Tips for being organised when emigrating

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We just moved house this weekend and while we are so happy with our new house, it was definitely stressful.  Being pregnant and having a toddler definitely added to these stresses!

The move brought back the memories of getting ready to move over here to the Seychelles!  So I thought I’d share some information on preparing to leave your home country and become an expat
We have been expats for almost three years now!  It feels like just yesterday that we left the UK but at the same time it feels like forever ago!

When you find out you are moving abroad there seems to be two different scenarios!

•  Either you find out last minute you are going and you’ll be rushing around like crazy getting ready
•  OR you have plenty of time to get organised but you will still end up rushing around like crazy!!

Seriously though, moving to a different country, there’s a lot to get sorted!
I was sent this emigration checklist by hifix to take a look at and I think there are some great tips in there.  It’s nice to get an idea of not only what needs to be done but when they should be done by!

I don’t think there was anything too major we forgot to do when we left the UK!
I’d like to say this was down to me being on top of everything, I think I’m super organised but I’m really not, in reality I’m a ‘fretter’
Lucky for me Mark is great with being organised!

A few little tips for being organised when emigrating of my own that I thought I’d share:

• If you are moving for employment: Before you start organising any thing for moving, visas etc find out what your new employer will organise for you.  We found that shipping and visas were all sorted for us we just needed to sort out medicals and tie things up our end in the UK
• Make sure you have Skype credit!  Even if you have been very organised, notified banks, redirected Mail, cancelled direct debits etc you will inevitabley need to contact businesses from your home land for something you forgot or something that hasn’t worked out quite right!  We found Skype the most economical way of doing that!
• I think something that can be useful is to get in touch with someone already living in the country you are moving to!  There are loads of great expat bloggers that can be a nice resource to get a real perspective of your future home!!
• If you can, keep open at least one bank account at home.  You never know when you will need it!  It’s useful when you go back to visit!  It’s also a great way of maintaining a line of credit in case you ever move back!
• Don’t panic!!!  There will almost certainly be little things that aren’t tied up properly back home but most things can be sorted online or through friends and family still there!

Have you moved abroad?  Did you forget to sort out anything when you left home?  Any tips you’d add?

This post is in collaboration with hifix.co.uk