Moving abroad isn’t a decision to be taken lightly, but every year, thousands of people weigh up the pros and cons and end up moving abroad in search of a better life. There are various reasons for people to make this decision—safer environment, better education, wanting to join family, and more—but the most common reason for people to leave their lives behind is that they found a better job. As far as reasons go, it’s a pretty solid one. Having a job lined up certainly makes the move easier, but there are still a whole lot of things to consider. Keep reading to find out what they are.
Insurance
For some reason, insurance matters often slip people’s minds when it comes to moving abroad. This is strange, since insurance is a very important thing to consider. Many people who do consider insurance tend to think it’s not as important as other matters, so they decide to leave it until they’re more settled. But, in fact, insurance is one of the first things you need to try and get sorted out when you move abroad. Accidents, theft, and medical emergencies can happen at any time and anywhere in the world, so have a look at overseas health insurance to be rather safe than sorry.
Emotional impact
It’s no secret that there’s a lot to do before, during, and after moving abroad. Unfortunately, this often means that people tend to get so caught up in the logistics of it all that they don’t take the time to consider what a big impact it will have on their lives, both physically and mentally. Leaving your friends and family behind is a scary thing to do, and it’s not something to be taken lightly. Be sure to focus on how you feel and take care of your emotional wellbeing.
Adapting to a new culture
Many people opt for a country similar to their home country when it comes to moving abroad. While this will definitely make the transition easier, there will always be some adjusting and adapting to do, no matter how similar two places are. You need to be prepared for the fact that you may not feel entirely at home in your new country as soon as you step foot in it, and there might be a slight learning curve for you. Luckily, there are various ways of adapting to a new country and culture.
Finances
Obviously, if you’ve made the decision to move abroad, you’re aware of the fact that it’s not a cheap story. You’ve likely budgeted for plane tickets, a hotel to sleep at, a house, cars, and all of the other necessities. But what you might not be fully aware of is that the small expenses will also have an effect on you. For example, something that was very cheap in your home country may be much more expensive in your new country, or vice versa. You’ll need to monitor your expenses very closely during the first few months until you get an idea of what your monthly budget will look like.
Schools
If you have children, you’re going to have to decide what to do in terms of their schooling. It’s not as easy as picking a school and that’s that, either. If your child’s home language is different than the language they’ll be taught in, you’ll need to either get a private tutor or keep them back a few grades. It might also be that the standard of education will differ from where they were, so they might be slightly behind or more advanced than their classmates. You may even decide that you want to further your education as well, whether by taking classes or via online learning.
What to take with you
A lot of people opt to leave all of their belongings behind and decide to start from scratch once they arrive abroad. The reason for this is that it’s so incredibly expensive to move your belongings abroad. However, if you have a lot of valuable or sentimental items that you can’t let go of, you may decide to take them over with you. Keep in mind that you’ll likely not be able to take everything you own, so start sorting through your belongings quite early.
Best time to go
Unless you have an urgent date you need to be there to start work, you should definitely consider which dates will be the best time to go. Aside from flights being cheaper during certain times of the year, there are other things to consider as well. Perhaps you want your kids to finish their school year before you leave, or maybe you want some time to travel between now and then. Either way, play around with a few dates and be sure to give yourself enough time to settle in before you need to start work.
