Apparently it’s not that simple to stop in the wheel from rolling just like that in the middle of life. There are lots and lots of things to do. Things to take care of before we leave, knowing that for the next year we are physically not here, with limited access to phone or mail. In fact even in this age of practically unlimited in means or distance of communication, we still have a lot to do before we take off. I gathered here our check list. Things we had to take care of before leaving.
Money:
– Credit Cards – We leave with 4 cards from three different companies – MasterCard, Visa and American Express. We scattered the cards between several bags in pouches. This way we minimize the risk in case that one or two are stolen. It is no problem to cancel credit card and order a new one anywhere in the world in case of theft. Until we get the new card – we will use a replacement. We checked that all cards are valid for at least one year from the date of departure. It is important to check and compare before we leave the commission collected on each card and decide which is the preferred for credit transactions or cash withdrawals.
– Traveler’s checks – we did not take any. It seems to me unnecessary and obsolete.
– Cash – We took a total of $ 300 as a backup just in case … the rest we’ll get abroad from ATMs. Before we left we exchanged all Israeli cash we had.
– Bank – we granted permissions to our bank account to one of our parents.
– Credit payments – six months before the trip, we stopped the tedious habit of buying in installments. We made sure that all loans, debts (except the mortgage) and fines are paid.
Service providers:
– We canceled the automatic billing of: Internet, toll roads, property taxes. You should do it at least 10 working days in advance to make sure all charges indeed stopped.
– We froze our local Mobile phone lines (to keep the numbers).
– We made sure that all the various debts are paid: property tax, water, TV fee, electricity.
– We returned the library books we borrowed.
Insurance and savings:
– Mortgage insurance – we kept it. There is no choice.
– Private health insurance – we continue to pay. It is not recommended to stop it since the renewal after returning home could cost a lot of money.
– Executive Insurance / Pension Fund – we canceled the savings component, leaving only the risk part (life insurance).
– Travel Insurance – is very important. This is one of the more expensive components of long-term journey.
– Social security and health tax – we take care of paying the minimum amount monthly, because we both do not work.
– Supplemental Health Insurance – canceled.
– Apartment contents insurance – canceled.
– Car insurance – canceled.
Home and property:
– We chose to rent the house – we gave our tenants the details of a person we can trust in case of emergency. It was a pretty stressful business because of the flight deadline.
– Boxes and packaging materials – 30 boxes + duct tape, marking ink and plastic wrap. We decided to wrap it all up with nylon so all sorts of bugs will not tear through the cartons and tour our clothes.
– Storage – fortunately we have a nice storage room and an attic. We stored the boxes with items that need to be more accessible (kitchen, clothing) in the storage room.
– Sale / distribution of items – we have prepared a list of items that will not be stored or stay at home and sold or handed them over. This included: car, sofas, refrigerator, TV, children bed, mattress, bicycle, printer and other kinds of stuff. Anyway, we got rid of everything that wasn’t used in the past two years.
School:
– Curriculum – we prepared a plan in collaboration with the children’s school. The program includes a core curriculum of math and language. They will study the rest during the trip on their own.
– Teaching materials – we bought all relevant study booklets. We received from school some references to web sites with links to online learning materials.
Health:
– Dental Care – Thailand and India dentistry level should be no less than the level in our home country, and yet we preferred not to count on that and make visits at our dentists and dental hygienist.
– Glasses – we bought spare glasses for those of us who need them. One thing I regret is that I did not do a laser surgery to remove the glasses long enough in advance.
– Vaccinations – at least three months in advance to go to the travelers clinic and prepare a vaccination program. It is recommended not to get to the counseling session with the children to the doctor. In our case it got them some unnecessary anxiety. More about vaccinations see in the post Vaccines for the traveling family.
– Prescriptions – We left Israel with a number of prescription medications (especially antibiotics) we received after a meeting with the doctor.
– Drugs – we have prepared a first aid kit (details in a future post).
Documents:
– Passports – we made sure that all passports valid for at least one year ahead and that they have enough space for stamps and visas. There should be no problem to renew passports in Israeli consulates or embassies. Still, we preferred to leave well prepared.
– Paper copies – a passport, flight ticket, insurance policy, all permits cancellation of various service providers.
– International Driving License
– Power of attorney – we gave it to one of the parents in case we need to sign any official paper.
Communication:
– Computers – we go with two laptops and three tablets for the children. We made sure to renew the battery of one of them before leaving. I hesitated a lot about tablets and I’m still not too certain about it. Beyond the fact that it is an attractive object for thieves, is it right to give the children such device that will suck all their attention rather than letting them absorb the trip itself? We’ll see…
– Mobile phone – we go with two smartphones. Plan to use mainly Whatsapp, Facebook and Skype.
– We created Skype users for everyone, including children.
– International SIM – I’m not planning to use it much, but… whatever. Once we arrive in a country we plan to nest for a long period we will get a local SIM. I bought a SIM of World8. At this point I cannot say if it was a good deal.
– Facebook account – Not obvious for me.
– Flickr account – for sharing photos.
Preparations for the trip:
– Plane tickets – it is a silly thing to forget. We bought the tickets about six months before the flight. We fly with Royal Jordanian via Amman.
– Visas to the first destination (Thailand, in our case).
– Backpacks – we decided to travel with three large backpacks (for two adults and our elder boy) to be sent to the belly of the plane. In addition, we will carry with us to the plane: a small trolley with clothing for one week in case of loss of our luggage, computer case, 3 small bags for a day trip, 3 pouches (money, phones and documents).
– Maps of the first destination (Thailand …) – including the train map and a map to the first day hotel.
– Packing list – we bought items that were missing from the list we prepared.
– Travel Guide – we did not take anything. Everything is available online and it seems to me unnecessary drag around with it.
And a few other things:
– I informed my workplace – as required in the contract of employment.
– We organized farewell parties – family, friends, parents and friends of the children.
– Angie got a foster family. (granny …)
