Top 3 Things to Consider Before Moving Abroad (or Anywhere)
One of the main things that I constantly think about is all of the logistics that go into making a move this big--or any move really. I hear a lot of stories online about people who just decide one day to up and move, and I often get caught up in the idea of "what am I waiting for?". And while I think there can be some truth to that for some people (the types who are just putting things off for reasons like uncertainty or fear), as someone who spent their childhood moving from one end of the country to another at the whim of my parents, I know first hand that making big moves without having the proper strategies in place can be extremely stressful, and often cause a lot of chaos and ruin that might have been able to be avoided had you taken some extra steps before setting out.
I've compiled a list of things that I am doing in preparation for our move abroad to England that I think will help anyone planning on moving pretty much anywhere, but especially to a new country/continent.
1. Consider your reasons for moving
Change is hard. You need to have a strong enough reason to stay that when you inevitably experience the "buyers remorse" and hate where you are, you can be strong enough to move past it. Many people get to this point, and go back to what they know.
Moving on a whim is fun, but the side effects may not be. Consider your WHY before you make a decision, to avoid the dreaded movers-remorse.
Bad reasons to move: boredom. escapism. you went there once on vacation and you liked it. (these are good reasons to travel, bad reasons to permanently move)
Better reasons to move: (after doing proper research) you believe the lifestyle will be better suited to the one you envision for yourself. You have family there. You have better job prospects. Any general quality of life improvements.
You will hate it.
At first.
This is a necessary burden of change, and is not a reliable indicator of having made a Huge Mistake™. In my experience, it takes on average anywhere from 6-months to a year before things stop feeling foreign and wrong, and start to feel routine. Expect to spend this amount of time anywhere you go before making any further decisions.
All in all, get to know your values, and figure out if the place you intend to move aligns with those values. Figure out if those values can be aligned with in the place where you already are. And at the end of the day, sometimes this is just a matter of the place not being a good fit. If you've done all of this and still haven't found yourself settled, then it's important to trust your gut on that and make a plan for what to do next. This outcome is far less likely if you plan accordingly.
2. Do your research on the place you're going
Have you ever seen a trailer for a film that looked really good, and when you go to the theatre to actually watch it, it turns out that actually the only good parts of the film were captured in that 60 second trailer and the rest of the movie is nothing like that?
Well, this is what moving to a new place without doing any research is like.
If you've ever watched the show House Hunters International, you will know that a lot of times people will move to foreign countries based entirely on stereotypes that they have gathered about that place based on books, movies, or on the 5-day vacation they took there one time. This is a one-way ticket to I-Regret-Everything-Ville, and will just about guarantee that--if you're lucky enough to not completely hate it--you will have a way harder transition than was ever necessary.
Moving to a new place is hard, culture shock is harder. Don't make the experience worse because you didn't take the time to do the research.
Some things that are important to look into are:
Cost of living:
knowing how much things like rent, groceries, and an average meal out (to name a few) cost in the place where you are planning to live is absolutely vital. This will help you figure out how much money you need to have compared to the lifestyle you want to live. A resource that I have found very helpful is Numbeo Cost of Living Comparison. This tool allows you to compare where you live now to where you are planning to move. I have found this especially helpful, as a lot of the advice you find about certain cities is just that "it's sooooo expensive". But expensive is extremely relative, and I have found on multiple occasions that these "expensive" places are actually, in many ways, less expensive than where I live now in Canada! (Honestly, as a general rule of thumb, if you already live in a major city, moving to another major city will not be that different cost-wise, no matter what the internet likes to tell you).
The town/city:
getting to know what an average day looks like for an average resident is extremely helpful for figuring out if the place you're planning to move aligns with your values. Figure out what your ideal life would look like, and ask yourself questions based on that. I'll give you an example based on what I value in the place I reside:
Things that will be different from one country to the next:
there is almost certainly a wealth of content creators who have documented their journey from the country you are living in to the one that you would like to move to, and most of them will have, at some point, spoken about the things that were different that they hadn't expected. Finding out before you go that stores close in the middle of the day in France, or that drying machines don't really exist in England will really help not only to ease you through the hard parts of culture shock, but it will help to inform you on whether or not a given country is right for you.
3. Have the financials in place
Listen. I know the influencers love to tell this story about how they just woke up one day and decided to move, and I know we all want to be that spontaneous and tell the same story to our friends and (newly ex-) co workers. But the reality of the situation is that if you don't have your financials in place, then you are going to have a bad time.
Moving is already stressful, don't make it more stressful by going into mass amounts of debt at the same time.
Here's my personal list of all the things I need to save up for, and the total cost:
Pay down debt (16k):
I believe this one is obvious, but when you move you don't want to have any additional expenses weighing you down, and that includes debts that you have already incurred. 16k is a lot for us personally, and it came on somewhat accidentally through the purchase of a broken down house that we had no clue would cost so much to fix. We have gotten it down to about half of what it was. I'm hoping to have it all paid off within the next 2 years, which leaves us some time for saving before we go.
Savings:
I've compiled a list of things that I am doing in preparation for our move abroad to England that I think will help anyone planning on moving pretty much anywhere, but especially to a new country/continent.
1. Consider your reasons for moving
Change is hard. You need to have a strong enough reason to stay that when you inevitably experience the "buyers remorse" and hate where you are, you can be strong enough to move past it. Many people get to this point, and go back to what they know.
Moving on a whim is fun, but the side effects may not be. Consider your WHY before you make a decision, to avoid the dreaded movers-remorse.
Bad reasons to move: boredom. escapism. you went there once on vacation and you liked it. (these are good reasons to travel, bad reasons to permanently move)
Better reasons to move: (after doing proper research) you believe the lifestyle will be better suited to the one you envision for yourself. You have family there. You have better job prospects. Any general quality of life improvements.
You will hate it.
At first.
This is a necessary burden of change, and is not a reliable indicator of having made a Huge Mistake™. In my experience, it takes on average anywhere from 6-months to a year before things stop feeling foreign and wrong, and start to feel routine. Expect to spend this amount of time anywhere you go before making any further decisions.
All in all, get to know your values, and figure out if the place you intend to move aligns with those values. Figure out if those values can be aligned with in the place where you already are. And at the end of the day, sometimes this is just a matter of the place not being a good fit. If you've done all of this and still haven't found yourself settled, then it's important to trust your gut on that and make a plan for what to do next. This outcome is far less likely if you plan accordingly.
2. Do your research on the place you're going
Have you ever seen a trailer for a film that looked really good, and when you go to the theatre to actually watch it, it turns out that actually the only good parts of the film were captured in that 60 second trailer and the rest of the movie is nothing like that?
Well, this is what moving to a new place without doing any research is like.
If you've ever watched the show House Hunters International, you will know that a lot of times people will move to foreign countries based entirely on stereotypes that they have gathered about that place based on books, movies, or on the 5-day vacation they took there one time. This is a one-way ticket to I-Regret-Everything-Ville, and will just about guarantee that--if you're lucky enough to not completely hate it--you will have a way harder transition than was ever necessary.
Moving to a new place is hard, culture shock is harder. Don't make the experience worse because you didn't take the time to do the research.
Some things that are important to look into are:
Cost of living:
knowing how much things like rent, groceries, and an average meal out (to name a few) cost in the place where you are planning to live is absolutely vital. This will help you figure out how much money you need to have compared to the lifestyle you want to live. A resource that I have found very helpful is Numbeo Cost of Living Comparison. This tool allows you to compare where you live now to where you are planning to move. I have found this especially helpful, as a lot of the advice you find about certain cities is just that "it's sooooo expensive". But expensive is extremely relative, and I have found on multiple occasions that these "expensive" places are actually, in many ways, less expensive than where I live now in Canada! (Honestly, as a general rule of thumb, if you already live in a major city, moving to another major city will not be that different cost-wise, no matter what the internet likes to tell you).
The town/city:
getting to know what an average day looks like for an average resident is extremely helpful for figuring out if the place you're planning to move aligns with your values. Figure out what your ideal life would look like, and ask yourself questions based on that. I'll give you an example based on what I value in the place I reside:
| Values | Possible Questions |
|---|---|
| Walkability/Public transit | In the area where I could afford to live, where are the grocery stores? Cafes? Restaurants? Are there trains and/or busses nearby? How much do they cost? When and how often do they run? Where can they take me? In how long? |
| Green Space | Are there nearby parks? Hiking trails? How accessible are they? |
| Free and cheap things to do | Are there weekly or monthly events? Are there any groups that I might be interested in? Is there a public library nearby? Does the place I'm moving offer any discounted or free services for residents? |
| Temperate Climate | What is the average temperature each month? How much rain? Sun? How many overcast days? Humidity? (I like to use this website, which also allows comparison) |
Things that will be different from one country to the next:
there is almost certainly a wealth of content creators who have documented their journey from the country you are living in to the one that you would like to move to, and most of them will have, at some point, spoken about the things that were different that they hadn't expected. Finding out before you go that stores close in the middle of the day in France, or that drying machines don't really exist in England will really help not only to ease you through the hard parts of culture shock, but it will help to inform you on whether or not a given country is right for you.
3. Have the financials in place
Listen. I know the influencers love to tell this story about how they just woke up one day and decided to move, and I know we all want to be that spontaneous and tell the same story to our friends and (newly ex-) co workers. But the reality of the situation is that if you don't have your financials in place, then you are going to have a bad time.
Moving is already stressful, don't make it more stressful by going into mass amounts of debt at the same time.
Here's my personal list of all the things I need to save up for, and the total cost:
Pay down debt (16k):
I believe this one is obvious, but when you move you don't want to have any additional expenses weighing you down, and that includes debts that you have already incurred. 16k is a lot for us personally, and it came on somewhat accidentally through the purchase of a broken down house that we had no clue would cost so much to fix. We have gotten it down to about half of what it was. I'm hoping to have it all paid off within the next 2 years, which leaves us some time for saving before we go.
Savings:
$40k down payment
$15k emergency fund
$5k for visa +NHS surcharge
$5k for furniture
$3k for flights + cat transport
$2k for miscellaneous expenses (for inevitable, unexpected costs)
This comes out to a whopping total of $70,000. And I know what you're thinking "ok, but do I really need to save that much" and my answer would be yes and no.
Theoretically, I figure we could probably feasibly move with just $10k. This would cover the cost of the visas, as well as the cost of the flights and some other costs I don't have exact numbers for (like any belongings we might ship to England).
The remaining $60k is what will make moving infinitely easier. This money gives us a safety net, funds to either buy or rent a house, and to then buy the things we need to live there. We personally are fortunate to have family we could live with for several months while we save for those, and if you have that too then that's a consideration you can take into account as well.
$15k emergency fund
$5k for visa +NHS surcharge
$5k for furniture
$3k for flights + cat transport
$2k for miscellaneous expenses (for inevitable, unexpected costs)
This comes out to a whopping total of $70,000. And I know what you're thinking "ok, but do I really need to save that much" and my answer would be yes and no.
Theoretically, I figure we could probably feasibly move with just $10k. This would cover the cost of the visas, as well as the cost of the flights and some other costs I don't have exact numbers for (like any belongings we might ship to England).
The remaining $60k is what will make moving infinitely easier. This money gives us a safety net, funds to either buy or rent a house, and to then buy the things we need to live there. We personally are fortunate to have family we could live with for several months while we save for those, and if you have that too then that's a consideration you can take into account as well.
Now, obviously $60k is an enormous amount of money, and the only reason we are expecting to have that kind of money is because we would be selling our house and using the difference. So while the whole amount might not be necessary, you definitely would at minimum want an emergency fund to cover at least 3 months of expenses.
What do you think of these tips? Do you have anything you would add? leave them in the comments below!
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