| Let the Adventure Begin! A Week-by-Week Guide to Moving Abroad
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32 Weeks Until Move: A Glimpse of Your New Life Abroad - The "Look-See" Trip & Using a Relocation Company
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Note: this is an excerpt of our free e-newsletter, Let the Adventure Begin!. For full access, please subscribe to the e-version of Let the Adventure Begin! (free). This is a synopsis of an e-newsletter issue of Let the Adventure Begin! Subscribe today (free) and you'll receive weekly e-newsletters starting 8 months before your approximate move date and running through your first four months abroad, you'll receive weekly e-newsletters with timely advice related to where you are in the preparation and settling in processes.
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NationPhone&TV's USA TV Abroad Service offers you a real US cable subscription streamed to you live from the US. You can watch on your PC, your TV, or on your mobile device! Go to NationPhone's Website for a demo today.
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The "Look-See" Trip sometimes comes before a family has decided whether or not to accept an assignment. For others, it comes after they've decided to move. Either way, the "Look-See" trip does just that -- it gives you a chance to get a glimpse of your new life abroad.
You've probably done a great deal of research online about your destination and talked with a few expats prior to this insightful trip. Your "Look-See" trip is a great time to narrow down school and neighborhood choices, meet future colleagues and find short-term housing.
If you're going to be working with a relocation agent, he/she can be extremely helpful during this visit -- planning school visits, walking you through different neighborhoods, scheduling apartment and home tours and more.
Hopefully, you'll come away from the "Look-See" trip armed with valuable insight into schools and neighborhoods. You may feel more confused and overwhelmed, because the school or neighborhood your research showed would be best may not be right after all. Try to make lists of pros and cons for neighborhoods and schools while you're visiting. These lists can be very helpful if you have to make decisions before you move. In the next two issues, we'll be delving into neighborhood and school selection, which often go hand-in-hand.
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Earth Class Mail lets you view your mail online, then, with a mouse click, have it either opened and scanned for your review and download, shredded to protect your privacy, recycled to help the environment or forward-shipped to you or others 24/7, wherever you are in the world. Reduces forward-shipping costs by 50-90%!
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| Making Connections during Your "Look-See" Trip
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We encourage you to use our Country Discussion Forums to talk with other expats about life in your future destination. Maybe you can plan to meet an expat that you've met on our site for coffee or attend a local get together for expats (please always meet in a public place). Post a question to other members of the forum asking if there are any expat social events during the time that you'll be visiting. Making a few expat or local contacts can give you a tremendous sense of security as you prepare to make the move abroad.
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| Using a Relocation Company
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Kathy Nunn from Elite Executive Relocation Services wrote an article entitled, The Benefits of a Relocation Agent. In it she describes the value of using a relocation agent. Here's a summary:
Relocating should be one of the most rewarding and exciting experiences of our lives. We have the chance to explore new places, make new friends and reinvent ourselves! Often, however, what started as the adventure of a lifetime can deteriorate into a time consuming slog!
That is where a good relocation consultant can assist. Long before your arrival date your consultant will get in touch with you to find out what makes your family tick, what your hopes are for your new destination and to work out how best to help you. They can talk to you about suitable suburbs and explain the subtle differences between one place and another. If you need assistance with education, they will be able to give you an honest rundown of the options.
By the time you arrive you will already be quite familiar with your destination city and clear about the kind of choices that are ahead of you. The consultant will also be prepared with suitable home and school options so that those choices are as easy as possible. A good consultant will have excellent relationships with real estate agents and it is likely that some of what you see will not yet be officially listed. The consultant will also give you the best possible opportunity of having your application on any rental accepted.... The result of this is that you spend the least time possible in short term accommmodation and the cost of the relocation in time and money is minimised.
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Living abroad has a lot of benefits but exceptional healthcare isn't one of them. Global Rescue membership ensures your health and safety no matter where you reside. We will evacuate you to the hospital of your choice in your home country. Period.
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Expat Advice: Moving & Relocation Tips by City
City Profiles by Expats
Other LInks
Coaching Tips for a Successful Relocation
Piercarla Garusi (May 10, 2008)
The Benefits of a Relocation Agent -- in Australia and Beyond
Kathy Nunn (Mar 08, 2008)
Expat Life Survey - Question 33
(Mar 01, 2008)
Sullivan the Hound Goes Global
Jeremy Beaumont (Jan 04, 2008)
PetRelocation.com Blog
PetRelocation.com (Nov 05, 2007)
Five Tips for Safe and Humane International Pet Relocation
PetRelocation.com (Feb 24, 2007)
Think Global Recruitment's Relocation Tips
Abigail Stevens, Managing Director (Nov 24, 2006)
Attitude is Everything: Positive attitudes can help adolescents moving abroad get off on the right start
Ben Voegele (Sep 03, 2005)
Benefits
(Jul 09, 2004)
Relocation in and to Germany: Checklist for new residents
Joachim Graff (Nov 10, 2003)
>> See More Articles
Related Resources
AAA Nobel Van Lines
International Moving Specialist - Transport Company offering relocation service with vehicle shipping, overseas moving specialized in shipping of household goods, automobiles, boats, general cargo, personal belongings that deals with the entire process of shipping and freight moving.
AAA PriceBreak!Shipping
PriceBreak!Shipping provides a variety of international shipping services. Full Relocation Planning. Full packing / Crating services. 20' & 40' Containers / Small shipments. Over 500 agents worldwide.
American Baggage & Box Transport, Inc.
Fastlane Forwarding UK: cars & goods shipping service
International car and personal goods shipping service from the UK to all worldwide destinations. Affordable rates for both RORO (under the deck) and containers.
Forms4Parents.com
Forms4Parents.com provides parents and their children with travel, medical, custodial and doctor/emergency authorization forms that are customized to the specific needs of each child and family.
International Removals
1st Move International Removals UK offers weekly shipping services for personal and household effects and regular RoRo services for cars and boats. Full packing and insurance available. Free online quote. For shipping and moving from the UK, USA or any worldwide destination contact 1st Move International removals.
Moving Overseas Removals
Overseas removals and shipping. Moving overseas to Spain, France, Germany and all Europe. At Moveme we offer
overseas removals services, insurance and packing to Europe and over 5000 worldwide destinations. Great rates and
fast shipping times. Free online quotation. 24/7 tracking services when shipping your personal effects and household goods.
Sherisen International
Founded in 1980, Sherisen International Inc. is a cross-cultural business training company which provides training, consulting and publications for today's global manager and marketplace.
In addition to training, destination services can be offered in major cities in India.
ShippingQuest.com
Ship freight internationally using our LOW COST LCL international ocean shipping service with instant online rates.
Related Reports
Destination Profile: France
Destination Profile: Germany
Destination Profile: South Africa
Destination Profile: Switzerland
Destination Profile: Switzerland
Destination Profile: US
Relocation Advice: Belize
Relocation Advice: Canada
Relocation Advice: China
Relocation Advice: Germany
Relocation Advice: Germany
Relocation Advice: Hong Kong
Relocation Advice: Indonesia
Relocation Advice: Indonesia
Relocation Advice: Italy
Relocation Advice: Korea
Relocation Advice: Mexico
Relocation Advice: Mexico
Relocation Advice: Mexico
Relocation Advice: Philippines
Relocation Advice: Spain
Relocation Advice: Spain
Relocation Advice: Switzerland
Relocation Advice: Switzerland
Relocation Advice: Switzerland
Relocation Advice: Switzerland
Relocation Advice: Switzerland
Relocation Advice: Switzerland
Relocation Advice: Switzerland
Relocation Advice: Trinidad & Tob.
Relocation Advice: UK
Relocation Advice: UK
Relocation Advice: UK
Relocation Advice: UK
School Review: India
Career Advice: Luxembourg
Financial Advice: France
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| This Issue Written by Betsy Burlingame
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Betsy Burlingame is the founder of ExpatExchange.com. She launched ExpatExchange.com in 1997 as her Master's thesis project at New York University. Over the last 11+ years, ExpatExchange.com has become one of the largest and most well-respected online communities for expatriates and international transferees.
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