When I arrived in London from Sydney four years ago, it was with a mere dream in my heart and the addresses of a few people I had met along my travels the summer before. Adventure was my strong point, planning was not. And although things worked out pretty well for me, there is still a lot to be said for actually knowing a little bit more than I did when I rocked up, fresh off the boat (or 747) all those years ago. When my little sister told me recently that she was thinking of heading to Germany for a year or so next year, it got me thinking about all the things I wish someone had told me, when considering moving to a new city, or country.

1. Get a feel for the place first. The most important thing is to really spend proper time in your new destination before making too many plans. Living in a particular city is very different to spending the odd weekend there. If possible, go visit friends who live there so you get a feel for living there as opposed to visiting and staying in a hotel. Consider that you may wind up living in a neighbourhood outside the city centre, so you won’t be simply trotting a few blocks to work each day; you may have a lengthy commute, because shockingly, the more popular a city is, the more expensive it is to actually live there.

2. Have realistic expectations. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the fantasy of living somewhere, and when reality hits, it can be hard! Turns out living in London is nothing like living in a Richard Curtis film. Who’d have thought it?! Some days it can feel more like living in Shawn of the Dead, without the humour. You know, with killer zombies everywhere. And lots of crowded tube journeys. Similarly, I doubt living in NYC is like living in a perpetual episode of Sex and the City. Moving to a new city is hard: It can be soul-destroyingly lonely at first; you can feel so homesick you want to stay in bed for a week; the people are strange, the food is wrong, and why does everyone say ‘Alright’ instead of ‘Hello’?? Acclimatising will take time, but again, you can help yourself out by spending time in your destination city beforehand, and trying to keep an open mind.

3. Do your maths. Rent. Income. Cost of Living. These are the three things that will make or break your experience in a new city. For example, if you live in Leeds and earn a fair whack, don’t assume that earning the same amount in London will get you anywhere near as far. Sure you get will get paid more in London, but the cost of living is not always proportionate to the average income. Your rent or mortgage will eat up a much larger proportion of your income, for starters, and everything else will cost more as well.  It is even more important to think about this when dealing with a new currency in a new country. Find out how much you will realistically be earning, what your rent will be like, how much a night out costs, etc. Talk to people and do your ground work, don’t just look on the internet, because that will often give you an unrealistic idea, especially when it comes to housing costs.

4. Check out the job market. Here I would advise more than simply sending out a few resumes and hoping for the best, although that is a good place to start. Flex your networking muscles and speak to as many people as possible, who either work in your industry or know people who do. Obviously having a job set up before you go is best, but life doesn’t always work out like that, so be prepared. Is there anything you need to add to your skill set? Find out what is in demand in your industry and position yourself accordingly. Remember that just because you were a hot-shot in your old job doesn’t necessarily mean you will slot right into a similar role in your new city, because each place has its own mini-jobs market. You might find the most important thing is simply having local experience, which will almost certainly be the case when moving countries, so treat every open door as an opportunity and don’t be too proud to take a temporary step down if it will be beneficial in the long run.

5. Have a safety net. The most important thing is obviously, have a healthy amount of savings to fall back on. You might end up paying more rent (and bond) than you expected, or it might take months rather than weeks to find work. And I never fail to be amazed at the sheer expense of moving itself. Whatever you estimate that you will need in savings, double it. You won’t be sorry, because unexpected expenses will pop up everywhere, and you also don’t want to be stuck somewhere if things don’t work out and you want to leave.

Have you ever made a big move like this? Got any other tips to add?