15 Criteria when Choosing the Country to Move to
At Smoovster we put great emphasis on how to choose the best location to move to. Why? Because it's the most important decision of all and it influences everything else, duh!
And if you don't do it right the first time, it will cost you a lot of money, time and energy to “fix it”. But don’t worry, this is why you are here and Smoovster has made it it’s mission to guide you smoothly through this process. Let’s do this!
How do you approach the process of making this decision?
By getting yourself as informed as possible about the place you’re moving to, of course. The more you know, the more informed your decision will be and you will:
- Be able to decide where it’s best for you to move
- Reduce your chances of being negatively surprised by things you don’t like and
- Prepare yourself better for the whole endeavor of moving to and accommodating in your new country.
Enough with the “theoretical” talk now!
By what criteria should you choose the country you’re moving to?
- Politics: trends, government (also potential government changes), internal & external directions
- Authorities: bureaucracy, people’s trust in authorities, reliability
- Justice system: laws, reinforcement of laws
- Economy: trends, forecasts, stability
- Healthcare system: reliability, expenses, access, duration of maternity leave, disabilities
- School system: accessibility, reliability, traditional vs. modern, international renown of universities, child care
- Pension plans: options, average pension after ‘x’ years of work
- Citizenship: process, duration, double citizenship, sponsoring family members, compulsory military service
- Distance from home country: flight duration & cost, additional connections, time difference
- Openness to immigrants: programs, percentage of immigrants in the overall population, how are immigrants perceived, welcoming culture
- Attitude towards minorities: different nationalities, religions, sexual orientation
- Language, including if people can speak another language, in case you don’t know the local one
- Regulations around bringing kids, having kids, marriage, common law and divorce
- Legal drugs
- Climate, including potential natural disasters
This is our checklist. What would you add to this?
And… there’s more! Doing your research on the country is not enough. The next levels are doing your research on the city and… the neighborhood, as well:
- Sign-up for the newsletter below to receive the upcoming posts on how to choose the perfect city and neighborhood for you, on where to look for the most reliable information regarding where to move to and many more surprises like this
- Get your Master Guide Moving Abroad: The Essentials, to receive a complete walk-through the whole process of moving abroad, a must read if you want to have a smooth move – find it here
You've got this and we've got your back!
