Things to bring from India when moving/relocating

Hi Gals,

My sister is moving to the US (Boston) for 3 years. Her husband working in IT is taking up an assignment with their client company for 3 years starting from October of this year. She has got a 5 year old kid.

I just wanted to get some tips on the essential things that needs to be taken care while moving to the US - like things to buy from India - cooking essentials, clothes, medicines, etc., is anything required in specific from her kid's school in India to join him in a school in the US, if anything can be worked out from India for his school admission in October in US and more.

I told her I have seen a lot of folks in IndusLadies community living in the US who will be more willing to share tips based on their experience.

Look forward to your suggestions and tips. Thks.

Hi!

Actually u get all the things here too. But its always better to get some stuff for initial setup. So here it goes:

some basic utensils
clothing -for very cold weather bcoz in october there is going to be very cold and windy and sometime late october snow too
masalas -very important thing as here u wont get the same taste
sweets -in boston specially u wont get any good sweets
medicines -some common medicines-like for fever, cold caugh, painkillers, bandages etc.
books -IT related books are very costly here so if your sister's hubby wants any books he should buy it from there it would be cheaper
Music cds -specially indian movie cds are really expensive
and when u come to boston dont buy anything before thanksgiving sale,
which will come in november around 20th-25th.
That one is a really good sale. Stuffs comes for really low prices.
And if your sister wants to know more about this sale she can email me after coming here. If I remember anything else I'll mail again.

Best of luck
Manjula

Hi Nirupama,

Good to know that your sister is coming here with her family. It will be a totally different experience. It might take some time to adjust to the way of living in the US, but it's easy.

Coming to cooking utensils - it is better to carry a mixie or grinder (alteast a mixie is very essential). Though you get blenders here and also Indian make of grinders, it turns out to be a bit on the higher side.

If your sis husband already drives a 4-wheeler in India, it is good to get an international driving license and come. This will allow him to drive 1 to 2 months, while he can take up a driving test and take a driving license in the driving office of their state/city here.

Schools open here in September after summer hols and registration for new admissions usually happen during May/June. They can admit their kid in the schools that is within the district circle where they would be living and information can be easily found in the net (city yellow pages).

Ask them to carry his earlier school books to keep him occupied till he gets school admission. It is very important to get language books (like Tamil, Hindi or any other 2nd language the kid is familiar with) to continue the language teaching. You don't get those books here easily and even if you get some online they are very costly.

This is what I could immediately think of...hope it helps!

Hi Nirupama,

I am quite new to the U.S myself,came here in Jan'05.If your sister's husband's office provides for the cargo charges(by air or by sea) from India to U.S.,then they should make full use of that facility.

What we did was this.We had such a facility.So we even purchased our furniture from there like cots,mattresses,dining table since it definitely works out cheaper in India.

We got a mixie,grinder(specifically ask for 110 volts),a pressure cooker, utensils,
some pickles,masala powders if required(pls check this,I think now they do not allow food items to U.S in cargo),vathals and vadams(we got a huge lot of these).

Winter clothes are a must.Especially,for your nephew,you will need a good cap that covers the head,ears and neck(like the monkey caps we find in Chennai,you don't get that here and that is by far the best I have seen).
Get thermals also.Also,bring all his toys and whatever he is used to in India.So that he will not feel out of place here.

Also,get some of our traditional items like murukku acchu,idli plates,God's items etc., which you will definitely find here but it will be costly.

Hope I have been of some help to you..

Cheers.

Hi Ladies,

I'm coming to US for the first time and going to be there for around 1-2 years. Can you please provide me any tips and a list of items that I may need to buy from India ? I was told to buy a 110v mixie.. A checklist from people out there already would be really helpful for first time comers like me

Thanks.

Hi krithika

Nice to hear that u r coming to US

I can give u the list which i got from india when i first came here soon after my marriage.

I got a mixie - 110V, preethi chefpro is the one which i got.
I also got few utensils, cooker, idli plates
If u can get a grinder also.

Groceries:

Mainly sambar powder, apart from it, i got dhaniya powder, and other available powders.

Some dresses, inner wears and other accessories of regular use.

Rest is available here. If needed, u can get additional things.

Hope this info will be of help for u.

bye

Hi Krithika
I sent a PM to u.check it out.

Bye
Suneeta

Hi Krithika,

This is Veena. I just wanted to give some tips to you based on my experience in US. I came here in Nov.06.
· Bring Rasam powder and sambar powder in good quantities (especially if you are a south indian) and if u use chutney powder, bring that too.
· Bring as many clothes and inner garments as possible (depending on the baggage weight allowed). Though we get everything here, its too expensive. Especially we dont like buying anything in the beginning as we will be in a converting stage!!!!( from $ to Rs.)
· Bring thermal innerware. It helps you a lot in winter.
· Bring a " stick " used to beat the curds. I dont know the correct name. I forgot that and finding it very difficult to manage without it.
· As another friend has suggested, bring the basic utensils like pressure cooker,idli plates etc.. and dont forget to bring spare gaskets and safety valves. Its better to bring a mixie also.
· You can also bring some basic dal etc.. if you can. I brought tuar dal,moong dal etc. in small quantities. Of course, we get it all here. But it will be useful in the beginning.
· You can bring the basic pooja articles if you are interested.
· And remember your cotton clothes are most likely to get shrunk once you put them in the washer here!!!!
Hope it helps . I wish you a happy and safe travel. Bye.

Hi Krithika,

If U used to make chapatis then don't forget to bring ur chapati board and belan coz here u can't get normal belan in american stores and in Indian stores its very costly.U can also buy tawa frm there.

U can bring ur kids favourite ready to eat snacks(like namkeens-here haldiram stock is costly).U must buy spices frm there.Don't forget ur cooker.

BTW , frm which place u r coming?

bye n best of luck

Hi Krithika

When I moved two years ago,I brought a Mixie,grinder,cooker,idli plates(microwaveable ones too if you use them),Mathhu(which is what I think Naveena was talking about for curds),kidiki( or what we call idukki in Malayalam,basically tongs for holding hot vessels from the stove),chapathi board as Sonia said(if you don't bring that,you can buy a normal cutting board here and use it for making chapathis),if you are planning on making indian snacks like muruku,bring the murukku acchu,tea strainer( I've not seen that here). Also, stainless steel plates and tumblers you will not find here(if you want them).

If you know how to make sambhar ,rasam powders and idli powders,don't bother to bring those here.Frankly,I did not know how to make them either but I got the recipe from my MIL and from day one,I make them here myself since you can find all the ingredients like pepper,jeeragam,dals,red chillies etc here itself.When you make them yourself,it will be fresh and the satisfaction of having made them all by yourself will be there.You can make the powders once in 2-3 months. Bring small quantities for the initial few days and then you can make them yourself.

I would say,invest in good undergarments and buy them from India,here the good ones are very expensive-one bra will cost around $ 15.Of course you will get cheaper ones for $3 and above,but the quality will be bad.You will get good ones in India for less than $ 3.

Forgot to add another thing but this is purely based on your likes and dislikes.If you use 'naatu marunthus' or home made kashayams,lehiyams etc,then bring all those.I brought a few packets of chitarathai,kadathipili,vasambu etc,because I have a small kid and might need it sometimes.Also,if you are the type who makes diwali marunthu at home,then you might need some of these.

If you like fancy bindis,normal bindis etc buy those also.