Things I Wish I’d Known About Relocating
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I’ve been thinking for a while about what advice I’d give people wanting to relocate internationally for work. I’ve done it twice now for myself (from Australia to Canada and then back again), and each time it’s pretty much been a lesson in what not to do. So I thought I’d record some of the things I wish I’d known before I went.
1. It costs more than you think
Chances are your new employer is paying some of your relocation expenses. At minimum they’re probably sorting out your visa and buying the plane ticket. If you’re lucky they’re also putting you up for a few weeks when you arrive, and/or paying for shipping of some of your stuff.
Anything they don’t cover, you’ll need to cover yourself. In addition to the obvious expenses listed above, that can include:
- time off work between jobs, including time to pack
- costs of vacating your current accommodation (cleaning, advertising, etc)
- costs of moving into new accommodation (bond, rent in advance, etc)
- temporary accommodation in your home country between vacating your home and flying out
- vehicle-related costs, if you have a car at either end
- storage costs (for stuff you leave behind)
- replacement of household and personal goods in new location (but see “shipping is cheaper” below)
- new clothes (especially in different cultures/climates)
- contract cancellation and account setup/membership/connection fees for all kinds of things (phone, Internet, gym, etc)
- paying off debts before you leave (you don’t want them hanging around)
- and more (kids, pets, ??? — not my problem, but might be yours)
Do the maths on all this, thinking of every possible thing you can. It’s almost certain to be in the thousands of dollars. Whatever the cost comes to, you’re going to have to amortize that over the period you intend to spend overseas. Let’s say you’re going for 2-4 years and it’s going to cost you around $10k — most of it in the first year. You’re going to have to make sure you have that money up front to handle the expenses, and that the money you earn overseas over the 2-4 years you stay there is enough to make it worth your while.
2. Simplify before you go
One of the things I’d advise anyone who’s considering international relocation is to start simplifying their lives now. The less stuff you have — both physical and intangible — the easier and cheaper the move will be. You’ll probably start thinking about an international move 3-6 months before you actually do it, so here are some things you can do during that lead-up time:
- Clean out your garage, closets, and spare room. Have a garage sale, freecycle it, or send it to charity.
- Start boxing up things that you want to keep long term, but definitely don’t want to take overseas. This includes things like family keepsakes or bulky collectibles. Put the boxes out of the way — perhaps in your now-emptier garage — and then keep paring down your stuff til only the stuff you use regularly is left out.
- Clean out your wardrobe. Discard anything that’s not in good condition or that doesn’t fit well. Put aside anything you haven’t worn in 6-12 months. Box up any seasonal or special-occasions wear that you won’t need to take. Consider the workplace culture and the broader culture where you’re going. It’s not worth taking clothes overseas if you aren’t going to wear them.
- Eat your way through the pantry. Use up tinned food and dry goods. Throw out anything that’s too old. Get to the point where, when you’re ready to leave, there’s only about a box full of stuff to throw out or give away. Drink all your booze (and don’t buy more).
- Cancel accounts. Get rid of your cable TV, Netflix, magazine subscriptions, gym membership, or anything else you don’t need. Consolidate your bank accounts. Consolidate your debts. Rollover your superannuation (retirement savings) into one good fund. Try to get to the point where you could enumerate all your accounts from memory.
- Minimise paperwork. Clean out your filing cabinet and get rid of anything you don’t need to be keeping. Consider scanning documents and backing them up digitally. Get yourself off as many snail-mail mailing lists as possible. Get your bank to send paper statements less often, and use online banking instead.
- Clean up your digital life. Dispose of secondary hardware, both extra computers and seldom-used peripherals. Make sure your email is all in one place, and that it’s web accessible. Consolidate your bookmarks, likewise. Make good backups. Get yourself into a position where you could, if necessary, dump your whole digital life onto a laptop and go.
See Unclutterer for more tips.
3. Lower your living standards
If you simplified in the previous step, chances are you’ve realised you can do without a lot of stuff you previously assumed was necessary. The good news is, this can now save you a heap of money. The trick is to drop your standard of housing when you move.
- If you were living in a house, move into an apartment.
- If you were living in an apartment, move into a smaller one, perhaps a studio or bedsit.
- Consider sharing a house.
Apart from the obvious savings in rent, you’ll also save a heap of money on shipping, furnishing your new abode, an so on. You’ll also have less to worry about if and when you decide to move home again.
Even if you can’t bring yourself to live in a tiny apartment for long, it’s not a bad idea to do it at first, while you get used to your new country and start to find your way around. If you over-commit to a large home, you’ll spend too much of your time maintaining it and furnishing it when you could be doing better things with your time.
4. Shipping is cheaper than buying
Assuming you’ve simplified and minimised your physical possessions, and you’re planning to move into a smaller place when you get overseas, you now have to decide what to ship and what to buy when you get there. The simple fact of the matter is, shipping is almost always cheaper than buying.
You’ll need to contact a shipping agency to find out what shipping costs will actually be. Your choices are between full-service removalists, who’ll come to your house at either end and handle the customs paperwork, or freight companies who’ll deliver your gear to a warehouse somewhere near the airport in your destination country and leave you to figure out customs on your own. The costs vary wildly, of course.
For the full service removalists, I’ve paid — or my employer has paid — around $1000 per cubic metre of stuff to get it all the way across the world. What you might not realise is that that’s about 20 book boxes, or $50/box. In such a book box, I could fit a several hundred dollars worth of books or DVDs, or a few hundred dollars worth of household materials such as kitchen gear or soft furnishings. (Don’t believe me? I have good quality kitchen knives that would fit in a shoebox but cost $500 to replace.) Even small, inexpensive items like facecloths or plastic food containers can add up when you think about it. And if you’ve simplified right down to the basics, you know you’re going to need that stuff at the other end.
In my opinion, there are only a handful of things you shouldn’t ship overseas, if you can afford the up-front expense. They are:
- electrical equipment, including household appliances, desktop computers, etc, unless you are sure that the power systems in the countries are compatible
- large furnishings, especially if inexpensive (eg IKEA bookshelves)
- items which might cause difficulty at customs on either end
Anything you choose not to ship will either have to be stored in your country of origin, or disposed of and then replaced if/when you get back. It’s up to you to figure out which will cost you more:
- Ship item overseas; use it; ship it home in a few years’ time.
- Store current item; buy new item overseas; get rid of second item before returning.
- Get rid of current item; buy new item overseas; ship new item home.
- Get rid of current item; buy new item overseas; get rid of second item; buy yet another item when you get home.
In most cases, especially for small items, option 1 is best. For furniture, option 2 (buying cheap/secondhand overseas, or renting a furnished apartment) might be best. Option 3 isn’t a bad choice if all your current gear is shoddy, perhaps if you’re just emerging from a stint as a poor student. Option 4 is seldom a good idea.
(Regarding customs: Australian customs is probably one of the strictest on the planet, and can give you trouble over things like wooden items, bedding, or anything that was once a living animal or plant, such as items made of fur or horn. Check the rules for both the country you’re moving to, and those for moving home again afterwards, and leave anything behind that will cause drama.)
5. Pack your favourites
There are certain things you should stock up on before leaving home, because you won’t be able to find your preferred variety when you get to where you’re going. These include:
- toiletries - everything other than basic soap and toothpaste, which are fairly generic throughout the Western world
- over-the-counter medications - for aches and pains, cold and flu, and gastro-intestinal problems
- underwear - if you have a favourite brand/style
There’s nothing worse than being in a foreign country with a nasty head-cold or stomach bug and not being able to find your favourite meds. It’ll happen to you eventually, but at least save yourself that stress until you’ve settled in a bit. Take a full bottle/tube/packet of each of your favourite OTC drugs. The same goes for toiletries, especially anything that’s not generic. If you’ve got a favourite scent-free low-allergy deodorant, or a single kind of chapstick that really works for you, or some kind of hair product you just can’t do without, make sure you take a fresh one of each (and perhaps a spare). You’ll probably find something equally good when you get over there, but it might take you a while.
As for underwear, I’m a big believer in this. Buy up a full stock of comfortable underwear, socks, etc in your favourite brands and styles, and you won’t have to deal with it again for at least 6 months. If you don’t have a particular favourite, this is not such a big deal, but as far as I’m concerned, a stock of Bonds tshirts, Holeproof Explorer socks, and my favourite Target bras are vital.
Don’t buy more than you need, though; you don’t need a lifetime’s supply of cough syrup or undies, just enough to see you through the first season or two until you get acclimatised and develop favourites in your new country.
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