Move update

[selenay]

It's now less than three months and it's all starting to feel very real, which means that I'm cycling between being excited and being overwhelmed with everything. That's normal, right? I didn't really document this part the last time, so I don't know. Also, there were fewer moving parts to coordinate the last time, so maybe that's why I remember being calmer.

Anyway, Mum arrived from England last week, so things are starting to kick into gear now.

1) She's been talking to realtors and apparently she's picked one as of this morning. So the house should be going on the market soon.

2) The cats have been booked into the vet next weeks to have their microchips checked and their rabies shots administered (as long as the chips can be read - they'll need new chips if they can't be read).

3) We've zeroed in on move dates. The original plan I proposed last year was that I'd fly the day after my shipping left, because I thought it would be pretty near impossible to stay in the house when it was practically empty. Mum freaked at that (she wanted me around to finish stuff after the shipping left...) and I revised my plan to me leaving a week after the shipping. When we discussed this plan last week, Mum freaked and claimed she'd never said that because it will be totally impractical for me to stay in the house after my shipping leaves, what are you talking about you crazy girl? So I'm back to leaving the day after my shipping leaves, which is what I'd originally wanted :-)

4) I'm getting quotes from shipping companies - I've got a video survey with one booked tonight, another has my tentative packing list, and I'm waiting for replies from two others. When I've got quotes, I can book the date for that and then book my flight.

5) I'm tentatively looking at my shipping leaving on July 9th or 10th (depending on when the shipper can do it), so I'll fly on the 10th or 11th. It'll definitely be that week, anyway, and I have to arrive in England on a week day due to the cats. That means my latest flying date is July 12th.

6) OMG THAT'S LESS THAN THREE MONTHS AWAY OMG FLAIL AND PANIC.

7) Ahem.

8) I'm planning to leave my job on June 29th. It's a pay day, just before a long weekend, and it gives us a solid week to get the house cleared before the shippers arrive, so it seems like a good date to pick.

9) I still need to talk to an accountant about what do do with my pensions here and double-check that I don't need to do more than tell the CRA that I'm leaving, but I'll be trying to do that this week. It looks like I don't need to actually file taxes until next Feb as usual, which means I don't need to hang around here waiting for documents to arrive so I can do that. Phew!

10) We have a plan to handle my medication transition that will involve me taking a stash of Humira with me, so that's another big weight off.

Listing it all out, it sounds like everything is super under control and totally on schedule. And it probably is!

But. This is such a big process, with so many moving parts (house sale! shipping! cats!), and I'm definitely having freak-out moments when I panic about making all of that work. Oddly, my freak-outs about whether or not I'll find work and housing have largely tapered off. I feel much more confident about that side of things working out. Maybe I'll freak out about that again later?

It's the bit from the middle of June to the middle of July that I currently have panics about. I can honestly say that I'm really, REALLY looking forward to July 14th, when I'll wake up on a Saturday morning in my parents' spare room, with the cats mithering for food outside my door, because that's when the most intimidating parts will be over and it'll be a weekend so I can rest and sleep.

This really is the last time I make a trans-Atlantic move.

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

Good luck!!

[selenay]

Thanks!

[beccaelizabeth]

good luck

[selenay]

Thank you!

[green_knight]

Objectively, it sounds as if everything is under control. Subjectively, well, I can understand that you would feel extremely wibbly; it's a lot of balls to juggle.

[selenay]

It's a lot of balls, that's where all my wibbles come from! Too many balls to juggle and I'm worried that one will drop.

Or that one of those balls will be massively over-budget and the entire thing will come tumbling down due to money. I'm hope that one doesn't happen - I should know by the end of the week.

[lilacsigil]

International moves are so vastly stressful (and not just from trying to cull books to under the given weight)! My last move was 2km across town and honestly, much easier.

[selenay]

Thankfully when you're using sea shipping, it's the volume more than the weight that matters. And culling my books will definitely not be happening! I'll cull some of the furniture before I do that.

When I get back to the UK, any moves after that won't be more than a couple of miles and I'm hoping they'll feel like a piece of cake compared to this.

[umadoshi]

Even small/domestic moves are so stressful that it's no wonder this seems overwhelming. But it sounds like you've got things well organized and on the right track!

[selenay]

At least I'm doing a convincing impression of an organised person :-)

I've never done a local move. I'm really hoping they're a lot easier than these international ones. Not that I plan to move often after I'm settled!

[umadoshi]

I've never done a local move. I'm really hoping they're a lot easier than these international ones.

My biggest moves have been between here and Toronto, and that was plenty bad enough; I imagine international/between continents moves are exponentially worse. O_O (That said, I think the most stressful moves I've ever had or helped out with have been local or close to it, but that's because of very specific things that went wrong. ^^;)

[selenay]

International/across oceans moves are definitely complicated and stressful! So much paperwork is involved. SO MUCH.

Specific Things Going Wrong can make anything that looks simple feel very stressful.