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Moving Abroad Means Making Your Mind Up

By Paul Allen

AGS Worldwide Movers
AGS Worldwide Movers

Summary: With the global economic crisis, more people are considering moving abroad. If you're thinking about it, Allen offers advice to help you make up your mind - and make the right long-term decision.

After nearly a year of escalating concerns about the credit crunch, and now a daily news diet of financial Armageddon and global recession, it seems more people than ever are setting their sights on a move abroad.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (Financial Jitters Spur Interest in Jobs Abroad, by Dana Mattioli, Wall Street Journal, Oct 16, 2008 ) cited reports from executive recruiters that in recent months more professionals in the US X especially those employed in the financial sector - have been investigating job opportunities overseas. Asia, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe were said to be the best bet for finance professionals. Likewise many students are doing the same.

Meanwhile in September financial behemoth AXA estimated that - based on the sharp rise in the number of enquiries for international medical insurance it received through 2007 and thus far in 2008 - more than 500,000 people are likely to emigrate from the UK this year.

That is up on the record 400,000 that did so in 2006, just over half of which were British citizens.

And it follows a YouGov poll conducted for currency specialists HiFX last October which found that 37% of Britons at that time were considering moving abroad, in large part as a result of financial pressures such as meeting their mortgage payments.

The general picture then is that the trend over recent years for evermore people to move abroad, or at least want to, is being exacerbated by the current economic climate.

Yet at the same time there are significant numbers that may want to emigrate, but feel hamstrung by that same situation, as they face up to growing fears of unemployment, less financial security, and plummeting house prices and a static property market that means they can't sell up even if they want to.

So what to do?

For those people thinking of fleeing the country in reaction to the current turmoil I would urge caution.

Don't uproot solely because of temporary circumstances. Or at least not without thinking through what it means for all the other areas of your life, especially if you are dragging children along with you.

As the Wall Street Journal article pointed out, moving abroad is not just about finding a job, it's a whole change in lifestyle, including for any family members that go too. Unemployment - real or the threat of it - is a powerful driver. But still, if this is your sole reason for moving abroad then there's a good chance you'll end up miserable wherever you land, and so will everyone around you.

Emigration works best when it's incited by pull factors - the desire to go to a particular destination because of the joy and lifestyle improvements you expect to see - rather than because you feel pushed in that direction. That way leads to resentment and homesickness.

And what about those people that do desperately want to move overseas, but feel they can't or shouldn't for the time being, that they ought to wait for a turnaround in their and the world's fortunes?

Again, caution is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, you want this to be the right move.

But do you really want to put your life on hold while you wait for circumstances outside your control to be put right by someone else? How long might that take? And what's to say the situation will ever be perfect in the future?

Sometimes you just have to go for it, and the sooner the better.

As the Plato proverb puts it: "Necessity is the mother of invention." If you are resolute in your determination to relocate then you're likely to find the way and means to do so.

But here comes the crux - you have to make up your mind. You need to think honestly and in depth about why you want to move abroad, and be sure you do.

It is, without doubt, the most essential part of the process. If you have an unwavering commitment to this new life you see for yourself then you will get there, one way or another.

About the Author

Paul Allen is a freelance journalist and writer who has lived in northern Spain since 2003. He is the author of "Should I Stay Or Should I Go? The Truth About Moving Abroad And Whether It's Right For You," a comprehensive e-book that guides you through the process of deciding whether or not to move abroad. For more details about the book, and free information and advice on moving and living overseas, visit his website at expatliving101.com.


First Published: Oct 26, 2008

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