean view screensaver on my computer, I have an ocean view out my window. It is starting to set in and soon I will be a relaxed islander in training. 😉

Now, my two cents worth of advice to people moving here or living here. Take time to plan a day to 'vacation'. You need to go to the beach, mountaintop, swimming pool, or sail the ocean in order to remember why you came here. It really is easy to get into a daily grind of getting things done and just basic living. You need to pretend you are on vacation at least once a month if not more. Just wait, one day you will be at the beach and a vacationer will say, "You live here in paradise?!? Tell me all about it!" Let them know about your favorite beach or island experience. They may have to go back to the cold or very cold climate and at least they can dream about the islands. That will help keep them warm. Come to think of it, I really don't have anything to complain about. Everyone should enjoy an island at least for a vacation. The crazy ones that move here, well we will just have more stories to share that will make people say, "I wish I could be on a tropical island paradise right now."

Teresa