Thinking of Moving Abroad? Here Are Five Things to Know Before You Go (Published 2020)

With technology and online resources at your fingertips, and with similarly minded modern expatriates communicating and collaborating all over the world, it’s never been easier to live in a foreign land. But packing it in entails more than packing your bags. From tax codes to residency restrictions to health care systems, each country offers a slightly different introduction to expatriate life.

Daniela Coleman, 42, an American university administrator whose career has led her back and forth across the pond several times (she’s now a resident in Bologna, Italy), has faced all of these logistical hurdles at one time or another. Her advice: Make sure you’re ready. “A lot of people fantasize about living abroad, particularly after having a junior year abroad experience,” she said. “But one has to figure out: How do I want to do it?”

Here are five things you should consider before you make the move.

1. Vetting Visas

Anyone who isn’t marrying a foreigner and moving to that person’s country must check the visa requirements in their destination. When Jennifer Ceaser, 51, a freelance travel writer, moved from the U.S. to Europe in 2016, she assumed she had a visa sponsor through a relative in Germany. When that fell through, she faced “a year of frustrating appointments and a bureaucratic nightmare” — only to be denied. With the help of a lawyer, she made a second round of applications and finally got a two-year visa.

The U.S. State Department recommends contacting the embassy or consulate of your destination country several months before you plan to move.

2. Health Care

Understand the requirements for health insurance in your destination country and your status in your country of origin. If you’re planning permanent residency, you may qualify for national coverage in that country. Or you may, as Cynthia Simmons did in Mexico, change insurance as circumstances dictate. In her 15 years in Mexico, the Atlanta native used an international policy and private insurance before becoming Medicare eligible.