I’ve worked abroad for quite some time. I got used to traveling. I made it easy for myself. I do not have too much stuff and I do not require too much to feel comfortable or at least “ok”.

But now I am not alone what makes the relocation a bit more difficult.

My partner has ten times more luggage than I, and our dog can not be moved by airplane.

By the way the dog needs for relocation:

  • pet passport
  • EU chip
  • worm treatment inside a time window (24 - 120h)
  • import application papers
  • if not travelling with owner then must travel with certified animal transport

So my travel is easy, paid by the company I am going to work for. I go there first I will have some accomodation. And as soon as I find and rent our apartment, they follow.

Covid gives some extra unnecessary spice to the situation, but I don’t want to detail that now, but for example 2 months of flights were cancelled from Budapest to Malta.

Everything needs planning way before.

At least two steps ahead, when you go somewhere, what time does it take, what you bring, will you need something when you come back, do you have time to come back and reset or prepare already for the next too.

We found a mover company which can transport our dog and they need to know the size of our stuff a month before. You need to do test packing for that. They gave some suggestions about what to bring and what to leave, how to pack to make it easy to calculate the full size.

It is good to have quality boxes not just some cardboard leftovers. It is a long trip, the vibration and friction can tear them. The standard size also makes them easier to pack and calculate the size. We bought 40 (it was her idea) boxes from Ikea. It could be from another company, probably it will be the same with a different logo. When I put them on the trolley I stopped at 30 first they seemed a lot. Then I went back from two rows away because I knew I will be really pissed if I will need to come back for some more.

We knew we will need to filter out a lot of stuff, some just garbage, some not worth moving, some basically can’t move. Be strong, mark for removal as much as you can. Easiest moving is not moving.

It is around Christmas time so we prepared for the family dinners not only with the normal gifts, but giving back all the long borrowed things, giving extra “gifts” where it will be useful. Asking for storage places for some boxes of books or memories. Donating other stuff, clothes, etc.

Sidenote, we don’t have a car, so we could not make it just last minute. Since we were already travelling cause of the holidays it was good to hit two birds with one stone.

The dog needed to have a surgery, brought a bit earlier to make sure he recovers in time. Busiest Christmas ever.

I will summarize the apartment situation separately, just noting here most of the rentals in Malta are furnished.

That is why we needed to sell all our furniture. Put them on online marketplaces, social media, on half the price, however they were quite new in really good condition. Soon messages started to arrive, some good some not you know looking for or selling both a nightmare.

So we are a month before the travel, sleeping on the floor, having boxes everywhere. Like fresh house owners in the movies.

There will be a second part of this story from the other side.