Everything Must Go
 

TL;DR: Plan your “exit” strategy… and have a plan B, C, and D. Don’t leave your family to deal with the problem when you go.

Our immigration story was ten years in the making!

No, it didn’t take that long for our papers to be approved! Although it did feel like it at one point. More on this later 😉

Although it did take Alaine that long to convince me to say YES to living in Canada. She’s wanted to try it since her first visit over a decade ago. It took COVID and, well, the Philippines’ political situation for me to finally give in.

So, as expected, she was super excited. So excited that she started selling off our stuff even before our papers were approved! Actually, even before we submitted our documents 🤯

So here’s how it went for us!

• By the time we submitted our papers, most of the small items were either sold or donated
  • From the extra set of utensils to storage boxes to old and unused clothes.
  • It started slow, but as the house started to feel bare, reality slowly sank in.
• One month in, all my “unnecessary” gadgets and memorabilia were gone.
  • I tried my best to negotiate, but ultimately the cost of excess baggage forced me to yield
  • I was sad to have to let go of those old letters and photos (Yes, I’m a hoarder), but I got was content scanning before shredding them
• Two months in, most pieces of furniture were gone.
  • Hmmm, this was starting to feel weird but having a standing desk is supposed to be healthy, so it’s all good.
• 2 & 1/2 months in, all kitchen equipment was gone.
  • Panic time!!! I’m not going to survive this! 😳

It obviously worked out for us in the end, so the lesson is not necessarily not to do this. In fact, it made things smoother when the approval finally arrived since we did not have to worry about so many things.

However, it could have easily gone the other way. So maybe have a backup plan instead. Just in case things don’t work out as expected or if the timeline does not align.

Final note: Thank you, GrabFood and FoodPanda, for helping us survive our last few weeks! 😂

Good luck on your journey!