Prepping the Move [Updated Feb, 2017]

Here at Future Expats Forum, we focus on two main topics: portable careers and preparing to move abroad, or what I call “prepping the move.”

Prepping the move is anything you have to do to prepare for moving overseas, from getting rid of stuff you don’t want to move or store, to telling your friends and family your plans, to arranging the sale or rental of your current home.

It also includes more general considerations, like how to determine what’s the best country for you, whether to learn the language in your new country, and technology that can help you along your way.

At the conference I attended recently in Orlando, Live and Invest Overseas publisher Kathleen Peddicord divided “prepping the move” into seven categories:

1. Planning and getting your finances into shape
2. Buying (or not buying) property
3. Visas and residency
4. Funding your new life (where I spoke about Portable Careers)
5. Taxes
6. Health Care
7. Nuts and bolts of getting established overseas

Here at Future Expats, we talk mostly about #1, #2, #3, #4 and #6.

Financial planning, of course, is very important. It costs money to move and to get set up in your new home, so no matter how much you figure you’ll save once you’re there, you need funds to move yourself. And, if you’re retired and planning to live on investments, pensions and the like, you need a realistic budget.

Other kinds of planning involve questions like:

• Where will you move to
• What’s your time frame
• Will you move household goods
• If not, what will you do with them
• Will you learn the language before you go
• How will you handle your day-to-day expenses and other administrative tasks in your new country
• How will you handle any remaining administrative tasks in your home country
• What kinds of technology will help you stay in touch, work, or take care of administrative tasks
• What about schools for the kids, if you still have children at home

There are many more items that could go on this list.

Along with Health Care, these are the basics of what I include under the broad heading of “Prepping the Move.”

For taxes, you can consult an expert or use TurboTax for advice.

If you hover your mouse over the Prepping the Move menu item above, you’ll see a drop-down box with subcategories. Here are some other links that will take you to popular articles on Prepping the Move.

Narrowing your Country Search
Visas and Residency
Health Care
Learning the Language
Technology
Household Goods
Selling, Renting or Buying a Home
Quality of Life

And, of course, if you’re looking for something not on this list, you can always search the site using the Search box in the upper right-hand corner.