Preparing To Be an Expat

     

You have decided to become an expat. Or, in some cases, someone else, like your employer or spouse, has decided that you should become an expat. In either case, congratulations! You are in for, at the worst, a great adventure in which you learn a lot of things about yourself and the world, and at the best, the most amazing time of your life. But once the decision has been made, now what? Where do you even begin to start with preparations for the big move abroad?

The Expert Expat: Your... Patricia Linderman Best Price: $1.75 Buy New $12.92 (as of 06:25 UTC - Details)

First Things First

My advice from personal experience is to do nothing until you buy yourself a heavy duty pair of earplugs. Once you make the announcement about moving abroad, oh how the naysayers seem to come out of the woodwork. And funny they are always the ones who have never once traveled outside the country….But they will come like attack dogs, telling you how it is not the right time with the markets, the economy, international security, your kids, the kids you haven’t even had yet, (but whose lives you will somehow screw up by making this move abroad), blah blah blah.

Make Contacts in Your New Country

Which brings us to the second thing that I would advise you to do – make some new friends. Quickly. Preferably in your new country or hometown. Get online, join chat groups, read expat blogs, search Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In, and do not be shy about introducing yourself and asking many questions. Expats, in general, stick together and love to help other expats. Plus it is a great feeling to get on a plane knowing that you at least have some contacts in your new place.

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Find out the real scoop from people living there about the cost of living, things like safety, the job and housing market, schools, etc. Make sure that the people giving you the information have no vested interest other than helping another expat. I have seen too many people get told by the Realtor, who speaks English and who had an amazingly helpful website, that the prices he is quoting them are normal, going rate. But for example, the house that I rented in Patagonia for 800 pesos directly from the owner was at the same time listed with a Realtor in town for 2500 pesos a month. No one pays 2500 pesos in this particular town for anything, except naïve gringos who provide countless entertainment for the locals. So ask around to many people to try to get a feel for the real story of what you might be getting yourself into.

Getting Out: Your Guid... Ehrman, Mark Best Price: $1.70 Buy New $14.00 (as of 12:20 UTC - Details)

The Stuff, The Dreaded Stuff

Then comes the reality of having to deal with your possessions at home. Do you sell, rent, give things away? The biggest factor to consider is if you are planning on returning, and if so, in how long. If you are moving abroad for work for a one year stint, then it probably makes sense to try to rent your house or line up a caretaker for that short time. If you foresee being gone for at least a few years, that’s a different story. From personal experience, I can tell you that no one in the world was as in love with their house as I was with the one I had in the US. I cried the day I found it because it was so perfect for me and it was the place I envisioned, at the time, raising my kids. It was one of the hardest things to walk away from when we moved. Now, only a year and a half later, I could care less. If I moved back to the US, I am such a different person through this expat experience, that I would never want to live in that house again. It is way too big, way too inefficient, way too expensive. Travel has changed me, and I am very happy to not have to be dealing with that house still. I can be completely here in Argentina, physically and mentally.

Cars? My opinion is to sell them at home and use the money to buy a new one abroad. You may even find that you do not even need a car, especially if you will be living in the city. The cost to ship a car is hefty, and in many cases you will have a hard time finding parts for your car if something happens to break on it abroad.

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August 21, 2010