Moving Your Family Overseas

Of course, you will have to make sure you do your home work and the most important thing is to keep the lines of communication open with your family. Try having an initial family meeting and make it fun for the kids. Maybe get a takeaway from their favourite fast food place (once in a while doesn’t hurt). You need to let your family know which country you have decided you want to move to and the reasons why. These reasons should be solid; you can’t take on a life changing decision like this just because you want to experience a decent summer.

Your family needs to understand that your decision (which should have been made together between you and your partner) has been made to not only benefit you but them as well. If you’re first met with horror, don’t force the issue. Children are easily shocked and depending on what age they are, the things that are important in their lives are not necessarily important to you.

For a start, your children’s first thought might be “what do I do about all my friends”? Whereas your first thought might be “the education system in this country is much better than our own”. These are all things you have to take on board and discussing your decision thoroughly with your children is an absolute must.

When you know everyone is happy to start a new life overseas your next step is to research the area you want to live in. Facts you should find out are where schools are located and if you have easy access to all other amenities such as a hospital, doctor’s surgery or the shops. You should also find out what the cost of living is like and if you will need things like private medical insurance.

When you visit the area you want to move to (and you should do this as many times as you can) make lists of the prices that food costs in the supermarkets and compare them to those at home. You should also find out how much gas, electric or any other utilities will cost you. Where possible join ex-pat groups who can advise you on what it’s like to live in your chosen country. Make sure you write down any questions you have and the answers you get.

Language is something else you should consider, if you’re moving to a country where English is not widely spoken, you should study before you move there and least be able to get through daily life. Where your children are concerned, this shouldn’t be a problem their brains a like sponges when they’re young and I’ll bet they’ll be fluent well before you are.

The fact is moving your family overseas is a life changing decision but if you do your home work properly you could be on the way to a far better standard of living than you ever had.