Since May, we have been in full preparation mode for our move to Singapore. It takes a lot of work to get ready to sell your house, cars, and other items and move half way across the world. One of the first things we did was make sure to see our families and spend some quality time with them (Family Vacation). We have made numerous donations to Goodwill, stockpiled goods we can't get in Singapore (or that cost 3x as much), staged our home, and so much more. Now I can explain how we have gotten ready and what will happen in the future to complete the move.
Packing/Shipping/Storage
One of the more difficult activities we had to do was catalog everything we own and decide what goes in the air shipment, the ocean shipment, or in storage. The air shipment is small and only holds about 100lbs of goods so that will be the remaining clothing that didn't fit in our suitcases and anything we think we will need up until our ocean shipment arrives. The ocean shipment is a standard 40 foot shipping container. Because we aren't planning to bring very much the shipping company is hoping to fit everything in just a 20 foot container. Our belongings will travel on land to California and then be placed on a container ship to be brought to Singapore. This process takes six to eight weeks so it will be a while before we are able to move anywhere permanent.
Temporary Living
When we land in Singapore, we will have nothing but the six (yes, 6!) suitcases we bring with us. Instead of living in a small hotel room for the six to eight weeks until our furniture arrives, we are placed into a serviced apartment. The serviced apartment has two fully furnished bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room. After a week or two we will receive our air shipment which will give us a few more comforts from home. Hopefully after Maddie gets out of doggy jail (quarantine) and joins us it will begin to feel like home.
Sell, sell, sell
With our assignment being two years we decided we did not want to maintain our house from afar so we put it up on the market. I have to say it is weird to see pictures of the inside of your house on the internet but it seems to be working. We have had several people come look at the house and we hope to get an offer in the next couple weeks.
Our cars will likely be sold to somewhere like CarMax just before the movers come. It's hard to sell your car on your own when you can't let go of it until a certain date and time. At least we know CarMax will take them the second we are ready to sell although we are always open to last minute offers.
Lawn mower, weed eater, generator, gas grill, washer, dryer, and refrigerator all have to be sold too. It is company policy not to store the appliances because they often require a lot of repairs to return to working order after you get them back which is why we have to sell. The other items we could store but like the appliances, they will need repair work so we decided it was best to sell them as well.
Shop 'til You Drop
Because almost everything costs more in Singapore we have been on a mission to buy everything we need/want while we are still in the US. Lots of work clothes, summer clothes (Singapore is above 70deg every day of the year), shoes, paper products, toiletries, tablets, power transformers, power converters, additional suitcases, and the list goes on.
I will try to document everything as all the real moving begins next week. I can't believe Tuesday will be my last day in the office here.
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| Loaded up with paper towels, toilet paper, and toiletries. Hoping its enough to last us two years. |
Packing/Shipping/Storage
One of the more difficult activities we had to do was catalog everything we own and decide what goes in the air shipment, the ocean shipment, or in storage. The air shipment is small and only holds about 100lbs of goods so that will be the remaining clothing that didn't fit in our suitcases and anything we think we will need up until our ocean shipment arrives. The ocean shipment is a standard 40 foot shipping container. Because we aren't planning to bring very much the shipping company is hoping to fit everything in just a 20 foot container. Our belongings will travel on land to California and then be placed on a container ship to be brought to Singapore. This process takes six to eight weeks so it will be a while before we are able to move anywhere permanent.
Temporary Living
When we land in Singapore, we will have nothing but the six (yes, 6!) suitcases we bring with us. Instead of living in a small hotel room for the six to eight weeks until our furniture arrives, we are placed into a serviced apartment. The serviced apartment has two fully furnished bedrooms, a kitchen, and living room. After a week or two we will receive our air shipment which will give us a few more comforts from home. Hopefully after Maddie gets out of doggy jail (quarantine) and joins us it will begin to feel like home.
Sell, sell, sell
With our assignment being two years we decided we did not want to maintain our house from afar so we put it up on the market. I have to say it is weird to see pictures of the inside of your house on the internet but it seems to be working. We have had several people come look at the house and we hope to get an offer in the next couple weeks.
Our cars will likely be sold to somewhere like CarMax just before the movers come. It's hard to sell your car on your own when you can't let go of it until a certain date and time. At least we know CarMax will take them the second we are ready to sell although we are always open to last minute offers.
Lawn mower, weed eater, generator, gas grill, washer, dryer, and refrigerator all have to be sold too. It is company policy not to store the appliances because they often require a lot of repairs to return to working order after you get them back which is why we have to sell. The other items we could store but like the appliances, they will need repair work so we decided it was best to sell them as well.
Shop 'til You Drop
Because almost everything costs more in Singapore we have been on a mission to buy everything we need/want while we are still in the US. Lots of work clothes, summer clothes (Singapore is above 70deg every day of the year), shoes, paper products, toiletries, tablets, power transformers, power converters, additional suitcases, and the list goes on.
I will try to document everything as all the real moving begins next week. I can't believe Tuesday will be my last day in the office here.
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