Can I just move to another country?

Moving down the street can be expensive, but now multiply that by 10 and you may get close to how much it costs to relocate across the world. Global living costs include typical items like housing deposits, movers, and transportation, but it also comes with a few fun additions like visa documents, international insurance, and even the potential need to hire a lawyer to help you through it all.

This is when the age-old advice of having six months' worth of savings indeed becomes sound, but that really should be a minimum when moving abroad. Start by researching exchange rates, the cost of living in your new home, and then work with your income to develop a monthly budget that will fit your move. Then, try to save six months' worth of that budget before your move, so you're ready for any surprises that may come your way.

You must have a valid passport to apply for a visa. Some countries require you to have a valid passport for at least six months beyond your final travel date. If you do not have a set return date and your passport expires while you're abroad, you can renew your passport at your local U.S. Embassy or consulate.

Whether you know exactly which city you'll be moving to, or you are keeping your options open, deciding on where you'll be living is one of the most fun elements of moving abroad. If you fell in love with a country, and could picture yourself equally happy living in the hustle and bustle of its capital city or sunning out somewhere on the coast, take some time to research what each potential city has to offer. In addition to the kind of lifestyle you're looking for, you should also consider city size, public transportation, and health care infrastructure.

If you do know your exact destination, you will still have to find a place to stay. If you plan to rent, you should start by researching the most popular online listing website and connecting with local rental agencies. Arranging a rental contract before you arrive can be difficult, so you may need to get a hotel or Airbnb for the first week and start your search in earnest when you're on the ground. If you plan to purchase a home, you will definitely need to plan a trip in advance and work with a realtor so you can best compare your options and see each place in person.

How to move out of Sweden?

Trenden har vänt – nu är det svenskar som åker över till Norge för att få tag på billigare mat, rapporterar P4 Värmland.

How hard is it to move to a different country?

If you're moving during the summer, book as soon as you can. Ideally, two months before your move date. Worse case, at least four weeks, but know that if you only have a month or less before your move, you'll have a limited choice of movers. Most good movers are booked two to three months out.

If you're not moving in the summer, then you can book anywhere from two to four weeks before your move date. Keep in mind, even during the fall, winter, or spring, good movers will book up so always try to give as much notice as possible.

How can I live in another country permanently?

Most of my moves have been motivated by the “where.” I love daydreaming about different countries I could live in and the lifestyle I’d like to have in each one.

If you don’t know where to even begin, start by writing down all the reasons you want to move abroad. By being clear on what you’re hoping to accomplish by moving, you’ll be able to narrow down which countries can meet your needs.

Even after you’ve picked your 3 potential spots, hold on to that list of your whys. It’ll be nice to consult if you start to lose momentum or get stressed in the later steps.

Will I be happier if I move to another country?

Moving abroad may sound a bit frightening - after all, it means being surrounded by strangers, in a new place, having to adjust to a new culture. You would have to leave behind everything you know and love.

But if you take your eyes off the challenges, you will realize there are numerous ways in which moving to another country can improve your life incredibly and make you happier.

Is it stressful to move to another country?

It is easy to get the travel bug when everyone on social media posts photos of fantastic vacation spots. The idea of moving abroad and living as a nomad, moving from one country to the following sounds exciting and utterly glamorous. Still, when it comes to actually taking the step and moving away from your comfort zone, you may find the change more challenging than you expected and you should find ways to deal with the stress of moving abroad.

How long can I stay out of Sweden?

If you have a permanent residence permit, this means you have the right to reside and work in Sweden for an unlimited period of time. If you have a temporary residence permit, this means you may remain in Sweden for a limited period of time. You will find information here on what you need to know when you want to travel from Sweden.

As proof of your residence permit, you will receive a residence permit card. For those who have a permanent residence permit, the residence permit card is valid for a maximum of five years. Thereafter, you will need a new card. For those who have a temporary residence permit, the residence permit card is valid for as long as the permit. The residence card is not an identity document or a travel document.

How many people move out of Sweden?

This paper examines counterurban migration among young families with children in Sweden and the extent to which these moves reflect return migration, recognising the role of family members and family roots at the destination from a life course perspective. Drawing on register data for all young families with children leaving the Swedish metropolitan areas during the years 2003–2013, we analyse the pattern of counterurban moves and explore how the families’ socioeconomic characteristics, childhood origins, and links to family networks are associated with becoming a counterurban mover and choice of destination. The results show that four out of ten counterurban movers are former urban movers who choose to return to their home region. Among them, almost all have family at the destination, indicating that family ties are important for counterurban migration. In general, urban residents with a background outside metropolitan areas are much more likely to become counterurban movers. Families’ previous residential experiences during childhood, particularly in rural areas, are found to be associated with the residential environment they choose to resettle in when leaving the big city. Counterurban movers making a return move are similar to other counterurban movers in relation to employment status, but tend to be better off economically and move longer distances than other counterurban movers.

Recent research indicates that there is renewed interest in out-migration from metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries (e.g. Denmark and Sweden) (Aner, 2016; Sandow & Lundholm, 2020; Hansen & Aner, 2017; Vogiazides & Kawalerowicz, 2022) as well as in the Netherlands (Karsten, 2020). Many of these out-migrants are families with children (Andersen & Nørgaard, 2018; Aner, 2016; Sandow & Lundholm, 2020; Hansen & Aner, 2017; Niedomysl & Amcoff, 2011a). In this paper, the focus is on young families with children who make a counterurban move out of the metropolitan areas in Sweden. When studying these counterurban families, we pay special attention to their family networks and roots to analyse how return migration is interrelated to counterurban migration. While counterurban migration has been portrayed as lifestyle-induced mobility motivated by a search for idyllic rural landscapes, return migration has been seen as a pragmatic and even necessity-driven migration, and as a phenomenon typically separate from counterurbanisation (Barcus & Halfacree, 2017). However, some studies have identified links to extended family members and ‘returning to one’s roots’ as important motives for counterurban migration, especially among young families (e.g. Scott et al., 2017), reflecting how return migration can be part of counterurban migration. By exploring counterurban migration flows directed at childhood areas, this study can contribute to nuancing the understanding of return migration in relation to counterurbanisation and add to a growing body of literature on counterurban migration (Bijker & Haartsen, 2012; Grimsrud, 2011; Karsten, 2020; Stockdale, 2016; Stockdale & Catney, 2014).

Families with children are generally known to be more rooted and less inclined to move compared to younger, and single persons (Bailey et al., 2004; Mulder & Hooimeijer, 1999). While the direction of moves among younger single movers tends to be upward in the urban hierarchy, couples and families typically move in the other direction (Plane et al., 2005). Counterurban migration is important for receiving regions. Families with children moving in as new residents form a group that is vital to many of the smaller and more rural municipalities as they counteract the trend of population ageing, and there are expectations that highly skilled workers can boost the local economy (Bosworth & Atterton, 2012; Roberts & Townsend, 2016).

In this paper, we analyse counterurban migration flows from metropolitan areas to small and medium-sized town areas and rural areas among young families in Sweden. The aim is to examine the impact of childhood origin on young family's propensity to make a counterurban move and what type of destination they resettle in. Further, we explore the interrelation between counterurban migration and return migration and compare the characteristics of return migrants to those of other counterurban movers.

Counterurbanisation was originally understood as the opposite of urbanisation, a process of deconcentration of population (Berry, 1976). However, the concept is often used to denominate migration movements downward in the urban hierarchy, i.e. counterurbanising migration (for an extended discussion, see Champion, 1998; Mitchell, 2004). Regarding destinations of counterurban migration, there is no uniform definition. Halliday and Coombes (1995) argue that in order to capture a countertrend to urbanisation it is essential to separate counterurban moves from suburban moves nearby metropolitan areas. One model they propose is what they call ‘anti-metropolitan’ migration, meaning the study of migration out from the larger metropolitan regions to non-metropolitan areas. In this paper, we use the concept of counterurbanisation in a way similar to how Halliday and Coombes do, focusing on the counterstream out from metropolitan areas, while acknowledging that destinations can vary from medium-sized towns to remote rural areas.

In contrast to definitions including all migration downward in the urban hierarchy, counterurban migration has often been equated with migration to rural areas and frequently portrayed as a quest for the rural idyll, typically among the urban middle class. Beyond this stereotype, several attempts have been made to illustrate the diversification among counterurban movers by studying the diversity among different rural areas (Bijker et al., 2013) or by dividing movers into categories based on their motives for moving from urban to rural areas. For example, Mitchell (2004) differentiates between exurbanites who keep their links to urban life while relocating to a more rural environment, displaced urbanisers (those who ‘accidently’ move to rural areas for employment reasons), and anti-urbanisers who actively choose a rural lifestyle and cut their bonds to urban life. Halfacree (2008) proposes a model for categorising counterurban movers based on the importance they attach to the rural environment, ranging from ‘back to the land’ movers, who seek to dramatically change their lifestyle, to ‘default’ counterurban movers who move for instrumental reasons and place little or no emphasis on the rural. Grimsrud (2011) identifies a category that is missing in both Halfacree’s and Mitchell’s definitions, namely what she calls ‘rural by belonging’. She finds that as many as 70% of movers to rural areas in Norway state that they moved to a municipality where they or their partner grew up. Bijker and Haartsen (2012) found that many counterurban movers stated instrumental reasons, related to work and social motivations, for moving to rural areas. In their study, they also distinguish between different kinds of rural areas, with more mainstream counterurban motives being more prevalent among movers to more ‘popular’ rural areas and nearness to family being more important among movers to less popular areas.

How can I live in Sweden?

Discover our welcoming community of expats! You’ll find many ways to network, socialize, and make new friends. Attend online and in-person events that bring global minds together.

The process of moving to Sweden is simple as long as you have all of the correct documents. Like most aspects of moving to Sweden, if you are an EU citizen there is very little you will have to do. For example, EU nationals moving from within the EU to Sweden do not need to declare their goods at the Swedish border. However, if an EU national is moving to Sweden after having spent a year or more in a non-EU country, then they will have to declare their goods. Nationals of countries outside of the EU will have to show evidence that the household goods they are moving are their own, used personal goods.

Pets moving to Sweden are not required to be quarantined as long as they have had their required vaccinations. If your pet is coming from a country deemed “high risk” for rabies, they will need to be vaccinated one month before arriving in Sweden. If your pet is not coming from a “high risk” country, a normal yearly vaccine should suffice. For expats, only standard vaccinations are required to move to Sweden, although the recommendation of a tick-borne vaccination may surprise newcomers.

How do I start a new life in another country?

So you have your suitcases packed and your guide book ready. You've triple-checked that you do indeed have both your plane tickets and your passport -- and will maybe check one more time... just in case. Now, you're off to live in a new country for the first time in your life and you could not be more excited!

Cling to that excitement as tightly as you can, because moving out on your own is a big step anywhere, but even more so when you add in oceans and other continents. Whether you're venturing out for a new job, taking a gap year, or giving back to the greater good as a volunteer abroad, the following pointers are good to keep in mind.

As soon as the panic (inevitably) hits and you breakdown in a spectacular manner, take a moment to breathe and then follow these steps.

You're in a new country. That local hostel, hotel, or friendly couch will only keep you for so long before you need a (somewhat) more permanent abode. If you're thinking it'll be easy to find a fantastic apartment in the big city, close to all of the major sights and with a steal-of-a-rent, you may want to think again. Those places are more expensive, and you may have to be flexible on where you live to find a place within your budget.

To find housing on your own, you could find a real estate agent (which is, admittedly, a bit of an old school tactic), check classifieds, talk to other expats (nothing like a personal recommendation!), or use one of the many online housing providers out there, like Airbnb.

Other services are specifically catering to folks who want to stay longer -- say, 6 - 9 months longer -- and are ideal for students, teachers on a shorter contract, or for those of you who want more time before you commit to a place. UniPlaces and Study Abroad Apartments are two Europe focused examples of housing providers.

Can living in another country change you?

May 2020 marked the 10-year anniversary of my move abroad. The past 10 years brought me to Texas, California, back to the Netherlands for a few months, and Vancouver, Canada. So far it has been a journey with more than a few unexpected turns, but one that I would not have wanted to be any other way.

During this ten-year period, I’ve had the chance to travel all over the world, make friends with all kinds of different background and cultures and I feel I grew immensely as a person in the process. I got stronger, more open-minded, and understanding. I’m really happy with the person I have become, and I think I wouldn’t be that person today if it wasn’t for moving abroad.

What is the best age to move overseas?

As a child, how did you envision your life as an adult? Did you think you’d own a house with a white picket fence in your hometown? Were you planning to climb up the corporate ladder? Or perhaps, did you see yourself living a life that was a bit more adventurous?

Regardless of how you thought your life would be, how would you describe your path if you’re now in your 30s, 40s, or 50s? If things turned out how you expected, pat yourself on the back. On the other hand, if you’re not happy with how your life is going, remember that you still have the power to make your dreams happen! Even if that dream is to move abroad after 30.

Before delving into learning how and why you should shake things up so you can live overseas, take a moment to see if the following thoughts resonate with you:

What is the happiest country to move to?

Each of the highest-ranking countries will be broken down into its own section, we will be taking a look at why people like living there in general, and the balance between careers and personal life, lifestyle and the culture.

Since the World Happiness Report began in 2012, Finland has sat comfortably in the top five and has taken the number one spot a few times.

What makes Finland such a great place to live and work?

Sitting outside the top 10 but still ranking high is Australia. It seems that life Down Under is a big draw for many expats.

Is 25 too late to move abroad?

One thought that has remained constant the last year+ of my life is “I wish I’d done this sooner. I wish I’d pursued my passion and moved abroad much much sooner”. To pacify myself, I always insist that it’s better late than never.

Is 30 too old to move abroad?

My first stay abroad was a six-month student exchange that turned me into a cross-country vagabond for a few years. I was on the move most of the time, travelling and moving around.

In my twenties, I experienced all sorts of existential confusion that I can think of.

How do I move to another country?

One of the most important steps in moving to another country is documentation. Passports, Visas, and any other documentation the country requires should get started first. Even if the specific neighborhood or city within the country to move to hasn’t been determined, figure out the options available and registration deadlines.

Can I move to another country without a visa?

No, you can’t just move to another country. You’ll need to research visa requirements before traveling or moving abroad. Many countries only allow visitors to visit for up to three months without a visa. If you’re moving for a job, your employer should be able to help you obtain a work permit visa before you move.

Should you move abroad?

Picking up your life and moving abroad can expose you to experiences and opportunities that would never have been achievable if you stayed put. Although this type of change will be the adventure of a lifetime, you should conduct in-depth research about how to move abroad, the country, and city you want to settle down in.

Is moving to another country more complicated than planning a cross-country move?

Moving to another country takes considerable time and planning and requires more than searching for the best moving companies, you’ll need to consider additional factors. It’s more complicated than planning a cross-country move due to the added layer of immigration, customs, overseas shipping and more.

How do I move to another country?

One of the most important steps in moving to another country is documentation. Passports, Visas, and any other documentation the country requires should get started first. Even if the specific neighborhood or city within the country to move to hasn’t been determined, figure out the options available and registration deadlines.

Can I move to another country without a visa?

No, you can’t just move to another country. You’ll need to research visa requirements before traveling or moving abroad. Many countries only allow visitors to visit for up to three months without a visa. If you’re moving for a job, your employer should be able to help you obtain a work permit visa before you move.

Should you move abroad?

Picking up your life and moving abroad can expose you to experiences and opportunities that would never have been achievable if you stayed put. Although this type of change will be the adventure of a lifetime, you should conduct in-depth research about how to move abroad, the country, and city you want to settle down in.

Is moving to another country more complicated than planning a cross-country move?

Moving to another country takes considerable time and planning and requires more than searching for the best moving companies, you’ll need to consider additional factors. It’s more complicated than planning a cross-country move due to the added layer of immigration, customs, overseas shipping and more.