Moving Abroad Tips

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Immigrating to America: What You Need to Know

October 20, 2010 in Expat Locations, Immigration, Moving Abroad Tips, Working Abroad by Paul Allen | No comments

The United States is one of the most popular countries in the world for businesses and families to immigrate to. With a diverse array of cultures and companies throughout the large nation, the opportunities for immigrants are virtually endless.

However, because of the strict requirements for people immigrating to the U.S., it is important to know the processes to ensure you get the right visas and documentation for a visit or smooth transition to life as an American citizen or permanent resident.

There are several ways to immigrate to the U.S. depending on the needs of your business, family, or yourself. You can choose from a work or student US visa for a temporary stay, apply for a green card if you have a spouse or relatives who are U.S. citizens, or apply for citizenship if you plan to make a permanent move to the U.S.

A green card affords permanent U.S. residency. People who hold a green card are permanently approved to work within the U.S. despite not having citizenship.

After a certain number of years people with a green card may apply for citizenship if they choose. However, it is not required – something especially important for people to know when there is any possibility of moving back to their home country.

Naturalization, or the process of obtaining American citizenship, is another option, although it applies to those who plan to make their move to the U.S. permanent. After five years of residence in the U.S., green card holders can apply for citizenship. The test required for nationalization measures knowledge of U.S. civics, as well as English language proficiency.

Overall, U.S. immigration laws change rather frequently, so it is vital to know the current regulations in advance, whether you choose to get a USA visa for work, a student visa, or you want to apply for citizenship.

This article was provided by Global Visas, the leading immigration experts for private and corporate clients locally and worldwide. 

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Nadine Coyle and the Secret to Moving Abroad Happiness

October 12, 2010 in Dream Lifestyle, Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

Girls Aloud are hardly my cup of tea, so I’ve never paid them any attention before. Aside from the marital woes of Cheryl Cole, and her subsequent stratospheric rise to ubiquitous media princess, I had never even heard of any of the band, let alone knew anything of their backgrounds.

Today though I saw an article on the BBC News website about band member Nadine Coyle, discussing the release of her first solo album, Insatiable[1].

Not that I’ll be dashing out to buy it. But what did interest me were the references she made in the interview to her family.

A native of Northern Ireland, since finding fame Nadine has moved to Los Angeles. Crucially, her parents and siblings also went with her. Together they now run a bar, Nadine’s Irish Mist, on the Pacific Coast Highway at Sunset Beach.

Her family, she said in the BBC interview, are at the centre of her world, providing her with the foundations she needs to build her career and achieve success.

Yet for many people who move abroad, leaving family behind is the sacrifice they must make to fulfil those dreams of a life overseas.

Which is most important? Is it your family and friends, who will give you the necessary support from which all else becomes possible? Or is relocating abroad the key to achieving your personal and career goals, and finding happiness?

It’s a tough choice … unless, like Nadine, you can get all your nearest and dearest to come with you!

[1] Nadine Coyle: ‘I recorded my album in the bathroom’, By Mark Savage, 12 October 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11494183

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Is Your Family Ready for Your Move Abroad?

September 30, 2010 in Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

So you’re moving abroad. You are filled with excitement about the prospects it offers, eager to see new places, meet new friends, pursue your dreams.

But what about the loved ones you leave behind? While you have a wealth of new opportunities and experiences to explore, all they will be left with are the memories of your lives together.

Transition Tips

No doubt they will feel your loss. Nevertheless, there are a few things you can do to make the process as painless as possible:

  1. Once you have decided to move, share it with your family and friends well in advance. It may take time for them to accept you are leaving, and some may try to discourage you. However, a calm approach will help. Tell them your reasons for moving, and explain the advantages you hope to achieve as a result.
  2. The days before you leave are bound to be hectic. You will get caught up in a whirlwind of shopping, packing, finalising insurance and visa arrangements, getting health checkups and a host of last minute details. As a result, you may not realise how quickly the days are flying. So don’t forget to spend quality time with your loved ones, especially your family, before you go.
  3. Try to maintain a cheerful environment while you are still at home. Avoid emotional discussions, and reminders that soon you won’t be there.
  4. The period after you leave home can be tough for both you and your family. Sudden bouts of loneliness may make you feel homesick, and leave them feeling sad at your absence and anxious for your safety. At these times you have to be the strong one, since it was your decision to move. So the moment you arrive, call to let your family know you are well.
  5. Once you reach your destination, keep yourself occupied. Get involved in your new life and location by settling into your new home, learn about your new environment, and start making friends.
  6. During your first few months in the country keep in touch with family and friends as often as you can, making sure you share with them all the details about the place and its people. The pleasure and relief on both sides from hearing each other’s voices is priceless. And because international calling is so cheap these days the cost is no longer a worry.
  7. You can stay connected too by writing emails to friends and family explaining what you did today, or by sending pictures of where you are.
  8. And for those friends and family back home who are not well-versed with the internet, why not write them a letter or send a postcard? It is sure to make their day.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go? Tips on Becoming an Expat

September 28, 2010 in Dream Lifestyle, Living Abroad Pros and Cons, Moving Abroad Tips, Working Abroad by Paul Allen | 2 comments

Finding a way to finance your life overseas is one of the biggest challenges facing prospective expats.

How can you earn the money necessary to give you the lifestyle you crave? Do you plan to transfer within your existing company, or apply for new jobs? Would you like to set up your own business, or offer services as some form of freelance contractor?

For anyone confronting these issues it is well worth seeking the advice of a professional, someone who can help clarify your ideas and guide you in the right career direction.

One such person is CNNMoney.com-featured career coach Megan Fitzgerald, the founder of Career By Choice. An expat herself, with over 15 years experience in career and business development, Megan specialises in helping current and aspiring expatriate professionals and entrepreneurs to build a satisfying career or business that allows them to get the most out of their life abroad.

Megan has just interviewed me on the pros and cons of moving overseas for her website. You can check out the resulting article, Expat Success Tips: Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Choice of Becoming an Expat, at http://bit.ly/cIOjNw.

Hope you find it interesting.

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Buying Property Abroad

September 24, 2010 in Living in Spain, Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

Buying a property in your home country can be a time-consuming, expensive and stressful experience. So think what it’s like trying to do it in another country.

Abroad you may face unfamiliar market conditions, uncertainty around how to arrange a mortgage or how they are calculated, what legal processes are necessary and the fees you will have to pay. To complicate matters further you may not even speak the language.

Those are the sorts of obstacles my wife and I had to navigate when buying our house in Spain. It is not an experience I am eager to repeat.

Much better, I now realise, to get an expert who knows the market intimately to take the strain.

Professional Help

So I was intrigued when I heard recently about a Spanish-based company called Shortcuts Property Search (www.shortcutspropertysearch.com).

Their service is tailored to make both the searching for a property, and the actual buying process through to the signing of the escritura de compra/venta, as easy as possible. This is especially useful for people who don’t speak Spanish, and/or don’t have the time or money to make various trips to Spain before making up their minds.

Crucially, the service comes at no cost to the client either, as normally Shortcuts finds properties through agents who then pay it part of their commission. In situations where Shortcuts finds a property from a private seller the firm charges a 2% commission.

For the moment, Shortcuts Property Search only operates in Spain. But if you are buying property elsewhere in the world I would advise looking for a company that can provide a similar sort of service.

It will make the purchase process much easier and more enjoyable, saving you the stress and bitter aftertaste that can otherwise result. In the long run it will probably save you cash too, by helping you avoid all those ill-suited places, and instead finding you the best deal for your money.

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Good Housekeeping Article on Moving Abroad

September 2, 2010 in Living Abroad Pros and Cons, Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

A couple of months ago I was interviewed by the features director of the UK’s Good Housekeeping magazine[1].

She was writing an article on the pros and cons of moving abroad, and wanted my “expert opinion” on the topic … which naturally I was more than happy to provide (not least since the magazine has a monthly circulation of half a million readers!).

The article has just come out. And – aside from my own contribution – it makes for fascinating reading.

Expat Challenges

The piece features case studies of people who have moved from the UK to some of the world’s most popular expat destinations: France, Italy, Spain, Australia and the United States. Each highlights the issues they have faced, and offers pointers to anyone following in their footsteps (much of which echoes the topics I address in my book).

Among the biggest challenges the expats encountered were:

  • Housing problems
  • Unfamiliarity with local legal processes and requirements
  • Acclimatising to the local weather
  • Finding social outlets and integrating into the community
  • Having a viable way to earn money
  • Missing family and friends

 

Hopefully the tips and advice contained in the article will prove a valuable primer for those readers also dreaming of a life overseas!

[1] Good Housekeeping magazine, http://www.allaboutyou.com/home/channel~index?source=1

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Moving Abroad for Love

July 23, 2010 in Living Abroad Pros and Cons, Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

There was a documentary on British TV last week called Living with Brucie[1].

For anyone who hasn’t heard of him, Bruce Forsyth is a showbiz legend in the UK, a mainstay on Saturday prime time TV for the last 40-odd years.

And for the last 27 of those, Bruce has been married to Wilnelia, a Puerto Rican former Miss World who is 30 years his junior.

For me, what was interesting was the story of two people from different countries and cultures coming together to forge a life, and what it takes to make it a success.

Despite her fame on the Caribbean island, and the family and friends she has there, it is Winnie who has given up her homeland to be with her husband. OK, so she now lives in a mansion on the Wentworth golf estate in Surrey, with all the trappings that come from being married to a multimillionaire entertainer. But still, it must be a sacrifice.

Expat love

And it is a common tale. A survey earlier this year by health insurer Bupa International and expat web resource Expatica found one in five respondents had moved abroad for love[2]. It was a bigger reason for relocating than lifestyle choice (cited by 8% of expats), retirement (4%), weather and culture (1% each). 

There is a suggestion it may be a growing trend as well. According to the survey, only 14% of expats who moved abroad 10 years ago did it for love, whereas the figure was 22% for those who relocated in the last five years.

 

In these situations, one member of the couple will always have to be away from home and all it embodies: family and friends, familiar landscapes, its customs and culture.

Homesickness may strike, but – short of breaking up the family – one person will have to live with the consequences.

So how do you cope?

If anyone has any personal experiences from moving abroad for love, or tips and strategies on how to make it work I’d love to hear them.

[1] Living with Brucie, Channel 4, http://www.channel4.com/programmes/living-with-brucie

[2] One in five expats moves abroad for love, expatica.com, 11 February 2010, http://www.expatica.com/be/news/community_focus/One-in-five-expats-moves-abroad-for-love.html

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Language Learning

July 2, 2010 in Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

As a freelance journalist and writer, one of the ways I earn a crust is to write reports and articles about the financial services industry. Which is why I found myself last month at a conference in Vienna, writing for a software company that provides technology to hedge funds, wealth managers and the like.

The attendees came from all over Europe and the Middle East. Some, like me, were from the UK. But most weren’t. There was a particularly big contingent from various parts of Scandinavia. There were also many from Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as a few from further afield.

The conference was all about current trends in the investment management world, and how software can be used to tackle the industry’s challenges. In other words, highly technical subject matter that mixed complicated financial concepts with complicated technology solutions.

All the presentations were in English. Yet even as a native speaker I found some of the concepts hard to grasp. And here were many of the speakers, as well as much of the audience, dealing with the topics in their second, and sometimes third, language.

English Proficiency

As always, the Swedes, Danes and Dutch proved especially fluent. And do you know what? In all my travels I have never met one who wasn’t. That may be a generalisation, but not much of one.

A 2005 European Commission study supports my impressions [1]. It reported that the percentage of the adult population able to converse in English was 85% in Sweden, 83% in Denmark, 79% in the Netherlands, 66% in Luxembourg and over 50% in Finland, Slovenia, Austria, Belgium and Germany.

By contrast, the report found only 30% of UK respondents can participate in a conversation in a language other than their mother tongue.

Foreign language benefits

Of course, part of the reason for the UK’s relatively low level of multilingual capacity is that English has become the lingua franca in so many fields: business, IT, science, entertainment and politics, to name a few.

Nevertheless, for any expats moving to non-English speaking parts of the world it is crucial they learn the native tongue. Even if you intend to live in an expat enclave in France or Mexico or China, having a good grasp of the local language will make your life easier, and happier.

It will help you:

  • Manage day-to-day situations, such as buying quality food in local stores, dealing with utility companies and consulting with medical practitioners.
  • Integrate into the community and make friends.
  • Delve into the culture, history and social mores of the country, helping enrich your understanding and enjoyment of life there.

 

As a result, it will give you a sense of belonging, as well as one of achievement.

By contrast, a lack of local language skills leaves you isolated. And that can breed misunderstanding, resentment and fear.

Willingness to learn

Learning a foreign language can be a daunting prospect. But despite popular belief, it is never too late, as this article by Doug Bower argues[2].

Use it as an inspiration. Then take the time and make the effort to learn. It will be worth it.

[1] Europeans and languages, Eurobarometer 63.4, published September 2005, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_237.en.pdf

[2] Am I Too Old to Learn a Second Language?, by Doug Bower, http://www.expatfocus.com/am-i-too-old-to-learn-a-second-language

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Football: The Way to a Nation’s Heart

June 18, 2010 in Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

England, my home country, is playing its second World Cup match today. St. George’s flags are everywhere, and there is a palpable excitement in the air as the nation wills its players on to glory.

For the last game against the USA some 20+ million people tuned in to watch the match on TV – not bad, considering the population of England is only 51 million, and that of the UK as a whole 61 million. And if England do well and progress through the competition that number will keep on rising.

True, not everyone likes football. But in Britain – and indeed in many other countries around the world – you’d be hard pushed to find a more common cultural reference point.

And when it comes to moving abroad these cultural landmarks are crucial. National obsessions – whether they are sports or politics or music – are important parts of the social fabric. As an expat, learning something about them helps you understand the mentality of the people around you. It helps you integrate with them. It’s a way to strike up conversations, make friends, feel involved. And hopefully have a good time.

So take an interest in whatever fixates the population of your chosen country. You’ll find it a huge help.

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