Today, I’ll show you 10 practical tips for moving abroad.
These tips could save you thousands of dollars and dozens of hours in a single year.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the tips.
In today’s post, you’ll learn how to plan an international move over the course of a year.
As I write this, my family is less than 90 days out from our next international move.
It’s easy for a move like this to land on someone’s bucket list…
And stay there.
They have:
- The desire
- The money
- The buy-in from work
But execution happens over a long timeline, with seemingly nebulous tasks.
While there’s no “right way” to make this move, I find having a timeline of “concepts” helpful.
Concepts are approaches to solve problems. “To dos” and checklists change depending on your circumstances; concepts are universal.
I’ve compiled these concepts from my notes over the past:
- 12 years
- 5 domestic moves
- 3 international moves
By following this guide, I hope it gets you started to make a similar move.
12 Months Out: “Big picture thinking”
Concept 1/ Ask: “What am I optimizing for?
When we moved to Europe, we decided to optimize for adventure.
Optimizing for adventure comes with tradeoffs:
- We traded a reasonable mortgage payment for high rent
- 15% haircut in the currency conversion
- Double-taxation
We decided these tradeoffs were worth it.
In the next move, we’re optimizing for learning.
See, we think someday we’ll settle in the states. We have no idea where, but we have some criteria:
- Close to major international airport
- On the East Coast
- In a major city
That doesn’t leave a lot of choices!
We decided now is the time to test different US cities against that hypothesis.
Takeaway: Ask: what are you optimizing for?
Concept 2/ Plan in 2-year timelines
I’m a schemer. A planner. I love thinking about life in 10-year blocks.
This is a big mistake.
Trying to solve 10-year problems when considering this move is like injecting yourself with a paralyzing agent. You’ll freeze.
When Amy and I started planning our move, we had all these questions we couldn’t answer, like:
- Where should we send the kids to school? (let’s get them through daycare first);
- Would we be able to buy a home? (who knew if we wanted to?)
- What if we got pregnant? (worry about it if it happens!)
Your circumstances will change quickly. Leave tomorrow’s problems for tomorrow.
I’ve found 2 years to be the sweet spot between present in the now, and building for the future.
Takeaway: Where do you see yourself in 2 years?
Concept 3/ One foot in the known, one foot in the unknown
There’s a big difference between a 2 week holiday and 2 years living abroad while working (and possibly, raising children).
The move itself will lead to countless unknowns: country, friends, foods, brands, routine, working hours, etc.
Balance it out with knowns. Here’s what that looked like for our recent moves:
- Language
- Internet access
- Proximity to friends and family
- Reasonable time zone relative to your working hours
Takeaway: What knowns do you want to keep? What unknowns do you want to face?
9 Months Out: “Make unknowns known”
Concept 4/ Prioritize so hard it hurts
Now is the time to start getting answers to the big unknowns.
That requires deep research.
Write down all your burning questions about the move. Take a week to do this. Don’t rush.
Then prioritize them in order of most to least importance. Examples:
- How will my employer pay me?
- What about health insurance?
- What visas will I need?
- Schools for kids?
- Daycare?
Here’s the dirty secret: you won’t get to your whole list. You won’t have every question answered. Some questions you’ll have to take a flyer on.
That’s why you prioritize, to make sure you answer the right questions first.
Takeaway: Write down, then prioritize, your burning questions.
Concept 5/ Boots on the ground
You’ve got your list of prioritized questions.
Deep research on the Internet will cover some of it.
But to get in the weeds, you need boots on the ground. People living in your destination who can help you with reconnaissance work.
Fortunately, thanks to social media, there’s someone sitting in your network who can answer them.
You’ll find them on:
- Alumni groups
- LinkedIn groups
- Company alumni
- Facebook groups
Most people overthink this. People are happy to help people who take action. Be one of those people.
Takeaway: Find people who can help you with your move and start asking your burning questions.
Concept 6/ Run the math, see the future
Before a big move, understand your burn: how much spend, how much you earn, and how long you can sustain that.
Get it 80% directionally correct. You don’t need to know where every cent is going.
At a bare minimum, calculate:
- Expenses. Get all your expenses and categorize them in big buckets (rent, groceries, child care, clothes, etc.) so you know where your money is going each month.
- Income. Calculate how much money is coming in per month.
- Cashflow. Take your income and subtract your expenses. If you’re positive, and you can keep everything the same post move, it means you can sustain it indefinitely. If it’s negative, that’s your monthly burn until you hit zero.
You can make the math more complicated to increase your confidence, but do these 3 calculations at a bare minimum to help you “peek” into the future.
Takeaway: Calculate your burn rate by subtracting your expenses from your income.
6 Months Out: “Decide and commit”
Concept 7/ Lock in your decisions
It’s time to start locking in your choices.
Start with the big three:
Employment. Make sure your employer is on board. Verify they’re OK with your move. Get it in writing if you need.
Location. Narrow this down as tight as you can.
If you know the continent, pick a country.
If you know the country, pick a city.
Got a city? Pick a neighborhood.
You won’t lock in the apartment/house for a few more months. But get as close as you can.
Schools. If you have a family, get ahead on the plan for schooling. There are zoning restrictions and wait lists to consider.
Takeaway: Confirm and verify the big three: where you’ll work, where you’ll live, and where your kids will go to school.
Concept 8/ Burn the boats
Start wrapping up loose ends in your current home.
You don’t need everything buttoned up, but have a game plan.
- Who to notify to break your lease? And when do you need to do this by?
- Who among your friends and family can you start to tell?
- Any final experiences you want to do before moving?
- What can you start selling right now?
- Accounts you need to close?
Takeaway: Get closure on this chapter of your life before you start the next one.
Concept 9/ Accept the nebulous fear
Some unknowns you won’t be able to clarify.
All the ducks won’t be in a row
Not everything will be ideal.
You have to commit anyway.
Every move, every city has its dysfunctions. This is a game of figuring out which dysfunctions you can live with.
Acknowledge the nebulous fear. But don’t let it stop you from creating the life you want to live.
Takeaway: Acknowledge the unanswered questions you have. Then commit to your decisions anyway.
3 Months Out: “Finish strong”
Concept 10/ What you own owns you
Move lightly.
The less you try and schlep with you, the freer you are in this world.
Your things aren’t just physical baggage, but emotional as well.
Worrying about “stuff” takes bandwidth. It causes stress.
I’ve found two things to be true:
- Few things I actually miss when they’re gone
- Most things are easier and cheaper to replace than I think (Facebook groups and marketplace are great for this)
Takeaway: Sell as much as possible to simplify the move. Most things you can replace inexpensively.
Concept 11/ Go fast to go fast
Sometimes you go slow to go fast.
Examples: big picture thinking, strategic planning, investing, etc.
When you’re 3 months out from your move, go fast to go fast.
90 days is less time than you think.
No matter how well you planned this out, the last week is a mad dash.
There’s one way to make this more tolerable:
Start sprinting earlier.
Takeaway: When in doubt, take action.
Concept 12/ Only the paranoid survive.
One of my favorite little hacks:
I have a countdown timer on my phone. It tells me how many days until the move.
When I’m 90 days from the move, I look at this. Every. Single. Day.
If I catch myself:
- Wasting time
- Feeling anxious
- Unsure of what to do
I look at this screen and take one small action.
- List something to sell
- Send an email
- Clear a drawer
Is it a bit manic? Sure.
But I want that mania spread out over the next 3 months, not the final 3 days.
Takeaway: Physically and viscerally remind yourself everyday that you’re one day closer to your move. Then act accordingly.
Conclusion
This timeline isn’t an exhaustive checklist of todos. There are dozens of nuances for your unique circumstances.
But I promise you that thinking about these concepts will prepare you for your move than even the most robust checklist.
Give this process a try. Ask the right questions. Build your own personal checklist as you go along.
If you execute against it, you’ll end up exactly where you’re meant to be.
Today, I’m going to show you 5 steps to move your family abroad while working remotely.
These are the exact steps I took when moving my family to Ireland in 2021. And I’m executing them right now to move again.
An international move is a large endeavor. You need to solve for:
- Jobs
- Banking
- Housing
- Insurance
- Transport
- Healthcare
By knowing the exact steps (and the sequence) you’ll increase your odds of success.
I’m the first to admit that the idea of a baby moon seemed like an odd bit of millennial silliness, like taking Frisbee too seriously. But after-the-fact, I’m 100% baby moon on board, and highly recommend it.
A few months ago, my wife and I took our first proper holiday together in over 5 years. It was the first time going away for longer than a weekend that it was just us (no other family members). We went to Mexico City, then Puerto Vallarta.
Before going to Taiwan, my friend prepared a document of recommendations. She wrote:
“Soup Dumplings: Din Tai Fung is big in Taiwan, but I say it’s overrated. A soup dumpling is a soup dumpling, and we get great ones stateside.”
We went to Din Tai Fung, and I couldn’t disagree more. The hype is well-deserved. This was probably my favorite meal (out of many good meals) in Taiwan. Of course, it wasn’t just about the soup dumplings — which were good.
Here are some other things I loved about our meal at Din Tai Fung.
Introduction
Overabundance of option and choice make slaves of us all. Cutting to the “core” of your closet, then building from those essentials, simplifies traveling, moving, and living. The challenge is whittling down to your core closet.
Core closet – 1. the attire an individual wears 90 percent of the time. 2. the attire selected under an extreme quantity constraint that allows an individual to perform 90 percent of his day-to-day activities at 90 percent comfort level.
Even when running on a skeleton of a closet, we’re assaulted with a multitude of options: colors, cuts, sizes, materials, brands.
The purpose of this guide is to assist in the creation of the core closet.
Disclosure: All links are non-affiliate links. Most link directly to either Backcountry or Moosejaw; please support these companies with your business. All costs are approximate.
Base Layer
[from right to left: 140 Tech-T, 200 Hopper, Long-Sleeve]
The Icebreaker Line
The following Icebreaker products are 100% Merino wool. Merino wool surpasses cotton in nearly every aspect. It traps heat, wicks sweat, and dries extremely quickly – three to four hours, hanging. (To extend the life of Merino wool garb, do not dry by hand wringing. Instead, lay out garment on a towel, and roll into a tight cylinder. Do not stick Merino wool into the dryer).
Merino wool is also antimicrobial. After a rinse in cold water, there is close to no odor.
The Bodyfit150 Ultralite Short Sleeve Atlas T-Shirt ($45 – not pictured) as the name implies, is a fitted, athletic-cut shirt (short on the arms, short on the torso.) Out-of-the-box, Bodyfit resembles more of an undershirt than a t-shirt.
The SuperFine140 Tech T Lite($50) fits more like a casual t-shirt. A size small fits comfortably fits a frame of 5’7”, 140 lbs.
The SuperFine200 Hopper T-shirt ($65) also possesses a casual t-shirt cut. The weight of the t-shirt possesses substance, and unlike the above shirts, does not feel like it’ll rip after mild wear.
The Bodyfit200 Oasis Crew ($70) has an athletic long-sleeve fit. Think Under Armor, without the feel of a synthetic fabric against the skin. The Oasis Crew is nearly a perfect base-layer for cold conditions (sub-40 degrees.) It suffers the same sizing issue as much of Icebreaker apparel – snug fit on top, but short on the length.
Save for the SuperFine200 Hopper T-shirt, there’s been the unfortunate experience of ripping in all the Icebreaker products mentioned above. Ripped articles were worn strictly under casual use and light athletics (running, weightlifting.)
The Stoic Line
The Stoic brand is the exclusive brand to Backcountry. Shirts tried on typically have a looser fit, and none exhibited the next-to-skin (NTS) quality found in Icebreaker or Under Armor brands. At first touch, the quality of merino wool feels cheaper than Icebreaker; though it still wicks sweat, holds heat, and is antimicrobial.
As a whole, the Stoic brand is less expensive and offers a greater variety of colors. The back of the shirt “tails” at the end, and fits more comfortably than Icebreaker during casual wear. The sleeves are extra long, and stay in place when pushed up the forearms.
Stoic Merino Bliss ($80)
The Merino Bliss has three noteworthy features: thumb holes at the end of the sleeves, a zippered chest pocket, and a zippered half-collar. The former two are welcome additions to the Stoic brand. The style of the latter, however, feels strange. Unzipped, the shirt opens just north of the solar plexus, and wearing in this fashion produces odd looks. (The functionality of the zipper length can’t be denied, though; there’s an immediate cooling affect when unzipped.)
The Stoic Merino Crew ($60) is an alternative to the Icebreaker Oasis Crew. While the Oasis Crew has a heavier, warmer feel and is NTS, Stoic Merino Crew is longer in torso and arm length, and the sleeves have thumb holes.
Other Base Layers (in brief)
SmartWool Sport NTS Crew – Long-Sleeve ($80)
Looseness around the wrist “cuffs,” lightness of the material, and price make the SmartWool Sport NTS Crew inferior to its Icebreaker and Stoic counterparts.
SmartWool Men’s NTS Lightweight Bottom ($70)
A comfortably snug, lightweight bottom that discretely keeps the legs warm beneath jeans and slacks.
EMS Techwick ($20)
Techwick pills and doesn’t battle odors well, but at less than half the cost, it’s a noteworthy Merino wool alternative.
Ex-Officio Men’s Wicking Boxer-Brief ($25)
A nylon-spandex blend boxer-brief that’s antimicrobial, stretches, and dries in a few hours.
SmartWool PhD Outdoor Light Cushion Micro Sock ($13)
Merino wool blend makes it an excellent athletic sock.
SmartWool Diamond Jim Sock ($18)
Merino wool blend and three-color argyle makes it an excellent dress sock.
Mid Layer
Icebreaker Sport 320 Nomad ($160)
The Sport 320 Nomad is one of Icebreaker’s heavier products, weighing in at 320 g/m2. It’s a quarter-zip, pull-over hoodie. Unzipped, the hood has a triangular look sitting atop your head. Fully zipped, the hood sits snug on the skull, creating a “speed skater” appearance.
It’s an extremely durable product, with double stitching at the bottom hem, at the end of the sleeves, and inside the thumb loops.
Like other Icebreaker apparel, sizing fits slightly small.
Icebreaker GT Quantum Hood ($170)
The GT Quantum Hood is lighter than the Sport320 Nomad (260 g/m2) but what it lacks in weight, it makes up in style. It’s a sleek full-zip hoodie with a plethora of features: drop tail hem, two zippered stash pockets (one on the chest, a second at the small of the back) and a reflective zipper. The most prominent detractor is lack of hand pockets. For casual wear, size-up.
Coolibar Shirt ($60)
A lightweight long-sleeve with a 50 UPF rating. The material feels like cotton but dries as fast as nylon or Merino wool. Gusseted sides keep you cool, a tri-fold collar keeps the sun off your neck, and solid construction means the Coolibar shirt is built to last. Size small fits a 5’7” to 5’8”, 14½ – 15 inch neck.
Pants
Ex-officio Nomad Pant ($40)
This pair of pants deceptively looks like an ordinary pair of cotton trousers. Only closer inspection reveals its versatility: nylon-material brushed with Teflon makes it stain and wrinkle resistant, light, and fast drying. It features an “indestructible button,” an elastic waistband and belt loops, two hip pockets, two zippered back pockets, and a discrete security pocket on the right leg. Sizing on the length runs about an inch long – may require tailoring.
EMS Profile Convertible Pants ($40)
The Profile Convertible Pants is an ideal model as far as convertibles go. It possesses all the properties of nylon material, has a built-in belt, and cargo pockets along the thighs. Overall it’s a loose, casual fit; the zip-off attribute of the pants isn’t unnoticeable, but it is discrete. As shorts, the length of the cut falls at approximately mid-knee. Sizing on the leg length runs about an inch long – may require tailoring.
Footwear
Footwear is the natural enemy of any core closet – in no other attire form does your environment, activity, and company so greatly affect your selection. Unlike a base layer, it’s unlikely to come across a “one-shoe-fits-all” product. Function varies widely, and few articles of clothing communicate personality better than footwear. Even after selecting a brand, the magnitude of models, colors, and styles could submit even the savviest of shoppers into choice-paralysis.
The following link to brands/models of Core Closet footwear: Crocs, Keen, Vibram Five Fingers, Rainbow Sandals, The Northface Ultra 104 XCR, The Northface Hedgehog, The Northface Ultra 103 XCR
Dress Layer
In reality, the Dress Layer isn’t part of the Core Closet, but rather an extension of it, naturally bridged by your profession, personality, and desire to accessorize. It does not lend itself to mobility, but may be essential in day-to-day operations. It’s where the Core Closet exhibits the most variance. Here are some components of the Core Closet Dress Layer of an urban professional:
(2) Suits
(3) Dress Shirts
(3) Ties
(2) Pairs of Dress Shoes
(2) Belts
Summary
The Minimalism: Attire Guide should be used as that – a guide. It’s not an attempt to start brand wars, or to trumpet one brand, model, or style as the premiere.
Insights in the Minimalism: Attire Guide inspired by authors like Tynan, Tim Ferriss, Kareem, and Taylor Davidson.
Author’s Selection:
(2) IB Hopper T-shirts
(1) Stoic Long-sleeve
(1) SmartWool Bottom
(2) Ex-officio underwear
(1) Ex-officio nomad pants
(1) Nomad hoodie
(2) SmartWool Socks
(2) SmartWool Diamond Jim Socks
(1) Crocs
