I (Jarrett) wanted to create a single blog post that acts as a “super checklist” of everything that we needed to do to move abroad to the PLACE_WE_ARE_MOVING_TO. This post will link to other articles we write that dig much deeper into various things that we did to move abroad. This list is in no way exhaustive, regardless of how comprehensive it may be. This is a living document that will change over time and become more complete as we learn what needs to happen.
The People
This section lays out the steps that we took for specific members of the family to get their things done and in order for them to successfully move abroad. These are things such as gathering documents, getting documents apostilled, getting finances in order, or whatever it may be to check all the boxes for that individual. In some cases, it may be that a specific step will cover multiple people and will be called out as such.
- Laura
- Birth Certificate apostilled… somewhere
- Jarrett
- Birth Certificate apostilled in birth state
- (Maybe Optional) Divorce Decree apostilled
- (Optional) Name change
- Baby
- Get copies of Birth Certificate
- Misc
- (Laura/Jarrett) Get marriage certificate apostilled
Downsizing
Downsizing is a huge amount of work and emotionally difficult, but multiple people who have moved abroad have recommended to downsize as much as you possibly can (such as aiming to bring everything you can in 2 suitcases per person). While we haven’t yet decided just how much we will downsize, Jarrett is aiming for less than 2 suitcases for himself and Laura is undecided. A factor to consider is how much to downsize on behalf of the dogs and the baby.
This section will lay out the areas of the house to downsize and roughly the sections within each area to downsize. An area is typically going to be a room, but it could also be certain portions of the house, such as the garage cabinets. There are also various ways to get rid of stuff, such as giving things away to friends or on “Buy Nothing” groups, donating items, selling things via websites/consignment shops, estate sale, or just throwing things away.
- Condo
- Living Room
- Storage Cabinet
- Baby Area
- Dog Crate and Above
- Kitchen
- Shelving Unit
- Island
- Lower Left Cabinets
- Upper Left Cabinets
- Lower Right Cabinets
- Upper Right Cabinets
- Jarrett’s Old Office
- Shelves
- Server Rack / Closet
- Hallway
- Hallway Closet
- Clothes
- Half Shelves
- Upper Shelves
- Guest Bathroom
- Laura’s Office
- Closet
- TV Console
- Desk Shelves
- Master Bedroom
- Closet
- Dresser
- Nightstands
- Under Bed
- Baby Room
- Shelves
- Dresser
- Master Bathroom
- Living Room
- In-Law Unit
- Bathroom
- Jarrett’s New Office
- Closet
- Bedroom
- Wet Bar Cabinets
- Living Area