From sledge racing equipment to rusty cars in China and having to battle the hoarding bug, moving country can be an adventure. Three brave movers speak to Veronica Stivala.

Denise Chircop

The driver who couldn’t read maps

Denise Chircop has moved from Malta to Florence, back to Malta and then again from Malta to Belgium, so she knows a thing or two about moving house.

The experience of moving from Florence to Malta in the mid-1990s was chaotic: a few days before the scheduled day, the removals driver called to say he was in the vicinity to pick up the boxes.

The next trailer would pass two weeks later, which would have been too late. They had no choice but to oblige. Then two students, with a toddler in tow, frantically threw themselves into packing everything while they tried to give directions to the driver.

“He couldn’t read a map or the signposts so in the end we asked him to follow the symbol of the football stadium and we met him there to lead him to where we lived,” Denise says.

It got worse. The company in Malta had said they would send a van because the couple lived on a hilltop and there was no way a large lorry could reach them. Instead, they were met by a full-sized trailer.

“Our heart missed a beat as we drove up the bendy road and we both could have sworn the truck tilted some way at one of the bends. The driver was in a mess and positively famished, so we offered him our bathroom and shared our supper with him. He looked 10 years younger after a shower and a change of clothes.”

Luckily, the neighbours participated in sledge races and offered to help with the loading by using their equipment which they attached to a motorcycle to bring the boxes to the lorry.

When they moved to Belgium some eight years ago, the most difficult task was going through all their belongings, sorting and throwing out all the unnecessary things.

“The removals people did the packing for us, which was great, although I was quite alarmed with the way they packed the books. In the end a couple of the books did suffer some damage, which was a shame, but there was less damage than I had prepared myself for.

“We were also very surprised to see the handlers unloading our piano without any proper equipment. We just looked at each other, expecting to hear a crashing sound. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Of course the piano needed tuning but it was still very much in one piece.”

For Denise, the fun part of moving is rediscovering old keepsakes. She admits she is unable to rest until she has everything in its place again.

“I hate living out of boxes.”

Genevieve Wicks

Six-month-old luggage

Genevieve and Graham Wicks are ‘at last, settled and staying put’ after a career spanning 35 years and more than 22 house moves – not to mention country moves.

Genevieve was always used to the peripatetic life: her father was in the Royal Navy and was posted overseas, so it seemed a natural move for her to join the British Foreign Office.

With her husband Graham, she has lived in places as varied as China, Pakistan (twice), Seychelles, India, Sudan and a few bits of Europe, with Malta as their final posting. She admits now, “I think I can safely say that I’ve finally got the travel bug out of my system”.

Genevieve loved each and every move and looked forward to the rush of excitement on arrival and the first sights and smells of a new country as they drove from the airport. Each place had its own particular challenge.

“Back in the 1980s, a lot of places in China were out of bounds so I didn’t see much of the country. In Pakistan, I wondered whether I was going to survive the Khyber Pass in one piece. In the Seychelles, it was always a question of which beach to go to. In India, we wondered whether we would recover from the tummy bugs. And in Sudan, we nursed doubts about whether we would be able to stay cool without electricity.”

For each posting they were permitted to ship a certain amount of heavy luggage, which would include clothes, books, crockery, ornaments and, earlier on in their career, washing machines and freezers. All would be professionally packed and freighted and would arrive sooner or later at the destination.

“Our luggage took over six months to reach us by sea in China and unfortunately much of our stuff had to be thrown away as it was soaking wet. The car too arrived damaged and rusty as a result of making the journey on the top deck. “For our last posting, Malta, we drove from England with our car packed to the gunwales, having completely emptied our house in the UK ready for letting out. But it was nice to have all the basics with us from the moment of arrival in our new home.”

Genevieve always quite enjoyed packing as it gave her the chance to clear out, downsize and organise paperwork.

“Of course the worst bit of moving is saying goodbye to friends, but thankfully there’s e-mail and Facebook and the possibility of a return visit one day,” she says.

Their decision to make the final move back to the UK from Malta was a hard one, but both felt the need to find their roots again and settle down near family. Again, the move was exciting: they spent an enjoyable six months finding the perfect house in Norfolk and a further six months furnishing it.

“We have since discovered that Norfolk is the driest county in the UK so it was definitely a good move.”

Angele Sears Debono

The worst packer around

Despite having moved house three times in the space of 10 years, Angele Sears Debono considers herself the “worst packer around”.

“Packing for me is a nightmare,” she confides. “It’s tiring, time-consuming and every time we move to a new house, I realise what a hoarder I am and need to declutter. I manage to misplace items, forget to label boxes and break stuff. I doubt I will ever learn.”

Angele, 38, originally hails from Mellieħa. In 2004, just before Malta joined the EU, she left for Luxembourg to work as a translator at the European Court of Auditors. Although a lawyer, she jumped at this opportunity to work in a multicultural environment abroad, gain experience, and return to Malta to practise law. That was 10 years ago.

She has since married Matthew who is British and currently works as a lawyer and linguist at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Angele and Matthew now live in Germany, across the border with Luxembourg, meaning Angele has a daily commute of 40 minutes.

She admits the most difficult part about moving from Malta to Luxembourg and Germany was leaving her family and friends. Unsurprisingly, she also terribly misses the sun and the sea.

On the plus side Luxembourg and Germany are in such an excellent geographical position that travel, by car or by plane, is very easy. She stresses how Paris is less than three hours away.

“As long as you are happy with the job offer and your family is willing to move too, then the decision to move is yours,” she says.

Once you decide to move, she says, start by looking into the more practical side of things. Take time to visit the city you are moving to before your move, especially if you have children. Visit schools, speak to other expat parents who are always willing and happy to help and offer advice, view a few temporary accommodations. However do not expect everything to be perfect – it takes time to settle down, to get into a routine, to find a suitable accommodation, to learn a new language, to adapt to a new lifestyle. This is all part of the experience.

“In the end, it will be all worth it. If you don’t take the risk, you will never know if it will work out for you.”