Moving Country – 15 Ways to Leave Your Mother

Planning a move is a great opportunity to work out what your long term career aspirations are, and how your next step can help you reach them. Every overseas location will offer a different type of work experience. Talking to people who have lived and worked abroad can help. They might just suggest somewhere you wouldn’t have considered ordinarily!

Ask yourself if location or career progression is more important to you. While you might be attracted to one location for the career growth opportunities available there, the culture in another location might have a greater value for you.

Pinpoint what is important to you in a location: Do you want to discover a different culture? What do you want to do outside of work? Are you keen to develop a second language – or is it important that at work your colleagues speak in your native tongue?

How do you feel about being away from family and friends? There might be a location with direct and cheap flights home that will allow you to relocate without feeling disconnected.

Help your CV to stand out in the local job market. It’s likely you will need to tailor your CV for the country you are applying to, as well as to specific roles. The information that prospective employers look for in a CV varies from country to country. For example Australian employers look for lots of details of previous jobs and certificates of achievement in a CV whereas the in USA employers tends to like a brief, to the point CV. Doing some research on how your target country (or countries) like a CV is a good start.

Be mindful – it isn’t all about the money, money, money! A prospective salary will always be important but consider everything on offer, the whole package. In this day and age remember that you are unlikely to make vast savings on your cost of living unless you are in a developing location. Keep in mind too that there will always be ‘distractions’ to spend your money on, wherever you are!

Usually your new employer will arrange your visa for you but you’ll have to gather the accompanying paperwork and fill in forms yourself.

If you have financial ties at home consider how you will continue to meet these. It can be hard to rely on sending money home with exchange rates and other issues. Understanding the implications for your pension is smart too!

Tell your current bank that you’re moving, organise your direct debits and understand how much access you’ll have to your accounts when you move. Having accessible savings and a credit card for emergencies will offer you peace of mind. It’s a good idea to find out before you go what you will need in order to set up a bank account, including any fees you might have to pay.

Some locations do offer tax benefits such as tax free salaries or low tax rates. Wherever you are moving to it’s important to understand how much tax you will be required to pay and what the implications are back ‘home’.

Your health is vital so find out about healthcare and dentistry. It may be that your new employer offers these as part of your package – however it’s organised make sure that you have a contact number and know where it is!

Many of our accountants find that when they get into a role they quickly build relationships with colleagues and making new friends is a big part of building your new life. That said, it can really help to have a friendly face on the ground when you arrive. When Irish CA, Aisling, moved we put her in touch with an English girl who we had also assisted in moving to Hobart, Australia . She told us “she was so helpful, she helped me out with loads of stuff.”

Reach out – if you can find a fellow country man or woman working in a similar field to you on LinkedIn get in touch. Leah, who we have helped to move twice, relocated in 2014 to the Isle of Man. She told us “there is a huge Filipino community so it’s really nice knowing that your fellow countrymen are there when you are so far away, it’s very comforting.” However independent you are having a link to home can be great.

Keep in touch – while your new job will keep you busy the folks back home will want to hear how things are going. Set up Skype and make sure you have the contacts for the important people in your life, as well as in your business network.

Once upon a time getting on a boat and taking to the high seas was the only way to really find out anything about another country. In today’s super connected world even if you can’t visit there’s so much you can find out. When we helped Leroi, CA move from South Africa to Abu Dhabi initially he admitted that the different culture was ‘quite difficult’. Since then he’s come to see the cultural difference as a highlight of his stay! His advice to anyone considering an international move is ‘Do your research so that you have a bit of an idea of what to expect. Whilst seeing your new location on screen is no substitute for the real thing, Instagram, Twitter and Lonely Planet will all help you to find out what’s going on at your destination – it’s a good way to make some local connections too.