I don’t know one person who enjoys the process of moving. All the packing and unpacking – then finding new places for things – it’s terrible. Well, add limited knowledge of the local language and a sick child and you’ve got my recent move.

We pretty much knew when my husband signed the lease on the first apartment that it was temporary. We planned to stay there six months and find a new place with more space and amenities. Well, six months came and went and we found out that there was some sort of housing crisis building (don’t ask me), so that meant paying upwards of $3,000 for a place of our liking. That was a no-go. Luckily, our landlord was very understanding and told us we could move whenever we found a place and didn’t have to sign a new lease.

After a couple false alarms, we finally found a place reasonably priced without getting outbid at the last minute. That really was the hardest part. The rest of it has been the normal nuances of moving. We managed to pack up everything in small boxes (we didn’t have any furniture) and since the new place is about five minutes from the first, all of our stuff was moved in about three hours.

One MAJOR lesson learned was getting internet service transferred. We had to wait almost two weeks and spoke to 8 different customer service representatives before our service was connected. Now, our modem is on the fritz and is causing our connection to be spotty. I guess you can’t win them all.

My one piece of advice to an expat looking for a place in Caracas is: be very patient. With limited housing, there are a lot of expats who pay through the nose simply because they feel there are no other options. But if you can hold out, you can negotiate “better” prices.

As I began wrapping my head around my move to Venezuela, I found there were a few tips that I needed to remind myself of in order to maintain a sense of calm. Here they are in no particular order:

1) Actively work on keeping your sanity. This would be a good time figure out how you can best do this – meditation, medication, exercise – whatever gets you through the day.

2) Make sure your passports are current.

3) Make sure you have the appropriate paperwork submitted (i.e. visas, work permits, etc.). The best place to find this information is the country’s consulate or embassy.

4) Breathe – it’s amazing how easily this can be forgotten.

5) Research local/international schools (if applicable).

6) Get you medical papers current and check to see if any immunizations are required (this information can be found at the State Department).

7) Breathe – as you can see, this tip is very important.

8) Book your flight. Find out if it works best to get a one way ticket, open-ended or round trip with a much later date. I find that most airlines have different policies.

9) Pack – this may cause you to refer back to tips #4 and #7.

10) Research any newcomers’ clubs that may be able to show you the ropes when you get there.

Did I leave anything out?

Photo credits: Boxes, boxes, boxes by audreythebug and Travel by fdecomite

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