We’ve all been on that city break or sunshine holiday and thought, I want to live here. I want to wake up in the morning and eat oranges on a Spanish balcony. I want to spend my weekends in Berghain. I want to live in Australia and go surfing in the morning before work.
Relocating overseas can seem daunting. But when you’re young, with no commitments – kids, elderly parents, mortgages – this is the time to do it. Thanks to the EU, we have the right to live and work almost anywhere in Europe, making that Berlin hipster dream a viable reality. And, further afield, scores of young Brits are making places like Dubai and Australia their homes.
We got the lowdown on how to move abroad from people who’ve actually done it.
How do I get a job out there?
This depends on so many things: the economy in the country you’re going to, the industry you currently work in, any visa requirements. But there are things you can do to improve your prospects of finding work, such as doing a TEFL course. You can do one online cheaply, and with that you can teach English as a foreign language basically anywhere.
Some advice from Patrick, 26, a TEFL teacher living in Barcelona – do your research. ‘I looked for work in November, by which point most teaching positions had been filled, so I spent three months living off rice and lentils. Had I come out at the time the school year was starting [September], it would have been easy.’
If the thought of being back in a classroom fills you with dread, go somewhere with a strong economy and relaxed visa requirements – like Australia. Daisy, 26, living in Sydney, says, ‘Finding work was straightforward, the economy was good, the visa’s a breeze, and I had a job in HR within six weeks.’
If you want to move somewhere like the USA, you’ll have to get a company to sponsor you, which is difficult, but not impossible.
What about the logistics?
Most of us have moved a couple of times by now – away from home, to uni, around a couple of flat-shares in varying degrees of crumminess – and it never gets any less shit. On the plus side, moving internationally isn’t a whole lot different to moving your stuff from one Hackney semi to another.
Jen, 26, now living in Berlin, explains, ‘The hardest thing about moving was probably the same things that make any move hard: finding an affordable flat with good housemates, getting your post stuff sorted, finding furniture and getting it to you.’
You’re going to need a financial float while you look for work and a place to live. Aim to budget for at least six weeks worth of living expenses, depending on where you’re moving – ideally longer. Look for places to live in the normal ways, like Gumtree, and don’t be afraid to ask for help from more official sources. For example, Patrick’s language school in Barcelona found him a flat – most large organisations regularly taking foreigners will have a system to help relocate them.
Jen’s final piece of advice? ‘Don’t travel Ryanair if you’re actually moving somewhere. You’ll be glad of the extra weight allowance and you don’t need people shouting at you when you’re embarking on something quite big. Standing at check-in throwing away all your shampoos and perfumes trying to get the suitcase weight below 20kg isn’t the best way to start your move.’
How will I deal with homesickness?
Got a laptop and a wi-fi connection? Seriously, you’re halfway there. As Daisy explains, ‘Technology helps so much. Facebook, emails, group WhatsApp chats. Group messages really keep you entertained and up to date with your friends, and the advantage is they’re fairly low effort to keep up with.’
Everyone I interviewed said technology helped them deal with homesickness. For Catherine, 27, living in Dubai, regular Skype calls home enabled her to watch her niece and nephew grow up. Patrick speaks to his parents more now he lives abroad than he did when he was at uni.
But you might need to be prepared for a certain level of technological ineptitude from older members of your family. Sarah, 26, now living in Washington DC, told me that her dad regularly posts her sim cards and pay-as-you-go mobiles, not really getting this whole *I can call you for free from wi-fi *thing. Aw.
Do I need to learn the language?
Um, yes. Unless you’re moving somewhere they speak English. Sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear. On the plus side, English is widely spoken globally, so you (probably) won’t be totally screwed in your first few months. But if you want to have a proper crack at this whole ‘living abroad’ thing, you’re going to need to learn the language.
On the plus side, Patrick (the language teacher) told me that he’s taught plenty of thickos in his time, and all of them were able to learn a foreign language eventually. So there’s hope for us all.
How do I make friends?
Just put yourself out there. As Patrick said, ‘Treat everyone as a potential friend. You have to be more forward socially than normally.’ Catherine recommended joining sport teams and other social groups.
Ask friends back home to set you up with people they know living out there. Sarah told me, ‘I made friends through people I knew back home. For example, my friend Al put me in touch with her friend Dan, and he introduced me to his friends. Before I knew it I had a social group. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for introductions, people are friendlier than you realise.’
Don’t beat yourself up if most of your friends start off being fellow ex-pats. It’s natural to gravitate towards people from home when everything is unfamiliar. But don’t expect things to just fall into place immediately. Patrick warns, ‘This isn’t home. It’s going to be a different set-up socially and you need to be cool with that.’
Still thinking of doing it?
Look, moving away is tough. As Sarah says, ‘Homesickness kind of sits on you the whole time, without you even noticing it.’ But, the rewards are immense. You know what word kept coming up when I interviewed people for this piece? Adventure. Moving somewhere new is an adventure.
Finally, if you’re thinking about it, stop reading articles like these and get on with it. Daisy says, ‘Don’t think about it too much, and just do it. Really, just book a plane ticket and go for it. I didn’t believe I was actually doing it, right up to the point that Mum and Dad were dropping me off at the airport and I thought, “G_od, this is really happening”_.’
You heard her. What are you waiting for? It’s time for an adventure. Now get on Skyscanner.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.