When moving abroad it’s hard to guess what everyday items may be mystifyingly absent in your new home. What should you stockpile in your suitcase? And which items aren’t worth wasting precious pounds on?!
Before you move…ask an expat
Actually, ask more than one expat if you can. Each person will have a slightly different perspective. Some of the things they mention you’d never use and won’t miss, others you will gasp at the thought of not having ready access to and immediately start making space for in your bags. If you have specific brands or items you love and wonder if they will be available, that is a perfect question for a friend-of- a-friend who lives in the country you’re moving to. Don’t be shy, most people are happy to share. As for the general stuff though, blogs like this may help.
The everyday expat’s wish list:
For whatever country your relocating too, there WILL BE some common expat gripes …. Here’s some for Taiwan
- Pain Relievers: You can get Advil and Panadol here. But if you swear by Excedrin or some other pain relievers that help you with your migraines, then that’s something small and worth stashing in your luggage.
- Shoes: For women if your feet are bigger then a size 8, you may have a hard time finding shoes that fit. Same idea for men, if you are in the slightly larger shoe size range in the west then you are probably in the extraordinary large range for Asia.
- Clothes: Same idea… just because you never shopped at the Big & Tall stores in the States doesn’t mean you aren’t a specialty large/tall size in Asia. There are some stores here that more accommodating to western body types, but your choices are certainly limited if you aren’t slim & petite.
- Crackers & Granola Bars: There are saltines here and a ton of other cracker brands/varieties. But, none of them quite live up to Triscuits or Wheat Thins. Almost anytime someone from our office goes back to North America they return with boxes of crackers to share with the office 🙂 Some North American candies, like Sour Patch Kids, are also very popular! Good granola bars are another difficult thing to get your hands on here – although Costco sometimes steps in to help out with that.
Admiring spices we got in Thailand
Our personal wish list
In Costa Rica, I used to always make space for bags of chocolate chips, brownie mix and small electronic appliances. Josh on the other hand, always requested boxes of EmergenC when friends came down to visit. Now we have a new Taiwan specific, personalized wish list! Here it is 🙂
- Flavored Coffee Creamer: Coffee lovers can be very happy in Taipei. There are a million coffee shops serving all types of coffee here. You can get a great variety of whole bean coffees in the grocery stores. Although it’s a little more difficult to find pre-ground coffee. (Josh & I buy our bags of coffee at Costco, partly because we can grind it right there). They also have these funny single serving coffee bag things that open into a mini filter that sits on top of the cup and you pour your hot water. You can also buy flavored syrups for your coffee. BUT if you are someone, like me, who only enjoys her homebrewed coffee if there’s flavored creamer to go along with it… then you (and I) are out of luck. I have yet to see flavored coffee creamer (of the powder or liquid variety) at any of the grocery stores in Taipei.
- Antacids (ie Tums): Good news. These are available in pharmacies here. Big plastic tubs of them, however? Definitely not. Compared to the states antacids are quite expensive here. Back in the states Josh usually buys antacids at Costco. So we were hopeful when we got our Taiwan Costco membership that we’d find them there. But no such luck. They do have the exact kind of frozen pasta I love from my Costco back in Montana! But no chalky antacids.
- Cardamom and other baking spices: There’s got to be a place where you can buy cardamon in Taipei! I just haven’t found it yet. Although as I was writing this post, I asked another expat friend what’s on her list… and baking spices was on her list too. Bummer. Nutmeg and whole cloves she confirmed are also difficult to find.
creating your own list
Ultimately, no matter how many expats & blogs you consult, there will always be something we forget, or don’t think of. After all, we aren’t you and don’t use every product you do. And anyways, you do want to discover and experience a few things for yourself, first hand! 🙂 Eventually you’ll have your own personalized list, for when friends come and visit or you go home for the holidays. And of course, pass that list on when it comes your turn to help out that friend-of-a-friend who’s moving to Asia and heard you live there!