The Ultimate Moving Abroad Packing List!
This was our living room in Maryland T-2 days before the moving truck arrived!
People often ask, “What do you miss most about the United States?” I’ve had to reflect on that question a lot so nowadays, I answer automatically without even thinking: family, friends, and Target. I really, really miss the magical world of Target.
On our Instagram stories, I recently asked readers to suggest topics they’re curious about. Numerous people in the Americas & Europe reached out with messages like, “We’re coming to Addis for the summer months. What should we bring?” or “We’re thinking about moving to Ethiopia. What should we consider bringing?” So I decided to write a post that covers a moving abroad packing list.
I’m drawing a few assumptions here. I’m assuming you’re moving to Addis Ababa (or another developing nation’s capital city that is similar in supply availability to Addis). I’m assuming that you don’t have unlimited cargo or packing space. I’m assuming you’re used to a certain way of life with Amazon Prime, Walmart, Target, Costco, and/or Instacart at your disposal, and that you’re moving to a location that doesn’t have any of these luxuries. (Yes, Target is a luxury I’ve now realized.) Lastly, I’m assuming that if you’re flying to Addis for a vacation, you’re checking in at least one carry-on suitcase to accommodate all the liquid and other airline-deemed hazardous items that are prohibited from carry-on luggages.
With these assumptions in mind, here is my suggested moving abroad packing list. I’m going to put an asterisk next to all the things I would leave out if you’re just going for a short vacation. Please also note one critical fact: counterfeit products are a real thing in Addis. So, as I drew up this list, I asked myself the question, “are you willing to risk getting a counterfeit?” If it’s toilet paper or hair ties, maybe. But medications or make-up? Not so much. Read on…
Pharmaceuticals
In Addis, it’s hard to find a lot of medications at the prices and quantities you’d find them in the States. So bring:
Any prescription medications you take
Over-the-Counter meds:
For headaches and minor ailments: Tylenol, Motrin, Advil
Allergic reactions and/or allergies: Benadryl, Visine, Claritin
Colds: cough syrup like Robitussin, NyQuil, expectorants like Mucinex
Stomach bug: Imodium
Immune health: Vitamins, Emergen-C, and any other supplements you may take.
If you have children, make sure to pick up the childrens’ version for all of these as well. The one thing that ran out in my household quickest was Childrens’ Motrin.
Pepto Bismol: Plan to eat that kitfo? Better bring that Pepto! Seriously, Pepto Bismol needed its own special line.
Pedialyte / Gatorade: if you have a stomach bug and need to recalibrate.
Digital Thermometer: not sure if your kiddo’s temperature is running high? You’ll wish you had your smart, digital thermometer.
Band-aids: major key, especially if you have school age kids that claim they have a gushing wound whenever they get a paper cut.
Alcohol swabs and/or cotton balls with a big bottle of rubbing alcohol
Hydrogen peroxide*
Self-Care Items
Razors: surely there’s no Gillette Venus to fire your desire here (remember that commercial from the early 2000s? “I’m your Venus, I’m your fiyah, your desi-yah?”). I digress. If you need high-quality razors, bring it with you from abroad. Also add shaving cream here.
Feminine Products: Tampons are a rare commodity here. They have pads but not in bulk and not of varying absorbances. If you’re picky, I’d highly recommend bringing it.
Hair care: Here ye, here ye! To all my sisters who are used to the abundance and choice with American hair-care products…you will not find any of that shit here! I can’t emphasize this enough. Shampoo and Conditioner? Sure, they’ve got that. But that Mixed Chicks deep conditioner or your bottle of Kinky Curly Knot Today detangler, or that Aussie leave-in spray, or your Shea Moisture cream? NO. Get that immediately from Target or Prime, give it a hug, put it in your suitcase, and if you’re moving, plan to bring a couple of bottles in your cargo shipment as well.
Another word of advice? If you plan to get braids with extensions here (which you should because why not? It costs approximately $10 versus $150+ in the States), bring a couple packs of hair extensions. This is especially important if you want passion twists or special colored braid extensions e.g. ombre extensions, curly tips, etc. You’ll only find black, brown, and blonde tips here, unless you visit a hair supply store, which will be wildly marked up. On this same note, if you use weave, they’re excellent at installs, but again, bring the hair with you. Many more options in the States than here.
Hair care continued: also don’t forget hair ties, brushes, combs, hair scarves, flat irons, blow dryers, etc.
Barber’s clipper set*: used to cutting your hair yourself? Don’t forget your clipper set! Even if you’re not, you may want to start. The concept of fades is warped out here. I took my son to a barber several times and he ended up with a buzz cut or a little round patch of hair at the top of his scalp. My husband has become our house-appointed barber now. Seriously, don’t play yourself. Find a good barber via recommendations (and let me know when you find one that knows how to do a great fade!) or be a perfectionist and prepare to cut your own hair.
Nail Polish*: whether you go to the salon and get gel or regular polish, the service is good and very cheap (as in, approx. $5 for an excellent mani and pedi.) However, the quality of polish they have here isn’t the best, so it would be smart to bring your own collection of OPI/Essie/Dior or whatever other colors you use. I’ve found one salon that has a comparatively great collection of OPI colors but otherwise, it’s a crap shoot.
Body wash, lotion, vaseline, etc.: Again, see my comment above for hair care. They have body wash and lotion, it just may not be the ones you’re used to. I actually brought a lot of Dove and realized that it is one of the brands that sold in mass here, as is Nivea. However, it’s cheaper abroad so if you have space or not-easily-found products, bring them with you.
Makeup & perfume: bring all your makeup. There’s a Mac store in Bole (!), but I’d still bring my stuff if I were you. See above for my note on counterfeits.
Groceries
In general, this section is for those moving here. If you’re coming for a short trip, I know it seems impossible, but I promise you, you can live without any of these items below.
Cheeses: seriously, my whole family loves cheese and good cheese here is rare to find and extremely overpriced. I bought sliced cheese from Costco and froze it. Life saver. Otherwise, you can get relatively good Gouda from All-Mart in Bisrate Gabriel and other types of cheeses from Novis/The Food Boutique.
Mayo & ketchup: if you love some good ol’ Hellman’s, do yourself a favor and bring it here, or risk eating sugary mayo from Dubai. Same goes for the sugary note about mayo but multiply by 100. Bring your Heinz.
Oatmeal: oatmeal is available here, but in small, tiny containers. If you’re used to Costco size Quaker Oats, bring it.
Trail mix or mixed nuts variety: see note above on oatmeal.
Olive Oil: fyi, not that I expect you to lug around bottles of Olive Oil with you, but just a note that while olive oil is available, you’ll pay triple the price you’d pay at Costco. Prepare yourself and learn to love butter.
Chocolates: At the risk of sounding extra basic, I love me some good ol’ American chocolate (Kit-Kats, Hersheys, M&Ms etc). You won’t find that here. If you do, it’s sold at a mark-up or it’s counterfeit.
Baking goods – see note above on chocolates: You won’t find any good-quality chocolate chips, baking soda, cocoa, etc. Baking powder available, as is vanilla so you can leave those behind.
Pure maple syrup: None in the entire country. There’s syrup, but it sure ain’t pure, Canadian or Vermont maple syrup I grew up on in North America.
Cooking spices you like:
I love McCormick’s Taco Blend for fajitas, you won’t find that (or anything like it) here
Goya Adobo All Purpose (they have Knorr’s here as a substitute and people use it a lot)
Other speciality spices that may be found at Whole Foods are certainly not going to be found here though I will say turmeric and all things spicy are found in abundance
Cleaning Items
Like the section on groceries above, this section is also for those moving here. If you’re coming for a short trip, you can certainly live without any of these items below.
Paper Towel: If you’re used to Bounty quality and/or have children or pets, you’ll cry —either through laughter or frustration— at the rolled up sheets of paper they pass off as paper towels. Do yourself a favor and bring some Bounty if you can.
Toilet Paper: See note about paper towel. It’s like wiping yourself with paper unless you get the soft kind which is available but very expensive, and has such little paper per roll. Seriously, it’s SUPER THIN. I’ve found Soft N’ Cool and one other brand (name is escaping me now but let me know if you want me to hunt for it and I will) to be of comparative quality to Charmins.
Zip-lock bags: varying sizes. For school snacks, freezing sauces and wots, packing for trips, and everything in between. Bring a lot!
Garbage bags: Again, Hefty quality and quantity garbage bags are not a thing. Most people (self included) resort to using plastic bags from grocery shopping trips. If you want your Hefty, you ought to bring it with you.
Housing Goods
High-quality towels, bed sheets, comforters: this is available, you may just be disappointed with the quality/price comparison if you’re used to Home Goods or Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
Clothes: Not a lot to say here besides pack all your clothing and undergarments you like and bring extras. You don’t need winter coats, though you will need coats for 50 degree weather. Important note for those of you coming to Addis in the summer months (aka: June, July, August). Western summer is rainy season in Addis so assume Northern California weather and pack accordingly (e.g. sweaters and sweatshirts, leggings, jeans, rain jackets, umbrellas, rain boots, etc.) Also, word to the wise: don’t pack white stuff. With the rain comes mud & your white pants will be brown before you can say “brown.”
Adapter plugs, converters, & power strips: I’ll talk more about this in a future post, but just note that you’ll need to bring a travel adapter if you’re coming from the US. For your cell phone charger, your laptop, and most other things, this will suffice. For larger electronics that involve heat (say, your toaster oven, blow-dryer, TV, or iron), you may also need a converter if your electronics are 110V as most US electronics are, or else you run the risk of destroying them.
Kids Items
Diapers: if your kid still wears them and you’re particular about brand, bring it with you. Also, don’t forget swim diapers!
Wipes: they have them here but nothing beats Pampers Sensitive Wipes with the pop-top if you ask me.
A&D ointment and/or Bourdeux’s butt paste
Toys*: Bring tons of the following – Crayons, markers, coloring books, blank paper, paint sets, Melissa & Doug paint books, Magnatiles, Blocks, toy train sets or cars, etc.
Bikes & Scooters*: assuming you have cargo space. Of course they sell them here, but they may be overpriced and quality isn’t as great as you could find abroad.
A Trampoline*: So I’m getting a bit carried away here and this is only assuming you have cargo space, but there aren’t a lot of open park spaces in Addis and I’ve learned from observing my kids and all their friends that kids LOVE trampolines. You can always resell it if your kids aren’t into it; it’s in high demand in Addis.
Books: Bring tons of these too (assuming you’re moving.) If you’re short on space, consider getting the kids Amazon tablets so that you can download books on them. Takes the space of one book but can download unlimited amounts.*
Gifts for birthday parties along with gift wrap and/or gift bags*: Again, of course these things exist, but you won’t find them for the prices you’d find at Target or on Amazon Prime so bring them with you if you can.
Alright, that’s all I’ve got for now. If this comprehensive moving abroad packing list was helpful, feel free to shoot me an Instagram message, and/or email me any questions you may have on the email link on our home page. I’ll do my best to help. Contingent on the feedback, I’ll also write a separate piece on all the electronics questions that we had to navigate when moving here.