Pre-move checklist

Cancel your AZ utilities, subscriptions, etc.

Get a local driver's license, register to vote.

I think life will be a lot easier with a local bank account. Your checks will be accepted more, you won't pay ATM fees, etc.

Consider leaving your leather goods, photo albums, yearbooks, etc. in dry, salt-free, mold-free AZ.

In 110 days, it will be 6/30/2010, which is summertime. If your pets are flying in a crate, the regular airlines won't allow it if any of your stops will have expected temperatures of 85F+.

Good additions! I had thought about the utilities, driver's license, etc. but forgot to put them on the list.

Good point about the ATM fees... I had wondered about that. Can't remember the last time I wrote a check, but maybe I'll be doing it more often there, since I'll have to pay rent somehow!

I guess I miscalculated... I'm arriving on July 3. Well, close enough!

Just a small dog -- only 6 pounds, going under the seat.

I also forgot to put schools on the list, for those who have kids other than the canine variety!

Hello all,

So I am approximately 750 days away from my move, so I can't add much in terms of on-island expenses yet. However, it doesn't hurt to introduce myself so that I can meet you guys when down there (STT for me).

Couple naive questions. Can I go ahead and open a bank account there now, while not yet living on the island? What about setting up a PO box? I recollect reading that it takes time to get a PO box, but owning a business expedites this process...

Again, I will add my two cents when I can, and hope to contribute back to the board.

Peace and love,

Tim

@ roadrunner ... good list so far.... On the important documents.... I think it would be a good idea to get extra set of such as ...social security card... birth certificate.... marriage license... baptismal....divorce papers .... DD214 for Ex-military... get a passport done even if you don't need one ,comes in handy... I would even get my doctor to give me scipts to last 90 day supply for the delays possible ....some times they do want original documents and not copies so they can touch the raised seal....you'll also need a copy of your lease to show you have a residence on island for some things... good luck!!:D oh yea kids documents too if they are coming

Oy, get used to not even writing checks -- you'll be doing many, many transactions in cash. Since I moved, I went from doing most of my banking and shopping using my debit card, to doing it all with cash-money. I'm thinking in the next ten years it'll switch back... but count on things to move faster with pieces of paper printed with dead white men.

"Packing list -- What goes in the suitcases? What gets shipped? What do I really not need after all?"

I'm now within 30 days of departure. I started packing three weeks ago. I filled two suitcases and one carry-on. Since that time, I have removed at least one item every day. It's tough to purge, but it's possible.

I've been scanning and shredding. So I've been able to get rid of lots of paperwork.

I'm giving away all of my electronics except for cel and laptop, as well as DVDs, CDs, books, art, tools, and warm clothes.

I still have two suitcases and a carry-on, but they are much lighter.

in the 6 months before we moved to STX we started 4 "piles" - take with us, store in Kentucky, throw away/give away/sell, and undecided. we moved room by room, makeing decisions. Often things moved from one pile to another.

By the time we left we had one small storage unit with family treasures and enough furniture (bed, table & chairs, couch) to furnish an apartment should we come back. We packed and mailed 15 boxes of household goods to The Waves at Cane Bay - the owner had agreed to let us mail to her. At that time cars could contain personal items and we filled our two cars with fragile things, our important papers and our electronics and drove them to Rivera Beach, Florida for shipping.

Purging was the hardest part for me. 35 years of stuff.

At twice as much Mexican food as you were planning. LOL

Terry, I'm sure you're right!! We did the same thing when we left New Orleans... tried to get tired of fresh, right off the boat shrimp. Didn't work... just made us crave shrimp when we got here. 🙂 I'm looking forward to butterbread from Centerline Bakery and BLT fish sandwiches at Chenay Bay!

Fortunately, I'm keeping my little townhouse here (who can sell anything in Phoenix in this economy?!), but even so... life requires a lot of "things," and you can only drag so many things onto a plane! I keep thinking of some show I used to see occasionally on HGTV, where a professional would come in and help someone make piles of their stuff to sell, throw away, and keep. The "keep" pile was always way too big at first! It's not going to be easy, but it's a good reminder that it's all just stuff. Not everyone has the opportunity to live in the VI, and I suspect a lot of people would be thrilled to give up their "stuff" if given the chance!