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.
Unfortunately, most people accept initial barriers as unmovable objects (e.g. “it’s too expensive to ship my new furniture abroad”).
To be successful, it takes equal parts:
- Creativity
- Planning
- A roadmap to follow
Let’s dive into #3, your roadmap:
1/ Win over your employer
Most employers hate the idea of their employees moving abroad. It means more unknowns, administrative work, and headaches.
It’s your job to assuage their doubts. To do this, you have to approach it from their perspective.
Fortunately, most employers are concerned about 2 things:
First, “will you maintain your work quality?”
The simplest way to handle this objection: do good work. If you already do, then do great work.
When you demonstrate value, it gets a lot easier to negotiate for what you want.
Second, “how will I pay you?”
I’ve seen 3 approaches work:
- Transfer to a local office.
- Work through an Employee of Record.
- Keep a US Permanent Address.
Each of these options vary in complexity and what your company has an appetite for. Have honest conversations with your employer to find a solution that works for both of you.
Finally: time the announcement of your plans strategically.
- Are you a critical stakeholder in an upcoming launch?
- Are they desperately training to retain you?
- Are you transitioning to a new company?
Factors like these provide additional leverage in these conversations.
Whenever possible, negotiate from a position of strength.
2/ Boots on the ground reconnaissance
Google, TikTok, Zillow, and Reddit are great tools to learn about your future home. But there’s only so much you can learn through your phone.
What you need are boots on the ground. You need agents in the field running reconnaissance for you, scoping out neighborhoods, telling you about schools, another example.
But what if you don’t have friends or family in the area?
Leverage your network on your social platforms: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
Start broadcasting your move. Ask all your burning questions. People are mostly good people. You’ll be surprised at how many will bend over backward to help a stranger.
For my next move, I was asking about neighborhoods in Philadelphia and here’s feedback I got from Katie Scheuer, Sr. Success Architect at Mural.
You don’t get this kind of detail searching in Google.
If you get help, acknowledge it. If you used their advice, follow up and let them know how it went.
3/ Pick places, get prices
Work is on board.
You’ve got boots on the ground.
Time to start shortlisting specific neighborhoods.
Establish a range of prices for your new home. Don’t worry about the specifics of the place right now. There’s time for that.
Get a sense of:
- Does this match my expectations?
- Can I see myself living here?
- Is the cost of accommodation within my price range? (Whether you’re renting a house or apartment, add 10% to the top of the range.)
Looking for long-term rentals? Check out Chris Cerra’s Remotebase. You can get up to 76% off long-term rentals via his free newsletter. (Not an affiliate link, just big fan of Chris’s.)
4/ Run your math
Before a big move, understand your burn: how much do you spend, how much do you earn, and how long you can sustain that in your new home.
Get it 80% directionally correct. You don’t need to know where every cent is going.
At a bare minimum, calculate the following:
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.
Above is my snapshot of my personal cash flow statement. It honestly feels like a superpower when I’m planning.
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.
5/ Burn the boats
In 1519, Hernán Cortés landed in the New World. Upon landing, he destroyed his ships.
The message: there’s no turning back.
This is your point to make the same decision. So far you’ve:
- Gotten buy-in from work
- Learned from people living there
- Learned about your accommodation
- Run the math
You have enough information to make a go/no go decision.
Are there unanswered questions? Of course. There will always be more to learn. But I promise you:
You’re never going to have it all figured out. The best way to learn is just to do. Embrace that. That’s the adventure.
For most of your questions, action is your answer.
