It’s safe to say that moving abroad is a very big thing to prepare for. There are so many things to take into consideration and prepare for when you move anywhere. Add another country to that situation, and it’s even crazier.
It’s coming up to a year since I moved to the U.K., and I thought I’d write even moreeeeee about my experiences moving here (lol, as if I haven’t enough – see here, here, here, here, here and, oh! here)
Here are the ways I would prepare differently if I had to do it again (please dear god though, I hope that I never have to again).
I would get my finances in order.
I barely had any savings when I started the visa process. In fact, pretty much all of it went to paying for my visa. It’s not the end of the world, though, because we knew that this would be the case, and I can build it back up now that I’m here. So I tried not to let it get to me TOO much. I also have some credit card debt back in the United States. It’s completely manageable and I make my payments on time. So again, nothing too bad.
If I could go back though, I would make more of an effort to get my finances sorted out. I would have put in the extra work at my American employer working as many hours as I could for overtime to try and pay things off just the tiniest bit quicker. I would also have looked into my taxes and pension before coming to the U.K. Because the U.S. and U.K. have different tax years, being an expat around tax season(s?) can be a bit tricky. I also have a 401k in the U.S. – it’s basically a pension plan that I got through my old employer. Little did I know that, if I wanted to do anything different with it (like, roll it into an IRA Plan), that was something that I could only do while in the country/living there (supposedly). So, yea, that’s cool.
Look for a job.
I was lucky enough to work remotely for my American employer when I first moved here. However, I knew eventually that I would need to get a job with a U.K. employer (and I really wanted to). Now, I know that most employers probably would not have touched me until I had my visa in hand anyway; but I still probably should have looked into jobs more. Or at least worked on my CV and start uploading it/applying anyway. The job search, although not as long as I thought it would be, was still brutal and frustrating.
Do a clear our of my things at my parents house.
All my crap that I didn’t bring to the U.K. is taking up space at their place. This includes, and is not limited to, tons of clothes, shoes, scrapbooks, books, random papers and old mail, a flute, and god knows what else. I did TRY to go through some things before I left, but to be honest I was SO LAZY. Lol, my poor parents.
Spend more time with my family.
I’m not saying that I didn’t spend any with my family. I did. I spent all my time with my family. Every extra second I had was devoted to them. And yet, it still doesn’t feel like it was enough. To be honest, I don’t think any amount of time would ever be enough. But I would still try to just squeeze every last second that I could with them before moving.
Throw a party.
Because, why the hell not?
Any other expats out there want to weigh in on how they would prepare differently for moving abroad?
xx Lauren
