12 Things To Leave Behind When You Move Abroad part 1 – that will be the topic of today’s article.
Before introducing this article, if you are interested in our core services which are expat financial, insurance and mortgages, you can contact me here.
The best time to consider your financial situation is when you are moving to a new country.
Introduction
Moving abroad is not an easy task, but it does come with its share of benefits. If you are someone who has always dreamed of living in another place or is sick and tired of the location where you currently live, moving away from it might be a fantastic idea.
Before taking this huge plunge, however, there are a number of things you’ll need to consider. One of the first things you should carefully understand is what your move abroad will mean for your career. Most people who choose to leave their home country to work somewhere else do so to advance their careers.
However, when you take this route, you’re also sacrificing the security of having a job back home should anything happen. If you’re highly skilled in an industry that could bring enough benefits to your employer, then your choice to move abroad might be much easier.
For those in a less sought-after trade, you might want to consider whether it’s worth the hassle of moving your family. This is because; it’s not always easy to find work when you are in a new country, and you might find it much harder than you anticipated.
In addition, if you decide that moving abroad is the right choice for your family, there are plenty of tips to help ease the transition. Have you been looking around, searching for help about what you need to know before moving to a new country? Worry less, as we’ve got you covered on this platform. Read further to have a glimpse of what we’ve unleashed in this article.
Top 7 Tips before Moving To a New Country
So you’re moving to a new country? Lucky you! Well, maybe not. Hold your horses, cowboy. Moving to a foreign country is not that easy. Specific challenges will come with it, and if you don’t have any experience with living somewhere else before, these challenges will be much bigger than they would seem. Here are our top 7 tips for moving to a new country:
Language
Language is a major challenge when it comes to living in a place you’re not from. People will expect you to know it, and if you want to have any sort of social life at all, knowing the language is pretty much essential. It is a country’s official language so most people will know it, and you can’t expect them not to speak in their mother tongue.
Having said that, if you have no idea what the natives are saying around you, it will be challenging for sure. However, just because they speak a different language doesn’t mean they’re talking about you, and no one knows your native tongue. So don’t be afraid and try talking to them, even if they start talking back in their language and you can’t understand a thing – at least it’s a start.
Adapting To the Culture
Living in a new country, especially if it’s the one you grew up in, means that you need to adapt to their culture. This is because the culture of your homeland will be different from theirs, and if you don’t want to feel outcast, you’ll need to follow certain traditions.
As an example, not using cutlery or eating with hands might not be accepted in certain countries, which might make you look like you don’t know how to eat properly or that you’re just plain lazy! Other than this, though, there’s nothing much. Just relax and follow what everyone else does – it is not your culture after all.
Shopping
You might find yourself in a situation where you feel obliged to buy something, but you can’t do it because everything is written in their language.
If that’s the case with you, then just think back at how they must have felt when they came to your homeland and couldn’t understand what anyone said! In fact, most likely, they didn’t even try to buy anything.
This might sound like a harsh way to put it, but that’s the reality, and in some cases, the language barrier might be the only reason that stops you from buying something.
Getting a Job
Even if you’re moving to another country and getting a job, there’s still a chance that they won’t speak your language. It is not very likely, but there are still some possibilities, so don’t just assume since they speak English in this, nothing will be translated into your language, and you’ll have to learn at least a couple of words in order not feel completely outlasted.
Seeing Friends and Family
It might be difficult to see your family and friends from your homeland, especially if they don’t speak the language at all. If that’s the case, you need to either learn a bit of their language or convince them to visit you – it is going to be worth it.
Driving
If you’re moving to a new country, then the possibility that you’ll have to drive to get around is going to be much higher than if you were living in your homeland. If this is going to be a problem for you, then either rent a car or ask someone who knows how to drive in their language what they think about it, so you can be prepared before deciding to buy one.
Deciding Whether It’s Worth It
It is never easy to move to another country because there will always be challenges that will stand in your way, and at some point, you might ask yourself if it is really worth moving or not. If it isn’t, perhaps you should move back to your homeland because it will be much easier for you to adapt there.
12 Things to Leave Behind When You Move Abroad
So you’re leaving your current life behind in your home country to go live somewhere entirely new. Whoo! Start packing a couple of scantrons and a graphing calculator—you’re about to undertake an adventure of a lifetime.
You should have no problem finding the essentials, like toothpaste and clean underpants, but what else do you really need to bring? Here are some things to leave behind when you move abroad.
Your Preconceptions about the Destination Country
This is especially true if your family or friends have never been there either. You’ll be surprised at what’s normal and what’s not in a different part of the world, so try not to get stuck thinking that people work a certain way, eat certain foods, or look superficially how you expected them to.
Your Sense of Entitlement
You’re going to a new country for a reason, and it’s probably not to lord over the locals with your education or experience. You will be amazed at how much more polite people are when they don’t speak your language well, and you’ll feel bad about being impatient in lines.
Your Career in Your Home Country
You’re pretty much guaranteed to need to find a new job when you move abroad since the economy and job market are vastly different no matter which country you go to. Depending on where you plan to live, though, this could save you a lot of time and frustration after moving day.
Your Favorite TV Show/Movie
You can’t always be sure that you’ll find all of your favorite shows and movies on the airwaves abroad, so there’s no sense in bringing them with you. However, they might be available for rental at an exorbitant price or through streaming services like Netflix, which exist in some places abroad but not others.
Your Friends from Your Home Country
Sure, there are some things you won’t be able to do without them—like going out for a good old-fashioned Pizza Hut pizza or getting together at someone’s house to watch a movie on Netflix with popcorn and nachos.
But the most important thing is that you will have finally built up the courage to start a new life outside of your home country. This way, don’t rely on what you had back home to pull you through.
Your Favorite Restaurants
This usually goes hand-in-hand with bringing your favorite TV show/movie, but you can’t always count on finding the same restaurant chains in these places abroad. There are at least some foreign equivalents though! So either tries something new or settle for what you’ll find.
Your Old Backpack
You will never find a backpack that doesn’t make you look like an overstuffed turtle when trying to find one in the country to which you’re moving. It’s best not to bother with it and instead to select a travel bag that looks fashionable but still has room for everything (and the kitchen sink).
Your Favorite Brand of Mineral Water
Like the television shows and movies, there’s no guarantee that you will be able to find your favorite brand of mineral water at the corner store abroad. This is definitely one of those cases where ignorance is bliss: you won’t know what you’re missing out on and can instead find a substitute brand with ease.
Your Car/Bike
Even if you’re planning to settle permanently, don’t bother bringing your car or motorcycle along with you. You will have enough other hassles to deal with when moving into your new place—like figuring out how to get around without one. In fact, it might even be cheaper to rent/borrow a car the first few times you need one rather than paying for international shipping.
Your Best Friend
When moving abroad, it’s difficult enough to adjust to all of the newnesses without having your old pal there to mope around with on those days when everything seems too scary. Instead, treat the move as a new beginning and go out of your way to make new friends.
Bedding
You won’t find your favorite brand of microfiber sheets in the country to which you’re moving, so instead, try to make peace with it. You can always buy new bedding once you get there (or even adapt), but the best option is to prepare yourself for sleeping on something other than what you’re used to sleeping on at home.
Technical Appliances
The best way to prepare yourself for an international move is to research beforehand and begin replacing certain appliances.
If you’re moving abroad, the chances are that you’ll need a converter of some kind—and the same goes for kitchenware and any other appliances you might use daily. You can easily buy everything new once you move or simply wait until the new place you’ve moved into is up to speed on household electrical supplies.
