90 Days in Europe: To-Do List Before We Leave

I have a leaving home list you might find helpful: http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/the-leaving-home-list/

You need to put someone you trust on your checking/banking accounts who are authorized to speak for you and to take necessary actions. If any of your account run into problem it is far easier for them to solve the problems that you in different time zone and perhaps an expensive international phone call. For that time frame will need some min health insurance just in case. Don't forget infrequent bills like annual car licenses or insurance policies. If you have car insurance, see if you can suspend it for three months and save a few dollars.

Monique, You're fortunate to be able to spend three months in Europe! Will you be staying in one country or travelling around? A few things that come to mind: > Check Passport expiry dates (keeping in mind that some countries may require six months remaining at the time you leave Europe). > Check Driver's License expiry dates (if you're planning on driving). > Make sure you both have I.D.P.'s (again, if you'll be driving, especially in Italy). > Check that car insurance won't expire while you're away > Arrange security for your home - Security Patrol or Property Rep. in case of any problems, set timers, etc. Have someone check the premises at least once a week for insurance purposes. > Make sure house insurance is current > Turn off or unplug all non-essential appliances. > Turn off hot water Heater and possibly outside faucets (unless required for lawns) > Set heating at minimal level to prevent freezing (as it appears you won't be back until November) > Arrange someone to collect mail and papers, cut lawns, etc. > Make sure you have medical insurance which covers the term you'll be away > Check that residential Taxes are paid before you depart > Check expiry dates on credit cards. Be sure to have "backup" ATM cards, in case of problems with your primary card. Note local phone numbers for your Bank, in case you have to contact them ("800" numbers don't usually work from Europe). > If you require prescription med's, be sure to have enough with you or perhaps take prescription > I'd also suggest visiting a travel medicine clinic to make sure vaccinations are up-to-date That's all I can think of at the moment. Happy travels!

Even without pets you should arrange for someone to keep an on your home and pick up the mail. Maybe even mow the lawn once or twice. Also be sure to stop your newspaper if you get one. You might be able to put a hold on your cable and internet services too.

If you need any prescription meds, arrange for a large supply or a paper prescription that can be filled in Europe. I would opt for a 3-months supply of my pills to take with me. Vitamins and many other health supplies are readily available in many parts of Europe. I have on-line banking; it was set up specifically for dealing with money while traveling. So far I've had no problems with it. My credit card info is available on-line; I get email notifications when bills are due. You have time to get these things working in the next 3 months. If you have bills that can be paid only by check, see if you can get those set-up to be paid on-line. I recommend simplifying the financial things before leaving. Some things can be pre-paid, like phone bills possibly. I pay up all my bills before trips and use only one credit card (CapitolOne) and my one debit card from my bank while traveling. Check with your bank and credit card companies about how to contact them from Europe. You will need to notify your banks about your travel plans; you can get more info from them at that time. Mine have told me to use a number they supply and call "collect" to handle any problems. So far, I've never had to call a bank from Europe. My banks notify me by email about any possible problems. I have found that using the same internet device saves the banks from suspecting fraud. If you use more than one device or Internet Cafe, a fraud alert may be generated and you could be cut off from your bank. (This happened to me. I was given just a couple of hours to clear up the problem. Whew!) I've been buying emergency evacuation insurance for my trips. You may want to consider some sort of medical insurance.

"use only one credit card (CapitolOne) and my one debit card from my bank while traveling." - too dangerous for me. I take at least two, and for a really long trip, more. If one doesn't work (as happened with my Capital One ATM card in a couple of countries in Asia), the other likely will. Make sure that the phone number you get from the bank and CC companies is NOT a 1-800 number - they don't work from abroad, although it takes some effort to convince my bank of that. However, on my last trip I traveled with a netbook, and I was able to call the 1-800 number for free using Skype.

Monique 90 Days in Europe ! Fabulous! Always good to get your ducks in a row when you are traveling for so long. You have made an excellent start. To Do: As someone mentioned, also check which bills are due on a 3 or 6 month schedule. If you own your home, check to see if taxes are due and arrange to have them paid. And have a friend check your home for problems every 2 weeks or so. Unplug your electronics, TV and Audio visual stuff, and any small appliances. Europe:
Check your regular health insurance for coverage outside the US. However, travel insurance is better as they not only provide coverage but coordinate health care services, as well as transportation and English translation. This is really important. Doesn't take a a heart attack to realize this. A broken ankle would put you totally out of commission in Europe! Check out Travel Guard, a company ranked highly. Have a wonderful time! Bobbie

Awesome suggestions everyone - things I never even thought of! Thanks so much!

Are you a reader? Might be time to get a Nook or Kindle and load it up. Frank's idea or having someone you trust handle any money issues is a good one. Maybe discuss with this person guidelines on when you should be notified of problems. Ex-if a relative is in the hospital, do you want to know right away, or wait until issue is resolved? What about voting in November?

Piggy-backing on excellent advice from Frank and Karen, put your affairs in order vis a vis a will and living-will. God-forbid something happens, but you should make sure there is someone who can step in if needed in an emergency. I leave a file with one of our children with names and phone numbers of employers, lawyer, banks/investment accounts, etc., to be contacted depending on the circumstances. I also have copies of our travel credit cards, front and back. They are in a protected file on the Netbook I travel with, and in a locked drawer the above-mentioned (adult) child can access if I desperately need them.

And if you should die, God forbid, do you want to be cremated and your ashes sent on the rest of your itinerary? Only half kidding.

This is getting a bit morbid but I agree that everyone should put their affairs in order as a general rule. We go to Paris or/and Venice for three months at a time once or twice a year in the last few years. Preparation (including luggage) is basically the same as a two or three-week trip.

Turn off the faucets to the washer. Turn off the little faucet for the tube to the ice maker. Those are among the most frequent causes of water damage. If have a cut-off inside where you can turn off all the inside water to the house, even better. And, somewhat remote possibility, but if you have a chest type freezer (or any big deep freezer for that matter), if your house is not set up for an automatic generator in the case of long electrical outages due to a storm, the food could spoil and then re-freeze..............or worse yet, you come back to bags of shrimp floating in water. We know from experience w/ an elderly relative. If someone is not checking your home while gone, work down the frozen food supply. Leave a list of preferred home repair people,such as if a tree falls on your house and tears of the electrical service, window is broken, someone breaks into your house, etc. Or, notify neighbors of who is authorized to select someone. If you have an alarm system (especially if not a monitored one), for goodness sake, give someone the code to shut it off/reset should it go off while you are gone.....remember the story on national news several years ago? Have fun!!! Oh, how I wish I could do what you are doing.

Since you'll be at the limit of your tourist (non-visa) stay, you should check with the Department of State or local embassy (if you're spending all your time in one place) before you leave and perhaps while you're in Europe. What if there's bad weather (volcano) or an airplane malfunction and you're delayed getting out of Europe a day or two? Keep numbers to the embassy handy in case you get in that or another situation and need assistance.

Monique - Please tell us where you are going!

If you cut off all water to the house, be sure to turn off the hot water heater so it doesn't try to refill itself should it somehow be emptied. You don't need to keep the water heated for three months anyway. If you need to call a toll-free U.S. number, the Skype idea is pretty good, as well as other wifi calling options. Also, you can use a U.S.-based calling card (such as AT&T) to call such numbers (but you use your calling minutes to do so). I think you could call on a U.S. cell, too. To have someone in a legal position to handle your business affairs, execute a power of attorney, or, even better, a durable power of attorney. I think every state recognizes them. You can find forms online. Be sure you trust the person to whom you've given the power, though, because it is the equivalent of a blank check.

I'm sorry - here is a little more detail to help in answering: we will be at the same address in Florence (provided the cast of the Jersey Shore doesn't get all Americans banned from the city by then) for the months of September and October. In November we will be in Portugal/Spain but mostly at the same address in Lisbon. Not doing too much city-hopping this time around (which has me really excited actually). Referring to Kathy's post, since we are there exactly 90 days, what would happen if some unforeseen occurance delayed the trip and kept us in the EU past 90 days? Anyone know or experienced this? Thanks!

I would set up online bill pay now to make sure it works ahead of time. I was in Europe for 3 months last year and setup auto bill pay with Bank of America. Apparently, we set it up wrong online, and got charged 3 months no pay which sucked! Took months to get it worked out, and were happy we closed our account with them. Not sure what you are doing with cellphones and such, but I would look into putting your cellphone on hold. I think with AT&T it costs $10/month. Ended up just using email and facebook to talk with folks back home. Also, not sure if you are going to be traveling all over Europe, or just stay in a country or too...but budget in a bit to buy more clothes. We ended up giving our clothes away since we were so sick of them. Plus we ended in Paris and our grubby 3 month old beach clothes looked like crap there. Also, make sure to register with the embassy. It's really easy to do online, and they will email you alerts depending on the countries you travel to. Have a great time!!!

I was strongly thinking about putting a "hold" on my cell phone, but the only problem is that my mom, my sister and I are on a family plan and so my mom would still need use of her phone while my sister and I are gone. So I am trying to think of how that could work. Thanks everyone!

Just one rather odd note: make sure the person(s) you put on your bank accounts does not have any legal judgment against them or any pending legal action. If so, and the holder of the judgment finds out, your account CAN and WILL be garnished - even to the point of being drained entirely of funds. A long shot, to be sure. And certainly nothing to lose sleep over. But I work in a law office and have seen it happen more often than you'd guess. A mother adds her daughter's name to her accounts while she's overseas.....daughter has an outstanding judgment against her for failure to pay her homeowner's dues (or child support, or a previous car accident, or whatever).........mom's bank account gets drained of over $5k. Believe it or not, it's legal. And it happens.

I believe it Bob! I so believe it! And it's a great point.