9 Ways To Prepare Yourself Before Working Abroad

This post may contain affiliate links. We may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase. Read Disclosure.

Working abroad is one of the most exciting ways to travel long-term. Not only does it make the travel experience cheaper, but it turns the everyday mundane, like visiting the bank, into an exotic adventure.

Craig and I have lived and worked abroad in several different countries; we’ve worked in London, Dublin, Bangkok, and finally settled in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We loved every minute of it and we highly recommend everyone experiences working abroad at least once in their life (trust me, you’ll get addicted).

That being said, it’s not as simple as packing a suitcase and boarding a plane. There are many things you need to prepare before you can move abroad, from arranging visas to sorting finances, as well as familiarising yourself with the local customs and culture before you go.

To help you out, here is a check list of things to prepare before moving abroad.

Things To Prepare Before Moving Abroad

1. Have reserve money

Working abroad means you often don’t have to save as much money in the first place to travel long-term. It’s one of the major reasons we recommend doing it.

It’s (mostly) cheaper to travel on local currency and you’re always replenishing the purse with each new weekly pay check.

But, it’s really important that you do arrive with reserve money in the bank. This can be used to put deposits on apartments, pay for visas, and just to have peace of mind in the unlikely event something will go wrong.

It might be that you won’t get your first pay check for at least a month, or you might need to pay a security bond for your apartment, or have to furnish a new place.

And of course you want to travel a little bit too.

2. Be prepared for culture shock

I know plenty of people who have been outwitted by culture shock and returned home only weeks into their working abroad adventure.

Change brings chaos, which is only elevated by being in a strange environment.

You’ll love being an expat at first as everything is so new and exciting, but pretty soon that high will come crashing down and you’ll notice how different everything is – in a sucky way!

That’s okay, this is part of the change process. Once you stop being a visitor and start becoming a local, you realise the flaws and pitfalls of a place.

If…