10 Things You Need To Do Before Moving To Another Country

by Menka Dimitrovska, Lifestyle Columnist

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Planning a trip abroad can be stressful, so imagine how it must feel when you’re planning on moving permanently and leaving your home behind. I’m guessing you would feel pretty stressed out and worried that you might forget something important, or that you won’t have everything you need for your big move.

Not to worry, as this article is dedicated specifically to that. It is here to give you all the information you need to plan your big trip and make sure you have the necessary things you need before you pack up and leave your home permanently.

Here are the top 10 things you must do before you pack up and move to another country:

Research Living Costs And Familiarize Yourself With The Culture

The living cost might be different in each part of the country you’re planning on moving to. That’s why it’s important to research everything beforehand so that you know how much money to take and make sure that you can afford to move there.

You might also want to familiarize yourself with the culture so that you can fit in better with the locals.

Start Saving Up

You’ll need to bring a bit more extra cash with you when you first move there because you never know when you’ll be able to find a job, and get settled in properly. I’d suggest you start saving up at least a year before your move, or at least until you have ~5k on the side so that you can rest assured that you’ll have enough money to pay for everything until you get settled in.

Start Learning The Language

If you’re tight on cash but have to learn a new language fast, I would suggest online apps such as Duolingo, where you can learn a new language on your phone or tablet for free.

You should start studying at least a year before you move. You can even sign up for online courses and use all of your free time to practice your new language skills. You can listen to audio tapes while you’re on your break, waiting in line while going to work, or even before you go to sleep.

Learning the language is a very important step and will help you get settled in your new home much faster.

Find A Friend Online

You can look for a friend that lives in the country you’re planning on moving to and get firsthand information of what life looks like over there. You can also improve your language skills in the process. Plus you’ll have someone you know there so that you don’t feel so lonely once you move.

You might get lucky and find a really nice and cool person that will show you around, help you get settled in and share his/her culture with you.

Research Transportation Methods

Once you arrive to your new country you’ll immediately need to use their public transport or figure out the best way to get from one place to another. That’s why whenever I go abroad, I want to plan my route ahead, write down all the busses or trains I’ll need to take from the airport to my hostel or apartment, write down all the routes to the closes banks, stores, ATMs and everywhere else I might need to go.

You can also download an offline map of the place in your phone, because you might not have internet access in the beginning, and you don’t want to get lost on your first day there.

Start Searching For A Job

If you already have a job lined up and the only thing that’s left for you to do is move there and start working, that’s great! If not, you need to check out your options and start looking through job openings in your field so that you can explore all your options before you move there.

You can search for job postings online or get in touch with local firms that might have a job position that you can apply for. Schedule a bunch of interviews and get a few offers on the table so that you can make sure that you’re going somewhere where you can easily get settled in and you won’t have to worry about not finding a job that matches your skills.

Even if you don’t find a job related to your field of work, or you get a job that’s not even remotely similar to what you used to do, there’s no need to worry about it. The only thing that’s important in the beginning is for you to get settled in.

Close Your Current Bank Account

You don’t want to deal with issues with your bank once you move to a whole new country and start your life there. That’s why you should close all your bank accounts back home, so you don’t have to pay fees for accounts and credit/debit cards you’re not planning on using.

Sell Your House And Car

If you’re not planning on traveling by car and taking it with you, then you should definitely find a way to sell it before you move.

You should also take care of your house, apartment or wherever it is you live. You can sell your house, or leave it to your parents or relatives to use. If you’re renting, you should definitely take care of your rental contract and see to it that you don’t owe anyone money.

You can also sell all the possessions that you’re not taking with you online, or have a good old fashioned garage sale. This way you won’t have to rent out a storage unit or have to throw out things that can still be used.

Get Your Shots Before You Move

It’s important to check and see if the country you’re moving to requires you to take shots for particular diseases and illnesses that prevail there. Getting all your shots on time would mean that you can travel safely and you won’t have to worry about getting sick from a preventable disease that you could have gotten a shot for.

Visit The Country Before Your Big Move

If you have the free time and available money to visit the country before you finally pack up your life and move there permanently, I would advise you to definitely do so.

This way you can familiarize yourself with the people, their culture and everything else there is to know so that you can make your final decision on whether that’s the place you want to live.