5 Tips For Moving Abroad - Advice from a serial mover!

I love to fly. It makes me feel so free and unattainable. Despite the fact I totally shit myself at the slightest hint of turbulence, it's something I really enjoy. The 13 hour flight from Malaysia to London is a chance to focus on myself, get lost in movies, read, make plans, sleep, reflect. All the things I don't usually make eenough time for.

Plane wings and pink skies - image via Pintrest

Who's idea was it to put wifi on planes!? I get that it's super convenient, especially for business folk, but for me that time is sacred and made for true escape. I mean you can't escape anymore than being thirty-something-thousand feet high, can you? 

Yesterday I took the new A350 back to the UK.  After 13 hours of relaxation, upon touching down at Heathrow airport, I finally felt ready to move back to the UK.

The last view of KL from my bed at my old apartment 

The past few weeks have been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Malaysia felt more like home than anywhere has for a long time. I've spent the last 2 and a half years setting up a business and living with my boyfriend for the first time. Having a life there together away from the world felt so peaceful and special. It's been a really happy, enjoyable experience and i've left that place with only the most fond memories of it. It was totally different to living in Singapore, not only culturally but also conducting business there. Malaysia changed the way I see the world and the way I see myself too. It made me slow down, take a step back and realise that anything is possible when you truly focus on it. Plus I joined steemit in Malaysia too and #teammamalaysia are some of the most awesome people i've met.

Moving countries is never an easy feat, especially when you've got a business to worry about too. This is the 4th time i've moved my life across oceans and perhaps the hardest move in some ways.

December 2011  (21 years old)  -     one way flight to Singapore
June 2014  (24 years old)) -     one way flight back to London, UK
November 2015  (25 years old) -     one way flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 2018  (28 years old) -     one way flight back to London, UK

There's a pattern there.. move to Asia in winter, move home in summer! This time i'm determined to make the move last more than just a couple of years. I've got big plans for expanding my business in London so that is the motivation to keep me here.

Today i'm here to give some tips to those of you looking to make a big overseas move for a long period of time. Not so much for travellers, because I think that requires different knowledge, but more for expats looking to start a new life in a foreign country.

image via Pintrest

1. Take your time

Nothing will be seamlessly perfect when you first arrive in a new country, no matter how organised you are ahead of time. There are always obstacles, whether it be finding your apartment, getting your visa, understanding the train system or whatever it may be. Don't be hard on yourself or pressure yourself too much into making everything perfect immediately. Take the time to figure it out and don't rush through it.

2. Forget your old friends

It sounds harsh, but it's important to move forward once you have made the change and choice to move away. Spending a lot of your time thinking about what you left behind can be really unhealthy for your development. I've done it too and it's not easy. You kind of trap yourself because your mind is somewhere you physically aren't. My advice would be to make new friends and plunge yourself straight into your new world and surroundings. It may not feel completely the same with new friends, but you may find you have more in common than you do with your friends from home. I've found it easy to form solid relationships with expats super fast, because in just a few moments you'll find you have incredible amounts in common.

3. Expect nothing to be the same

Sometimes we find fear in the unknown, in that which we do not recognise. By changing our expectations and expecting nothing to be the same as what we have known before, we can find happiness in the things which we find to be the same. Finding home comforts can be a rare and beautiful experience if we flip our thinking.

4. Join local social media communities

Usually there are some expat forums on facebook, meet-up and other sites. It's worth joining these groups and communities in order to meet new friends, find out information about the area and just create a mini-community of people who actually know you are in that place. You never know when you could need a helping hand.

5. Expect to miss out

Going hand in hand with making new friends is 'expect to miss out'. That means weddings, babies, funerals, engagements and anything else which is life changing. It will happen and you won't be able to go home for every single event. Yes, you will miss some crucially important days, but you'll also make some life changing memories in your new place. My advice for trips home is go back when you absolutely need to and try and schedule it around any important life events.

My final advice is embrace it, enjoy it, be in the moment. Your new move may not last forever and when you look back on it, you will want to feel like you really lived it! It will change you and your life forever, I can promise you that.

Yasmine