We are one week out from leaving the good old USA and heading down under. This is a busy time of making lists, running errands, making sure addresses are changed at the banks and such, and getting things as settled as we can before we make the big move. I have been able to get a lot done, especially these days since I am not working anymore. There are still things to do but I believe (and hope) that we can get everything done in the next few days.
Our last two obstacles are to sell our house and get Aaron a job. Everything else has worked out so far, so I just have faith that the last two will as well. The unemployment in Australia is low right now, so generally, if you want to work, you can. We also have some friends who told us that Aaron could do casual work (aka part time/contract work in US terms) for them once we get there until he finds something. That is a another blessing in our long line of blessings.
We are so grateful for these wonderful friends we have met through our church in Australia. Although we have not met them face to face yet, we have emailed and messaged back and forth and facebook has been really helpful to get us all connected. They have been over the top helpful and sweet and have taken care of some arrangements for us and even helped us provide a few furnishings for our future home. I feel truly blessed to have these wonderful people in our life.
People have asked me how much we are taking to Oz. My general answer is...not a lot!
It is expensive to ship things and so we sold a lot of our stuff and have put some in storage. We shipped 9 boxes (7 tea-chests and 2 book boxes) total, 2 were going the fast way and should get there in about 14 days and the other 7 should take about 84 days. They have all shipped and I am hoping they all behave themselves and get through customs without any problems. Our fast set should arrive before we do, by about a week (hopefully this Friday) and the slow group is scheduled for the end of March but of course we secretly hope it gets there much sooner. We could, of course, sent them super duper fast, like 2-3 day delivery, but that would have cost an even more outrageous amount of money, so we went with this alternative.
Australia is quite particular about what you can and can't bring into their lovely country. You can only bring in treated wood because they are afraid it might contain a small critter that will contaminate their ecosystem. Now, the term "treated" is in the eye of the customs beholder, and it could be that they deem that it is not treated enough and then you have to pay for it to be fumigated, which can be quite expensive. So, for my first trip, I plan to see how it all goes in customs and then figure out what I can bring next time I go through. You also cannot bring in bamboo or any foliage, more critters could live there too! I understand their caution and can appreciate wanting to keep the American bugs in American and the Aussie bugs in Oz.
In addition to the boxes, we are taking 2 pieces of luggage each on the plane, plus a carry on each. Most of my bags and my son's bags are already packed because I want to be sure I have room for everything. Plus, since it is summer there and winter here, I can go ahead and pack up the summer stuff and get it all ready to go. I also need to try and keep all the luggage below 50 pounds, so it is a not-so-fun game of pack and weigh, pack and weigh but so far they are all under 50 pounds, so that is good. Who knows how many last minute additions there will be to have to redistribute in the last few minutes.
7 days to get it all done so I better get busy!
Heather
You only shipped 9 boxes? Yeah, that’s not a lot to take, but that’s understandable considering you were moving from one continent to another. It’s not wise to take a lot and pay a bunch for the not-so-important stuff. But rather than leaving a lot of stuff behind, it’s wiser to donate or sell them. PEDRO @ PackCrateAndShip.com
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