Again, I will start by thanking Paul and Lisa Witzel for all the help they have given me. They have answered numerous questions and spent 1 hour on Skype with me talking through some ideas. What will it be like? What will the kids miss? What will I need to get before we go? What can we get there?
Bottom line from Lisa reverberated with me. “You can get anything you need there”. But there is always a “but”. But will the cost be more than I want to pay. Certain things will be cheaper in Shanghai, but other things will be more expensive. With only two suitcases each, we need to be selective about what to bring and what to buy when we get there.
The good news, IKEA has a store there and is opening one very close to where we will live in Pudong. The bad news, my daughter learned that they use slave labor and doesn’t want to buy anything there. The good news, besides “Under Armour” brand clothes and maybe a few others, my family is not a big “BRAND” clothes family.
By the way, if you are an tall American, you won’t be able to find lots of choices for clothing there. My daughter 5’2″ and son 5’1″ will not have a problem. But 5’10” woman and 6’1″ man should bring all clothes and shoes with them. Again you can find them, but the choices will be limited. We have also been told by our friends the Cody’s to bring with anything of high quality. Many things are available in Asia, but are not manufactured to last.
bartonstravels 
Hee hee thanks for the mention… can not wait to follow your travels and we are already thinking about the best time to visit Shanghai next school year! Miss you guys