Picking Up and Moving
 

Has anyone around here ever just picked up and moved? Not to anot her town, or across the country, but to another continent or to another country, and then settled down there?

Lately I've had the urge to want to do that. I'd really enjoy living across Europe for much of my life, and life's short, so the sooner the better. I just don't have the slightest as to if anyone's done this or if they have any thoughts on it. The hope would be that I will get a degree in international business, most likely, move to somewhere in Europe and hopefully work jobs for 6 months to a year and then move to another part of the country or the continent.

Has anyone ever done this or known anyone who's done this?

I've had that same urge. Something about breaking the mundane patterns and doing something fantastic and totally alien has a great appeal. There are, of course, logistical factors to be considered before taking this step, but I do know several people who've done it. One of my friends in a week went from home, job, and friends here in California to a small village in Germany. Everyone was kinda shocked, but he's really happy there, so I guess it worked out.

I know a friend of a friend who was on a student exchange program in France for a month. When he the month was up and he was about to come home, he called his parents and told them he was staying. I think its been over a year now and he's doing pretty well working little odd jobs and the such. I haven't heard anything about him for a few months though.

Well, the main issue is dealing with being an American citizen and how to obtain a work visa in the EU and how I would be able to do that. Once the immigration idea is sorted out I think I can work out the logistics from there, but that's a pretty important part to cross since I dont' know the first place to start. The State Department? I'd like to be an American Citizen and remain that way, but I'd like to be able to live in other places and be able to work there. I don't have the slightest as to how feasible that is to work out.

By all means DO IT!

And do it while you're young. Travel ... living abroad will open your mind up to people, cultures and world politics like nothing else can. It's an education you can't get from reading.

I'm a native Californian. When I decided to make a big change in my life ... I quit my job and left the US. I moved to the West Indies for 2 years then in the UK for more than another year. I travelled all over France, Spain, Greece, Turkey ... all while living out of my luggage. I later moved to the east coast of the US and lived in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island.

Eventually I came back to California ... but I learned so much.

There's good and bad everywhere. I love aspects of each place I've been. In the end I believe, to the bottom of my heart, that the US is still the best place to grow up - all things considered. While it's quite unfashionable to be patriotic there's so much we take for granted in this country (I'm not talking about material luxuries but personal, economic, political opportunities and freedoms). One can't appreciate it unless he/she's lived abroad. I won't go into my diatribe about cultural differences. There are many things I absolutely adore in other countries and I've seen so many incredibly beautiful sights in Europe and Asia ... but, in the end, I'm happy to have been born an American.

Do it. It'll mature you in many ways ....

Step 1) Get a universal skill set, like teaching, computers, farming, etc.
Step 2) Get a buddy in your target country. There are Europeans lurking on TFP...ask them your questions!
Step 3) Find a company that needs people who speak english in your skill set, and contact them. Remember that Craigslist has websites across Europe as well as North America.
Step 4) Find a company that wants you.
Step 5) Have them do all the work. Heh.

I'm just guessing, of course, but it seems like it could work.

At Longbough - How did you afford living in the UK for a year and afford traveling all across Europe for the time that you did? Did you live in one place for a few weeks and work odd jobs or something, or did you just save up your money and made one big travel across the continent for a few weeks before returning to America?

Are you dead set on Europe? Because I know there's TONS of programs in Japan and China that'll take any competent guy off the street and send him to teach English in asia. The best ones will pay for everything, too- the flight there, plus a salary. Martel and I toyed with the idea a little bit. It'd be a way for you to just pack up and move, do something different for a year or so, and not have to immediately worry about the finacial aspect of it.

If you do decide you want to do the europe thing... hell, save money for three or four months, get a couple thousand, and just get a cheap plane ticket anywhere. Figure it out when you get there- but make sure you leave enough money somewhere so you can buy a plane ticket home if you decide it's not for you. If I wasn't married I'd probably be intrigued by your idea and do it myself :)

I left everything to go to go abroad for medical school - so I was in the UK for clinical rotations. In the end I knew I could pay off everything. It made more sense than just "slumming-it." So the tough part was getting into medical school and having the long-term goal of being a doctor. So, not only was it travel, but I had something to show for it all in the end.

When I was living in the UK a trip to France was just a trainride (via Eurostar) away. A trip to Spain was like a flight from San Francisco to LA. A trip to the highlands of Scotland was just a matter of renting a Fiat (and teaching myself to use the gearshift with my left hand ...) and driving north along a chain of lochs until I reached Fort Augustus at the tip of Loch Ness.

I know someone who did that, within Europe. I say go for it, there are so many foreigners here in Portugal who come out because they love the climate, the relaxed atmosphere, the good food and company...I think it's great, just remember everywhere has its flaws. Portugal has a lot of bureaucracy and is sometimes really confusing but I think it's an ok place to live. I'd like to move to a different country for a period of time, just to try something different. I think that living in different contexts is a real eye opener and can help to broaden your perspectives on many different issues. The more you venture outside your comfort zone, the more you confirm who you are and what you want.

Word of advice: the best way to move somewhere abroad is to have a job where your company has a branch there, so you're on US salary but living in Europe. Or, save money for a while then come out and blow it all during your stay, if all you want to do is travel.

Set up things in advance ... whether it's a job, schooling or a personal contact. At least it gives you a starting point while you get your bearings. You don't want to just plop in out of nowhere and start cold ... could be disastrous.

you're not quite done with school yet, why not first look into doing a semester abroad - and see if you really do like it... it will give you a lot of independence, but it also has an end point and gives you an out if you really do hate it...

I picked up everything and moved to Iceland for a year, after I finished my BA. I went there under the pretense of getting an MA in English (ha!), but dropped that after two days in the country. I enrolled at the university anyway and took a bunch of language/culture/history classes while I got my citizenship (my father was Icelandic) and spent time with my paternal family. I taught English on the side, since I had certification and could make some money doing it.

It was unequivocally the best year of my life, and it changed my life course from that point on.

Things to note: 1) I had family/personal contacts there. 2) I had a school to go to (even if I ended up changing programs). 3) I had portable job skills (teaching), like what willravel recommends. 4) I had citizenship options, which included the right to work.

You need at least one of these things, if not two or three, in order to establish a life abroad. But if you are going as a tourist, all you need is time and money. :D Either way, do it if you can.

I think it's great that you are committed to living in another country for a substantial portion of time, if not the rest of your life. That takes serious balls, man. :thumbsup: Personally, I think every American student should have to spend one year of HS abroad, but that will never happen. :(

And financial aid will pay for it, if you do it through a program at your university. Most programs work out so you only really have to pay for your airfare over there, and maybe some minor incidentals--a very good deal.

Yeah, I'm goign to talk to my school this fall about going to London or around those parts this next Spring for a semester. Then I'd start working things out for myself.

Maybe this is only a small issue but, for me, London wasn't really where it's at. I had the option of living in London for my education but, instead, I chose to live in the Westmidlands among the "real" residents. Coming from the SF Bay Area I already knew what it was like being in an "international" city.

For what it's worth, it was great being the only American in miles. Frankly, the local girls just looooved my accent ... Americans in London are no big deal. In my town I also liked going to the local shops and pub and living the easy pace and hanging out with the locals.

London is fantastic, but it is similar to San Francisco. I would personally suggest South Spain (best vacation spot ON EARTH), Italy, or even Germany.

I had an assignment where i was stuck in london for weeks -the customer's flunkie was from the midlands region and god help me - I needed a translator to understand him... Of course the girls loved your accent - the boys are impossible to understand :D

Well, give me a few weeks and I'll have a list of my options :)

You ain't kidding about the slang in the westmidlands ... it can be pretty thick on some folks (not everyone, though) .... even when I asked some folks to speak slowly I couldn't understand them. Of course everyone could understand me .. no problem.

I'll work on my sout hern drawl... Maybe they'll like that...

Not that I have one. City born and raised despite being a Texas. Maybe a few "Howdy"s will get some girls going... :love:

My buddy "visited" Paris 3 years ago. Brought his transcripts and spoke with folks at the admissions office at the Sorbonne "just for kicks". Now he's working on his last year with his Master's in Musicology.

Apparently it's easy to get a visa when you've been admitted to a university. And apparently it's pretty easy to get into a foreign university. I'm sure that's dependent upon the country, though. The French have this odd policy of rejecting no one from their public institutions.

Also I think alot about that. I'm saving up for nothing in particular, and I'm thinking its going for a trip to europe for at least a year or 2. I think it would totally be a life altering experience, and worth any cost put into it.