We all know that moving is stressful. This is true even if you’re a simple bachelor moving from a one-bed apartment to a one-bed apartment. Humans are nomadic of course, but sometimes a full change in our surroundings does take a little time to fully digest and stay comfortable with. This is even more pronounced when it comes to moving abroad. Not only do you have to worry about moving to a completely alien environment, but adhering to the many responsibilities in doing so can feel somewhat overwhelming.
Luckily, we’re here to help you through this process with the least amount of trouble possible. Not only should this give you a more profound and enjoyable method of moving there, but it’ll help you focus on the fun adventure and not the simple stressful responsibilities that seemingly number in the thousand, willing to take away your peace at every opportunity.
Without further ado:
Visit First
It’s inadvisable to wish to move to a location you haven’t visited before. You might be moving for several different reasons. It could be that you hope to visit your ancestral home and culture. It could be you’ve loved the idea of the culture since you were small. You might be moving near the childhood home of your partner. You might also be moving for work, or to expand your business in those borders.
None of these motivations is exempt from being benefited by a previous visit. The culture you hope to attend deserves to have you become familiar with it. Once you experience the customs of a given location with your first exposure, you’ll find that moving there becomes a little less of a strange chore. We’d recommend heading to the location a few times, not only to find out where you would most like to live but to see the disparate and variant ways of life that can occur within a given environment. Visiting the local city, the local villages and the local tourist attractions can help you gain a 360 degree understanding of your new environment. Meet the people, eat the food, and try to learn the history. This will stand you in good stead. After all, a good ex-pat does his or her best to integrate with the community and culture, in the effort of preserving the ideals and values of the country they head to. It’s likely you felt this way when foreign nationals moved in your home country, so now is the time to exercise your beliefs and be a shining example of this abroad.
Partner Up
It can be difficult to organize an entire move yourself. While you might not be moving with someone, you can certainly ask for help with your organization. Simply an extra pair of eyes to overlook any paperwork or documentation you may have missed or incorrectly figured out can help you. A second person might also help you realize your odd budgeting, your lack of travel plans, or you’re over the idealistic place of future residence.
Allow this person to be a competent friend or family member, someone who cares about you and this move. If you can, exercise contacts at your job or in your larger friend network. You can also pay a travel consultant to overlook your documents before you send them, greatly increasing your chance of success and shortening the entire process considerably.
Documents First
Your documents need to be sent first and foremost. Without these gathered and well organize, you will find that moving anywhere will be a chore. Early applications allow you to improve the time span of your acceptance, and this can mean everything when trying to purchase a property that means something to you. This will also help you iron out any kinks, such as finding that your passport is two weeks out of date (typical!) or that you need to use better forms of photo ID. This can also gift your time for your place of employment to either write a considerably favorable testimonial for you or conversely help generate the documents you need to prove your place of employment abroad.
Contact Authority
Contacting the authority of your chosen country and letting them know your intentions to move there will help them refer you to the right places of application. They might also refer you to an introduction test to help you become verified as a cultural participant in the country. They can also usually refer you to well-respected property outlets popular amongst ex-pats. This can help you find a wonderful new property and gain all the correct legal framework to shield you from even the most bureaucratic systems of the residency application.
This leaves you more time to exploring, researching, and defining what property you would most like to purchase. Referring to websites such as PropertyGuru for HDB properties can work in this very same way. Allowing yourself to take a true look at the properties and find reasonable and expected prices by shopping around will inform you of your options, and help you plan your stay months in advance. This helps you cater to your needs, and allows you to become a reasonable ex-pat, spending only that which you need to and respecting the social building contracts of the country in question.
Cultural Research
Cultural research is much more than simply reading a travel guide. If you hope to become a permanent partaker of a given environment, it can pay to conduct a deep amount of research to inform you of the expectations there. For example, your sleeve tattoos might seem trendy and cool in Michigan, but in Japan, they can signify affiliation with organized crime, and as such are looked down upon, which may mean you need to cover your arms in public. There are thousands of other cultural differences such as this, from diet to legal representation to tipping culture, and it’s worth knowing the most you can. You can inform yourself of these requirements in places such as the national subreddit for your chosen country, such as r/sinagpore or r/norway. Here you may also forge connections, and gain insider tips for travel or residency that you might do well to know.
With all this in mind, you can be sure that buying property abroad comes with a little less stress than it might have originally. Good luck with your new adventures!
Great tips! Buying abroad is a big commitment, so visiting a few times and doing your research on the area is a good idea.