Moving home is one the three most stressful events that you will experience in life, the others being the death of a close loved one and divorce, according to the Holmes And Rahe stress scale. If you add this to a stretch of ocean, a new culture, country and currency, then you will soon find that these worries can double or even triple. If you want to find out more then please read on.
Give Yourself Some Time
It doesn’t matter how excited you are about potentially starting a new life; if you give yourself an unrealistic deadline then this won’t be doing you any favours at all. You need to try and take the migration process in your stride, and you need to tackle each part of it step by step where possible. There is a logical journey that you can take here. 18 months before you are due to go, make sure that you look into any eligibility requirements, job opportunities, housing prices, and even the cost of living too. If you think that you may have some distant family members in the country you are going to, for example – America, then you may want to look back in your family tree for some help in finding out where they could be. Websites like Genealogy Bank can aid you in this so you, at least, have the possibility of reaching out to distant family members and their relatives.
If you do all of the above then you can certainly make your life easier. One month before you go, make sure that you sell your car, unless you are shipping it, and also take the time to forward an address to anyone who might need it. Arrange any mail to be redirected and pay your bills and clear any outstanding debt, and cancel all your subscriptions. Now would be the time for you to try and organize your insurance and book a temporary hotel for when you get there. Remember to look into QROPS pensions as well, as this will help you to retire abroad comfortably and get the best value from your pension and investments.
Inspire your Kids
It’s vital that you empathise with your children and that you prepare them for their new life as much as possible. When you move abroad with your family, you need to prepare your children so that they know what is happening, so they are ready for whatever lies ahead. You may well get a mixed response from your kids, but at the end of the day, you need to be as patient with them as possible.
Reassure Family
Create a game plan for your family so that you can all stay in touch with one another. You also need to remember that the friends and the family who you are leaving behind may well have a tough time adjusting to the idea of having a huge amount of distance between you. Time zone differences may put a lot of pressure on your relationships, so you have to make sure that you don’t overlook their concerns.
Minimise Risk
A new insurance product that is designed for skilled migrants will help you to take care of your worries while also helping you to build a new life. When you migrate, you can fly away from life as you know it and begin new. That being said, you have to make sure that you are protected either way.
Get Help
An immigration advisor can easily advise you on the best way for you to get help when you need it, and they can also give you a lot of support when it comes to your general situation, so keep that in mind as much as possible.
