How To Plan To Move Abroad After College

By Alexandra Brown on February 2, 2016

You may have come into college with a complete idea of what you wished to pursue and you may have stuck with that. Others may have come in with an idea, only to change it three more times before graduation. Whatever your case may be, it is still necessary to consider your next step following graduation.

This, of course, would be what you plan to do after college, where you plan to do it, and whom you plan to do it with, if anyone.

While some students plan on attending graduate school or taking on a job that is already lined up for them following graduation, an option that many students choose is to move away, specifically abroad. This could be for the purpose of taking a job overseas, joining an overseas organization, such as the Peace Corps, or for the sole sake of exploring what you’ve never had the chance to experience before.

Nonetheless, moving abroad requires a great deal of planning in advance to ensure success while abroad.

Here are four ways to plan for moving abroad after college.

1. Prepare your travel documents.

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The first thing you’ll need to actually be able to travel abroad is a passport, and depending on which country you’re traveling to and for how long, a visa.

If you already have a passport, you’ll need to make sure it’s still valid, and that it will be valid for however long you’ll be abroad. If it is scheduled to expire sometime before then, you’ll need to apply for a new one. This should all be taken care of months in advance before the date you plan to leave as travel documents take a while to process, and to get returned.

If you’re going somewhere for an amount of time that requires a visa, you’ll also need to apply for that, again, months in advance. These travel documents should be taken care of months prior to departure to make sure you’re not worrying about them last minute, and to ensure you get everything back on time.

2. Learn the language (as best as you can).

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Some students choose to move abroad after college to a location they’ve previously traveled, maybe even for a study abroad program at their college or university. If this is the case, maybe they’re already familiar with the country’s language because they studied it for a semester.

If this is not the case, however, and the country’s primary language is not English, it is definitely a good idea to attempt to learn as much of the language as you can, or at least basic phrases.

Even if English is widely spoken in the country to which you’re traveling (this is often the case because of how many people from other countries choose to learn English in school), you should still go out of your way to learn some of the language. It’s only respectful, and you want to be able to communicate at a basic level with locals and even potential clients.

3. Figure out your money situation.

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You should have a planned budget before moving abroad, as well as a plan to change your currency. Sometimes it’s cheaper to change your U.S. dollars to another currency while you’re still in the U.S., depending on the exchange rate.

Do research in advance, and have a plan. Also figure out your credit/debit card situation. Will you primarily be using cash while abroad, a credit card, a debit card, or all three? Does the country in which you’re traveling only accept credit cards with new chip technology? All of these questions should be answered before you leave.

You will also need to contact your bank and let them know you’re leaving. If you start charging things to your various accounts while abroad, without notifying your bank, they will assume someone who is not you is in possession of your card, and will most likely cancel your cards. Being in a foreign country without money supply would be a problem, so don’t let this happen.

4. Remain connected to home.

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You should bring your current cell phone with you abroad, but once you get there, how you want to deal with communication is your choice.

You have the option of buying a SIM card to put into your current cell phone so you have data on your current phone in an area that might not have your phone carrier. This card is basically a pre-paid card you put in your phone that lasts for a certain amount of months.

You can also buy a phone abroad, with a plan from one of their carriers. If you choose this option, download messaging apps to your current phone. This allows you to stay in contact with people at home for free, when you have Wi-Fi.

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