1. Visa Requirements and Job Opportunities
This is a bit of a given, but the first thing you should do when making plans to move to a country is look into its visa requirements. These can vary hugely from nation to nation and are often changed, but you can get the most up-to-date details by contacting the country’s consulate or embassy. The visa application process can be quite complex so it pays to start it early on. Also bear in mind that some countries require you to have a job lined up before you move, meaning you won’t be issued with a visa without the backing of an employer. If you’re intending to move somewhere and then look for work, make sure you check out what the job opportunities are like in the area long before you arrive. It’s also really important to make sure your qualifications are transferable and to know what sort of skills are most in demand. After all, no matter how much you love the culture, climate or cuisine of a nation, if you don’t have a way of supporting yourself your expat dream will be over before it’s even begun!
2. Cost of Living
You know the expression ‘the grass is always greener’? Well sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes it’s brown. Sometimes it isn’t even grass at all but some kind of dangerous swamp. Where are we going with this? Well, the point is that many people who move abroad do so because they think it will make them more financially secure. But while you might believe you’re moving to a country with a low cost of living, everything’s relative. If food, accommodation and amenities are super cheap it often means that wages are low. Similarly, you might think you’ve secured a job which pays great wages but it could place you in an area with a high cost of living. Before you get carried away with thoughts of how you’ll spend all your extra cash do some research into the country’s cost of living, do the sums and make sure that you won’t actually be worse off!
3. Lifestyle
The hope of a better lifestyle is one of the main factors motivating people to emigrate. But different countries, and different regions within the same country, can offer very different lifestyles – and perhaps not the kind of lifestyle you might expect. Just because an area is coastal and sunny doesn’t necessarily mean the lifestyle it provides is sedate and laid back, especially if it’s a popular tourist area. And just because an area is densely populated and built up doesn’t mean it’s a fast paced metropolis with a good night life. The best way of making sure that a nation’s lifestyle is for you is to experience it on a short-term basis first, but if you can’t afford a vacation try and get in contact with people who are/have lived in the area you’re planning to move to and see how their opinions of the place fit in with your requirements. 4. Weather
For some, the idea of round the clock sunshine and cloudless skies is perfection, for others it’s a hideous sweaty nightmare. On the flipside, building snowmen and wearing scarves 24/7 isn’t everybody’s cup of cocoa. Before moving to any country you should look at its average temperature/rainfall/hours of sunshine for every month of the year. But as no one can really know how a long-term climate change will affect them until they’re experiencing it, it might be a good idea to practice being hotter (or colder) than you’re used to. Try chucking on an extra layer in summer, or losing a layer in winter. If you don’t think the change in temp is something you’re going to get used to you may need to reconsider your relocation plans!
5. Culture
Eating Kung Pao Chicken doesn’t mean you’ve experienced Chinese culture, and it won’t prepare you for the differences you’ll face, so before moving overseas it’s important to learn as much about the society you’ll be entering as possible. After all, a nation’s culture is so much more than its cuisine. The concept of Culture incorporates tradition, religion, politics, language, gender relations, family structure, hierarchy, history and identity. When you’re born into a culture you unknowingly absorb and assimilate it until it becomes a part of who you are. Consequently, when you’re exposed to a new culture it can be a real shock to the system and hard to cope with. While some expats get over culture shock quickly, others find it harder to handle and it can ruin an expat experience. Protect yourself by learning as much about the culture of the country you’d like to move to as possible, and really question whether you’ll be able to deal with the multilayered differences on a day-to-day basis. If you’ve learnt about a country’s visa requirements, cost of living, lifestyle, climate and culture and you still want to move there, then we have nothing more to say than good luck!
This post was provided by The Expat Hub, a top online stop for expatriate advice, support and information.
.jpg)