We are now just over 6 weeks from the time we set sail on the Queen Mary 2!
There's still SO much to do. This week I'll share with you just how difficult it is to organize everything for an international move. My parents did it before we were born (US to Switzerland) and then again when we were kids (Switzerland to US) and they moved an entire house of furniture PLUS 3 kids! We are not moving that much stuff….or people. Yet it still seems practically impossible and I'm completely stressed out.
What we've managed to get done thus far:
UK BANK ACCOUNT: We opened a UK Bank account (practically impossible to do this while still in the U.S.). Luckily we had help from our relocation specialists (Citrus Relocations).
MOVERS: We got a ton of quotes for that HUGE Vardi painting thinking it would be too expensive to ship and we'd just move some boxes via a pallet for pickup. As it turns out, it was not that much more to get the painting crated and add boxes to that shipment in a container. So we have a shipping company coming in May to pack up the painting and boxes of other 'stuff'. This will be in storage until we have a more permanent address in the UK. In the meantime, we will have 2-3 boxes shipped via SendMyBag or GetMyParcel to our rental.
CANCEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: We have canceled many of our ongoing subscriptions (air filters, sadly the Rancho Gordo Bean Club, water filters, etc). We still have many subscriptions left to cancel but will likely keep a few (Netflix, Apple subscriptions, Amazon Prime for now until we officially 'switch' countries, etc).
TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS: We booked the QM2 a while ago to make sure we had a cabin in the mid-ship area (Scott gets seasick). And I finally booked a shuttle (via Cunard) from the port in Southampton to St. Pancras station in London, where we can wander over to Kings Cross Station and get on the LNER to Newcastle! I purchased the 'Two Together' railcard for discounts since we'll likely always be traveling on the trains together. (I also got a rental car to drive down to NJ/NY)
SELL STUFF: I am slowly adding things to Facebook Marketplace to sell (small appliances, etc). Only the things that are worth something. I'm still holding onto my Vitamix even though I'll need to give that up soon (I better make another batch of vegan cheese for pizza/lasagna first!). Will try to sell our exercise bike, though I've loved using it. Most of this stuff wouldn't work in the UK without a converter. Not worth it.
HOUSE: Our house is currently on the market.
Things we have yet to do:
BANK ACCOUNTS: We still must change our address with all of our US banks and credit card companies. We will likely close one or two of those before we leave.
SIMS: As our phones are still fairly new, they are not unlocked and we will have to 'buy them out', get them unlocked and get eSims. Looks like Tello will be good for porting our US numbers and perhaps GiffGaff for the UK. As we will have ZERO credit in the UK, we will have to have month-to-month plans for now. Google Voice is not an option as that seems to have problems getting 2Fa (2-factor authorizations) via text.
MEDICAL RECORDS: We will get current medical/dental records to take with us.
VPN: We will get ExpressVPN for the UK so we can still watch our Netflix shows without issues and can get access to U.S. apps, websites, etc.
TOR: We must apply for the “Transfer of Residence” for the UK. This means we can move over our household goods without paying tax/VAT (we have one year to bring everything in).
ACCOMMODATIONS: So we have not yet started looking for a rental yet. We heard it's practically impossible to do while still in the U.S. Most people get a hotel or AirBnB for a month or 2 while looking. Again, we will be working with Citrus Relocations to help find us a 6-month rental. That search will begin shortly. We may have to get a hotel for a few days or a week or two, depending on when the rental will begin.
CAR: We will be selling our electric car (as I watch the value drop and drop and drop again….). Carvana seems to be the quickest and easiest solution for this. It's been a great car!
INSURANCE: We will keep some insurance for the time being (home owners...to cover household goods in transit, instrument insurance until we are in the UK). We will cancel car insurance, health insurance, liability insurance, etc. We are really looking forward to canceling our health insurance. What a scam!
UTILITIES: We will need to cancel our house utilities including electric, propane, internet, trash pickup, etc.
ORGANIZATION: We have A LOT of boxes that still need to be sorted through. It's been difficult to do as we need to keep the house in order until it sells. So I do a few boxes at a time. Yes, there are boxes that have not been opened since we moved to Vermont (we thought we'd leave many things packed for an easier move to Canada…..oh well).
HAUL AWAY: There will be a lot of random 'stuff' left in the house after the movers come and we pack up what we're taking with us on the ship. Furniture, boxes of junk, garbage, etc. We will need to arrange for a haul-away company to come and get everything out of the house.
Now I'm exhausted just listing all of that. I'm sure I left a few things off the list. Honestly, it's terrifying. I'm not even sure I can get all of this done in time but I'm doing my best, checking things off the list one at a time.
Every day there's a new stress factor: family in the hospital, new computer sent to the wrong address...in another state (looking at you, Jersey!), snow storms (yes, in April), etc. And on top of all that, we are still teaching daily and trying to finish some projects while I still have my large computer monitor, and of course, this blog!
Happy Eclipse Day! Yes, we were in the path of totality. Here it is just after the 100% coverage here in Vermont:
Hoping next week's post will be more uplifting….