We wanted to share the top moving abroad challenges we have faced in leaving America. You have already seen our Top 5 Reasons for Leaving America post. Obviously it isn’t all stress free, daydreaming, and easy smiles. To be honest, we thought we would share some of the challenges we’ve faced. Maybe this will help you, if you are thinking of taking this route.
Right from the first moment you consider doing something this radical to your life the questions start to hit you. While the excitement is there about the possibilities, all the questions can be pretty overwhelming. They come in all forms from technical to emotional to financial to logistical. They can be really large, stressful decisions like resigning from your job you’ve had for 15 years to seemingly miniscule decisions like how many pairs of shorts should you pack? For instance:
- Do we sell our house or rent it?
- What do we do with all of our stuff?
- How are we going to fund this adventure?
- Do our careers translate to remote work?
- How do we access our money in another country?
- What credit cards should we use?
- How do we connect with friends and family to say goodbye for now?
- Are we going to miss everyone too much to make this happen?
- Are we ok with dropping all our normal routines and leaving everything that is comfortable?
- Do we need to designate someone with authority to act on our behalf while we’re out of the country?
- What do we do about healthcare coverage?
- What immunizations do we need?
- What languages do we need to learn and how fast can we learn them?
- How do we manage technological things like VPN, internet access, phone coverage, etc.?
- How do we communicate our experiences with our family and friends (aka: blogging, Instagram, and YouTube)?
- How many bags do we travel with and what do we pack?
- How can we do all this and can we handle the stress?
- Are we crazy, bold, or a little of both?
- Is it safe where we are headed?
- What kind of travel visas do we need and what international hurdles are there?
- What does our timeline look like for this whole process and how do we manage unexpected changes?
It’s a lot! We approach things differently, but ultimately its the communication that helps us address each item. Dog is better at some things and Dragon is better at others. We just try to address each item as they come and get through them one step at a time.
As we came up with a plan and timeline, we started talking to our close friends and family about our plans. Each person had some insight or helpful piece of advice that we could take with us as we moved forward. Thanks everyone for helping us on this journey! You all had questions as well. This post is intended to be an intro to a whole category of posts on this topic. This isn’t all inclusive and may or may not be relevant for anyone else. These are just some of the things we’ve been trying to address prior to actually leaving. Watch this space for upcoming posts on these topics in more detail, such as:
Moving Abroad Challenges: The Purge!
- What did we do with all of our stuff?
- What different approaches did we take to pair down our things?
- What challenges and stressors did this process create?
Click this link to read more on Moving Abroad Challenges: The Purge
Moving Abroad Challenges: Renting versus Selling
- Pros and Cons of Renting
- Pros and Cons of Selling
Moving Abroad Challenges: Funding the Adventure
- Selling everything, budgeting, and living cheaply with what we have.
- Searching for remote work.
- Considering nursing careers abroad such as cruise nurse or some other option.
Moving Abroad Challenges: Healthcare
- Insurance options in America
- Insurance options travelling abroad
- Healthcare options in other countries
Moving Abroad Challenges: Immunizations
- Normal American childhood vaccination series.
- So many immunizations to discuss depending on destination:
- Typhoid
- Yellow Fever
- Japanese Encephalitis
- Polio
- Meningitis
- Rabies
- Hepatitis A
- Other meds that don’t have immunizations such as malaria, Traveler’s diarrhea, parasites…
Click this link to read more about Moving Abroad Challenges: Immunizations.
Moving Abroad Challenges: Foreign Language
- Learning a second language as an adult
- Apps:
- Online resources:
We’re Dog and Dragon Adventures. More to come on all these topics. Stay tuned. Comment if you have a question or an idea you want to learn more about.
