I am moving abroad to teach in Asia. However I do not know how many litres of luggage to take. At the moment i have a rucksack that can hold up to 85 liters. I am contemplating buying a 60L wheeled suitcase as well. That would allow me to pick up some stuff when abroad.
Do you think 145L is excessive?
Keep in in mind that it will be for a 2 year contract and I aim to teach abroad after these 2 years as well.
How much luggage do you take?
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Teachermom
- Posts: 59
- Joined: Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:14 am
- Location: Asia
Check the airline weight and size restrictions when you're deciding what to buy. Going over the limits will cost you fees, so you have to decide if that's worth it to you.
Different expat teachers have different philosophies on how much stuff to take when they move. You have to figure out for yourself what is essential and what isn't worth the expense and hassle of moving.
Different expat teachers have different philosophies on how much stuff to take when they move. You have to figure out for yourself what is essential and what isn't worth the expense and hassle of moving.
I left with one suitcase. That broke and I continued with a backpack. Now dragging around the same as Gus, though my stuff tends to fit in one suitcase.....
Bring what you need first, minimal is best. You can always buy stuff as you need (unless you really can't get a local teacher to help out with a tailor or shoe maker if you are super sized).
Quite frankly, it's convenient to have stuff at home to come back to. Just get rid of your magazines.....
Bring what you need first, minimal is best. You can always buy stuff as you need (unless you really can't get a local teacher to help out with a tailor or shoe maker if you are super sized).
Quite frankly, it's convenient to have stuff at home to come back to. Just get rid of your magazines.....
When you're living overseas there will always be some things that you don't want to part with, which is when you send stuff "home", but when moving from one international placement to another I always try to arrive somewhere new with just 2 bags. I also try to get away with a deceivingly small hand luggage bag that actually weights about 15KG, but they've started getting on to that over the last couple of years. My bags would usually include my decent work clothes, some casual clothes, my lap top, and a couple of books. There are a few other essentials too, or maybe things you've heard you can't get in the place you're moving to, but I've never found that I've really needed more. A big factor in that, however, is that I've worked in places that have given decent settling in allowances. That has made it so much nicer to go into somewhere with such little stuff, because I've always known that I've got a bit of money to splurge on new stuff. If you're getting a decent settling in allowance then I take it as your schools way of saying "We want you to be happy here, so buy some stuff to make yourself happy". If the school are reimbursing you for anything you send over then you might as well use it. I think it's fair to say that most decent international schools now will give you some money to either bring stuff in and probably some money to send your stuff out at the end of the contract.
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BookshelfAmy
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Most teachers I know have a classroom library from school resources. I don't know of any teacher who brought (or was expected to) bring their classroom library.
When I left my home country to teach overseas, I ended up donating my classroom library (fairly sizable) to the school library - and I also gave away certain books to students who I thought would really appreciate them.
The big question - do you really want to use your baggage/moving allowance to bring books to (if you have made the right choice) a school with a vibrant school library and lots of resources for students and teachers?
When I left my home country to teach overseas, I ended up donating my classroom library (fairly sizable) to the school library - and I also gave away certain books to students who I thought would really appreciate them.
The big question - do you really want to use your baggage/moving allowance to bring books to (if you have made the right choice) a school with a vibrant school library and lots of resources for students and teachers?
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BookshelfAmy
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:21 pm
...but I'm a librarian! I am glad to hear that libraries are so available, but this is really my personal collection of children's lit that I just happen to share with my students. :) It would be like leaving behind a pet.
In all seriousness, my home needs books more than it needs almost anything else except Mr. B and BookshelfDog. I can go for weeks on one backpack of clothing and supplies, but I always bring a second bag for books, even with my e-reader. Everyone has their comfort thing, right? This is mine. I will leave the vast majority of my possessions behind, but I'm going to bring some books. As many books as I can carry.
So... At the risk of sounding like a crazy person... The answer to your question is yes. That's exactly how I want to spend my moving allowance.
In all seriousness, my home needs books more than it needs almost anything else except Mr. B and BookshelfDog. I can go for weeks on one backpack of clothing and supplies, but I always bring a second bag for books, even with my e-reader. Everyone has their comfort thing, right? This is mine. I will leave the vast majority of my possessions behind, but I'm going to bring some books. As many books as I can carry.
So... At the risk of sounding like a crazy person... The answer to your question is yes. That's exactly how I want to spend my moving allowance.
BookshelfAmy, I would write your new school and ask what type of library resources they have before I took all my books with me. I am a librarian as well and my wife is an elementary teacher with an extensive classroom library, so I appreciate your love of books but you need to think farther into the future and ask yourself whether you want to move all those books to a new school in two years or even home in 10 years. As some of the previous posters have hinted at, you will be amazed at the amount of stuff you will accumulate over the course of an international career, a 40 ft container certainly isn't out of the question.
Moving stuff from country to country isn't cheap or an activity to be taken lightly. We had friends move last year and they had too much for their container and they ended up having to leave their parts of the classroom library behind.
Obviously its a personal decision but one that requires a lot of thought, not just in the immediate but also for the longterm.
Moving stuff from country to country isn't cheap or an activity to be taken lightly. We had friends move last year and they had too much for their container and they ended up having to leave their parts of the classroom library behind.
Obviously its a personal decision but one that requires a lot of thought, not just in the immediate but also for the longterm.
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Yantantether
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wanderluzt
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- Location: overseas
Use your luggage Allowance to its max
I am in China and while we tried to leave things home and said, oh I will just get what I need when we move there, not working so well for me. Simple things that I thought since they were made in China might as well pick them up. Nope, does not work like that. If you want the cute stuff you have in your classroom that you can buy back in the states at the Dollar Stores or at the Learning Store, not going to find it here. If you want a quality stapler that will not break or jam after a couple of uses, nope not here. I also wish I had brought my personal library books. English books are not cheap here OR not the ones you would bother to use for modeling strategies or read alouds. My advice is use all of your allowance and move it with you b/c to get stuff sent to you can take a while or in one case three months later sent back to the states having never reached here. All of your teacher resource books, bring them. Any learning games you use, bring them. You will miss them. [u]This is just MY opinion[/u]. I will be bringing back many items upon my summer return.
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@aridion
Like mathman I tend to travel light. I travel with 2 22 kg bags, a carryon and a laptop bag. Even for 2 years, the reality is that for anything you "need" there is usually an option available to you. Many of the things you can easily buy locally, and you might as well, as its very impractical to bring a 2 year supply of anything.
I had was about a family who their 13 year old son brough a game counsel that didnty work with the either the Television standard or the electrical current. In edition the locally available games were coded to a different region then his counsel. Had to buy an all new system.
@BookshelfAmy
I would have your books boxed and ready to go, and arrange with family/friends to send them by mail once you get their and can determine what you need. You dont really know what will be available to you, and you dont know what will be useful given your students abilities. You may come to find out that you dont need anything, or that your needs are very small.
I use to carry a lot of books with me, but since ereaders and libraries have gotten better about ebooks i dont anymore.
I would bring a couple books with you as "comfort food', but if you brought everything you missed youd need something like 9 tons of cargo i imagine.
Its also worth noting that at the end of the contract your school isnt likely to give you anything to move everything back (though your next schools moving allowance take care of that), you would really be surprised over the amount of stuff people accumulate in their careers. Their are teachers with HOMES full of stuff where im at that they stress over what to do with when they retire.
Like mathman I tend to travel light. I travel with 2 22 kg bags, a carryon and a laptop bag. Even for 2 years, the reality is that for anything you "need" there is usually an option available to you. Many of the things you can easily buy locally, and you might as well, as its very impractical to bring a 2 year supply of anything.
I had was about a family who their 13 year old son brough a game counsel that didnty work with the either the Television standard or the electrical current. In edition the locally available games were coded to a different region then his counsel. Had to buy an all new system.
@BookshelfAmy
I would have your books boxed and ready to go, and arrange with family/friends to send them by mail once you get their and can determine what you need. You dont really know what will be available to you, and you dont know what will be useful given your students abilities. You may come to find out that you dont need anything, or that your needs are very small.
I use to carry a lot of books with me, but since ereaders and libraries have gotten better about ebooks i dont anymore.
I would bring a couple books with you as "comfort food', but if you brought everything you missed youd need something like 9 tons of cargo i imagine.
Its also worth noting that at the end of the contract your school isnt likely to give you anything to move everything back (though your next schools moving allowance take care of that), you would really be surprised over the amount of stuff people accumulate in their careers. Their are teachers with HOMES full of stuff where im at that they stress over what to do with when they retire.