My top tips for relocating abroad for work!

My top tips for relocating abroad for work …

In the first 6 to 12 months it is critical that you spend a lot of your free time in your new home. If you spend every weekend and vacation returning to your hometown you will find it very difficult to develop friendships and connections in your new home and this is essential for feeling settled and happy long term.

Try to avoid having visitors coming to see you every weekend and every vacation, for the same reason above, it will limit the time and availability you have to invest in new friendships and connections.

Make an effort to meet both local people and other newbies (like you) to the area. Local people can be more difficult to develop a relationship with because they usually already have existing relationships with friends and family who all live locally and this occupies a lot of their time. However, this is not always the case.?

For example, one of my new local friends has recently split up from her husband and therefore she is looking to meet new people. She has been a great help to me as she is a lawyer, of course speaks Portuguese and has helped me with some apartment related problems. Never underestimate the level of support it can provide you to know locals when it comes to administration, especially if you are moving to another country with a language barrier and cultural differences – this was surprisingly challenging in Portugal.

In addition to meeting locals; also try to meet other new people to the area. It really helps to know that you are not alone in your situation, in fact, there are actually many other people in the same situation. Chatting with people about the challenges you are facing helps to lift your spirits and you can share advice on how to deal with problems and barriers around key areas such as; residency and tax status, accommodation, transport, banking, health care, shopping, dating and socialising.?You're all in the same situation together and that helps.

It seems silly but little things like where you can find your favourite foods can really help to make you feel settled. I’m a pescatarian and it has taken me 5 months to figure out where I can buy Quorn mince in Lisbon and there is literally only one shop that sells it in a British store in a city suburb!

Now for tips on how to meet people!?

Use a variety of social media and apps to meet people, it is important to do this safely – as a woman this was crucial for me. I have met some great people on the Bumble app. There’s a setting called BF (Bumble Friends) which is for meeting new people in a non dating capacity. This is great because it allows you to chat directly and meet one person at a time which is good if you hate large networking events.

Facebook also has some great groups which arrange social activities. I’m a member of Girl Gone International in Lisbon and Cascais (a Lisbon suburb). These are a good starting point and you can very easily join the groups and get invited to social events.

If you dislike arriving at events on your own you could try to meet someone using Bumble and ask them to go with you to the event. Try to remember that it may take a few events to meet like minded people, but don’t give up – they are out there!

Another way to meet people is to post directly in the Facebook group asking for like minded people in your area to contact you. I posted that I am new to my area and work remotely, so I asked people who are interested in meeting for coffee and got a great response! Once we exchanged numbers I asked individuals via WhatsApp if they were interested in playing padel (my favourite sport). Then I started a WhatsApp group with the people who said yes, and I now have 8 people in the padel group who I play with once or twice per week.

Joining language classes is another great way to meet people. I haven't done this yet … but its on my to do list for 2022!

Overall, the best advice I can give is that only YOU have the power to make a relocation work, you just need to commit to it and immerse yourself in the lifestyle and culture!

I would love to know others relocation tips, please pop them in the comments below so I can share with candidates I help relocate for tech roles in Berlin!