It’s The Great Escape
You’ve wanted to do it since college, and you always thought it would be something like backpacking through Europe or going on a tour. The first option you might have missed out on, and the second one doesn’t really provide enough time to get into the culture, but you’ve lucked out and found a way to actually go live in another country!
And that’s when it hits you.
You’re going overseas, and it isn’t for a week or two. You’re going over there to LIVE for months. Maybe years.
Boy, have you got a lot to take care of before you go. It’s doable though. Just break it down and take it step by step.
First and foremost, get your passport in order. Make sure it isn’t expiring anytime soon. Ideally, you want to renew it for the entire time you are going to be overseas.
Second, contact the State department about your destination. Find out any travel advisories they may have.
Talk to you tax consultant. If you are going to work overseas, your situation is very different from living as a pensioner overseas, and vice versa. You should find out the ins and out of taxes in both the US and the country you are moving to.
Get your visa in order early. The process is long and agonizing, and often requires documentation you haven’t even thought about in years. Find out what they need, and get all your copies in order. Some consulates or embassies have preferred notaries and won’t accept just any notarized document, so be sure to ask about that.
Get a medical and dental check up. Anything that can be taken care of before you go should be done here.
Find out about you medical insurance. If you are working overseas, you might be covered by local insurance, but if you aren’t, then you should look into international health insurance.
Finally, don’t forget that you need some kind of US address, bank account, and mail drop. Just because you are moving out of the country doesn’t mean your bills stop coming, especially if you are keeping property in the US or American credit cards. There are several ways to handle mail drops, from using trusted family members, to setting up an address with a service like the UPS Store. Just make sure you have taken care of it before you go, since it is a pain to deal with once you are overseas.
Finally, look into a Voice over IP phone service, like Skype or Vonage, otherwise those calls home will eat their way right through you wallet.
It sounds difficult, but mostly it is just a matter of taking it one step at a time. If you start working on it early, you will be able to make this dream come true.