This post will be part of a Canada series where i talk about my experience as an AuPair, living away from home for ten months, tips and information about Canada. There is no specific schedule in which i publish those posts but they all will be posted in the next four months. Round about.
When i moved for ten months to Canada i knew before that i wanted it to happen and that there were high chances that it would, but i had no idea when and where in specific i would move. 2 weeks before my departure i got those informations and my life went from normal and not sure if it will work out to a complete chaos where i would leave everything behind in two weeks time. It was crazy. There were so many things to organize, to do, to buy, people to meet and say goodbye to.
In all this time i never really thought about what to pack. I bought suitcases and stuff like q-tips or face wipes but apart from that i didn't planned anything. My thought was that i would just put everything i use into my suitcase and be done with it. Haha. No. It worked out quite fine in the end, but i wished afterwards i would have thought more about it or had something to help me. Just like a post similar to this one.
Packing for a "move" to a different country for a longer time is totally different from packing for a two week vacation. If you forgot something it is only 2 weeks until you have it again.
//CLOTHESWISE
First of all you should gather information about how the weather will be in the time you're there. Are you only there in the warmer or in the colder months? How warm or cold will it be? That's a department i personally underestimated. I knew it would be up to minus 20 degrees in the winter, but i didn't thought much about the 40 degree hot summer. So i bought a thick coat, mittens, the whole schebeng. BUT i only packed 2 shorts, one dress and one skirt i could wear everyday. And one bikini. Not that good of a choice. But apart from the weather conditions you should also think about what you will do in your time there. Will you mostly stay at home and need comfortable clothes or are you going to a lot of meetings where you need more business clothes? I packed way to many thight skirts and clothes i would wear on a more fancy event or a night out, but not everyday looking after kids.
The most important tip i can give you though is packing things you already wear lots and you like to wear and you know you will wear. Forget about the dress you always think you should wear but never did before. Save the space.
//EVERYDAY STUFF
These are the things you probably won't forget about so easily. The things you use everyday like moisturizer, hairbrush and so on and so on. Put don't overpack. Look up if you can get those things in the country you're moving to. If yes pack only the one product you have, if no buy one or two backups depending on how quick you go through them. I'm thinking about my holy grail concealer i can't get in canada. I regret not bringing a backup. To save space buy bodylotion, showergel, shampoo and those things in travel sizes. You have something for the first week or two and in that time you should be able to buy big sizes where you are then.
//THINGS YOU MIGHT NEED OR NOT
Do i need my photography equipemt? What if i want to start a sport while i'm there but don't have my clothes with me (like balletshoes, riding equipment, etc)? Here you have to plan and if you don't know think about if it would be so bad if you wouldn't have those things with you. Or if you could combine different needs. You can easily go to a ballett class in yoga leggins or jogging pants. In this department it is all depending on how much space you have left in your suitcase after you put everything else in. Don't put important things out of your suitcase just to put the things from this department in. You might end up not using them.
//THINGS YOU NEED BUT EASILY FORGET ABOUT
Besides the things you use everyday there are things you don't, but still need to pack. Or you will hope you did once you need them. I forgot Tweezers, Body lotion and (even if it is a thing is use everyday twice) my toothbrush. Last was a bit stupid, i admit. I never thought about the tweezers or the nailoil or handcream while packing, because i don't use them everyday. I use them maybe once a week or once a months. So i didn't had them on my mind while thinking about things i use often. Yes, you can easily buy them in the country you are later, but it is an unnecessary money spending you could have saved.
Do you have any tips on packing? Where you gone for a few months already and did some of those mistakes i mentioned?
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