The Costs of Relocation

I started the vet certificate yesterday, so I officially have 30 days to arrive in Calcutta. I cannot arrange their travel until 14 days prior to departure. I am still waiting on my son's passport which should have been here already and company paperwork to start the visa application. I had word this morning that the paperwork is being fedexed today.

My budget for moving is $6,000. It looks like it will cost around $3,000 to move the animals on British Airways, so we'll probably be taking Air India. I love both airlines, but seriously, the cheapest flight I could find on BA was over $2,500 each. Judging from the schedules, it looks like we can make the July 22nd arrival date, by leaving on the 20th. The animals will arrive at 5:05 AM; we will arrive at 12:50 PM. Our tickets will cost just under $2,000 together and I can purchase them now...

The other $1,000 will provide money for the shipping of the non-replaceable items in our possession. The quote from UPS was $750. for one 125 lb. box... The other $250 will pay for our transport to the airport on July 20th.

The pod for moving everything home will be arriving on July 5th. We have until July 9th to fill it. I have to buy a lock, and mail the key or email the combination to mum. The cost from door2door.com was half of PODS' at $1,300. Mum is paying for this (thanks, mum - if you weren't covering this cost, I'd have to leave my pets behind. I am very grateful.)

Vet costs, so far, are $200. Will's passport renewal cost $190. We're waiting to do the vaccines until we arrive in India because they will cost over $1,200 for each of us to get what I think we should have: Yellow Fever, Typhoid, all the Hepatitus vaccines, Gamma Globulin, Polio booster, Tetanus, Cholera, Smallpox (I think I discussed others, but those were the biggies). The price seems absolutely ridiculous. Last time I was in India, I had 14 shots. This time I can get away with a few less. I've been told that no vaccines are required at the moment to enter the country.

I still haven't sold much of my stuff on craigslist - people just don't bother showing up. I may end up freecycling a bunch of stuff, but the electronics and appliances have to be sold.

Everything looks like it is falling into place. We went to a Chinese restaurant last night and the fortune in my fortune cookie read, "Traveling to the east will bring you great rewards". That's a good sign :-)