Necessary Items

My cable went out this past weekend for 3 1/2 days, sure glad I have a library of videos.....Just bring what you can fit in one big bag, rent a furnished place and after a few months go home and send down what you need. You can get any day to day necessities here...

DVD's are a must. My cable goes out almost once a week.

Sounds like a good start. I have a couple hundred movies..So I may just leave the boxes at home and get a soft case for them all when I move there. All the ideas I can get the better. I want to pack light and figure out things before I make any huge decisions.

My cable was out for 3 1/2 days as well. The cable company told me that there were not enough calls to 912 to warrant sending someone out to get it fixed. I had called the number in the phone book and then the phone number I was referred to on the cable company's recording. Did you call during the weekend to report it?

I agree about the movies. They can be quite a comfort when the cable is out expecially for my 4 year old. I also downloaded a ton of music on my ipod.

Cash...

You can ship dvds, books, games by media mail thru the usps. I wouldn't bother bringing them with me, too heavy. And media mail is extremely cheap. I buy a ton of books whenever I go home and always ship them to myself by media mail.

I'd bring my computer, ipod, any gaming systems, etc...bring the entertainment with you. The bar scene gets old and expensive after a while and its nice to be a home body some nights no matter what. Electronics are more expensive here and not as big a selection. Bring a good camera. I buy things like spices when I go home (limited selection here for mexican food) or razors, swifter refills, special hair products, etc (because they are so expensive here).

It all depends on what your interests/hobbies and needs are.

If you know what size bed you'll have, bring good sheets. If your feet are hard to fit, bring shoes/sandals.

We have a Cal King so we have to buy all sheets stateside.

The big one for us--makeup, toiletries and packaged specialty foods.

Books. We don't watch much tv, so we don't bother with a dish or cable, and we don't own any dvds, though we rent a movie most Saturday nights, but we need books like we need air. When we visit the states we scour the thrift stores for books and when we fly home, we travel with our clothes in our carry on and ship back two fifty pound boxes of books per person. The airline's new bag allowance cuts our book allowance in half so we may have start sending them home USPS book rate, which means we'd be lucky to ever see them again.

Hey Betty

For Swiffer refills (as well as vitamins, razors, sunblock etc) order at cvs.com - sooooo cheap and priority shipping to boot 🙂

Pia

Onika - let me know if you need websites for ordering make-up and toiletries - Nordstroms ship here, as well as Walmart, CVS, Aveda (free shipping) and Drugstore - all Priority Mail 🙂

Pia

This is all really great information everyone! I will use everyones information to make my transition as comfortable as possible. To me knowing people before I get there electronically and having a chance to meet them helps me alot.

What NOT to bring...metal or stainless steel. It will always rust no matter what the guarantee is. I go home next week & I plan to bring back reduced fat Cheez-it's & Lance brand pb on wheat crackers. Can't find these items anywhere.

An open good attitude , a storeroom of patience , cash , a recent thorough copy of your medical history , and a list of good friends phone #'s who will send you what you cannot find if you decide you cannot live w/o something and now have a address they can send them to.