How to Prepare for Living Overseas
I’ve been trying to establish myself in the UK, so I haven’t had much time or even access to the internet for the past week. Moving overseas can be the adventure of a lifetime. It will definitely help broaden your outlook on life. I’ve lived in several different countries in my lifetime and have learned a lot in every one. If you’re thinking about moving overseas, there are plenty of things you can do to prepare.
Research. You should do as much research as you can about the country you intend to move to. I read as much as I could about the UK before attempting this move. I was a regular on forums about moving to the UK, and I asked as many questions as I could. I researched visas and immigration laws. My husband and I carefully weighed the pros and cons before moving.
Organize. It’s important that you get all your affairs in order. Pay off all the debt that you can. Ideally you should be debt free when you move, but I know it’s difficult for some people to pull that off. If you will continue to have bills to pay in your home country make sure you know how you can pay them from overseas before you leave. Decide what you will bring with you, what you will ship separately, and what you will get rid of. Don’t leave anything until the last minute. The week before your flight will be hectic enough without trying to figure out last minute details.
Plan. Try to plan every detail of your move before you start. My husband and I started planning this move a year in advance. Knowing what you’re doing helps things go more smoothly. That’s the theory at least, honestly, very little has gone as planned since we’ve gotten here.
Don’t be afraid to look foolish. Once you get overseas you might be a little confused by the way things are done. You need to ask as many questions as you can to figure things out. Don’t be afraid to look dumb. You’re not from there, so it’s okay.
In the UK, they have strict recycling rules. I don’t know what I can recycle and what I can’t. I don’t know what to do with my recycling once I know what I can recycle. So I have a pile of trash in my house right now. Don’t worry, it’s nothing gross just some cardboard and plastic. Today we went to the town hall to find out what we’re supposed to do with all our cardboard and plastic. We asked tons of questions. Some may have seemed stupid, but we didn’t care. We needed to find the information out.
Don’t be too stuck in your ways. You have to be willing to accept the parts of the culture you’re living in. You don’t have to abandon your culture, but be willing to assimilate into the culture your living in somewhat.
I lived in Korea for a number of years. I knew an American there who refused to share side dishes with the other people he was eating with. In Korea, that’s just what you do. Everyone at the table eats from the same small side dish bowls.In a culture where eating is a communal experience, this seemed rude.
In Zimbabwe, I once had to eat part of the fatty grisly hump from the shoulder blades of a cow. It was awful, but I ate some of it out of respect for the people I was with. They were honoring me by giving me that pile of grisly fat and I just had to smile and choke it down. Sometimes you have to do that.
(You can tell from my examples here that my primary interest in life is food.)
Enjoy yourself. Living overseas can be great. Things will be different and strange. They will even be difficult at times, but keep and open mind and a bright outlook and you’ll have the time of your life.
Photo by creo que soy you
