The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented situation. If you are sending your child abroad for their higher education, there will be a lot on your checklist to tick off. Understanding travelling rules and various other safety precautions would be on top of your priority list. This is an anxious time for you and your child, and there are a lot of things you need to take care of. However, the one thing you don’t have to worry about is them finding comfort in things that will remind them of home in a foreign land.
Pots and pans, masalas, pickles, papads, ready to cook packets, bed sheets, etc. are some of the things your kids don’t need to carry from India. Here are a few tips on how they can find Indian things they love, as well as everything else they would need, at cost-effective prices.
Look for bargain deals to buy winter clothes: Your child may have to buy winter clothes to suit the climate of the country they are studying in. For example, winters in Canada can be freezing with an average temperature between -5 to -15°C. Please encourage them to carry a few woollens to suffice them on arrival. Ask them to frequent thrift shops to get great deals on jackets and sweaters. They can also wait for the sale season to get heavy discounts on online and offline shopping, as well as visit outlet malls.
Buy economical pot-ware and cutlery: There are a lot of discount supermarkets where basic hardware is available at low prices. For example, large stores in the US have endless aisles for these things. They can also look at e-commerce giants for decent quality, yet affordable cookware. Alternatively, if close family friends and relatives are living locally, they can check with them if they can borrow spares.
Rent furniture or get second hand: Buying furniture can prove to be expensive. It also doesn’t make sense to invest a lot of money if your child is in that country for just a couple of years. Renting furniture is a lot more cost-effective. For example, you can get all your basics such as sofa, coffee table, queen size bed, dining table, etc. for approximately SGD 300 per month in Singapore. You can also look for furnished accommodations, but they do tend to be slightly more expensive, averaging about SGD 500 more per month. Other than renting, your child can also check out garage sales to pick up second-hand furniture for a bargain.
Pick sheets, towels from a local store: Everyday items such as bed sheets, toiletries, towels, cleaning supplies are all easily available abroad. Instead of lugging these items from India, ask them to visit a local store and stock up. In countries such as the US, you can get these items for the same cost as in India. In some cases it might even be cheaper to buy locally than take from here, considering the cost of extra baggage or courier.
Get your fix of familiar foods from Indian retail chains: Indian foods are readily available throughout the world. In places such as the UK and Singapore, there are dedicated Indian pockets that have stores with everything your child would possibly need. Vegetables, spices, ready-to-cook packets, snacks, sweets – you name it, and they have it. Hence, avoid carrying multiple kilos of food items from India. Teach your child a few basic recipes so that they can cook, rather than eating unhealthy, expensive food outside all the time.
You can help your child meet all their basic needs, shop and settle in a new country without physically being with them. With quick, easy Western Union money transfer, you can magically send them money whenever they need so they can feel at home even thousands of miles away.
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