emigracja

Moving abroad (examples: The UK, Australia, Poland). To-do list.

14 Apr 2020 | Australia EN blog, travel tips, United Kingdom

Moving abroad

Moving abroad is a challenge, an adventure, the beginning of something new. It is also a step into the unknown in which we must re-organize our lives. These beginnings in a new country can be very stressful. I know because I’ve already done three removals (About me fears you can read here.) How to deal with stress? It is worth preparing and rethinking the action plan.

For people who live in one place for years, preparing for emigration can be difficult. Challenges await. Nevertheless, this is part of the adventure.

I can help you a little, show you the way to the first few steps that you need to do in a new place.

I suppose that my list will not work in every case, but probably in many cases.

Acclimatisation in a new country – to-do list

1. Accommodation

It is difficult to find a dream place online/remotely. You don’t know the city, you don’t know where you will work, which districts you like more or less. Therefore, in the beginning, I recommend a short-term rental. Airbnb works well for us. In Melbourne, Australia, it took us 10 days to find a room for longer, but we knew the city. However, if you are travelling into the unknown, maybe book more time to search and fight with jetlag.

Our Airbnb in Paris.

2. Bank

The bank is really the most important point after accommodation. First of all, it’s worth checking online the terms and agreements in various banks while in your country. Some banks, such as CommBank in Australia, give you the option of creating an online account (activating at a branch upon arrival). That safe time. The UK is more restrictive and you must provide your home address, tax number and local telephone number here. So try to prepare those documents fast. What’s more, it’s worth checking what documents you will need in your case and get them ready while still in your country! Some banks require translations, proofs, etc.

3. Tax number

You must have a taxpayer number to work legally in every country in the World. In Poland, it is PESEL or NIP, in Australia TFN (Tax File Number), in England NIN (National Insurance Number). Some countries like Australia enable an online application. However, you must provide the Australian address to which the letter will be sent (it may be the address of the hostel you will be). In England, theoretically, you can apply for NIN from your country. Unofficially, you can call and pretend you’re in England but you don’t have a local SIM card yet. It is worth doing it earlier because the waiting time for an appointment can be very long (even a month) and after visiting the office another 2 weeks of waiting.

4. SIMcard

Here it is also worth checking offers earlier. Perhaps if you are planning a longer stay it will be more profitable to sign an annual contract. In Australia, for example, we have 3 large operators who really have a monopoly and their offers are almost identical.

Remember! If you are a student, you may be eligible for a discount! Check!

5. Transport

Most major cities in the world have metropolitan cards for public transport. It is worth checking in advance what the card is called (Myki – Melbourne, Oyster- London, PEKA – Poznań), where to buy it and whether you will not need your photo. In addition, you can check whether you are entitled to a discount.

TIP: Passport photos are always worth having in your wallet. They are useful for city and student cards, etc.

6. Job

It is worth starting to look for works while still in your country. Chances are rather small, unless you’re from the IT industry ? Personality is important (often more than a diploma) in Australia, so looking for a job remotely can be difficult, but it’s worth trying to at least examine the needs of the market.

TIP: It’s worth checking what type of CV is preferred in a country you are goint to. In Australia, for example, photos are not pasted.

Once you’ve dealt with these few things, it’s worth taking the time to explore the city / region. Get to know the area. Check what part of the city you like the most.

Let me know what your first steps in exile looked like, and where do you live?

Every experience, every advice is valuable 🙂

EMIGRATION – the most difficult decision. But for whom?

28 Jan 2019 | travel tips

The worst decision

England turned out to be my worst immigrant choice. Definitely not a country for me. Neither the weather, nor the lifestyle nor even the earnings are good. And only one thing surprises me. That I once dreamed of living in England. That is the problem with dreams. We do not know until the end whether they will bring us something positive. In most cases, probably yes, but not always.

However, I can not criticize England in 100% because it has a beautiful places. Forests, fields, towns with stone houses, squirrels in every park, modern London. But there is also the other England. Dirty, post-industrial, intolerant and racist.

Probably if it were possible I would have escaped from England to Poland, where at least I would have a normal job in my profession. But there is no such possibility. Edgar has no right to work in Poland, he does not know the language, he would be just as lonely as I am in England.

What if not England?

So what remains for us?

In the US there is no chance for a work visa, Canada is beautiful but too cold, New Zealand is also paradoxically too cold, but still Plan B. ? Well, Australia. Our beloved Australia, where we met. A country where I felt that I could be myself. The one that many of my friends or family do not know and probably would not accept.

Australia is where I met people with similar views and I understood that my dreams and plans are not so extreme or bad, they are just very different from those that my friends have in Poland. There, no one judged me that at almost 30 years I sell ice cream in a holiday resort. When in Poland it would be unthinkable, and the family would be ashamed to even mention what I am doing. There, I met people who were much older, who rejected the traditional way of life, rejected stagnation. Or maybe they got lost in travel life? – as I heard lately. Does it matter? The question is: Are they happy? ?

In Australia, I fell in love with freedom, that feeling when I can move almost overnight, that nothing holds me in place. In Australia I fell in love with people who, despite being your friends only for a moment, leave a trace in your heart for life. I love the lifestyle in which you work to live, NO you live to work.

On the other hand, Australia also has its drawbacks. Distance is one of the largest.

Main topic

For more than 3 months, Australia has been the main topic after work, on weekends and after waking up. Will we come back? How to return? Is this a good decision, will there be enough money? Which town? What visa?

We already went through six agents (migration and education) looking for a way to return. I’ve dug a pile of documents and the folder is still growing. Little by little I can feel physical and psychological exhaustion, and I am beginning to question whether this decision is definitely good.

I know it is, but it is also damn hard.

Emigration – the most difficult decision for the family

My family took very hard information about my plans to return to Australia. The main arguments against are distance, fears of losing a bond, and perhaps the fear that they will be left alone. I mean, it’s only 2 hours from England to Poland and if they need me, I’m almost there. The truth is that if something goes wrong, it is obvious that I will fly even from the end of the world. Only it will take a little more. From time to time, the family tries to convince me to return to Poland.

And you know what? It annoys me, this very selfish approach. Because I have the impression that everyone around seems to be so suffering, that only they will be alone, that only they will cry in a pillow, and I will be lying on the beach. When the realities are completely different.

They will have their favorite cup of coffee at hand, a garden where they can go for a walk, Maxi, who they can cuddle, places they know and love, cinemas, favorite shops, favorite food. Everything what is familiar. Everything what is safe.

And, do not get me wrong, I described my impressions from Australia so beautifully, but Australia is not my country. It is the best choice for now, but it’s not the same as Poland and always the beginnings are difficult. And I will have to start again. I have to remind myself what products in the store I liked, open an account in the bank, buy Myki on the tram, find a flat, friends, find my favorite places, learn and speak in a different language. At the moment of sadness or doubt, there will be nothing familiar. It will be Edgar ? but you know what I mean. ?

Emigration is a compromise

Change is difficult, risky, expensive, but often: for better. A change also involves losing something. Friends, close relationships, time that will not go back. And about the time I’m so afraid. That time with my relatives which will be lost forever. And I’m aware of that. But I’m also aware that at this particular moment in life, emigration is the only chance for a better future.

Writing it, I thought that someone could now judge me as an egoist because I choose my better future instead of being with my family. And believe it or not, but sometimes I ask myself the same question. But then quickly I’m reminding myself of my therapist’s words: “It’s your life, you have only One and you must live life the way you want.” Of course, possibly not hurting anyone.

I would like you to understand that the decision to emigrate is always painful, not only for those close to you, but especially for those who leave their country. Finally, I go into the unknown / risk / fight with all the barriers that you will not even think about.