There are so many benefits to relocating to a new country. If you’re relocating through your job, you’ll experience increased career opportunities, meet new business contacts abroad, and get the chance to see how the business operates somewhere new.

If you’re taking your business with you, and you’re lucky enough to be completely location independent, you’ll still meet new people- many of whom are doing the same thing, and have the chance to make friends for life.

Along with these benefits is the opportunity to learn a new language (a priceless opportunity if you have kids since they pick up languages so much quicker and may even become bilingual), learn about a new culture, get to know your neighbours, and experience a completely different way of life- meaning you grow and change as a person.

However, it’s not all smooth sailing- particularly right before you leave. You’ll need to get the whole family organised, pack up your belongings, either sell or rent out your house, arrange for your mail to be forwarded on, figure out what you’ll do with your pets- the list goes on and on!

Here are some tips for making the relocation process easier.

Get Organised Earlier:

There’s no question that the lead up to a big move can be stressful, but there are plenty of ways that you can ensure that the whole process goes more smoothly. Once you know when you’ll be leaving, it’s time to make a list of all of the things that you’ll need to do before your leave date. If you have eight weeks to get everything organised, that means eight weekends of doing things around the house.

If you’re moving with others, now is the time to do some delegating. This is a good lesson in independence for the kids, so let them know that they can only take limited things, and have them think about which toys they absolutely must take with them, and which are ok to be shipped. Your partner can take half of the tasks on the list, and you can also have regular check-ins each week with the whole family to keep everyone on track.

Clean up

Relocating is an excellent opportunity to have a giant clean-up and ditch all of the things that you never use. The kids probably have a bunch of clothes that they haven’t worn in a long time, and these can be donated or sold, along with any old toys, kitchenware, and furniture. Whether you want to have a garage sale, list things online, donate to a charity, or another option, getting rid of what you don’t need should be one of your first steps, since this will allow you to better see which stuff needs to go with you.

Ship the rest

One of the biggest concerns for those relocating overseas is how to get everything to your new country. Luckily, shipping company https://www.shiply.com is available to help. Get in touch early on to get a quote so you’ll know exactly how much you can take and when you can expect it to arrive, and you’ll be likely to find that Shiply is one of the cheapest ways to get your stuff overseas.