Expats need support in various areas before, during, and after their international transitions:
- Admin / Organization
- Legal
- Financial
- Emotional / Psychological
First of, the naked truth: if you are a private individual who decided to move and live, work or study somewhere other than your home country, you will most likely have to foot the bill for all of the above yourself, unless you find a sponsor, scholarships, or other forms of assistance.
When I was in my late teens/early twenties in Germany and the end of my apprenticeship came in sight, I decided now was the time for a change and that I wanted to give university a try. During said apprenticeship, a) I managed to save a nice amount of money and b) I had worked in many different departments of a multinational company, which was a tremendous help figuring out which area I was most interested in developing further: Human Resources. Once I knew what I wanted to study (HR and Spanish), I found that that combination was complicated for me to study in the German system. That’s when my English friends advised me to consider British universities, and after a few trips to the local British Council offices I knew what I needed to do. Once I had filled out the necessary forms, took the obligatory language examination, and applied within given deadlines, it was only a matter of time before I received acceptance letters from various unis. Again, I did a little soul- and research, took my pick, moved over there – and never looked back.
How that and every other decision led me to become who and where I am now, is a long, long story that I might put out there in book-form one of these days. For now, let us be brief and just say that the following “private” move I had after finishing uni was to London (national, just a few hours down from Scotland, but it might as well have been a different country), soon to Barcelona (Spain, sunny, glorious), and, in my thirtieth year, to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain, politically speaking, but again oh so very different). Shortly after came the first “trailing spouse” moment, where I followed my then-boyfriend to Aguascalientes where he had a job (Mexico, cross-continental, cross-Atlantic, curiously different yet familiar) and the subsequent, by now official “trailing spouse” move here to Dallas (USA, and yes, same guy). And let me tell you, “expating” when it’s not really your idea is a completely different kettle of fish. Feel free to read more about it here.
However, back to you brave ones who want to get on with it. 
Congratulations, this is an excellent decision for which I wish you all the best! Based on my personal experience, I would like to share the following few pointers with those of you who are thinking about becoming an expat under your own steam:
- Know what you want. In as great a detail as possible, or you’ll easily get side-tracked. This is a life-changing decision, not a trip to the candy store.
- Choose your host country accordingly. Be realistic. Politics, religion and culture that have been in place there for centuries and will not change for you; know and respect them as they are.
- Research. Read. Learn. Talk to people who’ve been there. Take a trip to check it out first-hand; make contacts; look at apartments. Then go home and research some more, to be sure. You absolutely cannot be over-prepared.
- Learn the language. Well.
- Plan carefully. Take your time; don’t rush it. Calculate your expenses, expected and unexpected. Save money to last you for at least six months in case you won’t get a job straight away and you can rest easy.
- Sort out the necessary paperwork in time. Some visas take months to go through. Check your passport and vaccinations. Get a health-check and international insurance (it’ll calm your mother down and again, you can rest easy).
- Have a big farewell party. Have a good trip. Lighten up. Laugh. Listen. Open up; soak it all in. Travel around; eat weird stuff. Be present. Have fun.
If you would like to discuss your plans, hopes, or concerns at any stage and about any part of the expatriation or repatriation process, please drop me a line at doris@buildingthelifeyouwant.com and I’ll be glad to schedule a no-muss no-fuss appointment. You’ve been abroad for a while and now the culture shock hit you? No problem. Know that I am here to support you in dealing with and preparing emotionally for the ex- and repatriation changes you will experience.
If you are looking for language classes, culture training or advice on how to organize a move, please check out the available resources on the web. I recommend starting out by reading your home and host countries’ embassies’ information for a political and economic overview (gotta go safe), and then move on to more specific culture, history, education, as well as local housing and job-market data. Thank you.
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