Packing up

The last time we moved house we only had one kid and were moving to a bigger house so we could pack up everything without over thinking it. Oh and also we were only moving one hour away, unlike this time........(cue dramatic dum dum duuuuum music) So here's a post about how we packed up our home and moved to California.

1. If your moving abroad it is possible to do it yourself and I have met many who have. However it is quite complicated and customs can be very tricky. Therefore I would recommend getting the movers in. If your going to do it alone though do get in touch and I can give you some tips on what to watch for.

 

2. Set a budget and shop around. The company J works for gave us a relocation allowance, however we didn't get our hands on that money until J was in the U.S. That meant we had to get a loan of some money and stick to our budget. A quick Internet search will give you lots of companies that can help move your belongings. I would recommend getting some personal recommendations as the last ting you want when you arrive in your new country is to find all your stuff smashed. Many families Ive spoke to brought nothing other than what they could carry in suitcases, only shipping max two large boxes. This means you can save some of the relocation fee and make further savings if you decide to sell what your not bringing. We did think about this but with the trio and my tendency towards homesickness having as many home comforts as possible might help.

3. Have a look at what you own carefully and make a list on good ole pen and paper of exactly what you want to bring. When we first rang some moving companies for quotes they would ask what size container we would need. We had no idea. As we were leaving our home furnished were advised a twenty foot container would be plenty for a family of five. A friend of mine however had a forty foot container as she was bringing beds and sofas. Ive even met people who brought over their cars which needs their own container



4. Give yourself lots of time. I work really well when I leave things to the last minute but this is one time when you really don't want to do that. Pinterest was my best friend here are some of my Pins that I save that helped me a lot. The timetable is fab and really helped. Now I know if your hiring movers isn't that what they do and yeah they will pack everything but I found by packing up each area I decluttered as I went. This meant I more than halved what was packed had I just let the movers in I'm sure 15 tubs of dried Playdoh, 22 broken car toys and countless used colouring books would have made the trip. Also find out how long it will take to move everything to your new home. For us it was two months!!! We scheduled mine and the kids arrival around this as I thought it would be easier to stay home and arrive a few days before our shipment, rather than arrive in a foreign place and wait months for our favourite "stuff"

5. Consider storage, be it a professional storage company or your Granny's attic. We left behind some baby clothes and a pram that was used for the trio and some other sentimemtal items that weren't going to be used but I couldn't day goodbye to.

6. Know whats involved with customs. As I've mentioned previously I had started packing before the movers arrived that miserable day in December. I thought I was the most helpful woman in the world and I would be the movers favourite customer, what with my boxes labelled by rooms and endless tea with the "nice" biscuits. Yeah well turn out customs requires a detailed list of every single thing in each box.......like right down to 6 teaspoons and a chipped Bosco mug. This I where our movers were worth their weight in gold. They had brought their own moving supplies so didn't require my empty Tayto boxes and as they wrapped every Paw Patrol mug they but it on their inventory list for customs. They removed all batteries explaining that the extreme cold may cause damage so best to take them out.

7. Relax on the day as much is possible. Hopefully you will have done the preparation work and have organised it so its clear whats to go on the container and whats to stay behind. We were both nervous and excited and it made our big move seem imminent. I may or may not have shed tears xx

The Animals and the Kids

So we have moved....hence the lack of posts. I'm currently writing this in our rented home in California. OK so whats happened with our pet trio. As I mentioned in the last post, the animals were a difficult topic and boy was I right. I'm so glad I didn't underestimate how emotional it would be.

Freddy the turtle
To be honest Freddy was the easiest to say goodbye to as he was my husbands pet. As he didn't do any tricks the trio were going to be ok saying goodbye (harsh but true). Dh simply asked around and discovered a friend of his cousins was looking for a turtle for their son. We checked that they knew what was required and arranged a pick up. The trio never even noticed he was gone until a day or two before we left.

Kitcat the cat (Dd named her when she was 3 hence the name)

So Kitcat didn't move over with us and if I'm being really honest something I'm still kind of regretting. My main reason for not bringing her over was that I was told by our vet that she would need to become an indoor cat. She has spent 5years roaming our local area as she pleased and I was doubtful she would take very kindly to suddenly becoming an indoor cat. I have since learnt that this is not the case and she would only have needed to stay indoors for a few weeks She is however now homed with a lovely work colleague of mine who had smallies and a dog like us, so I imagine she is very happy. 

 Scribbles the dog

Well with the help of Pets on Board Scribbles made the move with us. This company were amazing and helped me to get everything organised, including what vaccines he would need and even getting his transport kennel built. Many evenings I would think of new questions and they were answered very promptly. I wanted Scribbles to be in California when we arrived so he flew over a few days beforehand, where he was met by J (dh) as he was unboarding the flight.

So after living in California for a few months and watching everyone settle we seen that Dd was really missing her beloved Kitcat. We weren't quite sure what we would do and waited for about three months before deciding that maybe we would get her a kitten. As we are almost sure that we wont be staying in California forever and learning our lesson this little Kitten will be coming home with us when we decide to move. Knowing this has also stopped the trio for asking for any more pets eg fish, lizards, spiders and a baby elephant (Ds2 request) They understand the costs and time factored into moving pets.

This is Kitty our new cat who has settled in really well. Yup she is very similar to Kitcat and nope I

know we get no points for originality in naming our cats.

Any questions please feel free to ask in the comments?

Moving All Abroad

Myself, DH and little minions are moving abroad and I feel this is going to give me a whole lot of inspiration for my blog. Also I need to get into practice writing on here as it will be a fun way to keep everyone updated once we have moved. As my first "Moving Abroad" entry I thought Id answer some of the most frequently asked questions to date ;)

Er what your moving?
Lol Id say at least ninety percent of people ask us this first. Yes yes we are moving to the US and it is a definite decision. I totally get how people are surprised. Firstly myself and himself are over the average age of backpackers (even if I wont admit that in person) and secondly we have three kids, a mortgage and some animals all mixed in with two full time jobs. Are we crazy......why yes but only a little.

How did this come about (happen)?
Dh has always dreamed of working abroad. He works with an international company and regularly travels to other countries getting a little taste of what it would be like to be to work outside of Ireland. However Ive never had such a dream. My dream was to be financially stable enough that I could stay at home with the trio only working when I wanted rather than when needed.
I recently came home from work to find out that I hadn't received funding for a course I had planned to do. It would have meant dedicating 4 years to my employer but due to budget restrictions I never got it and life would take a funny turn. Dh asked would I be intrested in moving abroad for a few years and explained how benefical it would be to his career aaaaaaaaand I wouldn't have to work if I didn't want to. I don't know why but I answred yes and himself jumped into action getting in touch with contacts immeadiately.......and that's basically how it happened.

Where are you going?
San Francisco, California. More specifically we think we will be living in Fremont which is approx. 40mins from San Francisco. We wont know for sure though until himself heads out there and sees it for himself.

How do the little ones feel?
I had read somewhere that whenever a big change is about to occur talk it out with the oldest first. So that's what we did. We asked how would she like to live in America for a few years? Immediately she was on board and full of excitement which filtered to her little brothers. As we are now getting closer little nerves are starting to pop up but nothing to huge and nothing that has yet to change their minds.

How do you feel?
Excited mostly but nervous too. I'm also at times a little overwhelmed by all that's to be done.

What will you do with your animals?
This has probably been one of the more tough decisions and one that we have had to include the kids in. Living here at present is a large dog, cat and turtle. Freddy the turtle will be staying and as Dh brought him in he will have to find a home for him (he is also the only one to really have attachment to him). The Dog will be coming with us and I'm currently looking up pet transportation options to aid us. He is a huge addition to our family and I really don't think anywhere would be home without him. The Cat has been the hardest decision. Myself and Dd desperately would like to bring her. Dd has a big connection to this cat and being honest I think this is going to be hardest for her. In another post Ill talk more about our animal plans.

What will you do with your home?
As we don't know for sure if we will be going forever we thought we will rent out our home until we make that decision. I have emailed two property management companies to set up appointments and get more information on becoming landlords ;)

So that's the most frequently asked questions to date if ye have anymore by all means ask in the comments. I do plan to share much more detail in the coming months and bring ye on this crazy adventure with us. Ill be sharing the good and the bad (fingers crossed not too many bads)