What To Consider When Moving Abroad With Work
What To Consider When Moving Abroad With Work
Sometimes people enjoy a holiday so much that they decide they would rather live abroad. In other cases an employee can be transferred by their existing employer in order to expand the business in the foreign market. Moving abroad for work can be a very stressful period. With a bit of careful organisation the whole affair can be made a lot smoother and it is worth it in the end.
Research
If you’ve lived in one country for most of your life, you will have become very familiar and accustomed to a certain way of living in a certain culture and environment. Europe has a plethora of cultures across multiple countries and you may not enjoy the way of living in the new country you will be living in. This is why it pays to do as much research as you can before you go. Travel books and Google will become your best friends through this period as you learn about your new home.
There will undoubtedly be a large number of differences that you will need to adapt to. Hopefully you will embrace them and love your adopted homeland. There might be language barriers and responsibilities like opening up a new bank account and paying your taxes in a new country. Once you settle in you should love it.
Healthcare
There isn’t a one size fits all healthcare system in Europe. Each country has their own organisations which they feel works best for them. In some cases they are better than the NHS in the UK, in other cases not so much. One thing that remains universal across most of Europe is entitlement. Any resident of a country participating in the EHIC scheme are entitled to healthcare on the same grounds as the residents of the country they are staying in. Simply apply for your E111 card to be entitled to healthcare at free or reduced costs. You could save yourself from some expensive medical bills.
Finances
Moving abroad can be very expensive, especially if you’re transporting a lot of your possessions and furniture from your current home with you. Of course, in the best case scenario you are moving from one job straight into another and not having any long gaps between paychecks. Even then you’ll be very grateful if you have some collateral behind you in case of a rainy day. It might pay to be super frugal when you first move to the country. At least until you’ve got a few months under your belt and you’ve become more familiar with your new surroundings.
Holiday
If it’s possible, arrange to go on holiday first. Think of it like a trial basis. See how you can get on staying in a different country for a couple of weeks. If you don’t enjoy it then there’s a very minimal chance of it working out over a long-term basis. On the other hand, if you love your two week break and fall in love with the country, then the chances are that you are onto a winner. Moving abroad can be a great adventure and you’re bound to have a lot of fun.