The start of the moving abroad process

Moving can be a rather daunting undertaking, and moving to another country can be even more overwhelming. But by having a good plan and a thorough to-do list, it becomes much more feasible. I know it helped our family a lot when we moved, and I hope my experience can maybe be of some help to you.

Moving to another country

When I moved from the Netherlands to Ireland, it felt like a daunting thing to do. Neither my husband nor I had a driving license, and we had a 4 month old baby, along with a 10 year old that needed to go to school in the autumn.

We knew no one in Ireland and wanted to all go at the same time. Even though, it would be easier if my husband would go first and arrange a rental house and be able to receive the moving van. But we didn’t do that, because we felt that even though it might be harder to do it the way we did, it would also be more meaningful. By all going together at the same time, we were able to all wonder and discover all the new places and experiences. Was it wise to go about it this way? I don’t know, it sure was stressful, but it was also a family event. And one that I wouldn’t change for the world.

So let’s start at the beginning. We had been looking for a new job in Ireland for 2 years, plenty of opportunities came up, but none felt right. Until one day, my husband got a job offer, and this time everything felt right. We had none of the reservations we had had before. And when we asked them for 2 months to prepare the move. They were very accommodating and even helped us with some of the small details.

Make an extensive to do list

So we made a list of things we had to take care of. There were the big, rather logical things. Like making sure we notified our landlord and the electricity, gas and water suppliers. But also the things that felt a bit less obvious, like our funeral insurance and our health insurance. Then came the things that I didn’t even know for sure how to do, or if they were even necessary. I was lucky because my older cousin, who has moved abroad several times, told me about some of these. But if you don’t know anybody who had moved abroad then maybe my experience and the tips that I have picked up might be useful to you.

Medical files

Like make sure you ask your doctor for your medical files, you have full right to them, and they tend to be very accommodating. Our doctor’s office only needed a couple of days to get our papers ready, and they were very friendly.

Notify your local authorities

One other thing I only discovered after a lot of research was that I would have to notify my local municipality within 5 days of me leaving the country. I only researched it because I knew you have to let your municipality know when you move to another municipality. So I found it logical that I would also have to notify them when moving out of the country. But where exactly I was to notify them was rather difficult to find. Eventually, I did manage to find it on their website and was successful in notifying them.

Depending on your situation, you might have other concerns or need to notify other authorities.

What to arrange for the pets

We had two cats and because we didn’t want to leave them behind we had to figure out how to take them with us for the move. So for the cats, we needed to make sure they would be vaccinated against rabies and have the documentation to prove it.

We were lucky because we already had recognized passports for them and gotten them chipped. If your cats or dogs haven’t been chipped and don’t have a recognized passport, then a quick trip to your local vet is recommended. Also, make sure you check the laws for the country you’re moving to, as well as the country you’re moving from. Most vets will have a rough idea of what you need, and most are also willing to look up any additional info you might need. But just to be on the safe side, I recommend that you also do your own research.
After all, it’s you who will be traveling with your pet and not your vet. I found europa.eu to be a good source for official information.

What to do when you move with kids

For the kids, it was a bit more complicated. Not only can you not just simply leave them with relatives if something doesn’t work out, but emotionally it can also be hard on them. So there is a bit more pressure to get everything right.

Transferring to another school

For my eldest daughter that was going to school, we had to organise the deregistering from school. Since we would only be able to do this once we were registered at a new school, we could only make preliminary arrangements. We also asked them if they could print her school records to make the school transfer go more smoothly.

And once we registered her at her new school it seemed to be a good thing we did. Since it was very useful, for her new teacher to be able to understand where she was, academically speaking. It enabled a smooth transition, with her biggest obstacle being her confusion over the catholic rituals. (she had never seen people praying, so people praying in class confused her quite a bit) Luckily she was sat next to a charming girl that was also relatively new to the school, which explained all the strange and new things she encountered.

Keeping in touch with her friends

One other thing we did for our eldest was that we made sure she got the phone numbers of all of her old school friends. We also got email addresses of whoever had them, and she even got some of her friends their home addresses. This way, we figured she would be able to keep in touch with her friends. It’s a good thing we did because she loves chatting with them several times a week. 

Moving to another country with a newborn

Whenever you do anything with a newborn, it hardly ever goes as planned, and therefore it goes best when we take every possibility into account. When we moved, I planned and packed everything with my baby in my wrap. It was only because I was able to have my hands free while my baby napped in the wrap, that I was able to coordinate the entire move.

But apart from making sure you have enough nappies and clothes during the move. And make sure you pack up the crib and all the little baby trinkets. Another quite important concern when moving anywhere with a newborn is that the medical details are dealt with. So let your doctor know well ahead of time that you are going to move. This way, you will be able to plan together with your doctor for any medical checks or vaccinations that need to be done.

In our case, we were able to give our newborn daughter her vaccinations just a week early. Which enabled us to emigrate and not need another vaccination for another couple of months. Had I not made those arrangements with my doctor, we would have needed a vaccination appointment with a doctor in Ireland within a month. Which is quite a lot to organise when you are still trying to get your bearings in your new home. I was able to talk to my doctor about the differences between the Dutch and the Irish vaccinations, which weren’t a lot different, luckily.

Life in Ireland

By now, we have found our bearings a bit and feel more at home on this beautiful green island. And we are grateful every day that we dared to move to Ireland so that we could try and realise our dreams.

If you want to read more about our life in Ireland, then you can read more about it on the page Life in Ireland. And if you have any questions regarding moving to another country, then feel free to leave a comment.