Moving Check Lists

Lately, moving preparations and the idea of moving is making me excited and a little nervous too. Sure, I have moved a lot in my lifetime, including from one country to another. But this time around it is different. Maybe because I was very young (18 years old and just finished high school) when I decided to come to the States or a little naïve and/ or thought I will only stay for a year, making it less obvious and strenuous to move and leave friends and family behind.

Nowadays, I'm married with two very young children and my husband has a good paying but very stressful job here that allows me to stay home with our kids and raise them. Relocating to another, unknown country, with a family sure makes it a tough decision because we are leaving our securities such as job, house, cars and standard of living behind and starting over with far fewer possessions and lots of dreams and hopes.

Also, the process of moving is more laborious as there are a lot of things to remember, to prepare and to research. Thus, we started on our moving check lists and reading books and blogs about Costa Rica (CR). Many people before us have taken the leap of faith and moved to CR and have written about it, which will make it easier for us to follow. Those lists are very helpful when preparing for a big move and also remind one of things that we most likely would forget if they wouldn't be listed. For example, when moving out of the country for a few years, you want to make sure that your US driver license, passport, etc. are up-to-date and preferably valid for the next few years. In addition, you will need to get copies of all your (and I mean for the entire family) medical and dental records, and updating your vaccines. I also have to follow up on the airline pet policies for our tabby cat and get her paperwork done by the vet so that she can come with us.

But more importantly we have to decide of what to take with us and start paring down on clothes,  furniture, household items and toys. This means we need to come up with a game plan for storing, selling and giving away items and also contacting companies for quotes on shipping and import duties. Yes, Costa Rica has import duties and they are pretty hefty on electronics and automobiles. Thus, we decided not to take any furniture or cars with us and limit our stuff to the necessities such as clothes, some toys, books, linens, computers etc. But I'm not a foul because I know there still will be plenty of things to pack and ship. And this is just the beginning of things. According to our timeline, we have about 5-7 months before leaving but as we all know, time flies. Thus, I'm making lists of things and starting to prepare. Especially, since we will be going down to CR in October to take a family vacation and see the place we want to call home in the near future and I'm planning on taking some stuff with us that will be stored there till we return. 

Overall so, my excitement about the move is much bigger and anticipated than the nervousness that comes with such a big and bold decision. So far, I feel confident that everything will go smoothly and we will accomplish every task on time. And since this move to CR is our decision and not forced upon us, I think we will be ready to go on time and be very happy once we are there.