How does one prepare to move halfway across the world? What steps have I taken to prepare for the move, and, how did the move turn out?
After I accepted my new job in Jonkoping, Sweden, I started looking into shipping my belongings over there. My friends who live in Sweden advised me to bring as much of my own things as possible, as goods in Sweden are quite expensive, made even more so by the weak value of the dollar. Besides, I also needed to budget for renting and furnishing an apartment with my first paycheck not arriving until the end of August.
It turns out shipping goods to Sweden was NOT going to be an option. The average cost quoted for a basic box (like a Xerox paper size box) was $400! I researched companies on-line, checked with UPS, FedEx, and the USPS. So, I would need to carry my belongings over in suitcases. Luckily, my trip over in late June, booked using my frequent flyer miles, was first class. There’s three suitcases allowed with no fees at all. Then my “moving there” flight in late July would allow for 3 more suitcases, one free and 2 more for a fee. OK, that’s six bags, but for ALL my winter clothes, work clothes, personal items, some books, card-making and scrapbook supplies, toiletries, and other essentials, I needed more space! So that is a challenge…
What about everything I’m not moving over with me? I had a huge garage sale, took my extra horse equipment to a used tack sale, sold my extra scrapbooking and card supplies, and had a “clearance” sale at school of my old teacher books and classroom supplies. Luckily, the teacher who is taking my position wanted everything I was leaving behind, so that made moving out of Room 14 much easier than it could have been. And finally, I have a super generous best friend who gave me a portion of her garage for long term storage. I paid her a nominal sum for her space, and I know my stuff won’t end up on Storage Wars if I miss a future payment!
What else needed to be done? Sign and return my employment contract, renew my passport (with a new, less than flattering photo,) apply for a Swedish work permit and visa, go to the LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to get a police clearance letter, figure out how to transfer funds monthly to cover my ongoing bills here in the US, close gym and Weight Watchers memberships, cancel magazine subscriptions, cancel car and health insurances, find a home for Mago and his giant cage (my umbrella cockatoo I’ve had for over 20 years!), and sell my car (gulp!)
So, now that moving day has come and gone, did it all go according to plan? Well, not exactly…
My “vacation” trip to Sweden in late June-early July went very well. I was rather comical negotiating 3 huge rolling duffel bags on and off the trains (along with an overstuffed rolling carry-on bag and a bulging backpack,) but I managed to get the bags to my new school, International English School Jonkoping, where they were stored until I returned in August. I went traveling all around Sweden, met one of my mom’s cousins who lives in Malmo, saw friends from my Antarctica trip, and even got to stay aboard the Oden for a few days while it was docked in Landkrona. I visited the church where my grandparents were married, and explored Helsingborg, where my grandfather, mom, and aunts were all born.
After a short 3 weeks in California, it was “MOVING DAY.” As I packed and repacked, I realized I needed more bags to transport my belongings. I ended up with 6 bags to check, plus my backpack and carry on. I packed my carry-on with clothes for the first few days of work, jewelry, valuables, etc… assuming that it would be with me all the time. Well…
After paying $660 dollars in excess baggage fees (remember, that is still waaaaay cheaper than replacing my belongings) and checking all those bags, I figured I was home free. That is, until there was no place for my carry-on in the overhead bins, so the flight attendant gate checked it for me. Uh Oh – yep. After flying all night and well into the next day, I arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden on the evening of Aug. 1, with a 2 hour bus ride to Jonkoping ahead of me, and being expected at IES at 7:30 am on Aug. 2, with no carry on bag. All the other bags arrived, but the one with the carefully planned work outfits and books I planned to take to school, missing!
British Airways assured me it would arrive the next day, so now it was on to Jonkoping. Next adventure, find a cab from the bus/train station to the hotel which was literally across the street. But with 6 bags I wasn’t walking! No cabs to be found at 11:15 pm on a Monday night, but I was finally able to track one down and get into the Elite Stora Hotel for the night.
The next few days were a blur of new job “boot camp”-tying to learn all the essentials before the new teachers started. And it was a harrowing 4 days before my missing bag resurfaced. After 4 nights in the hotel, and no luck finding any available apartment, I rented a room in another teacher’s place for the month.
Next challenge – work permit. Well, that hasn’t gone as planned either. I submitted all the required information and documents in early June, for a process which should have taken about 3 weeks. After almost daily phone calls and emails (all unanswered), last week I got a call from Migrationsverket asking if I was in Sweden? “Yes,” I replied. “Working?” they asked. “Yes” I replied again. “Well you can’t be here” I was told. Uh oh! So now there is an application for an “Emergency” work permit being processed- ah, bureaucracy!
Last challenge – banking. On my first payday, August 25, I happily walked down to the local bank with my paycheck and opened a checking account, requested a debit/isa card, and completed paperwork to transfer a large “chunk” of my pay to my California bank to pay bills via online bill pay. A week later, I get a call that the money transfer didn’t go through! So I’m worried about my bills being paid on time, but what can I do but try again? The bank teller changes the way the bank routing information is entered and off goes my money to the US – NOT! Now it is September 15 and my California bank is cheerfully notifying me of “online bill pay transactions failed”, so after numerous emails (phone calls are near impossible because banking hours in the US are middle of the night here!) I worked with the bank again to put the numbers in the right place, and we think the money is traveling to my account. Keep your fingers crossed!
