Moving to a different country: Things you should know

Moving abroad can be one of the biggest adventures of a lifetime. Often, for some people who find themselves stuck in a routine, it can be a release of repetition and a new challenge to embrace along the road of life. Facing a new country brings forward many new additions of experience; from culture, relationships to language, which you need to immerse yourself into completely to adapt and survive. From my experience, it awoken a new state to my existence. This ‘survival mode’ that I faced willingly. I chose this path and for that reason, I needed to make this move the making of me; something beyond what I already have faced. A mould of myself in a new world and lifestyle that I was to call home.

In terms of what you need to know when you face the new set of challenges, pretty much remain very similar regardless of where you are going and where you come from.

You never know how many things you have until you need to pack it all away

Moving abroad brought a new profound respect for living lightly. If you are a person that can truly move around the globe in such short notice, you need to live lightly and efficiently. That means not actually owning many things in the process; and boy before I actually moved, I had a hell of a lot of things. Compact within my small room, I filled it with many memories and sentimental things gained over the years. Yet, what you really come to learn is, living life fruitfully is not through the things you hold physically and sentimentally, it’s the memories and their impact on you personally.

Finding a place to live when you are situated across the world can be deceiving

The process of searching for apartments online can be stressful. Often when property advertisements show properties online, you will need to take the chance and go for it. You can’t really get a ticket just for apartment viewings really, can you? What I would suggest is, to always contact the landlord (if you are subletting) and ask them for a virtual tour. Most landlords will allow for this option, if you ask for it-so do it! It is better to go through that option, rather than selecting a property to base your life around, solely on pictures. Pictures at an angle can make the property dimensions appear bigger/smaller, so a virtual video tour should help you make a satisfied decision!

Take the time to research your surrounding area

The moments before you move, it would really help to research the surrounding areas from where you live i.e. your local supermarket, transport links, cafes (for places to remotely work). This will allow you to really grasp your living conditions much more quickly. After all, no one wants to be that lost person depending on google maps, wandering the streets helplessly…

Get a job as soon as you can

As obvious as this may seem, a job is great for money of course, however some countries give you a work residence permit pretty easily if you happen to land a job within the country you are residing in. It will make your life much easier in the long run, if you manage to secure a job before you move out. Everything then, will pretty much fall together nicely when you move abroad.

Save a couple of months of your salary as back up

Again, this may seem like stating the obvious however, some countries upon registration will ask you to have a good amount of money in your bank for proof that you can in fact support yourself without any help from governmental schemes etc. It will also provide yourself a great peace of mind if you happen to be in the pursuit of a job in your new country of residence.

Don’t be afraid to ask for support in your language learning

Many corporate jobs actually encourage their employees to pursue the native language, to give them a bilingual advantage. Therefore, it would come as no surprise that once you secure a contract with your future employer, if you happen to ask for extra benefits like a language course, high chances are that they will say yes! Even if you happen to be learning the language from your own efforts before your move, make sure to showcase that to your new employer, as they will most likely be impressed and suggest taking you to the next level through further paid tuition. Securing this will really help you settle in further; with confidence-as language is key when it comes to being accepted within a community.

Check out local community events and gatherings

To really immerse yourself into the foreign lifestyle, check out local events and gatherings where you can mix with the locals and immerse yourself fully into the culture. Be it a continuous yoga class at your local community centre, to weekly markets and live gig performances, it will give you a chance to get to know more people who perhaps may be just like you. Salut to all the newbies taking on the city!

Taking that step to see the world beyond your comfort zone, needs great courage to manifest it. As ultimately “life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone’ (Shannon L. Alder) and that is where your new profound greatness will be brought to life in the physical planes of reality.

Fatima Elmusbahi