Job Discussion Forums

[craigzy]

im trying to leave for taiwan in late january, but im scared for one reason - what am i going to do with all my stuff?

im 28, and have accumulated way too much for one person. what do i do with it? give it away? sell it? try to dump it in my parents attic?

couches, tv's, silverware, appliances, a car, beds, tables, towels, clothes, childhood shit, books, pictures, personal things, etc...

what have you done?

should i buy a space to house everything, or just the things that are easily acquirable?

[markholmes]

When I lived in Japan, I decided to sell my flat in England which at the time was being rented out. I sold the flat to the tenant with everything included (from TV, beds to cutlery). Fortunately, in my case it was a good decision, because I eventually moved to Vancouver and I was never going to ship that crap over here.

My advice is; if you own your home don't sell it, rent it out (preferably with most of the stuff you mentioned). Real estate never goes down in the long term.

Don't sell things that are personal to you. I kept my record collection, but sold all my electric guitars and amplifiers. This I regret.

You'll probably go home eventually. Matresses are replacable, memories and personal items are not.

Then again if you are only thinking about doing it for year you might consider a storage unit.

[DirtGuy]

Let me give you a little bit different perspective and that migh help you decide what to do.

I am a bit older than you. OK, OK, a lot older. I have already done all the accumulation routine and now wish to dump everything and have some fun. I'm in the process of selling my house (I'll reinvest the proceeds in an income property) and have moved most of what I own into storage. I am not into material things (except tools for my business) and I am absolutely astounded at how much crap I have accumulated. Where did all this stuff come from? It doesn't make me happy yet I now have the responsibility of caring for it. My house is taking forever to sell so this stuff is just taking up storage space. The longer it is in there the less I care about it. It's raining today so I plan to go the storage place and start taking things out to give to charity.

GET RID OF YOUR STUFF!!!!! Did I say that strongly enough? It makes no difference in your life except to weigh you down and keep you from doing the things you really want to do. Look at your posting. I'll bet deep down inside you would be happy to be unencumbered. Assuming you leave, by the time you come back I predict you will ask yourself why did you keep all this junk. You will probably find that all these things that you thought mattered to you really do not.

Look, you are young and have many decades ahead of you to acquire all the trappings of our materialistic society. Wait until you "settle down" and get a ball and chain, oops, meant spouse and kids. You are only young once so take advantage of that fact. Material possessions come and to and go and are soon forgotten. The memories of your experiences while traveling will stay with you your entire life and increase in value as you get older.

OK, OK, I'll get off my soapbox and shut up. But first just one more thought: I have never been happier in my entire life than when everything I owned in this world comfortably fit into the back of my (small) truck. I could go anywhere and do anything and had no-one and nothing to tie me down. And I was just about your age.

DirtGuy

[BigWally]

I'm 27...luckily I was living with a buddy who just purchased his 1st house back in Canada before I left, and he allowed me free storage of a bunch of stuff in his basement. Most of my stuff (ie. computer, bed, desks, chairs) I sold to people I knew. The other stuff I couldnt sell, or didnt want to (my surround sound system, TV, DVD collection, etc) I took home to my parents and set it up for them to enjoy. The only thing I have to do when I get back to Canada is rent a UHaul truck and ship out the 15 or so boxes from my buddy's place and the 20 or so boxes from my parents. Makes going back home and being mobile fairly easy for me.

Ganbei!

[craigzy]

thanks guys, all good stuff.

[773]

I originally stored my stuff at my parents' when I left ten years ago, then intending to stay abroad for two years. Things can change, and for me, teaching around the world is where it's at...no intention at all of resettling back in the US. TOO BORING!!!! So, every time I go home I give more and more away, and have shipped what I want to keep overseas with me (books, music, stuff I bought on my travels). It can get expensive shipping so much stuff every time I move, but it's worth it to have all of those personal things with me. My suggestion would be to think through how long you intend to be away for...just a year? Maybe store your stuff so you don't have to rebuy everything. Planning on a longer stint? You could have it all professionally shipped overseas...worth it if you ask me. My husband and I spent an absolute fortune setting up a very nice place in Taiwan. It would have been far, far cheaper to ship out our stuff from home. So basically, if you want to have nice things and plan on staying a while, getting a container to ship your goods might be a good way to go. Electrical sockets / voltage is the same as N. America, too.