The reality of this move is slowly beginning to set in. There is certainly the actual mechanics of moving which I have been through many times. Over the years, I have lived in many different places including different countries, different cities and different residences within the same city so I’m pretty familiar with the actual mechanics of moving. However, there is a major difference this time – I will be getting rid of almost everything I own. That introduces an emotional and mental aspect to this move that has not really been there before.
In previous moves, I (or ‘we’ when I was married) either moved most of our ‘stuff’ with us to the new location or put a lot of things in storage if the move was temporary and we expected to return. When I moved to Kuwait many, many years ago, I put most of my possessions in storage knowing I would return at some point to Los Angeles. On the other hand, when I moved from Los Angeles to Montana, I packed up virtually everything I owned and moved it to my new house in Montana! This time, with this move overseas, it is my intent to divest myself of almost everything I own.
Certainly, there are some things that have sentimental value that I will keep and some things that I will keep for my daughter but, other than that, it is my intention to get rid of most everything else. I have no intention of shipping furniture, tools, etc. overseas. First of all, there is the cost, logistics and potential customs issues to deal with. Barb and I initially intend to lease a place which could well mean that in a year from when we initially arrive in Portugal, we will have to move again. And lastly, Barb has a house in Arizona, and I have my house here in Montana. It is a virtual certainty we will end up living in a place that is smaller than either of our houses so shipping a bunch of stuff overseas just doesn’t make sense. And, the fact is, the less stuff you have, the easier it is to be flexible.
All of that said, there is still an emotional aspect to this move that I have not faced before. For example, I have had a truck of some kind since 1994. I am about to put my current truck on the market. It’s a 2010 Ford Ranger that I inherited from my dad, and it only has 40,000 miles on it. The fact is, I don’t use it that much. I use it when I need to haul something to or from Home Depot or the dump. Even so, it will be hard to part with my truck. However, I just can’t justify keeping it. That is certainly one thing a move like this does – it makes you really focus and get pragmatic about what you ‘need’ versus what you want.
Stay tuned!
Wow – You’re doing it ! Best wishes. Minimizing is a hard thing to do as I learned the hard way. Happy however in the end. Far fewer worries and OMG – the freedom in some ways I never imagined. Best wishes. B