Moving Overseas

Figuring out your cost of living in your newly adopted country can be difficult for Expats. I still don’t know if there is an easy answer. However, before you plan to move overseas do some careful research into cost of living details.

Check the fine print. Of course, we all know to check how much an apartment might cost in your new city but below is a checklist of items that may throw your budget off if you are not prepared.

Gasoline or public transport expenses	Public television/radio fees (as in Germany)
Costs of Visas or mandated language classes	Health Insurance
Private schools	Auto insurance and or new drivers license
Groceries and Sundries	Entertainment
After school care, clubs, activities	Hair and beauty expenses

In my book Moving Overseas , I refer to the problems for Expats to work out a new budget before moving overseas. For us, it is still hard to calculate if the USA is a cheaper standard of living or Europe. Our housing is about the same, the groceries here in Germany are definitely cheaper but go on a car trip and you will pay triple what you are used to paying for gas. A useful tool to help may be Expatisan, https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living. 

Factoring in the cost of living changes is essential before excepting an overseas job opportunity. I have even heard of some families getting an added bonus for the loss of value when they had to sell their cars to move. Or companies that will help pay for private schooling. Do your homework first then negotiate your contract and salary.

I recently saw a post on Quora from someone wanting to leave the United States. He said something like “I can’t stay here forever, where should I move”. Well, that’s a tall order. If you can pick anywhere in the world, where would you relocate? Well, the world is a tad big. So let’s narrow that down.

Passion. The first question should be to ask yourself if you have a passion for any particular place? Most people seem to have a particular place that speaks to them. Some people I think are even better suited to cultures that they were not born into. I had a friend in my study abroad program that I thought fit better into the Austrian culture then she did her own native American culture. Now is your chance to experiment.

Cost of Living. Seriously check this out before moving to another country. Below is a list of the ten most expensive places to be an expat/expatriate. You should, however, be wary of deals that are too good to be true. For example, is it a great cost of living but you’ll have to put your kids in private school. Check here for further details

1. Hong Kong (China)

2. Tokyo (Japan)

3. Singapore

4. Seoul (South Korea)

5. Zurich (Switzerland)

6. Shanghai (China)

7. Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)

8. Beijing (China)

9. New York City (USA)

10. Shenzhen (China)

Weather. This seems like a silly one but consider the weather about it before moving. If you are a beach person and move to Germany those long winters might be hard on you. How much rain does your new home country have per year, will that depress you? Please take this advice from someone who moved from Texas to Germany. I had a Vitamin D deficiency and depression during the first year.

Standard of Living. Will you maintain the same standard of living in your new home? Perhaps you could have a higher standard of living? For us, on our move, I would say we lowered our standard of living but improved our work-life balance. That was a win in my book.Family. If you have a family take their needs into account also, or you will have an unsuccessful venture. Schooling, work opportunities and socialization all have to be considered before deciding to move overseas.

Family. If you have a family take their needs into account also, or you will have an unsuccessful venture. Schooling, work opportunities and socialization all have to be considered before deciding to move overseas.

For more specific ideas check out my book on Amazon.

If I have one word of advice it’s this; research how to get a driver’s license when you move overseas and research it well. I was foolish when I moved overseas and thought I was under a reciprocal program with Germany and America. Yes, I was in fact qualified for this program but only for one year. I was frankly lazy and did not do my expat homework. When I had a small accident, I was in big trouble for driving without a license. 

You can obtain an International Driving Permit to be on the safe side. The key word is permit, it is just permission to drive in a number of countries. Furthermore, it is only good for one year. Check the regulations of the country you are moving to. Below are some websites I found to help from different countries.

America  http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpf.html  or AATA http://aataidp.com/. 

Australia https://www.mynrma.com.au/holidays/travel-insurance-and-permits/international-driving-permits

Canada https://www.caa.ca/

UK https://www.postoffice.co.uk/international-driving-permit

South Africa https://www.aa.co.za/productsmembership/international-driving-permit

Some countries such as Germany and France allow participating countries to drive for one year without exchanging your license. But please research all rules and expiration dates and do not take any chances with exceeding those dates. If you have an EU driving license you may have better luck and never need to trade licenses as long as you meet certain qualifications.

I am an expat living in Germany. I attend some social groups with other English speaking expats. Last month a woman referred to me as a “trailing spouse”. It sounded like an insult for a moment or definitely something I should be concerned about.

The definition on Wikipedia of a trailing spouse is ; The term trailing spouse is used to describe a person who follows his or her life partner to another city because of a work assignment. The term is often associated with people involved in an expatriate assignment but is also used by academia on domestic assignments. Ok well, that doesn’t seem so bad, so I followed someone to another country. That seems harmless. Is it harmless you wonder?

Issues that can affect the couple moving can be numerable. The top one on my list was that my German was limited and I was suddenly dependent on my husband for communication. That get’s old for the native speaker who needs to work and can’t take time off to escort you everywhere. Likewise, it can be difficult on the once independent spouse who now waits at home for someone to take him/her to appointments.

What about socialization for the trailing spouse? Are they now without friends or family who speak the same language? Are they without a drivers license in the new country?

Plan ahead before your move. If you have already moved overseas then take action! There are lots of ideas in my book, Moving Overseas. Here are a couple of my favorite.

• Be supportive of the emotional roller coaster that your trailing spouse may be on.
• Figure out a way to find social supports in your new home.
• Utilize re-location or cultural training’s that are offered with your firm.
• Join social media support groups
• Find a coach in your area who is experienced with inter-cultural relationships

Cultural intelligence is a hot topic for companies that want to compete in the global market. It can also be important for Expats when moving abroad. When making an international move educate yourself on your new home country. You might think you are familiar with a new country but living there and visiting can be two entirely different things.

When I first moved to Germany I think I knew that Germans were perhaps more rule-oriented then American’s. However, after a month of being there and getting yelled at I was worn down and angry. I knew how to say “leave me alone” in German and I started using it, much to the surprise of people who probably thought that was incredibly rude. So I started to try and get with the program and learn the rules. Does your new country have Integration classes or does your company offer this as a benefit? Expat sites on Facebook are often really helpful for asking questions or reading other posts. Sometimes, other expatriates problems can save you some heartache of the same mistakes. Search Facebook or Meetup groups for simple items such as: American’s in Italy, Expats in Germany, English Speaking Moms in France.

An idea that might help you learn more about your new culture is exploring a model such as Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. This is a fun one to look at even in terms of relationships. My husband is German and I am American. Hofstede depicts American’s as a culture to be highly indulgent and the German’s rather low and more of a restrained culture in terms of self-gratification. Ah ha, that explained a lot of my marital issues. It may also help you to understand the new country you are moving to. The model goes further to explain cultural attitudes towards masculinity and femininity, individualism or group attendance, all things that could be helpful to know. To read more about it and rate your native country to your new country you can start here.

So before moving overseas, prepare and educate yourself as much as you can. You can find further guidance in my book, Moving Overseas. Or for some hilarious culture shock stories check out my blog.

I am not an electrician. For the record, I am an Expat with a  liberal arts degree. I am just going to share something that worked great for me when I moved overseas. When I was decided what to pack and what not to pack in our overseas container, I was really sad about some of my electrical items. I have had the same electric frying pan for fifteen years and it makes one of my favorite dishes. So the thought of leaving behind some of my favorite appliances was sad, not to mention that it seemed like a waste of money.

Then along came the idea of using a transformer. I was completely clueless about electricity abroad but started some research. In the USA I had 120-volt and was moving to a 220-volt area. I looked into a step up or step down transformer; meaning that I could change from 120 to 220 volt or 200 to 120 volt by running the plug through the transformer. I am including a picture and link of one I have, there are many products on the market.

The downsides are they are heavy and take up space. Check the prices of them where you are and where you are moving to. We discovered that they were cheaper to buy in the USA than Germany and bought one and packed it on the shipping container.

The other thing to check is the wattage of the item you want to use. For instance, my Instant Pot runs on 1000 Watt and I knew I wanted to bring that so I bought a transformer that could handle the wattage. Rockstone Power recommends on their website a wattage that is over 50% of what is needed for your appliance. I also read that sometimes appliances with moving parts such as a fan might not do well with a transformer. And the one item I did blow out was my hand mixer. But rest assured it wasn’t an explosion just a mild quiet death.

When you get your transformer you’ll want to read the instructions thoroughly before using. It is so easy to use just a bit intimidating at first. The first time I turned it on it makes this loud humming noise for a second and I thought I might die. All good, they do that!

I’m including it on my blog because it has been a huge success with my international move. The money I spent on the transformer was well made up when I did not have to buy all new appliances abroad. I did buy a new vacuum overseas, I thought lugging around a 10 pound transformer while vacuuming might not be efficient.

For more detailed ideas for adapting to life as an Expatriate check out my book, Moving Overseas: Tales of woe, torture, and success.
***Anyone out there interested in guest blogging about your move? Especially looking for people who moved overseas with animals or dogs.