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For Employment, Relocation Tends To Be A Good Thing
Forced relocation is seldom if ever desirable. However, there are circumstances that are better than others. For example, if you’re relocating because you’ve just managed to secure a promotion, that’s a good thing. However, it does mean new social acquaintances, new neighborhoods, new cultural norms, and maybe even new laws.
There are plenty of situations, especially in modernity, where relocations actually take an individual from one country to another. Beyond community issues, you’ve got new bureaucracies to deal with, and things can get complicated.
Following we’ll briefly explore several things you’ll want to consider regardless of where you’re being relocated. Certainly, there will be a lot more to consider than what’s presented here, but at minimum, these points should help you get started.
Citizenship Issues In Other Countries
It’s one thing to move from the United States to a country like Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, or any of those realms under the United Kingdom. Sure, they have a totally different cultural identity and history, but they speak English. Imagine if you had to relocate somewhere like Russia, Portugal, or French Guiana.
Beyond the bureaucratic hoops, you have to jump through so you can legally live and work in a country that doesn’t recognize you as a citizen, you’ve also got to contend with language issues, cultural shifts, dietary changes, climatological differences, wildlife considerations, and goods acquisition problems. Many different countries even have different electrical fixtures.
If you’re able to overcome these obstacles, the next issue becomes having the country legally recognize you as a citizen. This is going to be harder in some countries than in others. You might have to stay local to a given country for five or more years, or you might have to generate a certain amount of economic growth.
You need to design a strategy toward citizenship if your relocation will be over an extended period of time. However, in some situations, relocation is something temporary; so this circumstance will also mitigate any associated strategy. You need to know before you go.
There are situations where some companies offer programs like Canada’s Express Entry PR option. PR stands for Permanent Resident in this context. Essentially, instead of having to jump through the normal hoops, programs like this help you get where you want to be more quickly, allowing you to focus on setting up your life.
Especially given the current economic climate, it’s important to explore what options exist as regards expedited residency programs. Remember, being a “permanent resident” is a little different than being recognized as a citizen. In the United States, you might live and work in some bucolic town for over a decade before obtaining citizenship.
Other countries may have similar legal realities. Essentially, you want to explore every alternative to see what works, and why.
Assuring The Move Is Right
Before you relocate, it’s a wise idea to travel where the company intends to put you. See if you can figure out which neighborhood they intend to relocate you to. Look into what the people are like. Explore the nightlife. Explore local shopping. Take stock of costs in real estate, in grocery stores, and at the gas station.
Sometimes the raise you’re given isn’t worth the increase in living expenses where you’re moving. Other times, you’re profiting double. Big cities in countries like Russia tend to be less expensive than big cities in countries like America. On average, daily costs in Moscow are $63, while they’re $238 in New York City.
Now those costs assume you’re traveling; you can probably cut associated
However, then there’s this to consider: New York City is three or four times more expensive than the rest of America—Manhattan is more than twice as expensive as L.A. per square foot, when you explore real estate; Brooklyn is in about the same ballpark.
Enabling Optimal Relocation
So even if you’re not moving from one country to another, there can be costly realities to consider. If you are moving from one country to another, you want to take into account collateral living
When you do decide to move, look into residency programs to expedite the process. Lastly, consider associated citizenship realities. If everything aligns, then the job relocation may well be worth it. If it doesn’t, you might want to find employment elsewhere.
