How to reduce the stress of moving abroad

Moving is a big change even when you’re only moving to another part of the same time. You need to get used to your new home, your new neighborhood, your new daily life. But if you’re moving out of the country, things get even more complicated. New customs, a new culture, often a whole new language – that’s a lot for anyone to handle. Not to mention, the actual process of moving is much harder when you’re crossing borders too. For one thing, you’ll have to add researching immigration laws to deciding between international moving companies. For another, you’ll have to coordinate the shipping of your belongings with your own flights. All in all, it won’t be the easiest thing in the world. That is precisely why you need to know how to reduce the stress of moving abroad.

Reduce the stress of moving abroad by hiring the right kind of help

There’s no doubt about it: when moving abroad, you will need help from international moving experts. Although overseas moving services can be expensive, they are more than worth it in the end. Think about it – instead of having to pack, prepare and figure out a way to transport your entire household all on your own, you can let someone else who has a lot more knowledge and experience with the process handle it for you. That will certainly be a weight off your shoulders.

Beware of the red flags

There is truly no worse time to fall for a moving scam than when you’re moving out of the country. So you must be on high alert when looking for a moving company. You can discount any unlicensed company out of hand, there is no question about that. As you collect international moving quotes to compare prices, watch out for lowball offers intended to draw you in and trick you. Be careful with moving companies that don’t have an online presence and run from any movers that have majority bad reviews. Moving internationally is serious business – you need a moving company that takes it seriously too. Otherwise, you’ll just end up stressing even more while dealing with unreliable movers.

Read the reviews to find the best international movers

The best way to find the perfect overseas moving company is to look at the reviews. You can find out what movers are really like by reading what other people have said about them. Look for companies with honest but positive reviews and, where applicable, resolved disputes. That way you can be sure you’re hiring reputable movers who won’t let you down and will work with you if something goes wrong too.

Reduce the stress of moving abroad by sticking to a plan and following a schedule

One of the most stressful things about moving to another country is the sheer amount of things you need to do. You need to find a home in a whole new country, figure out how to travel there, get all your legal and administrative affairs in order, pack your entire household, mentally prepare for such a huge change… That’s a lot to keep in order. So the organization really is key here.

Don’t procrastinate

Preparing, organizing, and executing an international move takes time. The most time-consuming aspects of it are usually dealing with immigration and packing. There’s precious little you can do to speed up the immigration process. However, professional packing and crating can help you get your packing done swiftly at least. Even so, you’ll want to set aside enough time to do everything without rushing. So don’t put things away! Start as soon as you’ve decided to move. Take a few days to plan and schedule your relocation. Make sure you have plenty of time, more than you actually expect to need. That way you won’t have to push yourself even if something goes wrong or slows you down. Besides, the sooner you begin, the sooner you’ll finish.

Stay organized

With how many things you need to do and how time-sensitive they are, you’ll want to keep yourself on track. Your best bet for that is to stick to a plan you make early on in the moving process. Create a checklist of tasks too – that way you can always know exactly what you’ve done so far, what you still need to do and in what order you need to do it. It is very important to do this even if you’re normally more of the type to wing things. After all, you cannot afford to forget something important when you’re moving to a different country.

Reduce the stress of moving abroad by doing a lot of research in advance

One of the major stressors when moving abroad is just how different things can be in a different country. Even if you’re moving to Canada or Mexico, you’ll surely find that the culture is very different. And if you’re moving to a whole other continent, then places get exponentially more diverse. You’ll need to learn everything anew: customs, manners, even the language. Sadly, there isn’t really a way to completely avoid culture shock. But you can do things to reduce it. So before you move, do your research. Find out as much as you can about the country you’re moving it from what kind of language people speak to what kind of food they eat. This way, you’ll at least know what to expect.

Additionally and arguably more importantly, you’ll also have to research immigration regulations. Here’s what you need to check:

• do you have a valid passport?
• if not, how can you renew your passport or have a new one issued?
• do you need a visa to travel and live in your new country?
• what kind of visa do you need and how can you obtain it?
• do you need to register yourself somehow once you’ve moved and where?

Reduce the stress of moving abroad by taking good care of yourself

It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of moving. You have so much other stuff to do that you forget about the things you need to do for yourself that have nothing to do with moving. But you can’t let that happen to you. You have to take care of your own physical and mental health. Not only will this significantly reduce the stress of moving abroad, but it will also give you more energy to deal with the move properly and therefore make it easier overall. So make sure you take frequent breaks from your moving tasks, sleep well every night, avoid all injuries, and schedule a bit of self-care here and there!