Moving abroad can be an exciting and life-changing experience, but it can also be a costly one. If you’re considering a move abroad, it’s important to understand the costs involved to help you budget and plan accordingly. Many people think that moving abroad is an unattainable and costly feat – but with some planning and preparation you’ll be surprised to know that it isn’t always overly expensive. As someone who moved from the United States to Turkey, I know firsthand the joys, challenges, and costs associated with a move abroad. In this blog post, I’ll break down the most common costs you’ll encounter on your journey abroad.
Storage Unit
So you’ve decided that you want to move abroad. Great! But what about all your stuff? If you won’t be taking your furniture and belongings with you, you have a few options. One option is to store your items with a family member or friend back home. You could alternatively sell the majority of your furniture and home items online via platforms such as LetGo or Facebook Marketplace. Doing this will save money on storage and help get you some extra cash for your move abroad.
If neither of these options work for your situation, consider renting a small storage unit. These can be costly, so shop around to get the best deal. According to Move, most storage units in the U.S. cost around $2,160 annually (before taxes and fees). Because of the high annual cost, consider how long you’ll be living abroad. If you’re planning a short-term move of around 1 or 2 years, investing in a storage unit might make sense for you. However if you’re planning for a long-term or permanent move, consider the cost to instead ship the belongings you can’t part ways with. The cost to ship your items will likely be less expensive than renting a storage unit for 5 years.
I personally opted to sell the majority of my home items and store the rest of my belongings in my garage back home – luckily I didn’t have any expenses in this category.
PO Box
When planning a move abroad, it’s not as fun to consider the small details like mail forwarding, but it’s important nonetheless. If you’ll want to keep an address back home to receive your mail, consider renting a PO Box. The cost to rent a PO Box will vary significantly depending on where you live, though on average you can expect to pay around $200 annually in the U.S. through a local Post Office facility. A family member or friend can collect your mail every few weeks (depending on the volume of mail you receive).
I personally pay $180 annually for a small PO Box rental close to my hometown. It’s one of those costs that are annoying but somewhat unavoidable when moving abroad.
Travel Costs
Now comes the fun part – the actual act of traveling and moving abroad! For this category you’ll want to consider the cost of a one-way plane ticket to your new country, visa fees, and local transportation costs.
These costs will vary significantly depending on your home country and the country you’re moving to. To keep costs down, consider moving to your new country during off-season. If you decide to move during peak tourist season, you’ll likely pay 1.5-2x more for your plane ticket. Expect to pay around $500-$1,000 for a one-way flight from the United States to Europe or Asia during off-season. Allot around $50-75 for visa fees if you’re coming from the U.S, and $50 in local transportation costs.
I personally paid around $500 for a one-way plane ticket from Boston in the United States to Istanbul, Turkey. I paid $55 for a 3-month tourist visa into Turkey, and $15 in local transportation costs.
International Travel & Health Insurance
Many health insurance plans do not provide international coverage, so it’s important to make sure you have health care coverage while living abroad. Accidents can happen anywhere, at anytime, and oftentimes when you’re least expecting it. You never know when you’ll need to access emergency services or healthcare. You should budget around $50 a month for travel health insurance.
Before moving abroad, I obtained insurance through SafetyWing, which is a travel and medical incident insurance company. I did a lot of research to determine what other expats and digital nomads used for global health insurance and found that SafetyWing was the most popular option. It works for both short trips and living abroad long-term, as it can be cancelled anytime without penalty.
For $42 a month, I’m covered through their global medical insurance policy. I haven’t needed to use it yet, but it’s nice to have the peace of mind and security that I can access it if needed. It was very straightforward to sign up and receive coverage – and for that reason I would highly recommend it! You can learn more here.
Housing Expenses
Once you arrive in your new country, obtaining housing will be one of your first tasks. You may face some upfront housing expenses such as providing a security deposit if you’ll be renting an apartment, or a down payment if you’ll be buying a property abroad. You’ll also need to buy some home items to furnish your new space. To reduce costs, consider renting a furnished apartment – this is a popular option for expats living abroad. If you won’t be living in your new country for a long time, consider whether it’s worth paying the money to fully furnish your new space.
Housing expenses will vary widely depending on the country you move to and the type of housing you secure. If you’ll be renting an apartment in a big city abroad, plan to set aside $1,000-2,000 to cover any upfront housing expenses.
In Istanbul, I rented a furnished studio apartment for around $300 per month. As part of the upfront housing costs, I had to pay two month’s of rent ($600) to include the security deposit, along with a real estate agent commission fee of around $180. I also paid around $200 to purchase some home essentials for my apartment.
Legal Expenses
If you plan to fully immigrate into your new country, you may come across some legal expenses. Depending on your destination, there may be a variety of costly legal requirements and procedures.
Some examples of these expenses include: applying for residency, obtaining a work permit, and setting up a bank account. If the country you’re moving to has a complicated immigration system, you may also need to hire legal representation or a service to help you navigate the residency application.
These legal expenses will vary widely depending on your location and individual living abroad situation, but you should set aside around $500 for upfront costs.
In Istanbul there are many companies that charge a fee of around $500 to help foreigners with their residence permit applications. I personally did not go through a company and instead applied on my own. It cost me around $150 to obtain and submit the necessary documentation for my residency application. I also set up a local bank account but there were no costs associated with opening the account, just a small minimum balance required (around $20). As I did not plan to work in Istanbul, I didn’t have any expenses associated with obtaining a work permit.
New Living Expenses
Once you’re settled into your country, you’ll need to cover your new daily living expenses. This includes food, rent, utilities, and transportation. Be sure to budget for these costs in advance and factor in any additional expenses such as healthcare or entertainment.
As the cost of living varies significantly around the world, it’s difficult to estimate the average amount of money you’ll need to set aside for new living expenses. The best way to plan for this is to look at a cost-of-living index. I’ve found that Numbeo offers the most up-to-date information. Through this resource, you can search nearly any city or country and it will display a score and worldwide ranking regarding cost-of-living. This will give you a general idea of how expensive it is to live in your new country.
You can use the comparison calculator to compare two cities. It’ll tell you how much money you will need in your destination city to maintain a similar standard of living that you have in your current city.
When living abroad, I’ve found that tracking my daily expenses helps me to stay on track with my financial goals and holds me accountable. At the end of each month I analyze my spending habits and compare the expenses to previous months, which helps me visualize my spending trends.
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My Travel Links & Recommendations:
The Best Travel Health Insurance: Safety Wing
My Favorite Travel Credit Card: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Tutor English Online from Anywhere: Cambly
My Travel Guides: Thatch
Best Hotel Deals Up to 70% off: Wndr
My Istanbul Travel Guide E-Book: Here
The Best Travel Products: Amazon
