It’s been nearly three years since I moved abroad to England. Living abroad is no small feat—there are times when literally everything will be hard. I have struggled a lot, and I haven’t kept that a secret. In order to survive living abroad, where every day can be a flurry of activity and cultural differences and overstimulation, you need to be tough. Here are 13 tips I’ve learned (the hard way) to help you in your journey and survive life abroad!

1) Open a bank account and sign up for a phone contract right away.

You won’t be able to do much without a bank account or a phone. You can’t set up bills at your new place, apply for jobs (they can’t call you for an interview if you don’t have a phone number!), or really network with new people unless you have a bank account and a phone contract. The longer you put off getting a new bank account, the more money you’ll potentially lose in foreign transaction fees (depending on which cards you use). Your first order of business should be to get a bank account and with that in hand, sign up for a phone contract.

2) Get wifi as soon as you move in.

The longer you have to go without wifi when you move, the more difficult literally EVERYTHING will be. Unless you already have a phone contract, chances are you won’t be able to get a good price on data. You won’t be able to contact people back home, Google “where can I buy ____” in your new town, or look for a job if you need one. Wifi should be your first priority in your new life abroad, if only so that you can check in easily with friends and family back home.

3) Check how you will pay taxes and what information you’ll need.

Every country is different, so this will vary based on where you live. But if you are a long-term resident, chances are you will need to pay tax in your new country. If you’re American, you’ll also need to pay US taxes as well. Figure out how this works when you move, so that when the time comes to file taxes you’ll be ready! For example, the US and the UK have a tax treaty, so that as long as I earn less than ~$100,000/year, I don’t actually have to pay US tax. But I still have to file US taxes. In order to do this, I need to keep all of my payslips from all jobs during the year. Trust me, it is much easier to do this when you first move abroad, instead of trying to figure it out a week before the deadline!!

4) Find out how healthcare/dental care works in your new country.

While you don’t want to start off a new experience of life abroad worrying about medical and dental care, you should. Sign up right away—whether that’s to a nationalized system like the NHS in the UK, or a private health insurance plan. Get in the system. Keep track of your prescriptions for any medications, glasses, contact lenses, etc. and bring them with you to your first appointments. Hopefully you won’t need to use it often, but the security is there if you do.

5) Making friends with other foreigners can be great for when you need to complain…

You’ll need to find someone who understands. Other foreigners living abroad will help you survive and thrive—chances are, they’ve felt the exact same things you have! I definitely think having friends who are experiencing what you’re experiencing is important. I became good friends with someone from Latvia and someone from Thailand at my first job in the UK. If I hadn’t have had them to complain to about obnoxious, racist, British customers, I wouldn’t have made it!

6) …But you need to make friends with locals.

It can be so difficult when you feel inherently different from the locals where you live. But if you only make friends with other foreigners, you might end up living in a bubble, missing out on important cultural understandings and immersions, and probably struggling even more! Locals are the ones who will help you navigate systems that are confusing and strange. While I’ve always had Adam as a local Brit to help me during times of uncertainty, my other local friends are such wonderful people and do a lot to make me feel welcomed and loved during tough times.

7) More than anything, create a network abroad.

You won’t survive life abroad unless you can form a network. Make different groups of friends. Try to meet new people. Find people who support you and care about you. It is so hard—SO. HARD. If you don’t have people who you enjoy being with, who support and appreciate you, your life will be difficult. My first month of living abroad without knowing anyone was one of the worst and most lonely months of my entire life.

I have been so blessed in that I’ve worked so many different jobs in York, with so many wonderful people. While I often lose touch with some people after leaving a job, there are a good number of friends who I still see, who I still talk to, and whose friendship I truly appreciate. When I have needed help, they have been there. It has taken me three years to create this network and make strong friendships. But I wouldn’t have survived without them.

8) Download Skype/What’s App/Facebook Messenger on your phone.

We have so much technology at our fingertips these days. Get the latest apps on your phone, so that you can stay in contact with people while you’re abroad. Figure out how you will talk to friends and family back home. Make a habit of checking in. For example, I prefer Facebook Messenger to keep in touch with nearly all of my friends from home. I’ve found that if they don’t have Facebook, I really struggle to maintain conversations. Some friends I prefer to Skype. It might be easier for you to have a group chat on What’s App or Facebook with a close group of friends (as opposed to messaging them all individually when you have something to share). Work towards good communication methods and habits.

9) Don’t forget that daylight savings time may be different.

You’ll eventually get the time difference down so you automatically know how many hours behind/ahead you are of your friends and family back home. But don’t forget that daylight savings time may be different depending on where you are!! This throws me every year (and unfortunately has made me late for more than one Skype call). The US switches to daylight savings time before the UK does in the spring—and after the UK in the fall. Just when you think you know everything, you’ll get thrown a curveball twice a year!

10) Keep a bank account and credit card with no foreign transaction fees open in your home country.

I always think it’s best to keep multiple bank cards when you travel. Moving abroad is no exception, and in order to survive I recommend keeping your home bank account open, and hopefully keeping a credit card open too. While this is a pain to have to send yourself money every month, keeping a US bank account has made paying for expenses like my US student loans SO much easier. I can’t imagine the hassle and extra cost of having to pay for them from a foreign bank account. I also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, which has no foreign transaction fees, and means I always have a line of credit—I make all my big purchases on this card. (You can sign up for your card here!)

11) If you’re on a visa, keep track of restrictions and when you will need to apply/renew.

One of the worst parts about living abroad is the stress (and cost) of visas. I have spent a horrific amount of money on visa fees to be able to live in the same country as my husband. (You can read about my application for my first visa here.) If you move abroad, keep track of restrictions. Know when you’ll need to apply for a visa or renew your visa. Save a bit of money each month in a visa fund so you can afford it when the time comes. Have a calendar with dates if you are living somewhere short-term and need to do a visa run out of the country. Your life abroad will be so much easier if you can be aware of these things at the beginning! (You can read about my visa renewal here.)

12) Don’t fight homesickness. Accept is as part of your life.

If you are living abroad, you will get homesick. It can be so difficult when you feel homesick, when you miss your friends and family, when all you want to do is go to Taco Bell and Target. But don’t fight it. Don’t feel bad for feeling homesick. It is part of your life abroad. It is part of moving abroad, being abroad, and living away from the people and the environment you grew up in. It will be okay.

13) Try new things, but don’t be afraid to indulge in your comforts here and there.

Living abroad is a fantastic way to develop interests, skills, and passions that you might not have realized or encouraged back home. Try a new beer, try weird local food, try a new activity, try a new hobby, learn a new language, the world is your oyster! And while I think it’s so important to try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone, don’t feel guilty for indulging in your comforts now and again. So many things can feel different when you live abroad and this can be so difficult when you’re hyperaware of new things to learn and experience literally all the time. If you want to survive living abroad, you should have a mixture of new local experiences, but also familiar and comforting ones too. (Like watching Friends on Netflix and eating Taco Bell for me.)

Living abroad is never easy. It can be very difficult and it’s easy to get down and stay down. (I know. I’ve been there.) But if you want to survive, if you want to make it through to the end (whatever “the end” may be for you!), I hope this post helps you in making the transition and having an easier experience!

Have you ever lived abroad? What tips do you have for others doing the same thing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

You might also like my other posts:

What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved Abroad

What I Learned About British Culture After 2 Years Living In England

15 Harsh Truths About Living In England

The Stuff No One Talks About When You Go Abroad: Birth Control, Student Loans, And More

12 Things Every European NEEDS To Know About America

12 Things Every American NEEDS To Know About Europe

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