This article describes many of the considerations when planning a big move. This could be a move to another city, or to the other side of the world. A big move could be a natural progression as part of being location independent, or a desire to travel.

If you are travelling with a partner, the suggestions should cover both of you. However, children are a much more complex challenge, particularly when they are school age. Much more research and planning is required for this, and so won’t be covered here.

It boils down to this – the more planning and lead time to achieve these items, the greater the likelihood of a smooth transition.

WORKING THROUGH YOUR PLANNING TIMELINE

Treat many of the suggestions in this article as a checklist. Some may apply to you, others are of no relevance. The starting point is to develop a list (or lists) of everything that you need to take care of. On this list, include the expected lead-time and be conservative with estimates.

This section focuses on tasks and items that typically take time to arrange. Have a plan to at least start on each of them as soon as possible.

Where are you moving to?

Sure, you know that you’re relocating to Mexico, however do already have somewhere to live lined up? If so, consider yourself one of the lucky few.

Looking for a place to live is challenging at the best of times. The best approach is to lock down temporary accommodation for when you first arrive, and begin your house-hunting from there. This approach deals with the immediate concern (“where do I stay”). It also gives you time to get a feel for the new city before settling on somewhere to move into.

Switching gears to state the (potentially) obvious. Do a quick bit of research to understand what type of weather you can expect to experience in your destination. In addition, what is the norm for housing, including furnishing. For example, apartments in London typically come at least part-furnished. Whereas, this is a rarity in New York or Sydney.

What do you need once there?

Hopefully you now know the types of accommodation available, and the conditions that you’ll be facing. It’s time to kick-off the thought process around what to take. Initial considerations include the following, as arrangements may take time:

• Work equipment – Bigger or more expensive items are the main consideration. Would you need to make special shipping arrangements? This can include permits for transport or to keep in your possession at the destination?
• Pets – Requirements vary depending on the destination. Understanding the expected vaccination regime and timescales is key. Sometimes the injections need to occur within a defined number of days before departure.

Medical matters

Get routine medical matters taken care of at home (or where you live now) before you leave. It may be cheaper, however the key advantage is that it’s (presumably) familiar. You can speak the language, know where to go, and how the system works.

Sure, you will figure it out at your destination. However, these are the activities that you only want to tackle several months after your arrival.

• Medication – In particular, longer-term prescriptions. Discuss a longer-term treatment plan with your doctor as soon as possible. They can help formulate a longer term management plan. They may be able to connect you with health care services at your destination.
• Medical / dental checkups – If nothing else, this can give you a baseline of your health before setting off. Give enough lead time in case something is identified during the checkup that needs taking care of.
• Glasses (or contact lenses) prescription – Particularly helpful if you are coming around time for a new pair of glasses or contact lenses anyway.

Personal administration

These tasks can be involved, and are likely to require a stretch of time to complete. Like everything else, ensure that you know the lead time so that you can plan accordingly.

• Passport renewal – Travelling anywhere requires 3-6 months validity on your passport. If you are going to be away for some time, or need multiple visas, consider preemptively renewing the passport. It is often easier and faster if you’re still in your home country too.
• Visas – This could be more complicated than you may initially assume. Firstly, make sure that your passport has sufficient validity before embarking on any process. Work out what the expected processing time is. Factor in your travel arrangements in the coming period as well. If you have multiple passports from different countries, this may be less of a concern.
• Vacating your house / apartment – Leases can be tricky to extricate yourself out of, depending on where you are living. You may be able to get another person to take on the lease. Try speaking with the landlord about early termination, especially if the termination will occur during a busy time of the year.
• Selling your car – Unless you are moving countries within the European Union, it’s often impractical to ship a car to the destination. Taking your car to the sales lot won’t net a good price compared with private sale.

PLANNING WHAT TO TAKE VS WHAT TO BUY

This is often the most time-consuming and emotionally challenging task. The thoughts that often come up include:

• What will I need, or potentially need, in the new place?
• I can’t bear to get rid of this {insert item here, pretty much any item!}.
• This cost me so much money, I shouldn’t throw it out!
• Maybe I should ship it / store it, just in case.
• If I hate the new place and come home / when I come back, will I need this?

These are normal questions, and sometimes don’t have quick or easy answers. This might be a good time to introduce the concept of minimalism, or the teachings of Marie Kondo’s KonMari method.

Even if you don’t subscribe to these ideas, talk with people who have stored and / or shipped items. The majority will tell you that they overestimated what they needed. Or underestimated how long they would be away.

Accepting that moving is an expensive proposition strangely helps. The costs will be incurred either way, whether you choose to ship or buy at the other end.

How I have approached this challenge

Having moved countries many times, I have become better over time with identifying what I truly need each move. My approach is simple – nearly everything can be replaced / re-purchased, and everything has a weight (and space, although a lesser worry).

I have a natural tendency these days to avoid purchases, although am not so fussed about cheap and disposable items. Long-term purchases need to be light weight as the majority of things don’t make sense to ship.

Here are some ways that I’ve found useful to approach this dilemma.

Furniture / equipment

• Furniture – Don’t ship cheaper furniture (e.g. IKEA and similar). These items aren’t built for multiple moves.
• Bulky and less expensive furniture – It’s often cheaper to sell / dispose of what you have and buy new at the other end. The same logic applies to the storage costs, unless you have somewhere to store bigger items for free.
• Musical instruments / sports equipment – Invest in carrying cases with decent padding, and do some test runs around home to make sure it works.
• Computer cases – Strip the components out (take lots of photos, and label parts if needed), and pack items into anti-static bags. Carry anything with data (hard disks, SSD, etc) in carry-on. Purchase a new case at the other end, and re-assemble.
• Computer monitors – Smaller monitors (up to 27in) can typically be packed in a suitcase. Put a cardboard sheet in front of the glass, and evenly distribute weight / load in the suitcase. Get the airline to attach a “Fragile” sticker (for what little it may benefit).

Clothing

• New clothes / shoes – This can be a great opportunity to refresh your wardrobe at the destination, saving on weight and space.
• Sizes – If you are physically bigger than the average person at your destination, you might want to shop locally. For example, tall people, and larger people, are going to have trouble finding a range of clothing that fits them in Asia.
• Styles – Clothing tastes are different e.g. American clothing tastes differ to European (e.g. length of shirts), Japanese favour muted colours and more “conservative” looks.
• Seasonal wardrobe(s) – Do you need Winter attire, particularly upon arrival. If moving to the tropics (Asia, much of Africa, and Central America), do you need warm clothes at all?
• Specific clothing – How many suits or formal clothing do you really need, especially up-front.
• Sports clothing – Unless lightweight, perhaps this is a chance to retire / refresh the older items in the wardrobe. It saves space and weight.

Supplies

• Foods / snacks – This is a tricky balancing act. Perhaps moving away is a chance to break a habit? If this doesn’t apply, check if there are any customs restriction on import. This is normally okay if the food is commercially produced and sealed.
• Supplements – Have on hand at least a couple of months worth of the vitamins and other supplements that you take. This gives you time to find local sellers at your destination, and research the quality that you’re looking for.

NEARING DEPARTURE DAY

There are a multitude of tasks to take care of as the big departure day approaches. By nature, some tasks can’t really be completed until the last days before departure. Some don’t have a long lead-time, and so can be tackled quickly at any point.

Administrative matters

The suggested items below can help reduce administrative headaches down the track. Fortunately, they can often be arranged months in advance for the super organised.

• Mail forwarding – This instructs your postal service to forward your mail to a new location (Royal Mail, US Postal Service, Canada Post, Australia Post, New Zealand Post). This is a good temporary measure, giving you time to update addresses for correspondence over a 3-6 month period.
• Virtual mail box – Potentially done along with mail forwarding, these services can receive your mail, scan, and send electronic copies to you.
• Travel insurance – If you are planning to be away for some time, travel insurance can cover your moving period and a grace period (usually 45-60 days) after you’ve arrived at your destination.
• Copies of documentation – Having high resolution copies of all key documentation to-hand makes filling out administrative forms for your new location so much easier. Most matters are now handled electronically, although some places may wish to see physical copies.

Family and friends

If this is your first time making a big move, your family and friends typically will assume that you’ll return soon. And who knows, maybe you will. Even if you are sure that this is your “forever” move, expect the questions such as, “When are you coming back?”, “Will you be here for Christmas?”, and “How long will you be away?”.

These questions come from a good place of concern and excitement (and perhaps a bit of envy). It may feel repetitious, and perhaps frustrating if you sometimes don’t have all the answers.

Allow plenty of time in your schedule to spend time with people before going, more than you expect. Who knows when you’ll see everybody again. For more on this point, check out the article on location independence (“When things go wrong”).

Packing

• What you’ll need immediately on arrival – Pack an outfit or two at easy access in your suitcase. If you have multiple bags, spread this across bags, just in case.
• What can wait – If the first few days after arrival are going to be spent adjusting to the new time zone and basic familiarity, you don’t need much. Most people will understand if you have to subsist on a reduced wardrobe for the time it takes bags to arrive.
• Getting in the movers – If somebody else is paying for your relocation, this can be a boon for packing. Good movers know what they are doing – let them do their job.
• Unaccompanied luggage / boxes – You might often find that for the extra cost, taking extra bags when you first leave is better. It may feel a little logistically unwieldy however it’s all done at once.
• Carrying with you – Your carry-on should be filled with the objects that you can least afford to lose. This includes key documentation, hard disks, medication (a few days worth, at least), prescriptions, specialist equipment.

SUMMARY

The suggestions in this article cover planning a medium / long-term move to another place far away. This could be another part of your country, or the other side of the world. The more time spent up-front, the smoother things can go.

Create a list of all of the tasks that need to be undertaken, and be conservative with the lead-time. Getting on top of tasks sooner helps immensely. As you approach the deadline, you’ll find that the things that matter most tend to be taken care of anyway. You’ll have an innate way of prioritising what’s most important.

Lastly, don’t forget to allow a little time to enjoy the anticipation – adventure awaits!