Everything is set....

[ollockr]

Hey guys! I just wanted to update all of you who have followed my posts that I am moving to the Island on July 31st. I signed a 2 year contract to teach math and physics at ISA so I am really really excited. Also, I found a 1 BR house right between Palm Beach and Noord that I just signed a six month lease on. All of my new colleagues at the school have told me that it is a great location and that the landlord is a legitimate and honest fellow.

With all that said I just want to say thanks again for all of your suggestions and advice. I am looking forward to hearing from you whenever you are down on the island.

Now, the question is if you were in my shoes, what are the MUST HAVE items that I should be packing in my foot locker for when I move down there???? These are things that I wouldn't want to buy on the island because they would be rediculously expensive. I already added polarized sunglasses to the list. I read that somewhere.

Thanks again guys!!

~Ryan

[cindyo]

Originally Posted by ollockr

Now, the question is if you were in my shoes, what are the MUST HAVE items that I should be packing in my foot locker for when I move down there???? These are things that I wouldn't want to buy on the island because they would be rediculously expensive. I already added polarized sunglasses to the list. I read that somewhere.

Thanks again guys!!

~Ryan

Best wishes on your BIG move...

Sunscreen to get you through a while...its almost 1.5x there.

I bet others that live there could tell you better.

[Tom and Karen]

Congratulations on your move.

One thing that is expensive on the island is computers. Other than that, it might help to have more info from you. Things like is your house furnished? What are your plans for a vehicle?

We purchased a lot in Aruba for our house. The prices are higher than in the U.S. but not worth the time & money to ship (in our opinion).

We will be in Aruba Sept. 8 and would be happy to show you around if you want.

[ollockr]

I'm actually bringing my own laptop down with me so the computer thing is not an issue. As for my house my landlord has told me it is fully furnished right down to pots and pans. I'm not going to worry about bringing any kind of kitchen stuff because it would just be too much of a hastle.

As for a mode of transportation I am planning on buying a motorcycle to start. I have my motorcycle license here in the states so I am used to driving one. I wish I could bring my brand new 2009 Nissan Murano down with me but I don't want to pay the shipping fees. Also, I don't want to buy a car on the Island because I heard how rediculously high the markup is on vehicles. That's not to say if I find a good deal on a used vehicle I wouldn't buy it but as it stands now I am just going to buy a used motorcycle and go from there.

[Andrea J.]

gongrats on the decision to take the job!

some fine folks that i know, bought a used vehicle from one of the car rental agencies.

also too, maybe you will meet up with some folks that are only in aruba part of the time and you can arrange a sharing/leasing arrangement with their vehicle (if they own one)

glad you are bringing your laptop.

i would imagine that yoou will not be on island for the entire stay and maybe some travel opportunity will present itself....so be prepared, bring a few articles of clothing that provide warmth...in the event that you travel north to cooler climates.

if you have prescriptions and medical records, bring those.

keep looking at this community forum
many of us are frequent aruba travelers and if the need arises, i bet one or some of us can bring you an item or 2 if the need arises.

(ex: i got an email from an aruban friend that was in need of a texas instrument fancy schmancy scientific calculator. it was cost prohibitive in aruba and way less expensive for me to hand deliver it to him when we arrived)

also
there are always folks coming and going via USA.
if yoou have birthday cards, christmas cards, holiday cards that you want to send...do not count on the aruba postal service. there are plenty of folks coming and going that can mail your envelopes from a mail box in the usa.
.......then again, taking envelopes from strangers and briniging them onto the airplane is chancey i guess.

keep visiting the forum even when you are living in aruba.
andrea

[ollockr]

Originally Posted by Andrea J.

gongrats on the decision to take the job!

some fine folks that i know, bought a used vehicle from one of the car rental agencies.

also too, maybe you will meet up with some folks that are only in aruba part of the time and you can arrange a sharing/leasing arrangement with their vehicle (if they own one)

glad you are bringing your laptop.

i would imagine that yoou will not be on island for the entire stay and maybe some travel opportunity will present itself....so be prepared, bring a few articles of clothing that provide warmth...in the event that you travel north to cooler climates.

if you have prescriptions and medical records, bring those.

keep looking at this community forum
many of us are frequent aruba travelers and if the need arises, i bet one or some of us can bring you an item or 2 if the need arises.

(ex: i got an email from an aruban friend that was in need of a texas instrument fancy schmancy scientific calculator. it was cost prohibitive in aruba and way less expensive for me to hand deliver it to him when we arrived)

also
there are always folks coming and going via USA.
if yoou have birthday cards, christmas cards, holiday cards that you want to send...do not count on the aruba postal service. there are plenty of folks coming and going that can mail your envelopes from a mail box in the usa.
.......then again, taking envelopes from strangers and briniging them onto the airplane is chancey i guess.

keep visiting the forum even when you are living in aruba.
andrea

Thanks Andrea! There are a lot of great ideas in there! I will definitely keep them in mind while I am in Aruba!

[lizzardo]

One thing that you can't find or it's really high prices are really nice
sheets. Don't know why but I am always having people bringing
me sheets.

You'll find out when you move here it's all the little things that
are hard to find. You'll find stuff in the strangest places.

I know we'll be meeting up when you move down and have
some good contacts already. If you missed something
you can always get it shipped by boat which is a little slower
but cheaper to get. Thank god for the internet!! (and Target) LOL!

[Tom and Karen]

Sheets were one of the things we did take from U.S.

Also, as Andrea stated, we bought our car (Toyta Yaris) from Hans @ Tropic Car Rental. He usually sells some cars at this time of year. They are min. 4 years old, but Hans has a great reputation for taking care of his vehicles. We have had our car for 3 years now. I would trust him, but have seen other cars for sale from other rental agency's that don't look that nice.

Personal owned cars/motorcycles have to be inspected every 2 years (cost is about 50AFL). We carry min. insurance on our car - 558AFL per year, & plates are 270AFL per year.

[Andrea J.]

hahaha yes i had forgottenn about sheets!
we brought our friend "vincent the limbo dancer" a nice set of sheets high thread count per his request"

and tom and karen i was trying to keep your anonymity secret. hahahaha
:-)

andrea

[ollockr]

Originally Posted by lizzardo

One thing that you can't find or it's really high prices are really nice
sheets. Don't know why but I am always having people bringing
me sheets.

Wow, thanks for the warning. The ironic thing is I was talking to my mom last week and we started a list of things to put in my foot locker and one of my suggestions was sheets. She looked at me and was like, "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure you can buy them down there for pretty cheap." She'll get a kick out of your suggestions.