Your family isn’t particularly happy about it, but you’ve made the decision and intend to go through with it. Not long from now, you’ll hop on a plane with a few possessions and whisk yourself off to a new life in a far-flung country. You know that the move will be one of the best decisions of your life; that you’ll be able to travel to exotic locales and experience new cultures in a way you never could have managed in your hometown. You don’t have everything completely ironed out yet, but you’re sure that you can fix problems as they come. Any doubts you feel are quickly tamped down as you reassure yourself that you studied abroad in college, and it was one of the best years of your life. Why would a permanent move be any different?
As it turns out, living and working as an expat is a wide throw from a yearlong exchange program — but making the move could still be one of the best decisions of your life! An extreme move presents a literal world of opportunities for personal growth and cultural experience; with the right mindset and preparation, an expat can have a meaningful lifelong adventure abroad. However, there are a few things that such a traveler should consider before making the potentially rocky transition.
Take an extended vacation.
Living in a foreign city isn’t the same as visiting for a weekend jaunt. If it’s within your means, take a couple weeks off from work and stay where you would hypothetically be living. You may feel at home immediately, and realize that you were right to decide to move. On the flipside, you might discover that once the excitement of being a tourist wears off, you don’t particularly enjoy the place.
Either way, you’ll get a sense for whether the town and country are right for you — and you may even be able to scope out the area’s community, doctor’s offices, grocery stores, and pubs ahead of your move!
Have a job locked in before you move.
Even after the excitement of an international move wears off, the dour practicalities remain. Like it or not, you’ll need a source of income in order to pay for food and housing. Save yourself the worry by finding and locking down a position before you take off.
Make sure your paperwork is in order.
Customs officers might feel bad that you’ve been in a plane for the last twelve hours, but your plight won’t make them more likely to let you in without proper documentation. Make sure that all of your travel, working, and financial papers are in place before you leave. Ask your doctor for a copy of your medical records and invest in a decent expat insurance — medical costs can be brutal for non-citizens in certain countries!
Leave yourself open to new opportunities!
You didn’t take off for a new country in order to frequent the same chain coffee shops and to only socialize with people from your cultural background. Make friends with the locals! Test your comfort zone by trying new activities and immersing yourself in unfamiliar traditions. It’s not enough to just eat, sleep, and work in a new country — you have to be open-minded and interested! Engage with your new home, and you’ll undoubtedly have a more fulfilling and successful life abroad.
*Originally posted on centinello.wordpress.com
