View Full Version : Moving abroad - Sell?
I am moving to teach in Bucharest, aiming to begin our long-held dream of travelling and working in whichever country we choose.
What would you do with all your gear?
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/848/42978530825_1b06576e6c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28tScSa)20180722_181619 (https://flic.kr/p/28tScSa) by Geoff Old (https://www.flickr.com/photos/161646613@N02/), on Flickr
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/936/43882228701_c2eebb4850_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/29RHTL2)20180806_120016 (https://flic.kr/p/29RHTL2) by Geoff Old (https://www.flickr.com/photos/161646613@N02/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1834/42977720965_35a32167ef_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28tN484)20180806_120044 (https://flic.kr/p/28tN484) by Geoff Old (https://www.flickr.com/photos/161646613@N02/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1794/42977720955_bd00542dcc_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28tN47T)20180806_120050 (https://flic.kr/p/28tN47T) by Geoff Old (https://www.flickr.com/photos/161646613@N02/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1785/43083265082_6b64806e52_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/28D7ZHd)20180624_174008 (https://flic.kr/p/28D7ZHd) by Geoff Old (https://www.flickr.com/photos/161646613@N02/), on Flickr
if you dont need to realise the money probably dry storage, or long term loans. much depends on your plans re coming back of course
walpurgis
06-08-2018, 14:01
macca (Martin) is just around the corner from you, leave it with him. ;)
Sherwood
06-08-2018, 14:14
Geoff,
I left academia in the mid 90s to become an independent consultant and spent much of the next two decades on long term overseas postings in Africa and Asia. All of my valve and vinyl went into long term storage with a specialist company in Headingley. My vinyl collection was packed in tough plastic crates with large bags of silica gel and emerged in pristine condition. I mention this because the issue is not really one of safe and secure storage, but cost. I have the invoices somewhere, but I really don't even want to contemplate how much I have spent on storage over the years. I don't regret keeping my books or my vinyl, but I did store a lot of bulky items which ended up costing me many more times in storage than they were worth.
You are in a different position as you could easily drive to Bulgaria, so you could consider renting a van to transport your stuff. I would say that as you get older, it is less and less appealing living out of a suitcase, and it is worth considering shipping out your personal possessions to make your new location more of a home than a house.
Geoff
Can I come ?
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macca (Martin) is just around the corner from you, leave it with him. ;)
Could do. I've got that much kit here already I wouldn't really notice the difference.
But if you decide to sell don't forget I've got first dibs on that Technics DAC!
Sherwood
06-08-2018, 14:28
Can I come ?
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You can check out of MK but you can never leave! :eyebrows:
You can check out of MK but you can never leave! :eyebrows:
MK is like The Village in The Prisoner, except if you try to escape you get trampled to death by a herd of concrete cows.
You can check out of MK but you can never leave! :eyebrows:
Actually that’s pretty spot on mate as I’ve lived in many places/countries but I always end up back here ! It’s a bloody good place to live now though.
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I wish you all the best Geoff
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A rolling stone gathers no moss ! Find a way to keep it Geoff.
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Macca - you're the fourth person who has claimed first dibs on the Technics today!
Macca - you're the fourth person who has claimed first dibs on the Technics today!
:lol: I didn't even know what it was!
Man alive it is one hell of a DAC. Massively over engineered Japanese statement piece designed to trounce Krell and Mark Levinson when they made their first forays into the digital audio world.
Audio Al
06-08-2018, 15:12
[QUOTE=andyrlb;1000595]Actually that’s pretty spot on mate as I’ve lived in many places/countries but I always end up back here ! It’s a bloody good place to live now though.
I thought the best thing to come out of MK was the M1 ;)
Macca - you're the fourth person who has claimed first dibs on the Technics today!
I'm sure I put myself on the list for it years ago when you first got it.
I can collect and pay cash if that helps :D
I am moving to teach in Bucharest, aiming to begin our long-held dream of travelling and working in whichever country we choose.
What would you do with all your gear?
Keep it all, and just retire instead, then tour the world that way, and enjoy the kit when you return. Work is very overrated!;)
Marco.
Keep it all, and just retire instead, then tour the world that way, and enjoy the kit when you return. Work is very overrated!;)
Marco.
The aim is retirement but we are not there yet!
hornucopia
06-08-2018, 16:38
My Father built a complete Heathkit Stereo in 1960. In '62, we went to Bulawayo, Rhodesia-now Zimbabwe. The hi-fi followed in a 9 foot cube!
Your ears are the same wherever you are.
Sherwood
06-08-2018, 16:51
My Father built a complete Heathkit Stereo in 1960. In '62, we went to Bulawayo, Rhodesia-now Zimbabwe. The hi-fi followed in a 9 foot cube!
Your ears are the same wherever you are.
Those early gps units took up a lot of space! :)
Yes, your ears are the same but the power supply is not. In many of my long term postings the mains voltage was of very poor quality, or even life threatening. Once, during the monsoon season in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a lightning strike hit the sub-station next to our office. Apart from the physical damage to the building the power surge took out several pcs and hard disks, despite power surge protection. In other postings, I got so fed up with long term power outages (often for most of the weekend) that I acquired a system that could run for days from a car battery that I had on permanent trickle charge. At the heart of this was an early Tripath amp that could power a pair of full range driver floor standing speakers. Combined with a good portable walkman I got through many a powerless episode.
Geoff
I returned to my Audiophile Pursuits in January 2017, after a period of 13 years of having all of my Devices and Vinyl in storage.
Unwrapping the Devices and re-discovering the record collection was a real buzz, and the pursuit to date has been epic " in my mind any way".
New real people becoming part of my journey as well now, through the social side of the forums structure.
I am so glad I didn't sell all of my devices, I pine for my stupidly sold 401,
or more so, the DIY hand made 9 Stone Granite Plinth.
I refer to my return as stepping on where I stepped off, all the kit exactly as I left it, and now becoming part of my new experiences and additions.
If you can avoid parting with your Devices and Music Collection, then let it lie low for a while, while you find new experiences.
One day you will reunite, and how grateful you will be to be able to meet up with such old fond friends.
The aim is retirement but we are not there yet!
Hope you can do it soon, mate. Providing you've got hobbies and something constructive to fill your day, retiring, or semi-retiting at a young age is one of the best things ever for your sense of well-being :)
Marco.
Pigmy Pony
06-08-2018, 18:40
Geoff,
I left academia in the mid 90s to become an independent consultant and spent much of the next two decades on long term overseas postings in Africa and Asia. All of my valve and vinyl went into long term storage with a specialist company in Headingley. My vinyl collection was packed in tough plastic crates with large bags of silica gel and emerged in pristine condition. I mention this because the issue is not really one of safe and secure storage, but cost. I have the invoices somewhere, but I really don't even want to contemplate how much I have spent on storage over the years. I don't regret keeping my books or my vinyl, but I did store a lot of bulky items which ended up costing me many more times in storage than they were worth.
You are in a different position as you could easily drive to Bulgaria, so you could consider renting a van to transport your stuff. I would say that as you get older, it is less and less appealing living out of a suitcase, and it is worth considering shipping out your personal possessions to make your new location more of a home than a house.
Geoff
I agree with Geoff, if you hire a van you could take it with you and make your new house a home. Not sure about driving to Bulgaria though, you may overshoot your destination. :)
Who are the two little guys in denim baseball caps in pic 5? They look a bit shifty, don't leave your gear with them.
Sherwood
06-08-2018, 18:40
Hope you can do it soon, mate. Providing you've got hobbies and something constructive to fill your day, retiring, or semi-retiting at a young age is one of the best things for your well-being ever:)
Marco.
I have found there is a huge difference between visiting a country and living and working there. By chance, I had visited or done short term work in all but one of the countries where I have worked long term. These previous visits gave me no clue whatsoever as to what it would be like to live and work in those countries.
I will be taking up a new long term overseas posting again and hope to do several more before I finally croak! Without doubt, these have been some of the transformative experiences of my life. The notion of retiring is very alien to me.
Geoff
I will be taking up a new long term overseas posting again and hope to do several more before I finally croak! Without doubt, these have been some of the transformative experiences of my life. The notion of retiring is very alien to me.
Fair enough, Geoff. I wish you well for the future, but in that respect you and I are fundamentally different.
For me, working is simply a means to an end: that is enjoying the freedom of being completely in charge of your day, without being pressurised into doing what you're told by your boss, and most importantly, spending time with your partner, family and friends, doing all the fun things you couldn't do when you were working, simply because you didn't have time.
Don't you have a wife (partner) or kids, or anyone else close to you that you'd like to spend more time with, and make some nice memories together, before you pop your clogs?:)
I totally agree with your first point though, and there being a huge difference between visiting a country and living and working there - too true!
Marco.
Sherwood
06-08-2018, 19:12
Fair enough, Geoff. I wish you well for the future, but in that respect you and I are fundamentally different.
For me, working is simply a means to an end: that is enjoying the freedom of being completely in charge of your day, without being pressurised into doing what you're told by your boss, and most importantly, spending time with your partner, family and friends, doing all the fun things you couldn't do when you were working, simply because you didn't have time.
Don't you have a wife (partner) or kids, or anyone else close to you that you'd like to spend more time with, and make some nice memories together, before you pop your clogs?:)
I totally agree with your first point though, and there being a huge difference between visiting a country and living and working there - too true!
Marco.
I guess the difference is that I find my work interesting and challenging. Yes, it can drive me crazy at times, but overcoming the challenges is very rewarding.
It is also true, and I cannot deny it, that it gives me the opportunity to visit some incredible places and experience very interesting cultures. I did some work for the Somali health authorities just before Christmas that gave me the opportunity to take a short break at Lake Naivasha afterwards.
I guess I am a wanderer by nature having worked in about 30 countries, but I have made some very good friends in the course of this travelling. Not been to Romania but it is on my list!
Geoff
I guess the difference is that I find my work interesting and challenging. Yes, it can drive me crazy at times, but overcoming the challenges is very rewarding.
So did I, when I did my job! And I still dabble a little now. However, I've been there done that, worked my bollocks off for years running a business, which has fortunately now allowed me to have fun and spend more time with the people I love. For me, that's what working is all about: simply a means to an end, not a lifetime's purpose.
I'm not saying that this applies to you, but too many folk's lives in this country revolve around work [it becomes all-consuming], either because they've got no choice, as they're in debt up to their eyeballs and/or need to work until their dotage, simply to fund the lifestyle they lead - or as something to put all their energy into because, in reality, they've got nothing else, which I sympathise with, but find rather sad.
That's why in the UK we have one of the worst work/life balances in the world, work the longest hours, and everyone's stressed out to buggery.... Sorry, feck that!:nono:
Anyway, I also love travelling abroad and meeting interesting people, but usually while I'm on holiday!:cool:
Marco.
Sherwood
06-08-2018, 20:10
So did I, when I did it! And I still dabble a little now. However, I've been there done that, worked my bollocks off for years running a business, which has fortunately now allowed me to have fun and spend more time with the people I love. For me, that's what working is all about: simply a means to an end.
I'm not saying that this applies to you, but too many folk's lives in this country revolve around work [it becomes all-consuming], either because they've got no choice, as they're in debt up to their eyeballs and/or need to work until their dotage, simply to fund the lifestyle they lead - or as something to put all their energy into because, in reality, they've got nothing else, which I sympathise with, but find rather sad.
That's why in the UK we have one of the worst work/life balances in the world, work the longest hours, and everyone's stressed out to buggery.... Sorry, feck that!:nono:
Anyway, I also love travelling abroad and meeting interesting people, but usually while I'm on holiday!:cool:
Marco.
Returning to the original thread, I think it is essential to have a good music system wherever one is based. Having been a vinyl only guy, my relocation in the 90s prompted me to move to cds and then to digital files. It is much easier to carry several thousand cds on an 8tb hard drive than as disks.
If geoff is putting his hifi into storage, he should check out the Really Useful Box Co. website. Their boxes are incredibly strong, and whilst not airtight, are waterproof. They are ideal for storing vinyl and electronics, but be sure to include a big silica gel bag in each crate to stop mould or moisture damage.
I would also recommend thinking about a good "mobile" av/hifi system. I was an early adopter of a multimedia projector. Typically my postings would provide me with good quality spacious housing. Once a week I would host a movie night where I would be able to project a 12ft wide image onto the lounge wall. Much better in my view than spending a lot on a big screen tv, especially if like me, you move every few years or so.
Geoff
Geoff, really pleased to read this news.
I know its been a dream for both of you for years now, so delighted that you are making it happen.
Best wishes.
Thank you all for the kind thoughts, good wishes and storage offers.
Jac Hawk
12-08-2018, 09:42
If you don't mid the drive, i'd get a van and take as much of the gear you have that either will be hard to replace or has sentimental value, i moved over to Spain a few years back and hired a van, on the way back i bought a van off ebay and sold it for more than i bought it for so the trip only cost me about £80
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