The kids will be back at school soon, and for many people the summer holidays will be a distant memory any day now! It hasn’t helped that the weather in the UK has been bad all summer either – so it’s no surprise that we’ve received quite a bit of correspondence from dejected individuals wondering how they can recapture that summer holiday feeling.
So today, for our fed-up readers in the UK and those of you who want to beat the post-holiday blues, we have a plan for you to make your dreams of a permanent move abroad a reality.
If you want summer sunshine for most of the year, you want to escape the monotony of your every day life, you want to expand your horizons, live the dream and find your perfect life abroad you have to set yourself goals and targets and actively plan and work towards achieving your ambitions. A half-hearted wish will not carry you all the way abroad. Here’s how to plan your permanent move abroad.
1) Create your goal
This is perhaps the most important step you will take towards achieving your dream…even though it maybe sounds like the most obvious and therefore the least important. You have to have a goal to be able to achieve it. A semi formulated wish to one day live in a villa in some sunny location is not good enough.
In order to achieve your targets and goals in life you have to know where to aim your time, your focus and your energy. As a result it is essential that you spend time working out exactly where you want to live overseas, what sort of home you want to make abroad, the work you plan on doing to support your lifestyle – indeed, the lifestyle you want to have once you move abroad.
You may be a list writer, or you may prefer visual stimulation to help you create focus in your life. Whichever method works for you either begin writing down what you want to achieve or think about creating a scrapbook or ‘mood board’ of images of your perfect life abroad.
2) Do your research
Having formulated the goal and defined the dream it’s time to work out the practicalities of your relocation. Whether you want to jump on a plane to Jamaica, sail a boat to the Bahamas, retire to Rio or you just fancy a new life in France it’s time to work out the reality of the requirements to achieve your dream.
You will need to look at the nation you have chosen from many angles. Firstly, are you ‘allowed’ to live there with the passport you have, or do you require a visa or residency permit. What are the employment prospects like for your line of work, how much money will you need to live on each month, can you earn that from the local economy and what are healthcare facilities like?
This time lists will be more important that visual aids – you need to list out all the criteria you need to research, and then note down your findings. Get on forums, visit the library, spend time on the Internet and gather your research material around you. Look at your budget and finances closely and ensure the money side of things adds up before you’re ready to take the next step.
3) Go on a recce
Having defined your goal and researched the practicalities associated with your relocation, it’s time to visit your chosen nation and ensure it stacks up, not just on paper. For example, if you choose Cyprus as your ideal destination you will read on 99% of websites and in 100% of tourism related literature that it’s an island for all seasons, and that even in the winter you can enjoy sunshine and barbeques on the beach – but that is not true!
Cyprus is grim for at least 2 – 3 months of the year because it rains a lot, is cold and the island is not geared up for it. Villas are badly insulated and few are centrally heated, you will be cold, bored and wonder how anyone could get away with labelling it an island for all seasons! In other words, you need to see your chosen nation up close and personal, out of season and away from the tourism haunts.
Only then can you be sure that the country is all you hope it can be – because anywhere can look lovely when the sun is shining and the streets are buzzing with happy people – but can you be happy in a place even when the weather is not ideal and you’re all alone with the locals!
Your recce should include you spending an extended period of time in your chosen nation, getting to know what it’s really like to live there rather than just holiday there. So, instead of spending time on the beach or in bars, find out where the government offices are, learn about the opening hours of shops, find expats and ask them for the reality of life in the new country, look at the build quality of houses, see if there are clubs and associations you could join to get to know people.
In other words, try your chosen nation on for size…
4) Put your plan into action
Having decided on a nation and the lifestyle you want to enjoy, having looked at the practicalities of making your move a reality particularly from the money angle and having tried your new nation out, it’s time to put your plan into action.
You need to work out which loose ends you will need to tie up before you move, you need to look for employment in your new nation if you will require work as it’s easier to get a job when you’re in a job! You need to source rental accommodation abroad, get all your money matters in hand and set yourself time targets for achieving every single part of your plan.
Leave nothing to chance, plot and detail the logistics of the move and make yourself work on the overall plan every single day. You will find that your clearly defined dream and the research that you have done will enable you to move forward easily towards the fulfilment of your plan. So much so that by the time you are ready to leave your old life and begin your new life you’re on the plane!
