Recently, Elisa has been offering her tips for relocating to another country. This week she discusses the perils of packing. Last week, we looked at the possible motivations for relocating to another country. Today, we are going to focus on one of the most stressful tasks related to relocating: packing. In my view, packing is far more stressful than the idea of moving as a whole! I wish I could just pay someone to do this task for me, and thoroughly select the items from my wardrobe without ending up with 32 kilos worth of luggage to drag to the airport. Unfortunately this is not possible, so over the years, I have learned a thing or two about the insidious world that is packing. First things first: be prepared to do some heavy lifting! I know some people have the magic gift of packing perfect luggage in 2 hours, probably not exceeding 10 kilos, and are able to fit everything they need for survival in their suitcase. But let’s be honest, there are only a handful of people in the world like that, and I’m not one of those lucky ones. If you are like me, my suggestion is to start your packing a few days ahead of departure: you don’t want to end up at 11pm on the night before with all your clothes on your bed and nothing in the suitcase! Considering your destination is also a key factor: if you are moving to the UK in December, it will not be very likely that you will get to use all those lovely sandals you bought last summer. So that is one way you can save some more space/weight in the luggage. I know, it is painful, but stick to what you REALLY will use once you arrive. One final consideration. Okay, you are moving far from home, but you’ll still be living in the civilised world, right? Anything you really need and could not fit in your luggage can be found in shops around you! So, don’t panic, just plan ahead and pack light.
