The Moving Checklist

I have done three major moves in my lifetime and the first one started days after I turned 17 years old. All three constitute what I call the phases of who I am today.

Phase 1: Puerto Princesa City (my hometown) to Quezon City

Right before the burst of cheap air travel, I had to board a big ship from my hometown with all my belongings. This included my CRT computer monitor and a CPU. In that ship for 24 hours, I traveled to Metro Manila alone for the first time to embark on my University journey.

Phase 2: Quezon City to Makati City

After college, I got accepted in one of the biggest tech multinational companies that had an IT Shared Service Desk in the Philippines. Metro Manila being a difficult commute (difficult is an understatement), I had to move out of my college apartment and move into the city closest to my workplace. My parents called in a favour from my aunt who lives in a close-by city to help me pack and drive my stuff to my next apartment.

Phase 3: Makati City to Singapore

Big jump because Singapore is a first world city-state and Metro Manila is… very different. I had one week to come back to my hometown to deliver my accumulated belongings, and only pack the absolute necessities to bring with me to Singapore.

After almost 5 years, Singapore is still my home.

As I prepare for the 4th city move-out of my life into my next adventure, I want to share some things that may not be obvious to people who are on their way to a first major life upheaval.

Jen’s Moving Checklist

⬜ Important Documents
⬜ Audit expenses vis-à-vis New Cost-of-Living rates
⬜ Ensure enough money is liquid
⬜ Terminate housing / Find new housing
⬜ Settle bills and subscriptions
⬜ Marie Kondo the apartment
⬜ Throw unusable stuff
⬜ Donate / Give away stuff to friends
⬜ Sell stuff for cash
⬜ Full Medical/Health check
⬜ Full aesthetic check / review balance credits at salons
⬜ Review balance credits at yoga/gym/pole studios
⬜ Intensive cleaning for the apartment
⬜ Emotion check and psych prep

Explained

This is roughly what my checklist looks like, except in my list I’d probably have some of the items broken down into their specific tick-boxes. I don’t have a fancy app for it, I just write and update it on my standard Notes app.

> Important Documents

These will be items like a certified true copy of birth certificate, University certificate, tax return forms, latest ID photo for passport etc. I also like photocopying them so I have copies handy, and I also scan them to send to my email and upload on my personal OneDrive. Basically these are things that one would normally need as part of requirements when applying for a new bank account or utilities.

Sometimes they are handy too, in case there’s a need to provide proof to an immigration officer. (And that has happened to me a few times)

> Audit expenses vis-à-vis New Cost-of-Living rates

This looks intense but it’s actually quite simple. I keep track of expenses in the current city I’m living in, and use that as a basis on what to expect when moving. I use global bench-marking websites like Numbeo to have an idea of what are the reported costs of those items in the city I’m moving into.

There are, of course, some big ticket items like rent that is specific and in that case, I just put a cost range. I also follow the general rule of thumb to keep rent under 30% of my pay. If I can, I go as low from this percentage as possible.

I also like asking people who are already in that city on roughly how much they are spending every month. This way, I can also set my own spending limits.

Tip: Whenever I move to a new place, I also keep a close tally of what I spend for the first three months. A review afterwards will tell me which areas I’m spending the most on, which areas I can potentially save more money on, and where are the areas that I can afford to put more resources. I like to use the iOS app called Wally.

> Ensure enough money is liquid

I did not put enough forethought into my next move. I woke up one day and decided it is time to leave Singapore.

Until now, I have been putting some money away for my savings, my emergency fund and some investments. Had I planned this sooner, I would have stopped the regular flow into investments and just built a moving-out fund. I think I have enough to move out, and if not I will have to liquidate. This is also why auditing expenses and knowing roughly how much I’ll be spending in the new city is important.

> Terminate housing / Find new housing

My flat in Singapore has been my home for almost two years now. It’s a bright space that gives me comfort and joy. I am lucky to be living in it. But alas, I will probably have to trade down into a less nice apartment. One part of my checklist is to terminate my housing contract and this part will be easy because it’s the end of my annual contract anyway.

In cases where the contract is nowhere close to the end of the term date, depending on the relationship with the landlord, you can:

• Try scanning the tenancy agreement to see if there is a diplomacy clause. If there is, you are in luck. Moving out of the city/country usually enables you to get out of the lease with minimal penalties.
• Talk to the landlord about helping to find someone to take over the lease. To some homeowners, this is the best resolution because it will not cut off their rental income stream.

The key here is to help the landlord out as much as possible, especially if the lease will be broken. At the very worse, they can take legal action against you and you will end up paying a lot more.

On the subject of finding new housing, this is supposed to be easy in the age of apartment rental websites and apps. To me, it can get daunting and overwhelming. This is probably the most stressful item in this list, though I’m sure things will sort itself out closer to my move date.

For Renter’s insurance, I looked into Lemonade and will most likely get this upon move-in.

> Settle bills and subscriptions

It means exactly what it says: Phone bills, Broadband DSL, public utilities, etc. Some had deposits when I applied for them. I remember my registration for PUB — Singapore’s all-in-one utility provider for gas, electric and water—had me pay a $500 deposit. In this checklist, I will remind myself to close all my subscriptions and chase for all that money.

> Marie Kondo the apartment

Incontestably, this is one of the biggest perks of moving every 5 years or so. You actually get to trim your belongings down and actively choose which items give you ‘joy’. I use this unironically but also practically.

Whenever you are moving out, you have to spend a huge deal of effort, time and money to transport all those belongings to the next place. Why spare space for that pile of clothes you haven’t worn in two years? Why spend energy carrying that big bag filled with memorabilia with an ex-boyfriend? Why waste time on deciding whether you can still use that expired bottle of lotion? Cull the unnecessary things and just move with the absolute essentials. The new apartment will thank you for it.

> Throw unusable stuff

This leads me to this next point. I included a separate tickbox for it because usually this process can be very long and some items I would mark as essential, after several passes, will be in the ‘throw’ pile.

> Donate / Give away stuff to friends

There are some things that would serve friends more. I have already started giving away some stuff, and the more time I get to spend itemising my possessions, I can get to donating and giving away more.

> Sell stuff for cash

And of course, those that doesn’t make it to essential, throw, giving away boxes, will have a place on Carousell, the local buy and sell marketplace in Singapore. The purpose is more about recouping what I paid for it, more than making profit.

> Full Medical/Health check

This item explains itself.

Thankfully, my employer has a full annual medical check in our health coverage and insurance plan with AIA in Singapore. Generally, before moving it’s easier and better to tick this item off the list. The last thing you will want is to get sick one week into moving into the new city, and having to scramble to find a new doctor or clinic.

For dental checks, I prefer going to my hometown and get my family dentist to do the check. Not only is it going to be cheaper than having it done in Singapore, my family dentist also already have my full teeth history.

> Full aesthetic check / review balance credits at salons

It’s exactly the same as health checks, but with aesthetic clinics and salons. Since I have some packages for some beauty services, like eyebrow threading for example, I will have to review how many visits I have left. If there’s more than what I can possibly use before leaving Singapore, I will want to sell the credits.

> Review balance credits at yoga/gym/pole studios

This is why I’m always non-committal when getting those 2-yr packages. My fitness packages are mostly 6 months at a time but even then, I am going to end up with lots of unused credits because I had just renewed some memberships right before my spur of the moment decision to leave.

After moving thrice, you’d think I’m already an expert at this. I am not. Every now and then, I still have random crying sessions that get triggered by the smallest objects or memories. Moving is always a scary process. Prior to it, there is a sense that things will change for me, both for the good and the bad. There is also always that creeping fear of failing and that I won’t be good enough.

I let myself be scared so I can also pull myself from it and use this exact same strong emotion as my motivator. Moving allows me to be human, experiencing the best of life as it goes by.

Disclaimer: I named some brands in this post. In no way am I getting paid by them. I just like using their apps/services and want to share that with people reading this.