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| Moving to a
foreign country brings many adjustments. New jobs, friends, schools,
strange money, customs, language; and all this while driving on the
other side of the road! For those of us who love to travel and live
outside of the USA, it's fun and it's exciting, but it is also
exhausting.
One place we need to make as comfortable as possible is the place we will call home for those years we are outside of our "typical" environment. We need to set up our own little oasis for ourselves and our family. How can we do this? For one thing, we can make sure we bring pieces of home with us. Those special video tapes our kids watch again and again, the teapot Grandma sent, the night light from the hall, the Christmas decorations we've grown to cherish, scrapbooks from home. Even though the outside world will be strange and new, the inside of our home can remain somewhat constant and comfortable. If you are new to living outside of the USA, it's important to do as much research as possible so you will know what to expect from the home living environment you are moving into so that you, too, can create your own oasis. There was one aspect of International living that I was not aware of before my nephew moved to Great Britain. It is what drove me into the business I am now in and what prompts me to write this article so that I can share his experience. After my nephew, his wife and new baby moved to England, I began getting phone calls from him regularly complaining about, of all things, appliances. "I'm living in a foreign country thousands of miles from home and I spend my entire life doing laundry." "Nobody ever told me that Europeans use such small washing machines; they take hours to complete one tiny load." "The refrigerator is so small, I have to shop at the grocery store daily instead of weekly like I did at home." "I need a ceiling fan." "I miss homemade waffles on Sunday morning." "Help!" If you have ever experienced an International move, you probably can relate to my nephew's calls. Having close friends in the Appliance Industry, I began to research American vs. European styles. Americans are used to big, fast, powerful things, such as the American Style washing machine. They hold more then twice the capacity of a European model and take half the time. Refrigerators, as well, are twice as large in the USA as American culture encourages weekly and biweekly food shopping rather than the daily excursions of Europeans to the corner market. What can I say? After finding him his good ol' American GE washing machine, dryer and refrigerator, I began getting calls from his friends! Soon I began to regularly make calls on their behalf for American style 220 volt (50 Hz) large and small appliances and was shipping worldwide. Eventually, the need was so great that we founded Call 220 International, Inc., a company that sells electric appliances exclusively to In-Pat and Expats preparing to move overseas. If you are about to make a move outside of the USA and are in the process of planning and budgeting your move, you might want to give us a call. We are experts in the field of international electrical appliance issues and offer free consultations. Hey, you might just like the European washing machine. But, knowledge is power. We can help you decide what appliances you can bring along with an electrical transformer and what you might want to purchase new as you build an "oasis" for yourself and your family. Hope to hear from you and your friends, soon. June Return to Relocation Guide Index Contact Us
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