Preparing for the move overseas: Reading and packing

A multitude of websites and books say there are several aspects to moving overseas that you need to prepare for:

1. Having a plan for your "first steps" on touching down;
2. Packing up your things into boxes and storing or shipping them;
3. Closing off loose ends at your place of departure; and,
4. Preparing mentally for the shock of a new culture and leaving your safety net (friends, family) behind.

Overplanning vs Underplanning

How much is too much preparation? For a while now when someone has asked me how I feel about the upcoming move, I have said that I try not to overthink it and keep myself busy with the life I'm living right now. I don't want to end up in Taipei with a bunch of pre-conceptions and an idea of how I want to be carrying out my day to day minutiae.

"He nui to ngaromanga, he iti to putanga."

On the other hand, as the Maori proverb above says, a certain amount of preparation is necessary. "You depart with mighty boasts, but you come back having done little." Going across unprepared and wasting time floundering would be equally unproductive.

Perhaps the right balance depends on your personality; whether you are normally a planner or whether you find life more interesting because of surprises.

Things I have done to prepare:

• Online reading (blogs, news websites, expat websites)
• Offline reading (Travel guides, novels, magazines)
• Shopping (food, clothing, and other items for sea freight - to be continued in a future post)
• Posing questions to kind souls who are already there

Getting to know me: What is this blog about?

Tena koe e hoa, tena koutou katoa - greetings to all of you. As this is my first post (in two senses) here is some background to set the scene.


Where am I going?

Born and bred a kiwi, I am moving from the dulcet street lamps of Wellington, New Zealand, to the bright lights of Taipei, Taiwan. For those of you who are not so hot on geography, it's somewhere round-a-bout here:

Source: Wannadive.net

What am I doing?

For the next two years I will be studying Mandarin at the National University of Taiwan, which hosts the International Chinese Language Programme. My current level of mandarin? I hope you're talking about the fruit because when I arrive at the airport it will be a 50/50 shot on which bathroom is for the ladies. I am optimistic about those odds.

When am I moving?

The movers come next week. I touch down in June 2008.

What is this blog about?

This blog will cover:

• useful tips for expats moving to Taipei (Post label: Moving to Taipei)
• descriptions of local food, culture and sights (Post labels: Taipei food, Taipei culture, Taipei sights)
• observations on learning Mandarin from scratch (Post label: Learning Mandarin)
• notes of interest on day to day living in Taipei (Post label: Taipei life)

This blog will not include any of the following:

• politics
• policy
• salacious gossip
• anything inappropriate to read at work
• venting