I received our first bill for the cartage, warehouse placement and 2 months storage costs. UGH! $2700 and change - gone. It will be $544.00 plus each month to have our household effects held in the Vancouver area. I was informed by Allied that costs are much less in Panama, but there are pros and cons to both places. First, if we ship to Panama now, we must be there to receive the shipment at the docks and accept it (the paperwork), then find somewhere to store it until our home is ready. Yes, the monthly cost might be half the Canada cost, but what if we never move to Panama because of some calamity? And a trip with only one purpose? Another big bill to get everything back! On the other hand, keeping our goods in Canada until we can travel south to receive them and hopefully move them straight to their home seems more sensible, although more costly for now.
Another choice, which some Toronto pals are choosing, is to sell everything, then buy new in Panama. This was an option we seriously considered. Our issues were that we have some relatively new things we really like, we have no idea of costs in Panama, and we couldn’t determine the when of our move. So we took the path of least resistance I suppose and have kept our leather suite, our kitchen stuff and most of our daily requirements here in Canada, shipped a lot of the rest to storage, sold off/gave away our living furniture, and hoped for the best!
I think the decision to sell or move is an individual one. Many factors could come into play, including age of the furniture, materials that it is made of, willingness to risk buying later, sentimental attachments, and so on. I had bought some great daily use china two years ago which I decided I like enough to keep, we both enjoy our new dining furniture and our fairly new bedroom stuff, so these were no-brainers for us. The cost of moving will be high, no doubt about it, and I may rue my decision later. So be it!
Meanwhile, we have actually enjoyed the Christmas season here (which would have happened anyway) but regret not having that warm time before the season! The cats are looking longingly outside at the snow (are they nuts?) but our little “cave” is cosy and warm, so we can endure. Now the crunch time is coming – is our tiny little mortgage approved, and can we start building? A cliffhanger…
Today's snowfall!
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