Moving abroad permanently is a huge but potentially rewarding step. How you cope is down to you and your planning. Like the explorers of old not a lot is achieved without hard graft, perseverance and a little dash of daring.
The days of the Empire may be long gone but that doesn't mean Brits are no moving abroad to live, work and play. As business becomes more international so working lives have changed and markets broadened.
Costs drive manufacturers to the most effective marketplaces so while a European brand may be deeply engrained as just that, European, it doesn't stop the actual product being produced in the Far East. As a consequence the business has expanded taking with it jobs and lifestyles.
And then there are others who move for different reasons - retirement or lifestyle being high on the agenda. There's also the small matter of how much further your money can go in some foreign countries.
Nearly 18,500 Brits moved to the USA in 2002, more year-on-year since and the upward trend is expected to continue - even allowing for the hurricane seasons that seem to be getting worse there. Some 250,000 newcomers are expected to be living USA way by 2015.
When you think about it, relocating to the USA is a big step. It's not a place that's reached on a budget airline within a matter of a few hours. So while the number going to America is rising, the figures for those setting up homes and business closer to home are exploding.
In Spain there are reckoned to be a staggering 750,000 of them and thenumber is swelling fast. On the Costa del Sol an estimated 800,000non-Spanish are expected to buy homes over the next five years.
The older territory of France is still popular but coming into the frame these days are Cyprus, Turkey, Serbia and Montenegro, South Africa and Dubai. In a year the number of people buying in Turkey has climbed from 4,000 in 2003 to an estimated 15,000 in 2004.
Then there is South Africa and Australia. The world seems to have got a whole lot smaller.
CONSIDER THE BIG STEP - IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU
Relocating abroad is a big step and all the options have to be considered. Ask yourself the following questions: How would a move abroad affect your long-term career hopes? Is now a good time to relocate or should you wait until you become more established within your field? Have you considered the views of others close to you?* If you own a house will you sell it or rent it? Language - It is possible that English will not be the primary language of the country you are moving to. Do you know enough to get by? Will your wage be paid into an account in the UK or will you have to open an account in your country of temporary residence? Will you enjoy living within the culture of the country you are moving to? Such things as dietary habits, climate, housing, media, and local customs will all be different from what you are used to. Relocating can be very expensive and as a general rule people who move abroad do not come out financially better off than before they left their home country. It is relatively simple getting casual work but earning a comparable wage to that which you earned at home is far more difficult unless you have specific skills.
PREPARATION IS THE KEY
The act of moving is hell and if you've met anyone who says they actually enjoy the physical aspect of it - well most of us would say they were bonkers. All that mess, all that disorganisation and the toe-curling embarrassment of those cobwebs behind the fridge and 10 years worth of crumbs under the toaster.
It's sweaty, it's stressful, it's dirty, it's tiring and often it hurts when you smash your shins on the coffee table you are shifting.
Now if moving here was bad enough imagine what it is like moving abroad. Further to go, oceans to cross and many more miles in which your precious possessions can be lost. There's the language to deal with, laws of a different country and customs and habits that take time to comprehend.
There's more to worry about in terms of settling, finding schools for children and fitting in to a new society.
But with plenty of planning and proper thought it can be made easier and the key to it is that good old dependable of the house mover - thechecklist. Think about it, there's so much to do, so much to remember and you are under pressure. The checklist keeps you on target - and in politics would go by the name of "the route map".
A lot of the work for relocating can be done well before the van turns up to take away your possessions.
CHECK IT OUT FIRST
If the move is because of your job ensure you maintain the standard of living to which you have become accustomed. The pay and benefits on offer should be commensurate with maintaining a lifestyle similar to that enjoyed back at home but remember how different the cost of living can be overseas.
Spain has cheaper utility, rates and food prices but Switzerland is sky-high expensive as is most of Scandinavia. Then, of course, if you set up home in an internationally famous city - New York, Rome, Paris, Buenos Aires, Sydney - there is going to be a premium price to pay.
If your move is enforced by work - say you've been posted to the Paris or Rome office, call your new colleagues for help. They will know about the local doctors and dentists and they will have experience of local schools. It is all essential information that you are going to need. If, on the other hand, your move is a private thing, hook into the local expat community for crucial information. They will know, for example, where you can buy those home favourites that are so hard to find abroad - like Marmite and PG Tips. As they are living out there, they too will hold crucial information of health and education.
While you are doing this check to find out the wattage of the local electricity supply because it is almost certain that you will need adapters - and for your phone - so be prepared, know what is needed and have them ready to take with you.
British consulates and embassies offer the following advice and it pays to take note. They have the experience and they have seen it all before as more and more Brits abandon the homeland for a new way of life.
The official line is that prospective residents should read as much as possible about living in their new country and a little knowledge of the language goes a long way. It is strongly in their own interests that new residents complete all the requirements for registering as a resident. This is likely to save them an enormous amount of time and trouble when dealing with other aspects of the bureaucracy.
Search for health information available about your country of destination, via the Internet. Check for hospitals and how healthcare is structured in your new country. It is very important to take out health insurance to cover you and your family. Don't forget vaccination requirements for travellers of all ages. Some vaccines must be given several weeks before leave so talk to your doctor.
Your status may enable you to benefit from certain advantages, such as the obtaining of an exemption; this will stop you from having to pay import duties and taxes. Think about renewing your passport and those of all accompanying family members. These should be valid, at least, until your next return to your country.
Arm yourself with an international driving licence. Depending on the country of destination, you might have to obtain a local driving licence by going to a local driving school and eventually passing a practical/theoretical driving test. In all cases, keep your actual driving licence with you. It may be requested by the local authorities in order for you to avoid having to pass a test. If you own a car and you are taking it with you also check out the formalities that are required, registration and MOT certificates need to be clarified.
When you first arrive at your destination it is possible that you will have to find interim housing while you are waiting to move into your new home. Remember, this will be the time when the stress of the move will be at its peak. For this reason it is important to find somewhere you will be comfortable and is ideally located near to your new home.
YOUR RIGHTS - EU/EEA, VISA AND WORK PERMITS
Clearly if you are going abroad you need to know you can settle. That's not a problem in the European Union - but elsewhere you may need visas and work permits.
Check with the embassy of your host country for advice on visas, inoculations and other requirement, these procedures take time, sometimes many weeks - even months. Get on with it as soon as possible. Check the documents required for the exportation of your goods from your country of origin and for their importation into the country of destination.
Really make the effort to attend a cross-culture briefing so that you are aware of the differences between your host country and your own. Culture shock, especially for spouses, is the single biggest reason for early termination of overseas assignments. Being aware of just one or two of the customs and habits in your new country will help vastly with the integration.
Since 1992 nationals of one EU Market State have had the right to live, work and study in any other Member State. This right has now been extended to include the EEA (European Economic Area) countries.
Freedom of movement inside the EU means that you have exactly the samerights as a national of the State in which you have chosen to work. You are entitled to the same rates of pay, the same health and social services and the same rights to benefit when you are ill and unemployed. However some of these benefits are only available after tax and Social security contributions have been made in the relevant country.
You can claim unemployment benefits in any of the EU Member states for up to three months. It is currently possible to look for work for up to three months and to transfer and to claim UK unemployment benefit abroad. You must have received contribution-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA-CB) for at least four weeks in the UK before claiming benefit abroad. You must register within seven days of your arrival in the country and must comply with the national signing-on requirements. The benefits you will receive will be at UK rates, and not those of the country visited.
FINDING WORK ABROAD
If you are not relocating due to a transfer within your current company, then it is essential you either find employment before you make your move or ensure you can set up a viable business.
Finding employment is easier if you are skilled at a trade that is required within the local area, so do your homework. Meet with as many employment agencies as you possibly can, and keep in contact with them.
Contact local firms who may wish to employ you. All this requires a lot of legwork, and continuous contact, and be prepared to start at a lower wage.
LANGUAGE
It is essential that you learn the local language as quick as possible, even if you are retired and do not intend to work. Obviously if you are seeking employment, the better your language skills the better your chance of a good job. But that is not the only reason, you will need to communicate with your children's school, with local builders and plumbers, and in time make friends with the locals, otherwise you will not be able to take part in the new way of life you are seeking.
Start learning the new language before you leave the UK, check out local college courses, private individual lessons, and conversation classes. Continue with these classes once you have made your move, again local colleges and private lessons are usually easy to find.
Do not rely on the locals speaking English, many do, but they will not be so willing to make friends with you if you do not make an effort to learn their language and fit in. And relying on the expat community is all well and good, but if you do not take part in the community as a whole, you will be missing out!
YOUR UK HOME
If your move is because of work what will happen to your home in Britain?
If your intention is to return to the UK at some point, then the best option is to rent out your home and keep a foothold on the UK property market. Relying on the value of a home abroad increasing in value to allow a repurchase of a UK home of the same standard is not a good idea.
As a general rule if you can rent it out and cover the mortgage then you are sitting pretty. The house will gain in value and still be yours when you return.
If you really do not want to return to the UK, you may need the proceeds from the sale of your UK home to finance your new home abroad.
However, if this is not essential and you can finance your new home through other means, then consider holding onto your UK home as an investment, and even as a bolthole should your new life not be what you expected.
Remember burning all your bridges at once, is not necessarily a good idea!
EDUCATION - FINDING SCHOOLS
Clearly if you are moving to a country within Europe you will have visited the area and have the beginnings of an understanding as to how things work. Once you know the move is going to happen take time out to find out about the local schools and prepare the way for your own children. This is a big issue that requires plenty of thought and consideration.
It is best to do something about the schooling before you leave home. Using the Internet and local knowledge find out about the schools in the area to which you are moving. Have a look through the local papers, which often contain information and statistics on the schools in your area. Once that is done request more detailed information from the schools. Also take some time to visit the schools with your children so they can adjust to the new atmosphere.
Most of the bigger European cities have good local schools (some with two streams: instruction offered in the local language and/or English). And you will find international schools in most big European cities.
School fees are a serious consideration. They vary greatly between public, private and international schools and not all countries provide free public education, although it is generally available at a low cost. Private and international schools charge tuition fees ranging up to £7,000 per year.
There are three basic factors you need to consider to help you make the best choice of school for your child before an international move:* Your child's age;* Length of the assignment* Is this a one-off move or just one in a number?
If your child is young, a local school could be the best and most convenient choice. This is especially true if you plan to be abroad for only a few years as a one-off experience, or conversely, if you plan to live long term in your new country.
Children are terrific at establishing new friendships and will learn the new language and culture to the benefit of the whole family. Many state primary schools across Europe offer a solid foundation for further studies and your children are unlikely to find themselves behind in subjects when you move back home. Do be careful, though, and investigate the national school system in relation to class sizes and the universal value of the qualifications that are on offer.
It is wise to talk to an education consultant if you intend to send your children to a state school in a foreign country and you will also need school reports so the new school has a yardstick by which to judge your child's progress.
When moving with young children you need to remember that after theexcitement of the adventure wears off they may feel lost in their newenvironment without familiar friends and teachers at hand. Try to get them back in the groove as quickly as possible.
If your children are older and already in secondary education, being thrust into an ordinary local school is perhaps not the best choice. In these cases, most parents and education experts would agree that the best options are either an international school or a local school with an international (English) curriculum. Most importantly, children in these situations will need to go to a school that provides a compatible school system for future needs, like university entrance. International schools usually offer the International Baccalaureate, which is universally accepted and much higher regarded than the English A level.
Some colleges and schools in Britain are dumping the A level in favour of this qualification. Run by the IBO, a recognised leader in the field of international education, the IBO is a non-profit, mission-driven foundation that works with 1,598 schools to develop and offer three challenging programmes in 121 countries to approximately 200,000 students.
While the IB programmes cultivate internationalism and respect for other cultures, they also adapt to the local environment and allow students to maintain a strong sense of cultural identity. Students are taught to be active learners, well-rounded individuals and engaged citizens, who gain practical experience of being part of an international community.
International Schools
information:
www.internatonal-schools.com
www.nabs.org
PETS ABROAD
You need a microchip fitted. For this, the vet shaves a small patch of skin and injects the chip, which is the size of a grain of rice. Microchips cost between £20-30.
It is a rule that your pet has a rabies shot. For this your pets need to be healthy and more than three months old. Some vets recommend two rabies shots two weeks apart to make sure the shot has given your pet the required protection against rabies. The cost is around £30 for the first shot and £25 for the second.
Some 30 days after the rabies shot, a sample of blood must be taken to an approved laboratory to make sure your pet has the required antibody. If your pet has the required level of protection you are able to take your pet out of the country but it cannot return to the UK for six months after the date that the blood test was taken.
You need a Pets' Passport called a PETS1. This allows you to re-enter the country. Check with your vet whether you will need another form from the country you wish to travel to. For France you will need a PETS5 certificate; most other countries require an Export Health Certificate.
Before returning to Britain your pet has to be inspected by agovernment-authorised vet in the country you have visited to check it has not picked up any ticks or tapeworm. That visit happens not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before you are due to travel. Check your pet insurance will cover animals abroad, most policies do not.
The countries taking part in the scheme are France, Italy, Spain,Portugal, Greece, Austria, Germany, Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Luxembourg, Monaco, Holland,Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, Malta, Netherlands, Cyprus, Finland, and Vatican City. Long-haul destinations include: Australia, Bahrain, Bermuda, Japan, Tokyo, New Zealand, USA, Canada and the Falkland Islands.
Whilst much of the advice may seem obvious there is some sobering research available. A recent BUPA International survey concluded that of the 1.5 million people thinking of moving abroad next year, those who've made the move already can offer them some useful advice.
BUPA International, the largest expatriate health insurer in the world,found that expats consider advice on managing their finances more valuable than help finding schooling for their children when relocating to a new country.
Help arranging finances topped their list of priorities, with over three-quarters of expats considering it fairly or very valuable. General advice about moving abroad and information about local healthcare followed closely behind with over half the expats surveyed citing them as important. Only around a third of expats rated help finding schooling of value.
CASE STUDY
Chris and Allie Robinson moved to a 200-year-old farm chalet, high in the village of Morzine in the heart of skiing France in May 2004. Fullyconverted and renovated by the previous owners, they got a great deal for such a character home.
It cost 650,000 Euros and it sleeps 10-12. The couple recently headed home to the UK in October to get married and then came straight back to Morzine to continue their new life in France.
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"We'd done an awful lot of research beforehand - lots of telephoning,getting in touch with all the relocation companies in the UK and reading all the 'Living in France' magazines," said Chris.
"We were quite lucky with the buying process because we contacted afinancial-advisory company who were 50 per cent based in France and 50 per cent in the UK - so they were able to offe
r us quite a lot of advice.
"We've never had a survey done, and the French way is that you don't have property surveys done at all. I think if we had our time again, we would have a survey done. I think we'd probably recommend it." Take a virtual visit to their French paradise by logging on to:www.morzine365.com/
