Part of the relocation package when we’ve moved with Tony’s work is a place to live upon arrival. This not only gives us somewhere to lay our heads, but also facilitates the necessary immigration admin like registering with local authorities (essential for Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark), getting set up with bank accounts, and all the rest.
When we moved to Switzerland and the UK, the company provided temporary accommodation (basically an Airbnb) for a month. The apartments are furnished (interior designers for such corporate housing tend to be fans of faux leather sofas) and include the basics (bedding and towels, rudimentary kitchen equipment, a TV), but lack any sense of homeyness.
With this move to Denmark, we get three months accommodation, which is great—and a long time to live somewhere relatively soul-less.
After a few relocations, we’ve learnt to pack a few beyond-basic items that make everyday life more comfortable. Here’s what we brought this time around…
First on the list: coffee-making supplies. I’ve used the same metal French press since about 2015. The thing seems indestructible (other than needing a periodic mesh filter replacement), brews good java (and keeps it warm for a while), and holds the perfect two cups I crave before 8:30. I also brought my favourite coffee mug and a scoop to measure out the perfect volume of ground beans.
Other kitchen must-haves include a couple cutting boards, a peeler, a grater, good kitchen scissors, and our three most-used knives (although not the sharpener, which we might be pining for in another couple weeks). We also packed a wooden spoon, a kitchen scale, and measuring spoons, along with a sparkling wine stopper (must preserve the fizz!), some food storage bits (beeswax wraps, bulldog clips, etc.), and three sets of dishtowels (furnished places only ever seem to have two tea towels, which doesn’t work if you actually cook—or do dishes!). Since moving, we’ve also purchased a rubber spatula, ice cube trays, and oven mitts (apparently those flimsy tea towels were meant to do double duty holding hot things?!?).
After coffee necessities, a throw blanket is the second most important item on my comfy list. While I enjoy a living room duvet, something lighter and more stylish is a better fit for the sofa. We also brought a Chromecast (turns out this flat has one), plenty of cables and charging bricks (we could have done with a second HDMI cable), a power bar, a Bluetooth speaker, and a few coasters (including Canadian-made recycled skateboard ones we’ve carted along on ever move). And, of course, our travel crib board.
The tight dimensions of our UK place encouraged a lot of clever space-savers, like hanging laundry bags (we have two of these, one of which is hanging in our temporary place) and over-the-door racks (there’s one holding hoodies right now on the bathroom door). We also brought some easy-to-remove adhesive hooks to increase hanging storage options (very handy for oven mitts!).
Bathroom necessities include a soap dish (why are these not standard in this kind of housing?!?), a couple face cloths, a suction cup hook for a hand towel, and a motion sensor nightlight (perfect for avoiding the vampiric-like hissing that comes with flicking on an overhead light first thing in the morning). I love these blue-light blocking ones so much we’ve taken then on vacation, too.
This already feels like a long list, but there are a few things I wish we’d sacrificed a little more suitcase space for:
- a couple more mugs, particularly ones that hold a potentially unhealthy volume of tea (I’ve picked up two tolerably sized ones from a second-hand shop, but they’re nothing like this giant octopus one),
- cereal bowls (we’ve purchased suitable bowls in every Airbnb-type corporate flat… but could really just bring a couple with us),
- a rubber spatula and oven mitts (to be fair, it probably was time to get new oven mitts anyway),
- ice cube trays (another thing I’m surprised isn’t standard),
- a garlic press and cork screw (I’ve gotten very used to the waiter’s friend kind and the wing version is throwing me a little),
- more coasters! (especially as they’re small, light, and trigger nice memories)
While it would have been amazing to bring my yoga mat (and handmade carrying bag—thanks mum!), the fancy temperature-selection kettle and cordless vacuum (yes, I miss our vacuum), a few clothes hangers, and our pillows, our checked luggage simply wouldn’t allow it.
We’ve done our best to make our temporary place as cosy as possible (and Danish flats tend to have good hygge bones), but we will be thrilled to be reunited with our household goods and get settled into a more ‘permanent’ place. Move-in day is April 2nd!
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Glad to see you have your travel crib board. Sounds like you are very organized and will have fun choosing a neighbourhood for your next home
The travel crib board is essential 🙂 We are very much looking forward to getting settled in our new neighbourhood, which is just north of the city and very close to the Øresund straight!