People often think of the wandering nomad as a sort of exotic creature, living an idealised life with no problems, flitting gleefully from one place to another without a second thought. Sure, there may be some glitches here and there, but it’s nothing compared to the constant wonder, amazement, and adventure of the road, right?
OK, for the most part maybe that’s true. But let me tell you, it’s not all roses. There comes a point for every wanderer where he or she must sort out taxes for multiple countries, visas, currencies, jobs… and any bureaucratic venture increases tenfold in complexity.
The worst of these moments tends to be in what I will call the Transition Zone. Planning a move to another country, it’s that time when all the paperwork needs to be sorted out, the house packed up, what to do with the car (if applicable), see doctors & dentists at the last minute (because God knows what those foreign clinics might be like), go through every single possession and determine its keep-worthiness, book planes and trains, pay and close out bills, get all said (remaining) bills online, etc etc. This is usually coupled with ending a job of some sort, as well. It gets overwhelming, fast.
To top it all off, all of your friends and family want to see you not once, but multiple times before you leave. (Bless them, you do love them so). The social pressures of leaving can sometimes cap everything else off, and send you straight intoa panic attack.
Having gone through the Transition Zone several times (and being in the midst of one now) I have some advice to share for anyone finding themselves in a similar predicament. For those of you who know me, do as I say, not as I do. ;)
- Pack up early. All you really need is 1 plate and 1 cup, a cardboard table and an air mattress. Get rid of everything else as early as possible – like a month early! You will be happy later.
- There’s a sweet spot for the good-bye drinks – if you do them too early, everyone says “well, I hope to see you one more time before you leave!” …. do them too late, and you’ll find yourself potentially squeezed by the growing list of tasks that need to be completed, unable to properly enjoy the evening.
- Don’t get all worked up on health scares. People survive all over the world, believe it or not. DO go see a doctor for regular checkups and DO go to a travel advisor, but DON’T let them scare you into thinking you need every vaccination under the sun and/or that medical care abroad is inadequate. And they will. It’s fine out there.
- On that note, just in case, I recommend IAMAT as a good place to start if you get ill abroad; they’ll point you to the nicest hospital in the area – usually much nicer than any hospital you went to back home.
- You don’t need as much as you think. Pare it down, simplify, and de-stress.
- Storage: while friends are a great (and cheap) way to store things, you’ll soon find that you have stuff peppered all over the place and not sure what is where. If you go this route, take a digital pic of your stuff and label the boxes in the pic on your computer immediately. I recommend getting an official storage unit, if you can afford it – it’s safer, drier, and it won’t up and move on you with no notice. Storage units don’t have family emergencies, and the peace of mind is worth something.
I think the key thing is to not procrastinate on your tasks, and not let your task list rule your life. It’s a healthy balance between you-time, packing time, and good-bye socializing time. Schedule these buckets in for yourself and stick to the plan, and you should be fine!
Remember, you can always buy stuff and get stuff abroad, you can always visit a foreign doctor, and you can always have people come visit YOU wherever it is you go. Enjoy the ride.
