Tuesday 13 August 2013

Moving to Scotland? What to Bring and Not to Bring


The majority of emails I receive center on this very question, "What should I bring when I move to Scotland?"

This is such a loaded question because everyone is moving for different reasons. Some have companies to ship all of their belongings, others are funding the move them selves. While some are just bringing what they can carry on their backs. So, I'll keep it to the simple stuff.

I'm going to let you in on some advice. This is from my personal perspective. I've lived here for five and a half years. I wouldn't consider myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination. But I want to make your international move easier than mine.

What NOT to bring::

01. {FOOD} Seriously. I can't even believe I need to talk about this one. Just leave it. Don't waste the suitcase space. We do have food here. All the meats, fruit and veg are represented. Just not all the pre-packaged choices. Which are crap anyway. Once you get here you will be able to fully immerse yourself in the culture and learn about the kinds of foods they eat here. You'll force yourself to try new things. You'll be fine. Trust me. Over time you will learn those items that you really miss. Those are the things you can look for online or at specialty stores. Or maybe bring back with you next time you visit your home country. 

02. {Electrical items} I'm going to get flack for this one. But, I'm being honest. I know there are a lot of opinions on this matter and most don't match my own. But you know what? Those posts are written from people who have recently moved abroad and are using a transformer is what they are doing because they don't know any better. But let me tell you what happens to those items when they are running on a transformer full time--the quit working. I've seen it happen a lot in the last 5 yrs. They aren't designed to run on a different voltage. Running your whole home on a converter or transformer is a fire hazard anyway.

If you choose to disregard this advice then at least know you aren't supposed to run your transformer more than 1-2 hrs at a time {maximum!}. It needs unplugged until you are going to use it. Don't bring superfluous items like your hair dryer, hand mixer and CD player. Those are cheap and can be bought here. Only bring items that can not be replaced immediately.

03. {Most of your furniture} Have I mentioned how small the living space is here in Scotland? No? Well, it is. Your favourite couch won't fit in your living room. It probably won't even fit in the door! Take stock of your stuff and store it or sell it.

04. {Too much stuff!} We're back to the space issue. The lack of closets and storage space is extreme. I know you want to bring your life with you but the truth of the matter is-- it won't fit. Period. It is time to get cleaning and dump the stuff. If it can be bought here then leave it. Just get rid of it!!! You'll thank me. Seriously. It is refreshing.

WHAT TO BRING::

01. {Documents} Bring the originals for as much as you can. From birth certificates to medical records. You'll need more than you think. Leave copies {or another set of originals} with a family member in your home country.

02. {Measuring spoons/cups} They use the metric system here. I've never been good at it. I should probably learn. When you get the urge to bake your great grandmother's chocolate chip cookies you will quickly find yourself wondering where the teaspoons and cups are. Some stores are starting to carry them but they can be hard to find. Save yourself the hassle and just bring them with you. They don't take up much space. You'll only have to worry about finding ingredients! ;) I use onlineconversions.com for any baking conversions that I might need.

03. {Photos} There probably won't be space for you to physically bring them but, scan away! Not to mention most everything is digital these days. Put your favourites on a zip drive or cd and bring them with you. It is the one thing I miss and wish I had here.

04. {Medicine} If you are on any medication then you best be getting a couple months worth. You'll need a note from your doctor to bring it on board the plane too. When you get here you'll need to make an appointment with a doctor as soon as you can to discuss your medical needs. I'm not going to lie, it can take some time. SO it is better to have a small stash while you are getting settled. Throw in a huge bottle of Tylenol and Excedrin while you're at it. Oh, and sleeping aids. Bring it. We don't have a lot in the 'over the counter' department.

It is important to remember that when you are moving abroad, less is more. You won't be able to bring your whole life with you. That is a good thing. Think of it as having a big life clear out. Just take the essentials. We have anything you could need here so you'll be fine. Don't try and recreate your American life. Have a Scottish experience! That's probably a reason you are moving abroad anyway.

ps. There is a part 2 to this post!

22 comments:

  1. I agree with all these things although I've never lived outside of the UK so... not much experience on the matter. I would also recommend midge repellent and thick socks also dependent on where you are living. Also, LUCKY CHARMS. I have this addiction to them but nowhere sells them because of UK cereal regulations. Ahhhh. <3

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    1. Ha! They don't have midge's in America! They'll have to experience that their first Scottish summer ;)

      Tesco has started selling Lucky Charms! Go get 'em! What is it about Lucky Charms that you Brits love so much?

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  2. Your statement on food makes me laugh. We just got back from a trip to Paris and Venice and the lady on the plane next to me on the way there brought everything but the kitchen sink (onto the plane no less). She had bags of sweets in her one carry on. Guess she didn't want to be without them but there are grocery stores in Europe and they are not that hard to find. (yes, she also asked me for my floor space under the seat in front of me. All I had was a backpack so it was fine.)

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    1. Haha! I know people who go to Florida each year and they bring back a ton of American candy. It raises their social status or something here.

      There is nothing wrong with bringing some food back with you when you visit. But, when you are trying to relocate your life...you are wasting precious space on items that you can go without.

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  3. Oh my gosh, this is so good! Great job! And I loved that article you tweeted. Totally is making me rethink my decision to bring quite so much product... all I need is enough to make it through the south pacific! *duh*

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    1. You know the items you need. Some time's product can fall under the medication category. You might not find your favourite brands but we do have plenty of shampoo, laundry detergent, makeup, etc. We have it. This isn't a 3rd world country!

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  4. i agree! i'd specifically add nyquil of things to bring, i could never find it there. when we moved to edinburgh i brought huge boxes of tampons (a specific brand i like). the girl at customs was like 'you know we have these here too?':)

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    1. YES! Nyquil!! Exactly. You know exactly what I mean.

      When I first moved here I went to 10 different stores looking for Tampax Pearl. Finally I asked someone. Nope. They didn't have them. They've only been here for a couple of years. I say the hallelujah chorus in the isle the day I finally found them. BUT...it wasn't like we didn't have tampons here.

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    2. hooray for good tampons! :)

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  5. Like! We are giving ourselves two years to get the paperwork done (dual citizenship for him, he's Scottish, and a visa for me, the American) and get rid of all of our stuff. We are bringing the dogs and clothes, meds and shoes). My husband now has an extensive collection of cowboy boots, though I did see a western store in Glasgow on High Street. The weather is something I have been thinking about a lot, but I think I can cope. I feel like I have had enough sunshine to last more than a lifetime (I live in Florida).

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    1. Giving yourself ample time to get ready is a must. You'll be thankful you did!

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  6. Oh my goodness! I am moving to Scotland next week so I'm so happy to have found this list! I am all packed so I might need to do a little adjusting, but I am super proud that there isn't a lick of food in my suitcases! :)

    Cheers!

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    1. Way to go!! Good luck on your adventure's!

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  7. Flying over today! Suitcases packed and boat on the way with the rest of our stuff. Didn't think to get medical records other than the kids immunizations records - oops. No major health issues or medications so hopefully not a big deal. Hopefully we have originals of anything else we might need. Freaking about customs - husband has Right of Abode, but kids and I were told (by a customs agent the last time my husband was there) that we didn't need anything and could just enter with him. So hoping we were given the right information! Cannot imagine getting all the way to Heathrow and being turned back with two small kids in tow.

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  8. Dear Mary De Bastos,

    My name is Roman. I run at your blog just randomly while searching some info about Scotland.
    I find your blog and story very interesting , helpful and inspiring as well. :)
    I would like to kindly ask you a couple of things about Scotland if you have the time.
    Basically me and my fiancĂ© are both European living in Cyprus. And we are in the "process” of making a move abroad for a new beginning lets say :) We are both looking to study and work at the same time. Do you think that is possible in Scotland? I heard higher postgraduate education is free. Is it possible to get a full time job at something like Starbucks, study , live and pay your rent?
    If it helps at all we are both 26, no children, fluent in English, Polish, Russian and Greek. With lots of experience at coffeeshops(thats why i mentioned Starbucks :)

    Anyway I would like to thank you if you reply or not :) for providing some nice real life info about Scotland

    Kind Regards,
    Roman

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  9. Thank you for the great tipps, I'll be moving to Scotland by the end of this year.
    First was really concerned about leaving most of my stuff here, but now I'm not that worried anymore.. It's probably cheaper to buy new furnitures than taking your old ones with you anyway.

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  10. I have to say that I disagree slightly with your first point - I'm moving to Scotland for the second time around so I know what food, etc. is available but I also know what isn't! For the summer beach bonfires, I love me some s'mores and so I will be bringing graham cookies - and also 'real' marshmallows, I really don't understand the stuff they have there! And also I'm Canadian and so I'm bringing a year worth of maple syrup to make sure I survive haha

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    1. I stand by my advice. When moving abroad you have very little packing space and already are needing to think carefully about every item. I would not advise bringing something as superfluous as food.

      Don't bring marshmallows, we've gotten American style marshmallows since you were here last. Digestive biscuits will do the trick for graham crackers too.

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  11. Great advice! It's sad that I'll have to replace all my electronics. The expense, laptops and all the like...eesh!

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    1. The bigger more expensive items you just need to be careful and make sure it isn't plugged in or in use more than 2 hrs at a time. They aren't meant to run on a different voltage. Replace the smaller more affordable items and depending on how long you plan to be in Scotland replace the larger more expensive items as you go, one at a time.

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  12. Mary, this is an absolutely most informative blog. I do have a question that you might be able to help me with concerning our family moving abroad. We are interested in Scotland of course. My question is this. What if you have a computer programming job with a company which allows you to work from home, wherever home may be. What I'm trying to say is, we would be moving to Scotland with an income already in place. Is there something specific we should be researching within that regard?

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