Leaving for Good

There is so much involved in "leaving for good", and with that said, I don't just mean the emotional aspect, or even the physical act of packing. I mean the ins and outs of leaving everything behind, and then actually getting on an airplane with your bags, laptops, valuables, and my kitty. Once you've arrived in your new country you then have to do what? Move in to your new furnished, or unfurnished, apartment? Set up Internet connection? Find your belongings that you nervously shipped and pray to _____ (God?) that they're all intact? With so much to do, do you know where to begin? When? Overwhelming, huh? It is, but it's also all feasible.

When moving abroad for an indeterminate amount of time, there is a lot more that goes into planning than just what to pack. In order to organize my scattered thoughts, I have separated our tasks in order to avoid the possible sense of feeling overwhelmed. I'm going to avoid the "settling in" part for now, but you have to think about that in advance in order to be organize yourself and plan appropriately.

Immigration

1. First and foremost, you need to apply for your visa (whether it be the work visa or the permanent residency visa) because that takes time and let's be real, you can't work/live abroad legally without the permission
2. You will also need to register with the federal police once you arrive, and you should also let the closest embassy know that you're there - to stay
3. Once you've settled down, you'll also need get all of your documents like your ID card, the country's version of a SSN (CPF in Brazil), and anything else you'll need to assimilate into society.

Packing

This is the most difficult part, in my opinion. There's only two of us, and we did just move 2 years ago so it's not like we have a plethora of belongings, but I'm sentimental and the hardest part for me was deciding what I think I need. I did successfully clean out my mom's house of my boxes and such last year, so at least all that I own is in one place. Here.

I suggest beginning by throwing away, donating, and selling that which you know for sure you're not going to take with you. Once you have done that, you can pack much easier. For instance, I have gone through all of my books more than once asking myself if I'll read them again, I've donated or given away a number of books, and then I bought a Kindle. Now I feel that I'm prepared to pack the books that I will be taking with me. So far I have two boxes of those that I could not live without, that I will use if I ever give private English classes, or that I know for sure I won't need over the next few months. Don't pack items that you'll need next week. Unpacking is no fun. Oh yea, I forgot, I have boxes of books at school and more to buy. Ugh.

I'm also selling furniture and household items that we won't be taking with us to Brazil. I'm grateful for all of the people in central Florida who need bookshelves, tables, chairs, and TVs and will take mine off my hands.

Now as I sit on my couch waiting for a woman to come and buy my chairs, I start to panic a bit that I'm selling too soon; but then I remember that the fewer items that we have in our apartment means less to worry about packing. See, we need to find a shipping company soon and plan on shipping our belongings to Brazil before we move. For this reason, it's ok to sell now. Plus, my friends and family understand this and I know no one will feel uncomfortable if we have fewer chairs or they eat dinner on a tray for a night or two.


Oooh, you have to think of that when you move abroad?

1. Our cell phone plan runs out weeks before we leave, but I don't want to keep it for another 3 weeks because I won't be here to pay that last bill and I don't want to be screwed (again). We'll need to buy a cheap-o phone and/or a prepaid plan to take care of this.
2. We're selling both our cars. To whom? When? How much? We'll have to deal with this in a few months, but doesn't hurt to think about it now. At least I'll be done working about a month before we move; this way we can easily sell one car sooner than the other, and then just have to deal with the one right before we leave. This leads us to car insurance. At least we'll get a bit of a break during the last month.
3. Any last bills will have to be taken care of on-line, paid in advance, or with the help of family (thanks, Mom!).
4. Our cat. I know I've mentioned it before, but he's important and is going on the plane with us. It's a bit of a pain in the ____ that he needs to get checked by a vet and all only 10 days before our departure. I mean, why not a month?

I know this is a lot to think about, but it's also not an extensive list; it could actually be much longer and more detailed. I didn't even get into the settling part, but that's mainly because I'm working on taking care of that with my future employer.

Hopefully this information will be helpful to anyone who is contemplating, or already in the "leaving for good and then settling" stage.