When traveling no longer satisfied my craving for a deeper understanding of foreign culture and lifestyle, I moved. 16,979km away, to Miami. Then home became London, Madrid, Singapore and now Granada. Living abroad has fed my curiosity and thrown me challenges I’d never encountered during short-term travel. I got to experience these countries inside out, meet people from all walks of life and learned a few new languages.
A year ago, I wrote a piece on how to take baby steps to relocating abroad, to discuss things you need to consider before making a decision on making the big move. To help you move on the second stage of planning, here are some pointers and tips to make it happen.
1. Decisions – Where, What and How
Once you’ve made the decision to move overseas, you’ll probably face the nerve-wrecking questions: where are you moving to, how are you going to move there and what are you going to do there? For those who are relocating for work, major concerns like destination, housing and job have already been solved.
It’s best to do as much research as you can to help you make wise decisions. For me personally, my main concern when moving abroad was work. I needed a source of income to ensure that I could cope there and at the same time fund my travels. It’s usually not easy to find a job abroad when you’re still in your home country, so be sure to start hunting months in advance. If you’re still unable to find anything by your departure date, make sure that you’ve saved enough money to survive for at least 3 months of job-hunting.
2. Research on the Country
Now that you’ve made your decision, you need to know more about the country you’re moving to. Unless you’re relocating for your job, you can choose where you want to move to. Most travelers already have a particular destination in mind, usually a country that you’ve been to and you’re passionate about or somewhere you’ve dreamt about for the longest time.
Once decided on the country, start reading up about it. Important things you should look into include the visa procedures, work permit application and cost of living (rental, food prices etc). Personally, I have always moved abroad with the intention of finding short-term work in my destination country. For those in the same situation, it’s best to read up on forums and travel websites regarding temporary work available (such as teaching English, volunteering or working as an au-pair).
3. Making the Physical Move
So you’ve booked your ticket and found a job in your destination country, it’s time to actually make the move. This is fairly easy, you just need to decide what to take with you, what to leave behind and what to give away (especially so for long-term relocation). Those on a gap year who estimate to be away for a year or two should simply bring your necessities – things you’ll need for at most a month.
So you’ve actually made the move, what’s next?
4. Learn the Language
Learning the language is essential in relocation: it helps you adapt to the new environment, make friends easily and integrate into their community. Many wait till they get to their destination before signing up for an intensive language course. This may be a good choice, since you tend to pick up a language faster and easier when you’re constantly speaking to the locals.
However, if you can afford the time, I would advise you to start learning the language as soon as you can. You wouldn’t want to arrive to a new country and not be able to even ask a simple question, especially in case of emergency.
5. Meet People – Join Communities
Arriving to a new country alone can be daunting. You seriously do not want to be faced with the question, ‘What am I doing here?’. The best way to get over your initial homesickness is to meet new people and make some friends. Besides there are so many cheap ways to make international phone calls these days – you’ll be able to call home and keep in touch with family and friends as if you were back at home.
There are plenty of online communities wherever you are based in – try to search for meet-ups or groups on Couchsurfing, Twitter or Meetup. Whether you’re looking to meet fellow expatriates or natives, these groups give you an opportunity to mingle and meet like-minded people.
6. Explore and be curious!
Finally, the important thing to keep in mind is to be curious and explore! That’s precisely the point of relocation, to be in a strange, new environment where you can wander and discover. Have an open mind and you’ll be rewarded with many surprises.
Related Posts:
- The Ups and Downs of a Nomadic Lifestyle
- 7 Steps to Sustaining Long-Term Travel
- How to Make Money While Travelling
- How to Live & Work in the UK/Australia
- Teaching English in Spain
- Becoming a Digital Nomad
- Tips on Volunteering Abroad
We're looking to move to Indonesia for a year or more and one of the biggest questions we have is moving some of our belongings there. We are just starting the process of seeing what companies provide such services and how much they cost. We don't plan on moving a lot over there are we'll be living in a furnished house already but we've got a few things that wouldn't travel well in our luggage. I like your list and think they are all important aspects to consider. I'm looking forward to learning the language and having my kids bilingual.
Thanks Matt for sharing. I personally have never used moving companies before so I cant tell you much about them Im afraid. But like you said, if you are moving to Indonesia for only one year, I dont think you will need too much stuff. I know what you mean when certain things dont travel well in your luggage. When we were traveling for six months straight, I couldnt buy certain items that were too fragile to bring home and I was too stingy to post them home, such a waste! Anyhow, Im excited about your new move, keep us updated!
Great tips about making an effort to meet people once you move to a new place. I think lack of friends and support is a big reason why we get homesick a lot of times.
thanks for sharing… perfect timing… im planning to move to another country…
Great post. I'd say to anyone thinking of moving abroad to go for it – by far the best thing I ever did!
I'll be moving abroad myself (permanently) soon and this was a very helpful post! I have found myself already mulling over these questions. Keep up the awesome!