Moving always creates a to-do list, usually several, and our move west in September is no exception although it’s going to be a pretty short one. We will depart Tennessee the day after Labor Day for five hour flight to Oregon, then we’ll begin our search for a new home.
We’ve already taken care of a few things on our moving list: we reserved our hotel stay for the four days over Labor Day weekend here, when we’ll be cleaning our apartment. That hotel, a Drury Inn, is close by, pet friendly, and we got a great room rate. The hotel provides not only a BIG free breakfast every morning but free happy hour food that’s great for dinner as well as free cocktails!
We’ve also purchased our airline tickets for a nonstop flight to Portland in premium economy seats, and reserved spots for Kaipo and Tilly to travel in-cabin with us. We’ve also reserved a car to use until our car arrives.
Still left to do before heading west: a) hire and schedule movers for our stuff, b) hire and schedule a car mover and then rent a car for our remaining days here after they pick it up; c) purchase travel crates for the dogs, and d) pack our suitcases for the flight west.
That’s it.
I thought you might like to see though the list of tasks we would have needed to complete if we had chosen to move to San Miguel de Allende:
May:
- Make an appointment for Brett’s visa at the Atlanta consulate
- Pick up 12 months of monthly statements directly from our credit union (required proof of net income) – the credit union is located over an hour’s drive away.
- Get Brett’s photo taken for the visa
- Go to Atlanta for visa appointment (Brett)
- Purchase airline tickets to Mexico (and pay pet fees)
- Reserve Airbnb for stay in Massachusetts
June:
- Get our marriage certificate apostilled in Tennessee; get my birth certificate apostilled in California
- Decide what will and will not go into storage; get rid of more stuff, and decide which items we will sell before moving out
- Interview and choose a long-distance mover for our household goods
July:
- Take both Kaipo and Tilly to the vet to update vaccinations and get certificates of health.
- Purchase travel crates for dogs
- Make hotel reservations for two nights on the road up to Massachusetts.
- Choose and contact a realtor in SMA to help us find a home
- Make reservation for ground transportation from Mexico arrival airport to San Miguel de Allende
August:
- Select storage company in Massachusetts and rent space for our household goods.
- Start packing for SMA
- Start cleaning the apartment
September:
- Move out of apartment and finish cleaning/drop off keys
- Drive to MA (3 days)
- Get household goods into storage in Massachusetts
- Get Massachusetts driver’s licenses
- License car in Massachusetts for storage
- Fly to Mexico and begin again
I have trouble breathing every time I look at this list – I am just too old for this!
The list for Mexico is exhausting. I’m glad you decided against moving there. I’ve stayed at the Drury in FL and had the free evening meal and it’s a lot of fun. It’s not the most exciting menu and it’s a buffet, but it’s not bad. I remember tacos, pasta and hot dogs, but I think they change it up every day. I also remember the big breakfast.
How much stuff are you going to be bringing with you? I know you and Brett are amazing at not having clutter, so will it just be car, clothes and some furniture?
I couldn’t believe all we had to do when I went back and wrote that list for moving to Mexico. Both of us would have been wrecks when we arrived in Mexico (if we ever even made it).
They do change up the menu daily at the Drury, and yes, it is fun. The one here is located quite close to us so perfect for getting back to the apartment to clean.
We are moving our living room and bedroom furniture and a couple of other things, basically around 12 pieces of furniture and our dishes and small appliances. We’ve loved all the space we’ve had in this apartment and think the square footage will be our starting point. Hopefully we’ll find something in our budget.
Yikes…the Mexico list gives me hives. 😂 Glad you decided on the more streamlined choice. You must be getting excited for the move. I would be. Look forward to your ongoing adventures.
It is exhausting just to read that list! While I’d love to be out of the U.S. for a variety of reasons, we’re going to wade through the mess here and hopefully come out OK at the end. There are definitely no guarantees on that however.
We are getting excited. I am slowly coming out of the funk I was in last year – I’m reading again, walking, and just feel better overall. Our son is here more now too which gives us a break from all the childcare we were doing which we appreciate.
When we moved to Bainbridge Island Washington we used Allied Van Lines. They were the best expensive. BUT WORTH every penny. We also shipped our car from Charlotte NC with Ship Your Car Now they were great too. It all took 10 days to arrive. Not one thing lost or broken. Moving is sooooo stressful.
I have not started the deep dive into moving companies, but I appreciate your recommendation and will check out Atlas. Our move will be a small one for them, and probably attached to someone else’s move in order to fill the van. Also greatly appreciate the car rental recommendation as we will be setting that up in late May (we’re doing the household goods move in June). Things are coming along, little by little – it’s fun to get these things checked off our list.