Moving Overseas? Here’s Everything You Need To Know
There may come a time in your life when your home country just isn’t giving you the same joy it used to. You might find yourself reading travel journals and wishing of far-away places. You wouldn’t be the only one to do this. The popularity of moving overseas and starting up your life in a new continent has risen hugely in the past ten years and will continue to rise. So if you are planning on taking the plunge and beginning life somewhere new, here are some tips:
Get To Know Your New Country
If you want to move to somewhere such as Australia, simply having one or two holidays there isn’t enough time to spend to know that it is the right choice. If possible, try and spend a full month in the new place before you commit to spending your whole life there.
Think about how different the culture and lifestyle will be in the place you move to, and decide whether that style of living is suited to you and your needs. You may find that the lifestyle is more relaxed and offers you more time with the family, which is great, but the pay may be much worse for your industry, meaning you’ll struggle to make enough money to support the lifestyle you and your family has back at home.
Getting A Visa
If you want to go to countries such as Australia, USA, India and New Zealand- you will need to get a visa to be allowed to work and study in that country. You’ll be able to find out online the requirements for a visa and then make sure to leave enough time to put your application through before you plan to leave. There are different types of visa for different reason, so make sure that you get the correct one for you. A visitor visa won’t allow you to work or study, so make sure to check with the officials on which one is best to apply for.
Finding Work Abroad
If you are employed by a multinational corporation with offices all over the globe, you will find it easy to get into work because your employer may be able to transfer you to the same role in another location. However, if you are currently with a local employer or you run your own small business- it may be a little harder to find the right job for you. If you own a business, it might be ok for you to move to another country and leave someone in charge of your old office. This way you can invest and open a new office in the new country and expand your business. Just make sure beforehand that you are able to still offer the same services overseas and that there is a strong market for what you are offering.
Healthcare
Some countries such as the UK will offer free healthcare to all tax-paying citizens, however other countries don’t have the same luxury. Make sure that you will be able to afford the cost of healthcare in a new country, especially if you have a chronic illness such as Asthma which requires regular check-ups. Health insurance is also something you will need to look into to protect you if you do encounter any problems. If you are being sent overseas by your employer, they will likely provide you with a plan which will cover the costs of your healthcare and lift the burden from your shoulders.
There are also the considerations of shots and tests to take before you enter a new country. For example, if you wanted to move to Australia, you would be required to have tests for diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. Other countries may want you to be tested and have shots to protect against malaria and polio.
Finding Your New Home
The most exciting part of moving to a new country is the prospect of buying your new home. Be aware that the house prices will be different to what you are used to, and it may be that you get a lot more space for your money in countries such as New Zealand and Australia.
A great idea would be to rent a property when you first arrive in your new country, because it will allow you to test out the lifestyle, get an idea of how much things like food shopping and bills will cost, and will also allow you to find out where things are in the local area and how far you need to travel for work. This will mean when you decide to buy a property you can look for something within commutable distance from your work, and in a good area with brilliant schools and amenities for the kids.
This also means that if you find you cannot afford to live in another country, you can leave and go back home without having a mortgage looming over your head. If you rent out your old property at home, you can move back in if you are unhappy.
Make sure to have a look at properties well in-advance to get an idea of the house prices and the quality of housing you’ll get for your money. It may also influence what area of the country you want to move to.
Moving
Chess Moving offer overseas moving services which will help you get all of your furniture and belongings across the sea to your new home without too much hassle. As all professional movers include insurance, if there are any losses or breakages in transit, you won’t lose out on the money.
Moving everything you own to a new country can be very stressful, but make sure that you pack up sensibly. Label boxes by room and item type so that when you move things into your new home, you can then place the boxes into correct rooms right away to cut down the time it takes you to move everything into place.