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I've spent the better part of the last ten years relocating. The list of things you learn can grow long and every country is different. My big tip is brace yo

I've spent the better part of the last ten years relocating. The list of things you learn can grow long and every country is different. My big tip is brace yourself for the admin and settling in. Admin as in basic things like getting official ID, social insurance registration (if applicable for that country), registering with the local city office. These are tedious, confusing, and sap all the excitement out of moving. Settling in is simplified with the tip below about moving with less. But nonetheless, every little thing becomes big; for example when you get a flat, do you need to notify the various utilities departments to turn things back on? Where do you get furniture? As boring and frustrating as it sounds, and hardly a welcome to the city, just take it in stride and every new way of doing things as a learning rather than "how much something doesn't make sense here". It's a one-off setup (at least if you stay), and you'll have plenty of time to make friends after. You might even be making friends with colleagues pretty quickly if you ask them for help moving furniture. Good luck with the move and adventure!

thecortado 9y ago
Once you move in, make an active effort to meet people and get to know a place. :-)
stevekemp 9y ago
I'd agree with a lot of that. I moved from Scotland to Finland, along with my (Finnish) wife. Moving mostly involved hiring space on a shipping container, and carrying a couple of big suitcases each. The hard part starts when you land. Luckily my wife moved over 1 week before me, and in that time managed to handle some of the obvious needs - she signed a year long lease on a flat, and then visited a recycling center to buy a dining-table, chairs, a sofa, book-cases, a bed, and similar essentials. In my case I had to register with the police, get a residency agreement, open a bank account, sort out a mobile phone, ad similar things. They weren't difficult, as most people were able to speak to me in English, but they were time-consuming and beaurocratic. Two (three?) years later I'm fully settled, and the experience has largely been positive. I miss UK-TV, I miss hearing a wide array of accents (and I hate that I can't tell anything about Finnish people from their name, or their accents.) My language skills are slowly improving, and life feels good (although much more hectic these days due to a small child. Who we're trying to raise as bilingual ). My only real suggestion for people changing countries is: Resist the temptation to hang out with ex-pats. Meet locals. Interact with locals. Be local.

thecortado 9y ago

Once you move in, make an active effort to meet people and get to know a place. :-)

stevekemp 9y ago

I'd agree with a lot of that. I moved from Scotland to Finland, along with my (Finnish) wife. Moving mostly involved hiring space on a shipping container, and carrying a couple of big suitcases each. The hard part starts when you land. Luckily my wife moved over 1 week before me, and in that time managed to handle some of the obvious needs - she signed a year long lease on a flat, and then visited a recycling center to buy a dining-table, chairs, a sofa, book-cases, a bed, and similar essentials. In my case I had to register with the police, get a residency agreement, open a bank account, sort out a mobile phone, ad similar things. They weren't difficult, as most people were able to speak to me in English, but they were time-consuming and beaurocratic. Two (three?) years later I'm fully settled, and the experience has largely been positive. I miss UK-TV, I miss hearing a wide array of accents (and I hate that I can't tell anything about Finnish people from their name, or their accents.) My language skills are slowly improving, and life feels good (although much more hectic these days due to a small child. Who we're trying to raise as bilingual ). My only real suggestion for people changing countries is: Resist the temptation to hang out with ex-pats. Meet locals. Interact with locals. Be local.