Job Discussion Forums

Dan_R · Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Posts: 12 Location: North Carolina, USA

Just wondering what some of you have done with your belongings before embarking on a lengthy trip overseas. Im considering doing the same and one of my main concerns is what to do with all my stuff while Im gone. Did you store it? Sell it all? Just wondering. I cant keep any of it with my folks since there's "no room at the inn".

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

Left it in my ex-boyfriend's garage. He wasn't thrilled about keeping it, but he agreed nonetheless.

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_KK_ · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Posts: 7

I had a garage sale and sold whatever I could. The rest I left at my parent's house in boxes. Since that isn't an option for you, maybe renting out a storage space would be the best bet.

JosephP · Joined: 13 May 2003 Posts: 445

Now is the time to seriously edit your "stuff." When I first went overseas I ditched everything except for the clothes in my bag. Rather liberating. Of course, that's kind of radical. At any rate, proritize what "stuff" is irreplaceable and rubbish or sell the rest.

Dan_R · Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Posts: 12 Location: North Carolina, USA

Thanks for the advice. . . . in reality, pretty much all my stuff is replaceable. Theres just so much of it that it will be a big job getting rid of/selling it.

Norman Bethune · Joined: 19 Apr 2004 Posts: 731

Imagine that you are taking the ultimate trip...You can't take it with you. Burn it all.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

I got rid of most of it. I still have an antique ceramics collection and a few pieces of art in a friend's storage space.

Shonai Ben · Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 617

I sold everything including my vehicle.

I like to travel light....

Ben Round de Bloc · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1946

Sold and gave away almost all of it. Sold my house and vehicle as well. I still have a few boxes of those have-to-keep-forever things stored in my mother's house. I didn't make the plunge immediately, however. When I first came here, I wasn't really thinking of it as a permanent move. About a year and a half later, I went back and made arrangements to get rid of everything.

Guest · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:58 pm Post subject:

I have a Mobile Home in Australia and also some antiques that my Mother left me and I have now turned my back on it all and walked away.

I will let my ex partner live in the Mobile home as long as he wishes to - I have no use for any of that "stuff" in my life now - it does not make for happiness.

Chris_Crossley · Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:37 am Post subject: All in the attic!

I left all of my things sealed in cardboard boxes in my old landlady's attic. They are still there, even after three years, and she's not charging me a penny for storage. Isn't she kind?

ContemporaryDog · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 1477 Location: Wuhan, China

Before I left I did a huge nuclear assault on all the stuff in my room (I was in my old room at my parents' house so as you can imagine it had a heck of a lot of stuff), putting all the books and CDs and other stuff that I wanted into a few boxes, putting books I didn't want into boxes for my parents to choose whether to give to charity shops or keep.

They sold their house in London after I left, and the stuff is now being stored in their new house in the Isle of Wight.

i'm annoyed actually that I didn't take all my CDs with me. I had no idea how terrible Chinese music shops would be! in Wuhan at any rate. Clothes are cheap here, if I could go back in time I would just take less clothes and more music...

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

chuck it. Seriously. I have one box at my parents and the rest of my worldly belongings fint into a backpack and suitcase.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Really depends who you are and what you have. I have a family and we went from a fully furnished house in Canada to Japan. We had a lot of stuff as you can imagine and many precious things that I don't want to chuck (antique furniture, china...). I wasn't as ruthless as I wish I had been, but you never know how long you will be away. I think many people think 1-2 years and it turns into 15.
Many things are stored at my parent's house and friends are using much of our furniture. Glad it is put to good use. Had 2 garage sales that unloaded a lot of our belongings and what we didn't sell went to charity.

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

A related question: what do you do with all of the stuff that you accumulate in your new country?!?!? Some of the bigger things that I have acquired, like furniture, I will try to either sell or just give away, but I have also managed to build up quite a nice selection of trinkets. Most of it will probably become garbage, but a lot of those trinkets were gifts--birthday presents, souvenirs, etc. I cannot get rid of things that were given to me as presents. I am already anticipating a packing nightmare.

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