by Keep the usual rituals, make new friends and do not neglect the study of the language. -v-druguju-stranu-234bd5e.jpg” alt=”9 tips on how to successfully adapt after moving to another country” />
Sergey Moskha
Sergey Moskha Founder of Uehat.com, moved from Kuban to Slovenia.
1. Find a job as soon as possible
Determine what is the minimum amount required for a stay. You need to find a source of income that will be more than her. It’s great if you already have something that brings in a fairly regular income. It can be your business, or renting out property in your home country, or remote projects.
But if there is nothing like this yet, I advise you not to hesitate and find a suitable job. Of course, it is better to do this in advance, but sometimes this is not possible.
It is worth looking for on special sites, for example, on Zarub.life. For some professions, the LinkedIn platform will be relevant, and someone may be lucky to find a job through local communities in social networks. In any case, take care of the income right away – before your savings run out.
2. Save your usual rituals
At home, you probably had certain rituals – for example, you went to the movies on Saturdays. If possible, follow these habits in a new place – so the body will be more comfortable in the changed reality.
And create new traditions! They can be absolutely anything – from Sunday brunch to evening walks in the park in good weather.
3. Find new acquaintances
Try to make new friends and acquaintances, including among the locals. If you have contacts, ask those who left earlier to share their experience and talk about the possible pitfalls of a new life.
In the search for compatriots, Russian-speaking communities will help you – local groups in social networks that exist in every country. Often their participants even organize some kind of events. For example, in Florida, people gather for barbecues, and in New York there are business clubs.
If meetings are not planned in the near future, you can write a post-invitation yourself in social networks.
And surely someone will respond. As a result, your phone book will be gradually updated with new contacts.
And to reach the locals, I highly recommend the Meetup app, where you can often find various Russian-language events. Search for them by your geolocation, interests or keywords.
Sports, music, outdoor activities, and just an interest in communicating with people of other cultures bring you together!
4. Don't neglect language learning
Some manage to live quietly in the country without knowing the main language. They revolve within their community, where there are Russian doctors, shops, cafes, and everything suits them. An example is the residents of the Brighton Beach area in New York, among whom the anecdote is very popular: “We don’t go to America! We live here.”
But still, knowing the language is very important. It is not necessary to speak it perfectly – after all, reaching the C2 level will take a lot of time and practice. However, basic knowledge will be useful to you already at the initial stage.
Find out about the possibilities of free language learning – many countries offer this option to migrants. And this, by the way, is a good way to make acquaintances among visitors.
And be sure to practice: speak a new language in shops, cafes and wherever possible. By the way, local acquaintances can also help with this.
5. Choose housing as consciously as possible
You should look for it on local websites for renting apartments. As a rule, they are conducted in the language of the country, but there are English and Russian versions.
If you are ready to pay 2,000 euros per month or more for an apartment, there will be no problems. You can easily find comfortable accommodation that meets your expectations.
But if you want to rent an apartment for up to 1,000 euros, or maybe even for 600-800, it will probably be difficult. At least because there are quite a lot of applicants like you, and the limit of proposals can be relatively small.
So try to find as many options as possible at the start and keep monitoring new ones just in case .
Why is this needed? Firstly, about half of the ads are placed by agencies, which, accordingly, adds an extra commission. At the same time, some of the remaining apartments may have already been rented out, while in others, significant disadvantages will be found at the initial stage, such as a complete or partial lack of furniture.
Thus, even if at first consideration you liked several dozen objects, after careful analysis of the proposals, the list will be reduced to about five options.
Plus, it is important to understand that sometimes landlords refuse even by phone for various reasons: gender, age, composition of residents or their nationality. This will reduce the list by a couple more points, and some of the remaining options may not be suitable for any other parameters. For example, heating with electricity is quite expensive. And in the end, you will have to fight literally for one or two sentences.
Once you find a place to live and move in, be sure to take the time to explore your chosen area. Find the nearest shops and pharmacies, parking, public transport stops, parks where you can spend your free time and play sports.
And be sure to pay attention to where the locals relax in the evenings and on weekends: in the matter of the same cafes it is always better to focus on them, and not on where tourists go.
6. Legalize your status
If you plan to stay in the country for a long time, you will definitely need to obtain official status in it. Why is it important? Without it, you will not have access to all public benefits, there will be problems with entry and exit, and so on.
Ideally, even before moving, you should find an experienced migration lawyer or consultant to help in this matter. A knowledgeable person will save you time and nerves, talk about possible ways of legalization and explain what is required of you to obtain the necessary status.
Plus, before the trip, be sure to receive and certify the necessary documents: a certificate of good conduct with an apostille, an international standardized form for filling out information about the legality of a document for presentation in countries that recognize this form of legalization, medical certificates for the absence of certain diseases, a bank account statement and others. You can check the list with the same migration consultant.
You can find out everything yourself – through the consulate.
Keep in mind: the specific list varies depending on the country, and paperwork will take time. In addition, it is often impossible to obtain them remotely if you have not made a power of attorney in advance, for example, for your relative who has remained at home. Therefore, do not complicate your life and prepare everything to the maximum.
7. Take care of the children
First of all, solve the basic questions: find the right school (depending on the level of preparation and knowledge of languages) and clubs so that the children can continue to pursue their favorite hobby. If a son or daughter was fascinated by something at home, it would be right not to abandon this activity, but to continue it here.
At the same time, do not worry if you cannot find Russian-speaking teachers. Children quickly learn languages and after a few years they begin to speak the local language as if they were their own.
As for socialization, I recommend putting aside the panic and relaxing a bit. Children, especially if the move took place at an early age, quickly adapt and make acquaintances. Here we adults can even learn from them!
8. Do not forget about health
No less important point! Unfortunately, migrants do not always think seriously about medical care. And when a person ends up getting sick, this can lead to significant expenses and greatly overshadow the impressions of the move.
Therefore, I recommend that you take care of the issue of health insurance in advance. The policy must be valid from the moment you arrive in the country until the end of your stay. Or, before the start of the National Health Insurance policy, if you have a right to receive it in the future.
This is, in principle, the necessary document: without it, you will not be able to apply for temporary residence.
The recommended insurance amount varies depending on the region. In Slovenia, for example, this is 30,000 euros.
If you do not have such insurance, you will have to pay for absolutely all medical services, even a simple visit to a therapist. This will create a permanent danger of unexpected expenses!
By the way, I recommend that you study in advance the information on how the healthcare system works in the chosen country. In some EU states, for example, foreigners can receive medical care in strictly defined clinics. I recommend clarifying this both in official sources on the Internet and in groups of local Russian-speaking migrants in social networks – this way you will have the most complete and, no less important, reliable picture.
In the same communities, I advise you to look for doctors: a therapist, a dentist, an ophthalmologist, if you have poor eyesight … Believe me, such acquaintances will definitely come in handy! Moreover, a specialist may not be a member of a specific group, but thanks to word of mouth you will get the right contact.
9. Be prepared for crises
It is perfectly normal that not everything will go smoothly. At first, a new place is euphoric, but then other stages come:
- Gradual disappointment – when you start to see flaws and you think that it was better at home.
- Crisis – you you will feel angry, annoyed, and at times begin to seriously think about returning.
- Adaptation – when you gradually get used to the new environment: make friends, stop experiencing stress from solving everyday problems and again see the advantages of emigration.
< li>Integration – when you finally find your comfort zone.
It is almost impossible to avoid such a chain of events. And the main advice here is to give yourself time. Gradually, the country and the locals will become more understandable and you will feel that this is your second home and you are safe.
Cover: Alphavector/Lifehacker
