I originally wrote this bit in 2016 and posted it on my (now no longer existing) personal blog. Over last 2 decades my wife and I moved quite often, pursuing better life, adventure, and most importantly, we were fulfilling our shared childhood traveling dreams. One of the things that brought us together was a very strong conviction that we can’t wait to ‘travel around the world after retirement’. We always wanted to travel ‘now’, ‘asap’, and definitely ‘often’, and… over the years we ended up being very generous spending most of our savings visiting as many places as possible. Moving between different countries (and even better – continents) helped us with traveling, a lot – you basically move your ‘home’ closer to many new destinations that otherwise would remain very far (and expensive).

Today we don’t yearn for living in different places that much anymore – given the current state of affairs, worldwide, and recognizing the effects of various political turmoils that directly and personally affected our well-being over last decade, the idea of moving to other places feels now both borderline dangerous and mentally exhausting.

The post below, written in 2016, was meant to be a celebration of us living globally, fulfilling our dreams, and just ‘going for it’. But as I dig it up from my archives today, I feel it may serve a different purpose in 2024…

The result of the American election sends a clear yet somber message to the world. The big part of the US population is going through the very same trauma that nearly half of the UK population went through in 2016 after Brexit referendum, and in years that followed. The very same trauma that all the immigrants, victims of misogyny, racism, xenophobia and any abuse really, experience to some degree, every day. That bitter, lasting feeling of being worse than others, unwanted, the awful sensation of feeling like a stranger in your own house, the feel of being a political tool in the hands of populist politicians, and fundamentally – recognizing a very powerful realization that bad things go on unchallenged, get even worse, and these are things that you can’t control. And you have to bear not only the consequences of it mentally, but may become actually the target of it, physically. It hurts, it stings, it dehumanizes. What can I say… welcome to the world of the most of the world.

I dedicate this post to all the people with the urgent need of emigration.

(I have updated the original post with more practical advice and to make it more relevant in 2024.)

Old Post

Wanting to move is one thing. Actually moving is another. So far my wife and I have moved over 17 times between 4 countries (some of them more than once).

There are two types of immigrants/expats and/or perpetual travelers I know of – these that move to new countries and then just hang around there for some time (notably, sometimes even for decades :)) and do so without thinking much of formalities that would allow them to be there legally, and there are the other guys – these that actually plan to formally settle down.

The first ones have it easy – as long as they don’t overstay their visa, or travel back and forth across the borders to renew/reset the ‘counter’ of their legally permitted time of their stay – they can live in their new favorite place for a very long time. There are actually many foreigners living such life in Asia – I came across quite a few guys like this in Thailand f.ex. one dude from US I spoke to runs a business in Chiang Mai for 15 years despite not having a working visa there! And many modern digital nomads celebrating their life on the internet use the very same approach, except they change places often, traveling dozens of countries in a short period of time, either picking up random jobs and getting by using their savings, charm, and luck, or… do so working remotely. Make no mistake, any work they do in these remote locations is illegal (no work permit=violation of the local law).

The second ones are definitely the boring ones 🙂 – that’s us – the relocation is always well planned and there is already at least one job waiting at the other end. While the ‘moving’ process may look kinda straightforward, and easy (sponsoring companies often engage relocation companies that provide a full assistance with the move, including tasks like advising on local culture and looking for accommodation), the challenges associated with the legalization of your stay in a new place can give you a headache, and by far make it for a much harsher experience when compared to a country hopping described in the previous paragraph.

The short-term issues you will face are:

• selling your assets in the ‘old’ country; this is a tough one and you better work with an established law firm to lead it to closure
• using a professional rental company to ship your stuff abroad; most of the time you will have an option to ship most the stuff via sea, and some small bits over the air; don’t be stingy here, the best companies will make sure all your stuff is properly protected before shipping; note that it may take a few good weeks before the stuff arrives to the destination; also, some moving companies can store your stuff for some time in their warehouses, if necessary (f.ex. if you are still looking for a new place); there may be additional costs for storage going over 1-2 weeks.
• crossing the border – it may sound easy, but one-way ticket always raises a lot of questions; have a passport valid for at least 1 year, proper visa, affidavit of support (if applicable), employment offer at hand, list of your company’s local contacts, etc.
• finding a new apartment – rent a short-term apartment/AirBnB for up to 4 weeks/1 month first, this will give you time to find one for a longer term stay, say 6-, 12-months; best to rent at least a 2 bedroom flat, or bigger; staying in a spartan (typical for short-term rentals) one bedroom flat or studio will definitely affect your mental health, especially if you are a couple, and/or if you have kids
• getting through process of being vetted by real estate agents/landlords; yup, it is a thing — f.ex. in UK the government outsourced the responsibility of immigration status checks to banks, landlords and employers; they need to vet your immigration status before they can do business with you
• signing the contract for the rental; read the contract VERY carefully; different countries ==> different rules; as you are reading, look at every clause from the ‘worst case scenario’ perspective; don’t be afraid to ask and negotiate; I managed to change clauses in many rental contracts by simply asking; real estate agents love template contracts, but they also want to close a deal
• in some countries, you may be asked to pay a few months deposit, or even the whole 6-, 12-months rent in advance; this is because you don’t have local references yet
• getting utilities sorted (hot water, cold water, electricity, gas, heating, phone, internet, etc.) – that’s a lot of calls to be made
• sometimes registering with the local authorities
• registering with the local health services
• registering with the social security services
• sometimes registering with your local council
• opening local bank accounts (this can be VERY hard; you may need sponsorship letters from your new, local employer, plus one or more formal proof of address: f.ex. a utility bills, council tax letters/bills, TV license, bank/insurer statements, etc.)
• localizing your driving license
• buying a car
• getting used to different traffic rules
• paying for the TV license (this may be ‘new’ to many people not accustomed to it)
• getting new mobile phones –> additional cost
• getting new mobile phone numbers
• researching local neighborhood to find amenities
• sometimes getting to know your concierge/porters
• changing addresses and phone numbers in all the previous places you stayed at before (and that you dealt with) so that they can send you latest or closing statements (banks, utilities, etc.); it is of paramount importance to close the accounts in the ‘old’ country; they may start charging interest on unpaid bills
• closing your Tax affairs in the ‘old’ country; again, very important + you may get some tax back
• notifying your friends and family about new address/phone number
• some people like to redirect their snail mail
• keeping an eye on your bank accounts abroad
• keeping an eye on your bills abroad (if you didn’t manage to close all accounts before the move, it’s important to keep an eye as you may get subscribed to the services for another year if you don’t cancel!)

And this is how it starts.

For all the new contracts, services, banks, etc. do disable the ONLINE statements. Any printed statement you get helps to formally establish your presence in the new country.

Living in a different country can be exciting, overwhelming sometimes, and will definitely enrich your life. And in more and more cases today, it may even save it. Both literally and metaphorically.