Preparing to Move Abroad

(So let's talk about moving abroad. Years ago, in 2010, I had studied abroad in the bonny country of Caledonia (ie Scotland). I am glad I could get a working visa there, by a certain age, because I really need to go back, it;s great there!

Great online example of
Moving Abroad Checklist
https://meetthewards.com/checklistformovingabroad/

So what to start with prepping for moving abroad...finding information from other lovely people who have done the same is a good starting point, including my awesome sister who taught English in Korea for 3 years.

Certain aspects of this were easier for me, I didn't have a car, house, partner, pets. You can still do it if you do though, you'll just have to prioritize and focus.

So for moving abroad I focused on what should be done, chronologically.

I started with some simple things, such as making COLOR copies of important paperwork, such as passport, birth certificate etc, having those on hand, and saving them electronically. That way if something happens to my passport, as long as a I have a good color copy, in case of an emergency that'll help.

Next I made sure I had everything I needed to apply for my working holiday visa. For New Zealand specifically see here, , https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas , otherwise, you can google immigration _insert country name here__. After that, I started working tons, saving for the trip, and paying off lots of school loans (thank you failed American education system). Overall I hit a majority of my goals very well before I was off to New Zealand--which was a relief--because traveling with lots of loans was a scary thought to me.

Working on Preping for the Move... tea, scone and passport with paperwork

*Side note: I think I forgot to mention, but another major reason why I wanted to move abroad, in general, was to have a better way of life. A majority of countries, even 3rd world ones, have free excellent universal health care, free education (including university), good public spaces and transportation, paid required parental leave, better work life balance...to name a few.

Besides these major above points, I have listed a lot of the things I went through on my list, and further sources and examples are at the bottom.

List...

.Final Doctor's appointments

-travel clinic, need shots?

-make copies (color for IDs) of: passport, visa, shots, Rx letter from dr, traveler's insurance (have with you, online and with family back home).

-Passport, when does it expire? needs to be good for at least 6 months after you plan to leave a country
-research visa options: I was doing a working holiday visa

-what do I want to keep?

-Sell/donate the rest
-Final Doctor, Dentist and eye appointments

-8 weeks prior...apply for working holiday visa (age limit)

-6 weeks prior give part time job notice

Awesome Gregory 35L pack
that I got for my Birthday

-book travelers insurance (thanks www.worldnomads.com )

-4 weeks prior 1 month notice for moving out

-4 weeks prior, give 2 weeks notice to primary job

-mail forwarded

-book accommodation in first city, Auckland , NZ.

-practice packing...it's trickier when you're going somewhere with lots of weather extremes, vs SE Asia, where it is almost always nice and warm

-get up to a 3 month supply on all needed prescriptions

Other Great Sources:
- great checklist of what to do, and what to pack

https://www.tourleader.nz/new-zealand-travel-planner/new-zealand-travel-checklist

-helpful check list from the New Zealand immigration website itself
https://www.new-zealand-immigration.com/migrate-to-new-zealand/immigrating-to-new-zealand/moving-checklist/

-http://www.workingin-australia.com/move/moving-checklist#.UyJ0SvmwJcQ
used this as an idea, but only could find the Australia one again

Coming Up...
My Adventures in New Zealand