In all
honesty, I’m already in Australia; I arrived a week ago. Moving day actually occurred
back in mid-April, however, many people have asked me, “How’s the move going?,”
so I thought it best to take a step back and record those details. Also, during my last few weeks on campus in Texas, a
few colleagues approached me to say they were thinking, “Moving abroad sounds
like fun! I think I’ll do it too. Tell
me what I need to know.” Well, you asked
and I have answered. May this (and the
next few posts) be your guide.
The first
thing to know about moving abroad is: Moving abroad SUCKS! If your first major move is a move overseas I
highly advise against this. You need to
start small and build up your tolerance to frustration, irritation, impatience
and disappointment. First you need to
(1) move across town, then (2) move somewhere else in your state, if you can
stomach that (3) move to another state, then (4) move cross country, and
finally (5) do a “test” international move by doing a one-year sabbatical overseas,
such as a Fulbright. There is
actually more information related to step #5, but I’ll get to that in a future
post.
Once you’ve
completed steps 1-5 and you’re confident you want to go all in and “permanently”
move overseas, there are a few things you need to do. First you need to get a job, a sponsorship,
and a visa of some sort. Then you have to decide what you want to do with all
your stuff. This is where living a
minimalist lifestyle is helpful. The
funny thing is, a few years ago there was a flood in my house, and all the
furniture was destroyed along with plenty of other personal belongings. I never replaced those things because I knew
I was going to be in Africa for over a year.
And then I still didn’t replace them when I returned to the U.S., so in
all reality, I don’t really have much to my name. Nevertheless, I still culled a large portion of
my belongings for this move.
Whether
you are a minimalist or not you have to find a company to ship your
things. This is where the headache
really begins. UQ required me to obtain three official quotes. The problem was no one wanted to do a “small”
international move, so it took over a month of emails to more than two dozen
companies to finally find three which would actually give me quotes. In general, companies want you to do a full
container shipment for an overseas move, which costs approximately $30,000 (to
Australia). Half container shipments are
also possible, but less preferred. A
full container (see below) can pretty much fit all the contents of a normal
four bedroom-house. If you can’t fill a full (or half) container you can in ship
smaller cartons called lift vans.
The
contract you sign with the moving company is only the beginning. After you do that you have to apply for an
Employer Identification Number (EIN) through the IRS. An EIN classifies you as a business entity,
which of course you don’t need. But it is
the only way you are allowed you to export things overseas.
You also
have to fill out an Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement. This is an inventory of everything being
shipped. You also have to sign all kinds
of statements swearing you haven’t sent prohibited items. Some items prohibited from being shipped to
Australia include: drugs of any kind (Ok, that doesn’t seem so bad), weapons
including martial arts equipment (What if I’m a pro MMA fighter?), articles
manufactured from wildlife (What about my cheetah skin rug? Apparently that is a no.), and “material
which may be cause offence to a reasonable adult” (which includes a VERY long
list of things ranging from child porn to bestiality. Yes, those were all listed on the form.).
Other fun
forms you have to fill out include your power of attorney, client contact form,
transit protection application, and proof of insurance. In case you weren’t keeping track that’s nine
different documents before the movers have even set the appointment to come to
your house to pick up your stuff.
I will
give myself a little pat on the back because apparently I am a “master mover”
as claimed by both my friends who stopped by on moving day for emotional
support and the movers themselves.
Oh! One more thing… when moving
abroad, you can’t pack your belongings yourself. I’m not 100% sure I understand the logic of that
rule, but that is the policy. Despite
knowing this I did pack my things before moving day and then the movers
promptly took everything out of my boxes and repacked them in their boxes. But, because I was already organized my
moving day took… drum roll please… two hours and 43 minutes. That’s right folks! Record time.
It may have been due to this:
Blue
signs with red tape which meant “Do NOT move!”:
Pink
signs grouped like items together (books on left, clothes on right) to be
moved:
Here’s
some of the professional packing in progress:
One full
lift van on the right and one lift van being loaded on the left:
Almost
done:
And… boarding
up the second lift van:
At the
end of moving day I breathed a sigh of relief thinking I had one major hurdle
toward immigration checked off. Little
did I know it would not be that easy. Of
course, the mishap that was to follow will have to be saved for another post.
I do hope
this little vignette has been helpful if you are considering an international
move. Of course, you might want to wait
for Moving-Part 2 before booking your own adventure!
