Terri Ramsey Beavers There are lots of reasons that people want to move overseas. Sometimes it is to enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere, away from the pressures of the daily grind in their home country. For others, it may be that you have a connection with the area that you are considering moving to. Maybe you have friends or family there or are moving to be closer to your partner. You may be heading there because of your current job.
Whatever the reason for an overseas move, it is a vast undertaking and there is a lot that you need to think about before you go. You will want to minimize the anxiety and stress that surrounds the move as best as you can, and, in order to do this, you should think about everything that you need to do ahead of the move and research and plan everything.
Finding Work Overseas
If you are moving because of your current job, then this will save you a great deal of stress and worry. However, if you are not, you will need a reliable source of income to help you pay for your life once you have moved. You may be fortunate enough to have some money to fall back on in savings, however, chances are that these will not last you too long in terms of covering your living expenses once you have moved, especially following on from the actual cost of getting yourself moved in the first place.
One option that might suit is finding a remote working job where you are continuing to service clients back in your home country. There are a number of different ways that you can do this, with most of the career choices that provide this sort of opportunity tending to be work from home and online jobs such as content and copywriting, web design and app development, or graphic design. There are plenty of remote working opportunities developing all the time though, so it is something that is worth considering and may work for the sector that you are experienced in.
If there is a chance that language may cause a barrier to your gaining employment, find some online courses to start to learn the language of the country if you don’t already speak it. Of course, you will pick up much more when you are fully immersed and hear it spoken constantly, however, getting a headstart on developing these skills will help you, especially in the workplace.
If there is an ex-pat community in the country you are moving to, try and make inroads and connections to help find work with English speaking employers or serving English speaking customers. One more option is finding a job offered especially to foreigners. For instance, if you move to Canada, you can get a job in a company that is hiring a temporary foreign worker in Canada (engage un travailleur étranger temporaire au Canada), as they can’t find the same workforce among the local citizens.
Getting The Right Place To Live
You will need somewhere to live. One of the challenges that you will face in terms of finding somewhere to live is that you may need to do this when you are not in the country. This might make it harder to look at a property. If you know anyone locally who can help to pick out a property, then do so.
If you are moving out there for good, you may intend on buying a home there. Make sure that there are no rules that stop foreign nationals from buying or owning property in the country. You might also want to consider staying in a rental property for the short term until you are settled in the area and are sure that you want to commit to staying there for many years to come.
Whether you are looking for an Apartment in Thailand or a house in Malaysia, there are plenty of real estate companies that share online listings, and you could always email to get the ball rolling to find out what is available to rent in the area you are moving to.
Obtaining The Right To Live And Work
Before you spend any money or commit to anything, make sure you will have the legal right to live and work in the country that you intend to move to. You may need residency permits or visas and it is vital that these are all secured before you spend a considerable amount of money or entirely give up your existing life.
Get in touch with the countries embassy. They are very likely to have an office in your country which you may need to attend in order to get your application granted. Many embassies will have phone and website support in order to find out about visa restrictions and requirements.
Start your application as early as possible. Often, this type of bureaucratic process can take a long time and you need to know that you will be able to live there before you hand over any money to landlords, or book anything else.
Make sure you know how long you can live there for on your visa or residency permit, and if there are options to extend this, or gain additional rights.
You may need to get vaccinations before you move. Make sure you find out
Moving Your Life
Once you have everything lined up in your new life, you can start to get ready to move. First of all, decide what you are taking with you to your new life. Do you plan on shipping everything over, or are you going to leave everything behind, either in storage or with friends and family?
Moving overseas is a great opportunity to get rid of a lot of stuff that you no longer need. Try and sell what you can, and donate anything else.
Start looking for removals companies and overseas shipping as early as you can. Get quotes and make sure you understand how much you can take over. It is a major logistical problem, and you need to ensure you are well equipped to handle it.
A major task will be packing to move. Start boxing up anything that you intend on taking early. Make sure you are logical and consider the fact that boxes may get damaged in transit. Wrap delicate items well.
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