Learning how to move out for the first time can be difficult if you’ve never been away from home. However, with some sound advice and good organization, you’ll have confidence in your relocation skills and, most importantly, your decision to move. Here are some tips for moving out for the first time.
How do you move out for the first time and go away to college safely and efficiently? Here’s a quick rundown – make your decision, stick to it, and during the move, remember why you chose this way during the move. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but it will be enough, for sure.
How to Move Out for the First Time and Study Overseas in a Place of Dreams
Relocating across the world can bring so many dilemmas: Where is it best to study? Will you get what you want out of it? How much money should you have saved when you first move out? Every question that comes to your mind is legitimate. You’re worried about your safety and future and want things to go well.
If you have unsupportive parents, their opinions and judgment might hinder your plan to move abroad. You’ll often wonder if you’re doing the right thing and likely be on the verge of giving up. That’s when you don’t abandon your plans, though – it’s when you make them count.
Even if you make an imaginary checklist for moving abroad, it will be the real deal one day because you’ve strived for its completion and worked hard to achieve your goals.
Things to Know When Moving Out for the First Time and Abroad
Whether you do or don’t have the support of your loved ones, you’ll be shipping overseas all alone. This is the chance to learn your strengths and how to make them count.
So, you’ll need a checklist of tasks to do before the move: taking care of the paperwork, applications, and accommodation; learning about your new home and what you’ll need to bring there; packing the essentials, and calling an international moving company to provide professional relocation services and help you move as easy as possible.
Sometimes, people aren’t sure they should leave their parents’ house and become independent. The man in the video below explains his reasons for leaving his childhood home for bigger opportunities – you might find yourself in some aspects and get motivated to be independent.
What Is the First Step to Moving Out? Before You Decide When, Decide Where and Why
Living overseas is easy when you get used to it, but that could take a long while. Fitting in mainly depends on how different your destination is from where you grew up; Eastern countries typically have very different lifestyles than Western countries. Some things we do in the US could be considered rude or inappropriate elsewhere.
It’s OK to complain about some stuff to your friends and family, as that just might be the relocation stress talking out of you. What isn’t OK is disrespecting locals and diminishing their way of living because it’s different than what you’re used to.
When you find the “where,” ask yourself “why there?” and then research that country, its immigration laws, college opportunities, and living standards. There are some essentials you shouldn’t move without.
When planning an international move, the first real question is: how much money do I need to move out? Every relocation requires one thing – a budget. Anyone relocating abroad alone wants to find ways to move on a low budget, and that’s perfectly fine.
Having some awareness of your destination country’s living costs and conditions should be your priority. You can always check out Numbeo, the website that compares global living costs and updates them regularly or seek out forums like Reddit, where people discuss money, life standards, adaptation, and so much more.
Something that might be less important than deciding how much money should you have before moving out is if you can speak the language used in your destination country. Some people don’t try to understand foreign languages in the least bit and then go through culture shock while staying there.
Breaking the language barrier isn’t just about your language skills but how well you can adapt to new and unfamiliar situations. Sure, many countries officially and unofficially speak English as a second language, but that doesn’t mean they’ll always be willing to use it with you.
Additionally, even if you meet people who perfectly speak English, it doesn’t mean everyone can. This is another part of being considerate and respectful to a foreign culture. If you don’t think you’ll communicate adequately with people from foreign countries, consider going to a place where English is the first language, like Canada, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand.
Sometimes, everything can work out if one of your biggest reasons to move is doing new things. However, as a college student, you must consider how your school choice will affect your future.
University dorms and housing already function as expat communities, so you won’t have problems finding similar people, but hanging out with folks from all over should be a reward, not a priority. Your studies should reflect your interests, wishes for the future, and potential business opportunities.
If you go so you can party and spend your nights in local bars with your fellow students, that’s fine, but don’t expect your studies to reflect or determine your success in that case. Having a great work-life balance is crucial, but not at the expense of losing sight of the future.
Adjusting to another country has more than just settling in and commuting to work daily. Very often, the necessary documents for moving internationally can define how quickly you can fit in. Some countries are good to students and expatriates, others not so much.
The trick is to find a place with as many benefits as it does challenges. No country will be perfectly suitable to your tastes – that’s just the state of the world – but some will provide easier and more comfortable accommodations than others.
The countries with the best health insurance should be on top of your list (considering how US healthcare works, it may not be so hard to find a good place). Your health and well-being should be your priority wherever you go, even if the insurance is there “just in case.”
You can always research countries with the best healthcare globally and factor that into your decision. Australia and United Kingdom are within the top ten countries, and their native language is English. Why not consider these places?
Is There a Checklist for Moving? Yes, and You’re in Charge of It Completely
The best relocation hacks include planning, which is what a moving out for the first time checklist is. A good relocation checklist shouldn’t just include the stuff you have to pack but tasks to perform just before leaving home.
You are in charge of your task list and can look for tips that only talk about what you require out of your move, but don’t forget to include some essentials on there:
- Months before the move – papers and college applications, visa submissions, passport extension (if necessary,) dorm or apartment rental agreements, daily budget plan,
- The packing process – if going to an apartment and not a dorm, you must figure out which household items you’ll require; high-quality clothing and shoes you might own, memorabilia, study materials,
- After the move – finding affordable places to eat and drink, city maps, vital transportation lines, and emergency phone numbers.
Will You Live in an Apartment or Dorm? The First Time Moving Out Checklist Will Look Different
Of course, when you prepare relocation essentials so you can be all ready to live on your own, the list of items and tasks might be a bit different if you plan to live in an apartment rather than a dorm.
Something you’ll have to pay attention to more, whether you want to or not, is finding roommates. We’re sure you want to live alone because it is more romantic and liberating, but who will pay for such luxury while studying? Perhaps you’ll have enough spare hours in a day to become a part-timer at a decent job, but that isn’t something you should rely on so much.
You may at some point make enough money to become independent, but until then, perhaps dorms are a better option. Plus, you’ll essentially get the international experience just by being there.
How Do I Prepare Myself to Move Out for the First Time? Pack Light and Only the Essentials
What you need to know before moving out for the first time is that you don’t need absolutely everything from your room/house. Dorms are already well-equipped, but you can bring some stuff that feels essential to you.
Maybe you sleep poorly and want to bring a new mattress, which is fine – you don’t have to pack your entire bed frame. You’ll be able to buy everything necessary once you get there, but anything that feels mandatory should come with you; just don’t go overboard.
What household items do you need to move out? Here are our relocation tips for packing efficiently for an international move to a dorm:
- Pillow (if you have a particular kind,)
- Bedding – sheets, covers, pillowcases,
- Towels,
- Toothbrush and other hygiene essentials that only you use or can’t buy anywhere else,
- Chargers and plug adapters,
- Laptop and phone,
- Things you like from your bedroom that are lightweight (fairy lights, pictures of you and friends, memorabilia, and alike,)
- Passport and personal documents that you’ll keep in a personal bag at all times,
- Your favorite book,
- A warm jacket for when it gets cold,
- Extra shoes for cold weather,
- Slippers for your room,
- Enough underwear to last you around ten days.
Don’t Make Moving for the First Time Complex – Call Professional Movers to Help
If you wonder how to move efficiently to another country and ship all your belongings without problems, the answer is by contacting an overseas moving company. For anyone who’s never moved before, the process will be easier with pros at their side, especially when it comes to packing services.
Some people may even choose to take their car shipping service because they’re so used to commuting by car everywhere. Check the laws and regulations in your destination country and if their preferred transportation methods match yours.
Additionally, you might be an overly eager student traveler and pack too much. It is all good if you do – this is your first move, after all. But, when push comes to shove, you may not have anywhere to put the extra items you’ve packed. Professional movers have storage services, so having them at your side will help you in more ways than one.
There’s no right or wrong way to move to another city, but there are good and bad ways to move, and the best ones are with relocation companies.
Is Moving Out for the First Time Hard? Yes, but It Leads to Bigger and Better Opportunities
There’s no better moment to move out than when you are a college student; education can lead us to many places in life, and being ready and open for them is your ticket into the world. Nobody said it was easy, but relocating still is one of the best ways to get to know it.
If you move across the street, how you view life will change. Don’t expect your international experience to be eye-opening only to what you didn’t have. Let it also show you what you had all along. Once you let yourself see and hear everything, you’ll truly experience the benefits of moving overseas.
