Can You Afford to Move Abroad? (Prerequisites)

* Ensure you have at least the first 3-5 months of living expenses ready (or in a very secure pipeline if you are a freelancer).
* If you’re a freelancer, make sure the market is healthy enough at the moment to sustain your current income levels for the length of your trip/move abroad. (6+ months) We all know recessions can strike at anytime, but moving abroad *during one* would indeed be a bad idea.
* If you’ve only ever worked for other companies in a traditional 9-5, it’s probably best to dabble in freelancing or somehow develop alternative income streams here in the states first, before taking the leap. Another post on ways to earn a living abroad will be forthcoming…

Obtaining Your US Passport

Shocking to many, especially Europeans, is the fact that an estimated 4 out of 5 Americans do not even possess a US Passport…[citation]

* Fill out Passport App Form DS-11 online & print out the PDF download results
* Find a US Post Office where you can apply for a passport
* Gather your official birth certificate, ID and any other identifying information (i.e. official name change records if you’ve ever changed names, etc)
* Get your Passport Photo taken at either the Post Office, Walgreens, Wolf Camera, etc (or have a friend do it)
* Visit the post office with above forms & passport photos; you may need to schedule an appointment for a later date if they are particularly busy that day
* Pay between $100 (regular processing) or $199 for expedited service. The postal employees say it takes roughly 2-3 weeks at this point to receive your expedited passport (as of January 2008).

Main Moving Abroad Checklist

* File necessary paperwork with your apartment manager to move out by the date you’re leaving.
* If you own a house, you’re of course faced with the difficult decision of whether to sell now or figure out a way to rent it out or have a trusted relative / friend / property manager take care of property for you while away.
* Sell larger items that you are not attached to; take digital pics, make a webpage detailing all items for sale & post on Craigslist
* Ship anything to friends/family that you no longer need and that they might want (or don’t mind storing for you).
* Figure out where you can store your stuff. Bay Area storage for a small apartment goes for roughly $100 / mo. Much less anywhere else in the country (save major metros).
* Give stuff that doesn’t sell or that you don’t want anymore to Goodwill

* Talk to a relative or trusted friend about handling inbound US mail for you. 90% is junk or bills that are viewable online.
* Alternatively, investigate a mail digitizing service like Earth Class Mail.

Flight Arrangements

* Make flight arrangements — both Orbitz and Expedia seem to give similar deals, but do much research to find the best price.
* Farecast is also a great site, which tracks airline prices over time and attempts to predict when the best prices will be available.
* One-way flights from San Francisco to Europe are running about $720 in January/February 2008.
* Round-trip flights (for a week long “taste test” in your target destination), are available at similar prices (~ $720).

Phone, Utility and Bank Related

* Talk to a Tax Accountant re: the first $80,000 of your income being tax exempt so long as you spend ~ 11 months out of the country during the year
* Login to your Bank / Credit Card / etc websites and either disable paper statements, OR, change your address to the new Forwarding Address.
* Purchase a SkypeIn number for $60 per year (or $18 for three months). SkypeIn numbers can have just about any US area code that you desire.
* Buy a VoIP handset so that you can walk around your foreign apartment holding a phone-like device, instead of being tethered to your laptop.
* Email friends / family / biz associates with your new phone number
* Disconnect cell phone (save ~ $80 / mo)
* Disconnect cable Internet & TV (save ~ $110 / mo)
* Disconnect utilities (save ~ $40 / mo)

Language Related

* Buy one or two books / audio CDs on the language they speak in your target destination.
* Download the Before You Know It flashcard software to help you study vocabulary.
* Remember, you only need to know 2,000 to 3,000 words / conjugations in a target language to be somewhat proficient at it. (of course, understanding fluent, fast-talking native speakers, proves to be another matter entirely)

Probably a Good Idea…

* Scan in your birth certificate, ID cards, passport, front & back of credit cards, etc. into PDF. Store these on a secure online service (i.e. mail them to yourself and your trusted relative via GMail), or somehow put them securely online so that you can get to them in an emergency.
* Look into health insurance options, or at the very least research healthcare availability & costs in your target destination, in case emergency strikes & you have to pay out of pocket.

For the Extra Paranoid or Security Conscious

* Make a backup of all your important data files onto an external hard drive or thumb drive
* Encrypt any sensitive data using PGP for Windows / PGP for OS X (all GUI driven — just don’t forget your passphrase!)
* Of course, keep these backups securely offsite back in the states. Or online somewhere, again if you are confident nothing will befall them in case anything happens to the originals.

I’m sure there’s much more but this is what I could come up with at the moment…

Depending on your personality, moving abroad can seem like a risky, possibly perilous experience… And indeed, it can be if you are not prepared or choose the wrong destination.

If you think you might want to take the plunge, but have some questions, fears, or just need encouragement, you can drop a note in the comments or email me (Shanti Braford) at shantibraford@gmail.com.