Archives for Relocations

Your dream to live abroad is about to come true. You have checked immigration laws, obtained permits, estimated the cost of living and developed a plan to export your life and work abroad.

But there are aspects of a global relocation that you might have overlooked. So before you sublet your place, loan out your car and put your books in storage, consider how you will manage these five challenges of expatriate life.

1. Managing your money

Thanks to the Internet, tracking bank accounts from anywhere is easy. But what will work overseas mean for your tax bill? U.S. citizens are required to report and pay taxes on money earned globally. You can receive a credit for taxes paid in a foreign country but you still need to file a tax return.

All aspiring expatriates should also take an inventory of the debts they must manage. Your move to another country doesn’t excuse you from paying that student loan bill - but you may be able to seek a deferment.

2. Keeping your partner happy

Moving abroad as a single person brings a host of challenges - even if you speak the local language. But taking a partner, as well as children, compounds the adjustments. Partner happiness, or lack thereof, is the primary reason international assignments fail.

That’s because the so-called “trailing spouse” is often left without the support to ensure that the experience is rewarding for them as well, says Robin Pascoe, a former “trailing spouse” who has written extensively about family relocation issues. She says the foundation for a positive experience must be “put into place from day one.” She adds, “That can mean supporting a home business, ensuring a work permit is obtained, making sure he/she has the right computer equipment … or just a sympathetic ear.”

3. Taking care of you

Living in a foreign country can compromise even the toughest of immune systems. You may find yourself with a particularly bad case of the flu or an infection that is new to you. To make matters worse, drugs that are over-the-counter back home may be only available with a prescription in your new country. Bring along a supply of medicine that you know works for you.

4. Accepting the differences

You already know that you can’t expect ice in your soda and that there may not be a Starbucks or familiar restaurant in your new city. But are you prepared to translate every ingredient for a recipe you want to try? Are you someone who won’t be frazzled when you have to figure out how to find a plumber? Have you ever navigated around a foreign city that lacked street signs? Many aspiring expatriates are captured by the romance of a life abroad but fail to realize that just about every aspect of their daily life will be completely different. It’s essential to adopt a “when-in-Rome” attitude about the ups and downs, because you can’t switch it off.

5. Wherever you go, there you are

Pascoe points out that many people go abroad “thinking they can leave their troubles - and their personalities - behind. The biggest shock is that everything moves with a person, including a propensity for workaholism or any other ‘ism.’ You can’t run away from yourself.”  

Before you make your decision to live overseas, be honest with yourself about why you’re doing it.