MISSION [IM]POSSIBLE?- Srianee Dias

 MISSION [IM]POSSIBLE?

Srianee Dias

Now that I have more or less completed my move back to Sri Lanka, Mahen and Nihal thought it would be beneficial to the readers of the blog if I shared some of the nitty-gritty details of how I accomplished this somewhat intimidating task. 

The Decision: The most difficult part is making the decision, and I shared in a previous blog post that it took me many years to make up my mind.  It is not an easy decision, and “one size does not fit all!” I’ve been hearing from people who have already moved back, as well others who are seriously considering it.  An underlying theme is that growing old in countries other than Sri Lanka requires paying for expensive care at home, or ending up in a nursing home and getting isolated from family.  This could happen even if one’s children lived nearby.

In my case my daughters had moved far away and my close friends were often dealing with their own health problems.  It was relatively easy for me to make a decision to move back to Sri Lanka where most of my family live. 

Action Plan:  Once the decision is made, one has to plan the action strategy. Willing family members, capable close friends or professionals need to be recruited.  The work involved cannot be tackled alone by octogenarians.

I was lucky that my older daughter, her husband, and a close friend were able to help.  My friend had previous experience helping people “downsize.” 

Choosing a shipping company:  It is important to find a reliable shipping company.  The choice will depend on what you need to ship. Some companies will pack and ship the entire contents of your home.

In my situation I already had a furnished apartment in Colombo and only needed to ship small items and a few pieces of furniture. The small stuff needed to be packed by us.  The company I chose was Srilak Shipping, a Sri Lankan owned company.  They are based in Staten Island, NY. [+1(718)285-0324]. They advised us to use only heavy-duty moving boxes from U-Haul.  We had about 3 shipments of boxes of many sizes.  Each time they came to my home to pick up boxes they charged a flat rate of only $60.00.  I chose their door-to-door service to avoid the hassle of picking up my stuff at their warehouse and having to deal with customs officers.  The door-to-door service is charged based on the number of boxes.  Since I was still in Connecticut when some of the boxes were due to arrive in Colombo, I had to give my brother’s contact information as the consignee.  Their service was exceptional.  I had already arrived in Colombo, however, when the last shipment was delivered and I was able to observe and appreciate their service at the receiving end as well.  They partner with FedEx and it is possible that they are able to service areas outside the greater New York region too. 

Choosing your treasures and packing the boxes:  This is a very challenging task and also a very personal one. 

I decided that I needed my books and my music.  My grandson took over a number of the vinyl records that were in my home. The remaining ones along with all the CDs I had accumulated were shipped.  In order to save space we got rid of the plastic jewel cases that contained the CDs.  The CDs are now in plastic sleeves in something that looks like a gigantic photo album!  (Thanks to my daughter and Amazon!) Sadly, we were unable to recycle those plastic cases, in spite of making many inquiries.  The paintings and photographs on the walls were also shipped, except for the few that I gave away.  Thankfully my apartment in Colombo has high ceilings so there is plenty of wall space to accommodate them.  My daughter also encouraged me to pack some of the trinkets and knickknacks that I had collected over the years. Many were associated with fond memories of people, adventures and travel, although they had very little monetary value. She said “It would feel more like home,” and she was right.

We also managed to pare down the collection of old family photos, some taken by my father in the late 1930s.  We took them out of the bulky albums and found acid free sleeves in which to store them.

My family convinced me to ship my ancient (30-year-old) Klipsch speakers. I’m glad I did, because my “machangs” who helped me find the other stereo components in Sri Lanka said that it would be difficult to get anything of that quality in Colombo.  Interestingly, those were the only items for which I had to pay customs duty. We are still fine tuning the stereo system but it will eventually be completed.

When packing the boxes we numbered the boxes and kept a list of the contents.  We had to list the contents for the shipping company, but more importantly it was very helpful when I began the process of unpacking the boxes. 

Disposal of the excess furniture and other belongings: This is also a very challenging task and requires careful thought.  It is very likely that your children will not want your furniture for a variety of reasons.  They have enough stuff already or live too far away.  Even if you paid a lot of money at the time you purchased your furniture, it is very unlikely that you will be able to sell them at a decent price.  After making inquiries I found that consignment stores and auction houses tend to rip you off.  Most of them require you to pay for them to haul the furniture away, and promise you a percentage of the sales.  But how does one keep track of their sale prices?

My son in law volunteered to post some of the items on FaceBook Marketplace.  The items didn’t sell for much but at least they were taken by people who needed and appreciated them.  Some of the furniture was taken by a friend whose daughter was planning to move into her own apartment.  The remaining items were picked up by local charities.  When I left my cottage and departed for Colombo it was not quite empty.  My friend and my daughter took over the responsibility of emptying it out.  Nothing ended up in a dumpster! 

Finances:

Decisions about handling one’s finances need to be made before moving to Sri Lanka.  Should you transfer most of your cash to Sri Lanka? Probably not a good idea.

I chose to give my older daughter Power of Attorney over all my accounts.  I maintain a joint bank account with her and transfer funds into my Sri Lankan HNB account as needed.  It is an easy process on the App and there is no fee when I transfer dollars to local currency.  It also makes filing taxes in the USA simpler. 

Adjusting to Sri Lanka all over again:

This is a gradual process and it is moving forward slowly. There were many decisions I had to make.

Transportation: Do I buy a car or not?  I had been using Kangaroo Cabs in the past whenever I visited and found out recently that they had something called a ‘Corporate Account.’  I don’t have to carry cash or even a credit card.  All I do when I make the booking is to inform them that it is a corporate account.  Every two weeks an invoice is emailed to me and I make a bank transfer.  I get a 7.5% discount when the cost is above the basic fare.  So far, the drivers have been very courteous and punctual and it definitely beats driving in the crazy Colombo traffic.

Medical Care:  A few years ago I researched the availability of private medical insurance.  Most medical insurance plans do not enroll people over a certain age.  I found that Cigna Global did not have an age cutoff, but could reject someone if they had a pre-existing condition.  I purchased a Cigna Global policy, but it only covers inpatient care.  US Medicare will not cover me in Sri Lanka.

I have been searching for a primary care physician, but I am not crazy about the channeling process in the private sector.  One has to navigate the confusing winding hallways and the multiple floors of the private hospitals, and the process is awkward and cumbersome.  Through neighbors and friends, I found The Vida Clinic, in Havelock Town where I managed to get an appointment and meet a really good doctor.  The clinic also sends doctors on house calls and provides ambulance services.  I need to get more information about the way their system works, but at the moment, this suits me well.

In Sri Lanka, one does not need a doctor to order routine blood work.  I walked up to the Laboratory counter at Asiri Central and got my routine blood work done before I saw the doctor!

I am still awaiting a routine visit to an eye doctor and dentist! (I’ve made the appointments.) 

Sri Lankan Time:

I am still getting adjusted to the fact that some people who promise to show up to work at my apartment (plumbers, electricians etc.) don’t seem to respect my time.  They don’t show up as promised, and don’t bother to call to inform me if a problem arises. I will have to give them pep talks as time goes on! 

As far as other adjustments are concerned, there aren’t too many. I am enjoying the company of the old friends that I meet from time to time.  I’ve also taken advantage of the fact that I live close to the SLMA headquarters, and have so far managed to attend two of their excellent presentations.