Where Will You Live?
1. Research your location carefully. Consider urban/rural, number of anglos, infrastructure of community, choice of schools and nurseries, ease of local commuting, closeness to job opportunities in your field, cost and type of housing, size of community, closeness to friends and family etc. You will need to get a feel for the place you move to. Unless you know the place well, it is advisable to rent a property for the first 6-12 months to ensure that this really is the place you want to put down roots.
How Will You Fit In?
2. If you are moving to a non-English speaking country, make an effort to learn the language before you go. The better your language skills the easier it will be for you to make friends and undertake everyday tasks. You could enroll in evening classes or buy self-learning CDs or books. There are also many websites which provide useful tuition
3. Expect a different culture – be open and try to understand it. Even in countries which are seemingly similar to yours there will no doubt be differences in business and social cultures . Try to find out about these by talking to other ex pats.
Your Working Life:
4. Consider your job options at the earliest opportunity. If you are planning to continue in the same profession there are still areas to research. Will there be a language barrier? Even if you have basic language skills, do you need to learn some job-specific jargon? Check beforehand that your professional credentials will be accepted and recognized. Will you need to retrain to acquire local certification?
5. If you are changing career, research the local jobs market. Find out what sectors have vacancies. Do you need to find out about alternative jobs? Consider any language barrier when applying – how much of the job involves speaking, reading or writing in the local language?
Sorting Out Your Finances:
6. Financial plan your first year. You need to take as much money as possible with you. Supporting yourself during your first year will involve a lot of expense; shipping items from home, purchasing new furniture, appliances, kitchenware, toys, etc. payment of upfront rental deposit, school fees, school books, etc.
7. Make a checklist of all the things you need to do to cut the ties from home; from handing in your notice at work to informing the utility companies. Make a 3 month action plan. To help you, go through all your recent bills and make a note of your account number and the customer services number. Emigrating involves a lot of organization and the firmer your plans are the easier it will be to work through all your tasks methodically.
Friends and Family:
8. Prepare the kids – be honest and realistic with them. Explain that it will take time to feel like home and they will miss their friends and family. Involve them as much as possible with decisions; look at school brochures together, study property rental details with them; let them feel part of the decision. If they are not so familiar with the country get lots of books or videos and look at them together. Explain why you are moving; improvements you feel you will have as a family in terms of environment, culture, climate etc. Encourage them to talk to you about their feelings, both positive and negative. Don’t be dismissive of their concerns and try to think of ways to address them.
9. Make sure you build in adequate time to say your farewells. You will need to see family and friends but perhaps you may also want to re-visit some of your favorite places. Why not take lots of photos of the people and places that mean so much to the family and make up an album to take with you.
10. Find out about any e-mail groups or forums of Anglos in your new country. These groups are an excellent way to find out about household goods for sale, job opportunities, social events etc. They will give you an indication of the nature of the Anglo community there and it is also an opportunity for you to post up information about your imminent move. This often stimulates offers to meet up once you arrive and is a great way to meet people and make friends.
Emigrating to a new country takes time, planning, patience and effort. Making the transition from one life to another can be challenging and stressful. Planning ahead and anticipating some of your difficulties will help you to settle in and establish yourself with maximum ease.
Check out three other articles which may be of interest; preparing kids for emigration, the importance of learning the language when emigrating learning the language article and working without local language skills working without the language article
