The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad (17 page)

Making a major life change such as a sabbatical or retirement overseas provides a good excuse to clear out the junk—especially if you plan to store your furniture or sell your house. You won’t want to pay storage for things you don’t intend to use again, and the cash will come in handy for your getaway.

Consider, also, that rooms are often smaller overseas than in the wide open spaces of the United States. Unless you already have chosen your new home and know the rooms are spacious, beware of taking king-size beds, extra-large sofas, or oversized tables that may not fit. When we moved into our home in France, the movers struggled with a narrow stairwell; they conferred for several minutes, then hoisted a sofa bed and entertainment center onto the top of the moving van, backed it up to a window and used a ladder to bridge the gap, finally putting the items to rest in our second floor, whereupon all parties shook hands in celebration—and relief.

Now is the time to relentlessly clean house, starting with a giant garage sale. If you’ve already made an exploratory trip and intend to run away for several years, you may want to sell everything. Many people moving to countries where furniture is inexpensive, such as Mexico, choose this solution, because they consider it too troublesome and expensive to move everything—and they can use the money from the sale to buy replacement furnishings for the new home.

On the other hand, replacing the things you sell secondhand by buying new ones when you return will be costly. Apply common sense and consider your specific plans.

After you’ve done your best to reap a profit from the belongings you can’t use anymore, you may want to give items away to family or friends. We’ve made some people very happy with lamps and small appliances that we didn’t want to cart to Europe.

Many items can be donated to charity, and you can take the value as a tax deduction. Most people use this as the last resort for all the things that didn’t sell at the garage sale, and charitable groups such as Goodwill are more than happy to have your castoffs. In fact, a charity’s representatives will often call you; the smart ones follow on the coattails of your garage sale ad! Many charities will come to your house to pick up your donated goods. Remember to get a receipt; you’ll need the records when you file your tax return.

If you have family or friends with extra space, and they’re willing to store your furniture in a clean, dry area, you’re all set. This is the most economical alternative to selling your possessions, and you’ll know your things will be safe and secure. Even if your family can’t take all your belongings, they may be willing to keep special mementos to avoid putting them into a storage locker. If they keep the fragile or expensive items, you can at least save money by getting a smaller storage locker or one that isn’t climate-controlled.

Storage units can be found in sizes that will hold everything from a few boxes to a houseful of belongings. They range from basic garage-type units to climate-controlled spaces. Although the latter are more expensive, they are worth the price to avoid temperature extremes, humidity, and mold or mildew, which can damage valuable belongings, especially furniture or art.

You’ll pay a deposit for the unit. If you pay a year’s rent in advance, try to negotiate a discount. When you look at the prices you’ll see why the garage sale comes before anything else.

Before deciding to store furnishings, put pencil to paper to see if it’s cheaper to store your belongings than to ship them. Your decision will depend on the length of time you’ll be away, your plans for returning, and the type and amount of belongings.

One couple stored their belongings at a cost of $160 a month, although they would have preferred to have their own things in their home overseas. By the time three years rolled by, they had spent $5,760 on storage, and the couple admitted that they missed their antiques. The cost when they first moved would have been about $7,000.

On the other hand, moving furnishings immediately doesn’t make sense when you’re unsure how long you’ll be gone. Live with a furnished rental or find secondhand stuff overseas until you can make an informed decision.

Check the electrical requirements at your destination. If the electricity differs from that in the United States, which uses 110 volts, you’ll need adapter plugs, plus converters or transformers for anything electrical you take.

In addition, the hertz, or cycles per second of the electrical system, may be different. For example, North America uses 60 Hz; Europe uses 50 Hz. Because converters and transformers do not convert cycles, appliances with motors may run faster or slower.

Some equipment, such as televisions and VCRs, won’t work at all in certain countries overseas, because the actual broadcast or tape systems are different.

You’ve heard of adapters, converters, transformers, and the like. If you’ve never had to use them, here’s a brief description of what they are and when to use each.

An
adapter plug
attaches to the U.S. plug, enabling you to plug your appliance into the overseas wall outlet, which will be of a different shape. This is purely a question of fitting the size and shape of the prongs; the adapter will not convert the electrical voltage or cycles.

A
converter
can convert power for an electric appliance (for example, from 110 to 220 or vice versa). Converters will work for short-term, high-voltage use on simple appliances, such as hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, and so on. As a general rule, they work for appliances that don’t have
to be kept plugged in regularly. Check with the manufacturer or supplier of your converter to see what they recommend.

Do
not
use a converter with electronic items. Even mundane products, such as a programmable clock radio or toaster oven, could have electronic parts these days, so be careful that you don’t make the wrong assumption. Anything with an electronic component requires a transformer.

A
transformer
will enable you to use electronic appliances such as computers, copiers, or fax machines. A transformer works with either electric or electronic products, so if you’re unsure, choose the transformer over a converter. Buy the proper size transformer, based on the wattage of the appliance. Check with the manufacturer of the transformer to see which one will work with the electronic appliance you intend it for.

You can purchase adapters, converters, and transformers at travel stores and electronics shops such as Radio Shack or through catalogs such as Franzus, (203) 723-6664; Magellan’s Travel Supplies, (800) 962-4943,
www.magellans.com
; and Walkabout Travel Gear, (800) 852-7085,
www.walkabouttravelgear.com
.

I was impressed with Walkabout Travel Gear’s customer service. They provide complete information on electric current requirements overseas and helpful advice about what you need to adapt. You can download a complete electricity index at
www.walkabouttravelgear.com/wwelect.htm
or ask their advisor, “Dr. Electricity,” at
www.walkabouttravelgear.com/electq.htm
.

There are two schools of thought about taking U.S. lamps (110 volts) overseas, where the power is 220 volts.

According to some people, adapting U.S. lamps of 110 volt and 60 cycles for use on other voltages and cycles is a bad idea. The wiring is a different gauge. Also, U.S. light bulbs are not compatible with 220-volt use.

However, some people in Europe replace the bulb with a 220-volt bulb and use a plug adapter. It’s worked, though I can’t recommend it. Some experts I talked to felt that the switches and materials may fail under the higher voltage.

The best advice I can give is that, if you want to take a particular lamp overseas, go ahead, but have a specialist there examine it to be sure it will work safely.

You can use a transformer on a lamp; however, when you consider that you can buy a lamp just about as cheaply as the transformer, it hardly makes sense.

Consider all of the above when you’re deciding what to take, sell, give away, or store. Obviously, it’s a waste to move electrical appliances unless you can adapt the power successfully. You’ll have to buy new (or new to you) items overseas to replace them.

Before you decide to ship a car overseas, check import regulations and fees at your destination. Certain car makes may be forbidden. At the least, you will need an entry permit for the car, and often the car will need modifications to meet overseas emission or safety standards.

Finally, check whether parts and service for your car, and the type of gas your car uses, are readily available at the destination. You’ll also need to consider the right-hand versus left-hand driving problem if you’re going to a destination where people drive on the “other” side of the road.

Frankly, I think the only reason to keep your car is if it’s paid for and you’re leaving for a short time, say six months or less. If you’ll be gone a year or more, you’ll be much better off selling your car. Otherwise, you can store your car, but it will cost you unless you find a relative with extra garage space. You’ll have to insure it as well, unless it’s not driven. All of which adds up to extra expenses. Invest the money from selling your car in a good used one overseas—or simply invest it in your trip if you can get by overseas without a vehicle.

Just like all rules, this one can be broken for valid reasons. Some friends of ours kept their car because they kept their home and just left their car in the garage, with adult children watching out for both. The advantage to keeping their car is that they have it for their return visits. We, on the other hand, had to rent a car like tourists on our return trips. expensive, but we didn’t want to keep up the insurance and find storage just to have the use of a car occasionally.

Once you’ve decided to make the expat experience last several years, you may want to move your belongings from the States. People who’ve done so report that, for the most part, the experience went smoothly. Overseas moves aren’t that different from moves within the States—except your belongings travel farther, and usually in a ship’s container rather than a moving van.

You can hire movers to pack your things, or you can pack yourself, but I don’t recommend the latter. Movers may not insure belongings if you pack your favorite crystal yourself. For the shipping, you may have enough to fill a twenty-foot container, but if you have a smaller amount movers offer an option to share the container. The latter is less costly but may take longer for delivery if the container is waiting at the warehouse to complete the full load. Some overseas shipments by ship take as little as four to six weeks door-to-door but can take longer. The exact schedule will depend on the distance, the transportation method, and the time needed to clear customs. The moving company will provide a formal quote and give you an estimate on the scheduling.

If you have friends who’ve moved overseas, ask what company they used and if they were satisfied with the service. Call several companies for an estimate. You can find movers listed in the Yellow Pages. International movers have local representatives throughout the United States who are listed locally, or call the national telephone number to find the representative near you. Be sure the mover has international moving experience and tracks your shipment from start to finish.

A few of the larger international moving companies with 800 numbers and/or websites to check are: