Thriftily yours...

Stop converting from rupees to dollars (you'll starve if you do, because you won't be able to bring yourself to buy food at the local supermarket or grocery store). Done? Read on for the good news...

Thrift stores. Yes, I know what you're thinking: second-hand, used stuff... Ugh! "Humaarey culture mein toh yeh sab nahi chalta hai..." Time to rethink that attitude, most especially if you have kids.

The fact is, that unlike in desh, there is a decent level of quality control as to what makes it to the shelves of thrift stores. If you had a kabadiwalla with awesome quality control, this would be it. Think more along the lines of chor bazaars with functional, usable stuff.

A couple of my favorite buys include a comfy upholstered rocking chair (10 dollars), some really great clothes for all of us and other knick knacks for the house. The thing to remember is that you need to recheck stuff for minor damages that may have been overlooked while putting it out there. But hey, we're used to shopping at places like Fashion Street, Sarojini Nagar and what have you, aren't we? A lot of the stuff can be exchanged so you don't really need to worry on that score, however, not everything can, so a check never hurts. 

Then there is Treehouse for Kids which keeps all manner of stuff for kids: from sports items to bags; toys to clothes. The great news here is that since this a consignment store, you can simply bring in stuff that your kids have outgrown to sell them so that some other kids can use them. Of course, things need to be in reasonably good condition. 

Majesty is another consignment store for kids but the options and choices seem to be rather limited, though they do have some maternity stuff on offer. 

Or there is Rags to Riches in the Redmond downtown area, which specialises in women's clothing, both casual and dressy. You also get that warm fuzzy feeling while shopping here because fully a quarter of all proceeds go towards helping out disadvantaged people in the Bahamas. Also it would be kind of like thumbing your nose at racism by shopping here (The owner was recently traumatised by an incident in which a man left a KKK robe and loose rope in a bag at her store. 

For those of who you work in Microsoft (lots of people do, out here - and that is the understatement of the century) check out the sellbuy alias within Microsoft. You often get superb deals there, including houses, if you're so inclined. We picked up a 6-seater Lazyboy recliner for a song. I lie. We included a hip shake too, but what's life without a little song and dance? And I do mean that in all senses of the phrase...

अब हम तो भये परदेसी - what to pack from India

Ms. Kolhapure had joyfully crooned these words from the Bollywood blockbuster Prem Rog in another era but I wasn't quite as joyous at the thought of leaving des  behind for a place which has three kinds of weather (raining, just about to rain or just finished raining) - Yup - Seattle, in North West US, or to be more accurate, Redmond was our destination.

So here I am, with dog, toddler and MIL in tow, joining the husband like a dutiful wife. And guess what? I ALREADY have advice to dispense. Of course, my friends complain that I am always dispensing advice, but hey, you can always skip to the next blog.

First things first. If you are moving here (presumably because someone in the family has got a job in either Microsoft or Amazon or Verizon or Boeing or one of those massive tech companies that dominate the landscape here) check your relocation benefits. I cannot emphasise this enough. Check your relocation benefits.

Chances are you'll get a container load of space (and that's a LOT of space). Make full use of it to ship out stuff that you either won't get here or will be horribly expensive. Yes, it's a pain to inventory everything and value it but it really helps to know what you have and what you'll need and chances are that it will be more expensive here. If you have stuff you're already using and the free space to send it, do your pocket and the environment a favour and ship it across. And really, if you have the space at this end to house it, send everything and you still won't be anywhere near half the container capacity.

We shipped out solid wood furniture to furnish our entire home (including a bar, a wall mounted desk - more on that in another blog - two double beds, a sofa cum bed, two sofas, some four or five chests of drawers, a collapsible dining table and six chairs) Why? Because wooden furniture is SUPER expensive here, it has a decent resale value (if you're packing up and moving back), it lasts and is much sturdier than particle board which is basically what you will get at IKEA.

You cannot ship out food stuffs or liquids - more's the pity, but do send clothes, good quality clothes hangers, solid steel utensils - make sure to include two pressure cookers in different sizes and kadhais (no woks are not the same despite what anybody tells you) Definitely bring over a chalni (the kind that you use to fry puris with).

Don't bother with any electricals excepting phones, tablets and laptops unless they specifically say that they can run on 110v. You'll blow everything including that beautiful FabIndia lamp.

Gifts are a great idea to send in the container so that you are stocked up. Desi gifts are also good talking points. Check out this online store for ordering really great traditional and handmade stuff.

If you have a dog and kid (basically, two kids) send the bulk of their bedding, all non-seasonal clothing, toys and books across in the container and make do with what you have.

Make sure your suitcases have the following for everyone:

• enough medication for EVERYONE (including the dog) for three months with prescriptions.
• enough changes of clothes so that even if you're reduced to washing everyday till your container arrives, you're covered (pun intended)
• one sensible pair of shoes
• some toys / books to entertain the kids.
• basic toiletries.

Time it: your sea container shipment will typically take about 2.5 months door to door. Air cargo is typically much smaller and much quicker (about two weeks). You need to finalise a house to rent around the time your shipment is coming in so that you're covered for the move. (Your relocation package will typically allow for warehousing your goods for a certain duration but may or may not including unpacking after warehousing - so do check).

TIP: What worked really well for us, though it was serendipitous, was my staying back for three months and shipping the containers out (managing things at the India end); hubby dearest identifying the house, renting it and managing things at the US end. This gave us a fully set up place to move into and equal slog for both parties. I love a fair distribution of labour :D

More later...