Tips for Moving Around the EU - Challenge Magazine

Are you planning to move within the EU? What an exciting prospect. The great thing about moving around the EU is that you’re probably only a few hours from home by way of plane, but you can feel like you’re a whole world away. Different languages, cultures, and even cars driving on the other side of the road – it can be a great deal of fun. There’s also a lot of preparation that has to go into a move so here are some tips I’ve compiled to ensure your move goes as seamlessly as possible.

Sort Out Your Health Care

This is my number one thing I look into before moving to another country and I’ve lived overseas four times. Your health is your biggest asset, and if you have children, their health is your biggest responsibility. Without our health, there’s not much else. If you a resident of the UK and need to apply for your EHIC card before moving, don’t hesitate and apply now. The EHIC : European Health Insurance Card allows you to receive free or reduced cost health care in the participating countries. It’s easy to apply online, all you need to do is fill out the form, pay the application fee and provide supporting documentation. Ensure that you carry your card with you when you’re in other countries as it is required.

Sort Out Your Banking

Once you’ve got your health sorted, the next thing is often banking. Depending on where you’re based there’s a good chance you can set up your banking for in your new country from your current home. Do some research on your current bank’s website or give them a call to see if they operate in your newly adopted country. If not, find a bank that does and see about opening it up. Taking cash out of ATMs is not secure and often comes with a whole range of fees so it’s much better to get this step sorted as soon as possible.

Find Accomodation

I always advise to people moving overseas to rent out a temporary accommodation, perhaps through a site like Airbnb for a month before committing to anything long term. If your employment is providing accomodation, well lucky you! But if not, renting a fully furnished apartment for a month will allow you enough time to research which parts of town work well for you, where you don’t want to live and what is nearby. It also allows you to move into a house already set up so you don’t need to rush out and buy electronics and other necessities once you’ve got off the plane.

Be Social

Often one of the biggest challenges of moving overseas is meeting new people. It can be harder to make friends when you don’t already have an established social group. As such I suggest using websites such as meetup.com to meet other people in your new home. If you have work colleagues try to be social with them as they’ll be able to introduce you and help you become settled in this new place. It will go a long way to helping you feel like you’ve found your new home.

Moving overseas – even if it’s not far – is a big, scary and exciting step. Using these tips will ensure that you have the best, smoothest move possible.