Moving abroad always brings a mixture of emotions. Moving is an exciting, wonderful but nerving and sometimes scary time, which is completely natural. Whenever you make a big life decision like this, there is no better way to feel safer in your move than by being prepared. To give you a helping hand, we’ve put together this article with some top tips to get you ready for your move whilst removing your fears!
Plan Ahead
As soon as you’ve decided to make the move, you can start planning. If you’re a ‘leave it to the last minute’ type of person, then you need to change your ways as this isn’t something you can wing. Seat leasing and planning ahead is definitely the best way to go, get plotting out your route, creating lists of what you’ll need and writing down everything you can think of such as what you need to do and what you need to get sorted as part of the move. In the beginning, just literally listing everything you can possibly think of and then formalise it into more of an order at a later date. You can put things into categories and begin to timeline when need to have things boxed off by. If it’s a route you’ll planning, there are some handy digital maps you can use that plot out the best route and how long it will take you.
Visiting the Place for a Recce
If possible, it always helps if you visit your new location before you move. What can be good the first time, may not be as good the second so if you can make sure you visit the place multiple times before you make your move to your new home. If you visit at differing times, you’ll get a full picture of the place and get a feel for the people and place, making it easier to adjust in the long run as you’ll have an idea of what to expect.
Build A Network
If you move to the UK it’s crucial that you create a network of friends and work contacts. With mobile technology, you’d be surprised at how easy this can be. Through avenues such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn it has never been easier to connect with people from afar that you don’t know. Start by performing a simple search for some local clubs, societies and groups that you want to get involved with when you’re over there. You can even get some events planned before you get there! This will mean that you can hit the ground running when the big day comes.
Get the Important Things Boxed Off
So after the big news of Brexit, immigration has been a under the spotlight in the country. Therefore, it has never been more important to have your documents in order for when you move across. Make sure you have a valid passport, your visa or EEA family permit if you’re moving with the whole gang and any insurance you’ll need. It is the boring stuff but it is also the most important. If this isn’t your strong suit you can opt to speak to immigration lawyers in London as they’ll be able to provide you with advice suited to your situation – it’s better not to mess this part up so if you’re not the most organised, you should seek help.
Get Strict in The Early Days
Excitement is bound to get you through the early days, but you will need to be disciplined when the honeymoon period wears off. It is at this point you need to get strict. Get a plan together and stick to it. Start contributing to your new life, build that new network and immerse yourself into the community. By doing this you will get support at the toughest part of relocation and enjoy all the benefits it has to offer. Once you have established yourself as a valuable part of the community, you’ll settle in much quicker and you’ll get off to a flying start in your new British location!
Good luck!