Many families all over the world choose to emigrate to different countries. That’s the beauty of the world we live in – no longer are you confined to the country of your birth. Indeed, you may have already lived in multiple countries throughout your childhood, before finally settling down and starting a family. Still, for whatever reason, you might decide that your family is better off in a different location. Well, you’ve not made the decision, but it’s definitely at the forefront of your mind!
Clearly, a decision like this can’t be taken lightly. This isn’t the sort of thing you should decide on a whim! There are so many different things to think about before you and your family move overseas to a new country. So, here’s a list of key considerations, which should hopefully help you figure out if this will be a positive or negative change in your life. It might open your eyes to the stupidity of this idea, or it could make you realize that it’s the best thing for your family.
Either way, here’s what you need to think about before moving abroad with your family:
Jobs & Income
We’ll start with a boring topic, yet it’s probably the most important one – what will you do for work? Some of you might have no issues with this as you’ve received a job offer from a company in a different country. Or, maybe you or your partner’s employer has expanded and opened a new office overseas, and they want people to work there. Then, there are those of you that work-from-home and can basically live anywhere to do your job. In these scenarios, you don’t have to worry about what you’ll do for a living and how your family will earn its income.
However, if you don’t have any jobs lined up, you really need to think about it. What is the job outlook in this new country? How easy is it to find a job? Not only that but will you have a job that’s as good as the one you have now? All of these questions need to be answered before you make your decision. In short, it doesn’t make sense to leave a comfortable job with no assurances of a better one in a different country – think about what it could mean for your family!
School & Education
You can’t just think about yourself when considering an overseas move – what about your children?! Even if you’ve got a job offer or can work in another country, how will it affect your kids? More specifically, what does it mean for their education? Unless you move to another English-speaking nation, there’ll be a massive language barrier for them to deal with. You’d have to find English-speaking schools for them, which is easier said than done. These types of international schools do exist, but who knows how far away it could be from where you intend to live?
Plus, think about how big of a change it brings to your child’s life. Just as they get settled in their current school, you move them to a completely new place. Sure, they can stay in touch with their old school friends, but now they have to start afresh as the new kid in a foreign school. Some children may absolutely love this, while others will find it very difficult. This is probably the toughest consideration because there’s no right or wrong answer to it. Is it better to let your kids finish at least part of their education before moving elsewhere? For example, do you wait until they’ve finished elementary school so they can start the next leg of their journey in a new country? Also, how good is the education system in the other country? Are you giving your child access to better or worse schooling? So many questions, so many different answers!
Moving Expenses
Next, think about the cost of moving your life to an entirely new country. Firstly, let’s consider all the different things you need to do. Obviously, buying or renting a place to live is at the top of your agenda. This takes time and effort, not to mention that house prices/rent can be higher or lower in other countries. Alongside this, you have to consider what you do with your current house – if you own it. Do you sell it to fund your new life elsewhere? Do you keep it and rent it out?
Regardless, you will have to pay for the cost of moving everything out of your home. This isn’t easy as you might need to ship dozens of boxes from one country to another. You could take a lot of stuff in suitcases or trunks on a plane, but it will be incredibly costly. Likewise, what about your cars? You’ve got companies like CarsArrive Auto Relocation that can ship your car from one country to another. But do you want to do this? Will you just sell your car and buy a new one? How much does all of this cost? Not forgetting the actual price of flying yourself and your family out to your new home in the new country. Sometimes, you might have to make multiple trips before everything is moved over, which costs a fortune!
Ultimately, you have to work out how expensive a move like this will be. Is it really worth doing? If you have to spend a fortune to move your life from one place to another, it better be worth it. Usually, this links in with the first point on your job prospects. If you have a better job lined up where you make double what you’re currently making, the cost of moving is worth it. However, if you either don’t have work lined up or will be at a similar job, can you justify all the money spent moving??
Language Barrier
We spoke about this when talking about your children’s education, but it’s something for you to consider as well. What language is spoken in this new country? Again, if it’s English, then you have nothing to worry about. There’s no language barrier, so that’s one less thing for you to deal with! Nevertheless, if they don’t speak English, you’re in a pretty difficult position. You’ve now got to try to learn an entirely new language. Realistically, you will pick it up eventually, but it can take years before you master it. This can make your life incredibly difficult as you go through the adjustment period.
Realistically, most countries do have pockets of people that speak English. Still, you can’t expect to live in a foreign country and not pick up the language. It’s kind of offensive, but it will also make you feel like a tourist. You’ll never feel comfortable as you’re always worried that the person you interact with doesn’t speak English. Some of you may already know other languages, so you don’t have a barrier to get across. If you can only speak English, perhaps you’d be better off learning a new language and picking up some of the lingo before you move your family to a new country.
Family Safety
As a parent, your one true priority is to keep your family safe. Now, can you guarantee that this will be the case if you move to a different country? As an extreme example, would you be safe moving to North Korea or Syria? The answer is a resounding no as both of these countries have very volatile political climates and one is ravaged by war. In fact, people are trying to leave both of these places all the time to seek safety elsewhere. Of course, those two countries were picked as an extreme example, and you’d never think of moving there. But, how safe is the country you’re thinking of moving to?
The simple fact is that some places are safer than others. We tend to take this for granted as we’re maybe used to feeling safe. It’s not until you move to a different place that you realize how unsafe other parts of the world are. It’s not just the entire country that could be unsafe, but the cities and towns within a country. You could move your family to a location that’s riddled with crime and really isn’t safe at all. This usually happens when you get big job offers and jump at the chance to earn more money for your family. Then, you arrive in your new country and soon realize that your family isn’t safe. Lots of research must be done prior to any move to ensure that you aren’t putting your family in danger by moving abroad.
Like we said in the intro, these points should open your eyes to the realities of moving to a different country with your family. Some of you will make your way through each point and it only solidifies your belief that this decision is correct. For others, this will hopefully make you realize that moving won’t be beneficial for your family, stopping you from making a grave mistake!
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Excellent post! I am moving in less than a month, just down the street, but this article still applies. I love your style of writing. Thank you for such an insightful article.