For half a year, I have been preparing my relocation from Sydney to Tokyo.
Luckily, my husband’s work has helped us tremendously with sea freight, real estate agent in Tokyo to help us secure a place and advice on tax.
Even with a lot of help, there are still a lot of little and big things to get your affairs in order before an overseas move.
Here is a list of things that I did when I moved to a new country:
- Get your regulars booked in: There’s a lot of things to do when you move to a new place and it may take time to find a good dentist, GP, hairdresser etc so get in your check up and clean, wash and cut etc before your move. This will avoid any urgent visit to a dentist in an unfamiliar place and you’ll look great when you make all your first impressions in your new home!
- Sell, sell, sell: Some people pay for a storage to keep their belongings but this will be expensive (things may change and you may not return for a while) and if you don’t need it for the duration of your overseas move, you may not need to keep it. After your return, it may be a horror to open up the storage to find all these things that you forgot but have been paying regularly to keep. Do a Marie Kondo: declutter, let go and be light. I listed a lot of things on Gumtree and Facebook market place as well as donated things to charity and friends. Take the opportunity to edit what you have in your life.
- Set up a mail redirect: I have set up for 6 months to ensure most mails are captured and updated. If you have an ongoing account or bills coming through while you are away, try and set up an online statement where possible.
- Keep the mobile number: I had my Australian mobile number as long as I can remember and I didn’t want to lose it while I’m away for a couple of years. I bought my phone outright and as I had my plan for a while, it was on a month to month basis without breaking any contract. I bought a cheap prepaid plan from Aldi ($5 for the sim and $15 credit for 365 days) and transferred my number when I activated the prepaid the night before the departure. The carriers do the rest for you and your number should be transferred in a few hours.
- Power of Attorney: Things creep up when you’re away. Just in case, I have set up a power of attorney where I nominated my parents to be my attorneys whilst I’m overseas. I lived in a different state to my parents and each state has a different power of attorney laws but most honor each other’s state’s power of attorney contract. I printed out a free form, filled it out in front of a justice of peace with a condition that it is effective whilst I live overseas. I scanned a copy for myself and I have left the original with my parents. They are the people who need to show the form to act on it so I thought it was better for them to hold onto them.
- Cancel any memberships and accounts: gym, credit card, any magazine subscriptions that have automatic debits should be reviewed and cancelled. Check the plan a month or two in advance as some membership cannot be cancelled straight away and you don’t want to be paying extra!
- Notify your state, country about your leave: Not only updating your details are important, make sure to inform the state and/or your country that you’re leaving. This will help with your tax and any voting.
- Check the expiry: Check your drivers’ licence, passport and other licences won’t expire during your intended duration of overseas living.
- Buy some souvenirs: Have some souvenirs from where you’re from so that you have a little gift to share when you meet people in your new place. It’s a great conversation starter and a way to make new friends.
- Set up your favourites / bucket list: I lived in Sydney for 9 years and there were still a lot of “Oh, it’s so close/always there, I’ll get to it” places and activities. Who knows where life takes you and when you’ll be coming back to your home so make sure to tick off as many as possible. It’s amazing how much can be achieved when you know that time is precious. I revisited my favourite galleries (Brett Whiteley studio, Art Gallery of NSW), cafes (Four Brave Women), beaches (Balmoral, Watsons Bay), walks (Wendy’s Secret Garden, Luna Park boardwalk) as well as visited places like Newcastle, Unas and William Blue Dining that I never got around do until I was leaving.
- Book a lot of catch ups: Unfortunately, my husband had to leave straight after the Christmas/ New Years break when a lot of our friends were away. This meant that he couldn’t say good bye to a lot of dear friends, who were quite upset when I caught up with them after he left. Even with people who you may have only met a few times a year, let them know that you’re leaving and catch up. Even for 30 minutes over a cup of coffee (bonus if you can combine your bucket list destinations with a catch up!). Make more memories with your city before you move on 🙂
I am sure there are many others (and may realise once I leave!) so I’ll make sure to keep this updated.
Have you moved overseas and have good advice/tips before you leave? Share in the comments below.
Native Expat 