A checklist for moving out from the US
[ ] Decide a tentative date of the move -> D-day
One month before the D-day
[ ] If you have rented apartment, check your lease end date. If you are leaving before the lease end, look options for sub-leasing.
[ ] If you have rented apartment, intimate your house owner
[ ] If you own house, find options to sell it.
[ ] Get quotes from movers and packers
Two weeks before the D-day
[ ] Ensure you have visa/permanent residence/citizenship for your destination
[ ] Intimate your employer with last working day
[ ] Identify furniture and other stuff (e.g., toys) to sell
[ ] Post ads to sell the identified items (on, for example, Facebook Marketplace)
[ ] Book flights
[ ] Arrange accommodation (if not moving to your home country)
[ ] Get your car appraised from multiple vendors
[ ] Intimate school of your kids; get any necessary documents (last/current year progress report)
[ ] Confirm movers and packers for D-2 date
[ ] Identify clothes and toys to discard; consider donating to Goodwill
One week before the D-day
[ ] Sell your car; the check you get will take 3–7 days to clear
[ ] In some states, you need to return the plates to DMV.
[ ] Claim your (car) property tax with the receipt of sale and plates in
[ ] Close your auto insurance
[ ] Request for a good-driver certificate from auto insurance provider
[ ] Intimate your electricity provider to stop the service on D-day
[ ] Intimate your gas provider to stop the service on D-day
[ ] Pay off your phone
[ ] Close credit cards. You may still would like to hold a couple of cards. Credit cards age helps in building credit score.
[ ] Close bank accounts (maybe not all)
[ ] Setup address redirect with USPS
[ ] Get currency for your destination country
[ ] Get travelers cheques, if needed
[ ] Close memberships such as AAA
[ ] Settle accounts with your employer
[ ] Roll-over or self-pay HSA account; beware of the penalty in case of self-pay
[ ] Roll-over or self-pay your retirement saving plan; beware of the penalty in case of self-pay
[ ] Check for subscriptions such as Netflix whether you need to continue or close
[ ] Final segregate your stuff into three categories: stuff to send with movers and packers, stuff that you will take with you, and the stuff you need to discard
[ ] Discard unnecessary left-over items (furniture, clothes, toys, etc.)
[ ] Cook for next 2–3 days (so that you don’t have to order food from outside after all your kitchen stuff is gone)
Two days before the D-day
[ ] Help movers and packers in identifying the right stuff to pack
[ ] Clean your house after movers and packer leave
[ ] Check for entry requirements in your destination country (for example COVID test and checking-in to country-specific apps)
[ ] Close Internet connection and return instruments
After reaching to your destination country
[ ] Update your address with USCIS within 10 days of your move, if applicable.
