Life Is Good! But I Still Need Your Help!

[OnMyWay]

Who would of thought I could drive my Corvette here in Northern Kentucky in late January? Sunny skies with roads clean and clear! Mother nature is being kind to us this year so I need to enjoy it while I can?So I have made my decision retire early in Phils, and now comes the hard part: carrying out the plan! The information gathered from all of you is invaluable. I can honestly say it would have been very difficult to make the decision without having a resource such as this forum. I intend to pay it forward as I gain experience.One of my big pending decisions is what to bring and how to bring it. I made a post on the electronics angle, but there are other considerations I would like feedback on.How – I really would like to get a 20 or 40 foot shipping container but I have not really looked into the cost yet. I would probably get one parked in my driveway and do a self pack and load. At the other end (most likely Baguio City) I would hire some help for the unload, or perhaps have it included as part of the shipping.What to bring – Unfortunately I made a bad decision when I moved here (from Germany) and I thought I would stay put for a while. I bought a lot of new things and if I sell them, I will get only pennies on the dollar. The loss I would take possibly justifies the cost of a shipping container. Of course I also have to consider the space I will living in. I intend to rent a 3+ br good sized house but the key will be how big the rooms are.Here is a list of some large things or groups of things that I will need to decide about. Of course I have a lot of other things but these are the ones I am pondering. Any feedback on bring / don't bring is appreciated. Of course, many of these are dependant on getting a container, so assume I am.Antiques: I have one large tall secretary that has been in the family for over 50 years, but it is over 100 years old. My dad refinished it when I was a kid and it has sentimental value as well as intrinsic value. I also have two armoires I bought in Germany, 100+ years old. Very nice looking but not a lot of sentimental value. (Side topic: Is there any market for American / European antiques in Phils?)Living room furniture: Sofa and two chairs and tables. I like this furniture and it is only one year old. It does need a good sized room.Master Bedroom furniture: King sized bed, dresser and entertainment cabinet, all one year old and I paid a lot for them. The mattress is great but I will not bring it because it is the heaviest damn mattress in the world! I like this furniture and of course these things would also require a big bedroom.2^nd (guest bedrooom) furniture. If I thought I had room in the new house and also room in the container, I could bring this as it is in really good shape.Electronics: The biggest things are two 55 inch LCD TVs and one 42 inch LCD TV. These are all really nice but if I sell them, I will not get much. (I probably would not need all of these but perhaps a member would like to purchase one for a bargain price if I bring all of them?). I have a set of large Athena tower speakers with powered subwoofers and surround speakers that I have had over 10 years and I still love them. I hate to give them up. I realize I will not have a warranty when I take all of these things overseas and I will probably need high powered transformers. I did that in Germany and it is not an issue.Kitchen: If I have a container, I would probably bring all the small stuff except 110 volt small appliances. I might give away most breakable things like glasses and buy new ones.Washer and Dryer: I have a really nice set of a LG washer and dryer. Dryer is 220 electric. If I rent my house I will include them. Should I even consider bringing them if I determine they would fit in the new house?Foosball table: Lots of fun if I have room for it!

[sjp52]

Its hard to find good quality furniture in the Philippines and when you do it is expensive. If you think you will be selling your tv,s for more money in the Philippines I would doubt that. One thing I found is that real nice expensive items were not that important to me here in the Philippines as theres no keeping up with the Jones here and its more back to the basics here. I realized that I slept just as well on my cheap bed in the Philippines as I did in my fancy bed back home. I think you might find that container pretty expensive when you add the duty and all but if you have a lot of things you just have to have then so be it.

[Art2ro]

But what about your Corvette? That would be a true predicament for anyone to decide what to do with, depending on how much one is attached to their vehicle and all the other good stuff that one thinks one can not bare to part with! For me personally, when push comes to shove, what option does really one have? Isn't it obvious depending on one's mindset or how deep your pockets are and money is no object, which is a major factor! I'm sure you probably already know the answers to your own questions when the critical moment comes and it's all about having a little common sense and a few feed back here and there to maybe push you a little bit more in the right direction in making up your own mind and living with your decision! All I can say is, "Good Luck"! Been there and done all that 14 years ago!

[OnMyWay]

Its hard to find good quality furniture in the Philippines and when you do it is expensive. If you think you will be selling your tv,s for more money in the Philippines I would doubt that. One thing I found is that real nice expensive items were not that important to me here in the Philippines as theres no keeping up with the Jones here and its more back to the basics here. I realized that I slept just as well on my cheap bed in the Philippines as I did in my fancy bed back home. I think you might find that container pretty expensive when you add the duty and all but if you have a lot of things you just have to have then so be it.

Yes, you are correct about these things and I am ready to live a more basic lifestyle. The expensive things I bought this last year, I now regret, but I am stuck with them. As you said, good quality imported items are expensive there, so if I have these things, maybe I should bring them. If I didn't bring them, I would not be planning to replace them with equal quality in Phils.My dilemma is that I know I will get pennies on the dollar selling most of these things here (except for the antiques) so I am trying to decide if it will be a net win to bring them and pay for the container, rather than going through the hassle of selling all of it and then shopping for everything new when I arrive. There is a hassle factor for both options.I didn't mean to insinuate I would be bringing anything for the purpose of selling it there, although I mentioned a TV. Everyone mentioned how expensive they are in Phils so I thought maybe I would be doing someone a favor by bringing an extra rather than selling it here. It would be a bargain, I promise. For that matter, if I had room in the container, I could bring a few other things for people. If I do get a container, I will fill up any empty space with charitable goods.I am hoping to not pay any duties for my household goods, one way or another. I don't know which way that is yet but I think there are a couple of options.

[OnMyWay]

But what about your Corvette? That would be a true predicament for anyone to decide what to do with, depending on how much one is attached to their vehicle and all the other good stuff that one thinks one can not bare to part with! For me personally, when push comes to shove, what option does really one have? Isn't it obvious depending on one's mindset or how deep your pockets are and money is no object, which is a major factor! I'm sure you probably already know the answers to your own questions when the critical moment comes and it's all about having a little common sense and a few feed back here and there to maybe push you a little bit more in the right direction in making up your own mind and living with your decision! All I can say is, "Good Luck"! Been there and done all that 14 years ago!

Art2ro, luckily the Corvette is easy to sell this summer and I already have interested buyers on my Corvette forum, at about the same price that I paid for it. Actually, as much as I love Corvettes and driving, I do regret buying this one because it has been a bit of a letdown. I bought my first vette in Germany and driving a vette in the US does not even come close to driving a vette in Germany! I really miss that because it was a thrill to drive it everyday! Over here, I am constantly looking over my shoulder or at my radar detector! :23_11_62[1]:For that matter, has anyone ever seen a vette in Phils, outside of a car show? I think I remember see some very expensive cars in Manila but never a vette. A vette is not really a very expensive car, but definitely eye catching. I had a bright yellow vette in Germany and it constantly got attention. I certainly do not want that kind of attention in Phils and I definitely will be leading a low key lifestyle as much as possible.

[MikeB]

Unless you're paying top dollar the furnished apts and houses here are mostly furnished with crap and not fully furnished at that. You will end up buying new or used furniture and that will cost you. Starting over is expensive, may be feasable to bring it it. I tried to sell mine and ended up giving most away. Definitely bring at least 1 HDTV but leave the vette.

[Jake]

Hello OnMyWay,Wow, decisions, decisions......packing and moving even just across the street is one of my most hated things to do.I think before you make any serious planning, let's go back to step one. Unless you have already determine thatyour future residence in the Philippines is solid, without no reservations or regrets, then you can move forward. Asyou may know, Murphy's Law can and will affect your long range plans. Chit happens to relationships, financesand other things that are beyond your control. Should you go there on a extended trial basis and then make yourpermanent move (or not)?At any rate, here is a international moving company based throughout the States: http://www.manilaforwarder.com/index.htmI could not find an office for Kentucky but give them a call anyway. I understand they are very professional and pricecompetitive. Good luck to you sir!Welcome aboard -- Jake

[Dave Hounddriver]

One of the unexpected benefits of moving to the Philippines was getting a clean start. I did not plan it that way, but it was such a pain in the neck trying to ship my stuff that I took whatever I could fit into 100 pounds of luggage and sold/gave away everything else I owned. Being somewhat of a pack rat it was hard to part with my things because no one wants to pay what the things are worth when you sell at auction or at a yard sale.If I could do it over again, I would try harder to bring my Sealy Posturpedic Queen size bed, my comfy couch, my LaZBoy, and the newest desktop computer on the market. These are the things that I find it difficult or expensive to replace here and I think it would be worth the cost of shipping them.If you buy or rent a house built by an expat then the rooms will be large. Filipino built houses have small rooms unless built for the upper class. Of course this is a generalization but I would not bring a container of stuff and expect it to fit into low end house here.

[OnMyWay]

Hello OnMyWay,Wow, decisions, decisions......packing and moving even just across the street is one of my most hated things to do.I think before you make any serious planning, let's go back to step one. Unless you have already determine thatyour future residence in the Philippines is solid, without no reservations or regrets, then you can move forward. Asyou may know, Murphy's Law can and will affect your long range plans. Chit happens to relationships, financesand other things that are beyond your control. Should you go there on a extended trial basis and then make yourpermanent move (or not)?At any rate, here is a international moving company based throughout the States: http://www.manilafor...r.com/index.htmI could not find an office for Kentucky but give them a call anyway. I understand they are very professional and pricecompetitive. Good luck to you sir!Welcome aboard -- Jake

Jake, thank you, I was going to ask for more specifics on moving companies. That will be a start.I have been considering this for about 2 years and I do have backup plans if everything goes south. I would say I am putting about 8 of my dozen eggs in one basket. I'm fairly certain I can make this move work for at least 5 years mentally, even if I end up thinking it was a mistake. Financially I should be fine and my backup plan if I want to come home would be to move into a rental house I own in Florida.I had not really thought about a storage option here, because when I looked at that in the past, they had been really expensive. I should take a second look at that.I just spent Christmas out there so I think I am ready to make the move, knowing most of the positives and negatives.

[OnMyWay]

One of the unexpected benefits of moving to the Philippines was getting a clean start. I did not plan it that way, but it was such a pain in the neck trying to ship my stuff that I took whatever I could fit into 100 pounds of luggage and sold/gave away everything else I owned. Being somewhat of a pack rat it was hard to part with my things because no one wants to pay what the things are worth when you sell at auction or at a yard sale. If I could do it over again, I would try harder to bring my Sealy Posturpedic Queen size bed, my comfy couch, my LaZBoy, and the newest desktop computer on the market. These are the things that I find it difficult or expensive to replace here and I think it would be worth the cost of shipping them. If you buy or rent a house built by an expat then the rooms will be large. Filipino built houses have small rooms unless built for the upper class. Of course this is a generalization but I would not bring a container of stuff and expect it to fit into low end house here.

Dave, yes, I prefer the clean slate method but unfortunately I bought a lot of this stuff only a year ago, so I created my dilemma. One way or the other, I am going to pay a price for that mistake, either by selling or by paying for shipping. Either method has a certain hassle factor. Some of these things I would give to family but unfortunately I don't have family in this part of the country so that option also includes shipping.They have LaZboy over there at Alabang but I'll bet they are expensive!