In these increasingly tough financial times, we’re seeing an increase in the numbers of enquiries and reader emails highlighting that more people want to leave the UK and move to live abroad than ever before in our history at Shelter Offshore. Of significance is the fact that of those who are contacting us, a great many feel restricted in their real choices because of financial reasons however.
Many people are looking for an affordable way to allow them to move abroad: or to put it another way, people want to escape their current life and go in search of a better life abroad, but they need to be able to do so on a tight budget! It’s a very modern dilemma.
If you thought that there was no way you could afford to move overseas, we’re here today to show you that actually there are many, many ways you can save on everything from travel to shipping costs. So, if you want to escape UK before the cuts really begin to bite, we’ll show you how to escape even if you’re on a tight budget. Don’t let lack of mega money hold you back from realising your dreams.
Save Money: Ship Less and Sell More Before you Emigrate
One way you can really get a head start when planning your relocation is by slashing the sheer volume of personal assets you have. It’s not just a case of not shipping all your worldly goods, it’s a case of getting rid of them!
The more ‘stuff’ you have, the more it can hold you down and hold you back. Even if you don’t ship everything, where will you store it? Storage costs a lot of money each month…and surely if something is in storage it can’t be particularly useful to you, so what do you need it for?
If you want to get serious about making a new life abroad you need to cut some of the ties that really shouldn’t be binding you…like the ties you have to your furniture, your books, your knick knacks and your TV.
What’s more important to you? Having a better life away from the austerity measures Britain is about to begin living with – or being surrounded by trinkets and dust gatherers?
There’s an awful lot to be said for ditching the items that you surround yourself with. For one thing if you don’t have so much to ship it won’t cost you so much to move. For another thing, you won’t have to pay storage costs either…and finally, you may well find that you can sell most of your stuff for profit to enable you to have a financial leg up the relocation ladder.
That which you don’t sell can be given away to family, friends and charity so that you can also feel virtuous before you go – and finally, you can’t take any of it with you when you make your ‘final journey’ anyway, so what’s the point in allowing your worldly goods to hold you back.
If You Have to Ship Your Life Abroad, Shop Around!
Unfortunately for the likes of the mega removal companies, a new(ish) service has come along that is absolutely taking the expatriate and relocation worlds by storm. If you haven’t heard of ANYVAN.com yet, you soon will.
All the major national newspapers and home abroad type magazines are promoting this delivery auction website – and having checked it out for ourselves we have discovered it is surely the ONLY way to move anything anywhere.
It’s free and very easy to use – all you do is list your delivery explaining what needs moving when and where, and sit back and wait for quotes. Transport companies will bid for your job and you can then view the bids, research the companies and liaise direct with your chosen courier or removal firm and arrange collection and delivery of your furniture and personal effects abroad.
The current average cost per mile for those using the website is just 38p, and testimonials show that you can slash thousands – yes THOUSANDS of pounds off your international relocation costs.
Basically, many people have partial loads they want moving around the world, so the logistics bods at removal and courier companies work hard to ensure their vans and lorries are packed to the rafters when their drivers are on the road, so they can pick up and fit in your move overseas to help keep costs and charges down for all clients, and to ensure any van or lorry on the road is earning as much as it possibly can.
It is an exceptionally clever idea – deceptively simple – but then hey, aren’t many of the greatest inventions oh so simple when you think about it!
If you’re moving abroad – or anywhere for that matter – or you know anyone who is moving, we urge you to try out ANYVAN.com because you could save yourself a significant amount of money. As stated, it is free and easy to use.
You Can Save Money on Travel Abroad Too
Getting to your ultimate destination abroad could seem like a major hurdle in itself, but there are ways you can travel cheaper too. For a start, bear in mind that the typical budget airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet have loads of hidden charges that often make them even more expensive that Virgin or British Airways! So, shop around for airline travel.
Also, sign up for airmiles deals because if you are going to be buying tickets for all the family to fly and you know you will have to visit home sometimes too, you can soon build up many miles that you can use to slash the future costs of travel.
In the meantime, did you know that package holidays to popular destinations can sometimes be bought last minute for less than the cost of the flight alone. You don’t have to stay in the hotel included in the package of course, you can just make use of the deal to get you to where you need to be, and then get on with your new life abroad!
Nasty flight departure times can see you getting cheaper prices by the way, as few of us want to fly at 11pm at night or 5am in the morning – so if you can be flexible about when you leave, you can sometimes find cheaper costs too.
One woman who used the aforementioned ANYVAN.com service reported that her couriers were so friendly they even offered her a lift – but a) I’m sure that’s not normal, b) it’s not part of the advertised deal and c) my mum and dad always told me to never accept lifts from strangers!
However, if you know others who already live overseas in your chosen destination, and you know they travel back and forth to the UK by car occasionally, perhaps you could combine your departure with theirs and get a lift? On that note, if you’re thinking of moving abroad to somewhere relatively in comfortable reach for a car, would it be cheaper for you to drive, taking a ferry or using the Chunnel, and transporting your own goods and personal effects instead?
House Sharing Abroad Can Be Fun and Cheap
We always, always suggest that those moving abroad for the first time need to rent a place to live before they buy. This is because you need to spend time making sure you like your new nation, you need to work out where exactly you will feel most at home – i.e., in which neighbourhood for example, and what’s more, you never get the best bargains as a newly arrived expat!
So, one of the ways you can ensure you cut right down on your initial accommodation costs is by sharing a house or a flat. You might feel like that’s something that only students do, but in many expensive cities around the world for example, it’s something that professional colleagues also do.
We believe that expats sharing homes and costs and getting to know and understand their new nation all together is to be encouraged. After all, you’ll all be strangers in a strange land, and what better way to be supported through the initial relocation phase than with new-found friends who fully understand how you feel.
There are certain commonsense warnings to heed of course, such as getting the exact address and landline phone number of the house and giving it to family back home and new colleagues at work. Ensuring you feel fully comfortable with the people you will be sharing with is critical, and sorting out any contractual obligations to bill sharing in advance and on paper is advisable. Finally, never transfer money from abroad in advance of your arrival by the likes of Western Union. Use an escrow account if you have to send money in advance, or agree to meet up with room mates when you first arrive just to ensure you are full comfortable with the arrangement.
If this means you have to do a night or two in a hotel/hostel before moving in, so be it for your safety’s sake.
In Conclusion
We are all having to be more creative and more frugal nowadays – but in some ways that’s no bad thing, having to think carefully about what we spend and how we save money means that we’re more aware of what we have, and we’re more likely to appreciate the good things we do get to enjoy.
What’s more, being careful with money and having perhaps less to spend doesn’t have to hold you back from having a happy life filled with dream and wish fulfilment – think about where you want to live abroad, and work hard to find an affordable way to realise your dream…it is possible.