If you're an adventurous type, one of the most exciting things you can do is pack up and move to teach English abroad. Paid positions will enable to you earn a living and travel in new areas of the world at the same time. It's an amazing experience, but before you can think about moving, there are a lot of loose ends you should tie up back home.
Before You Move To Teach In Overseas Programs, Visit The Doctor And Dentist
Some teach overseas programs will provide you with health insurance, but it's always a good idea to go get a medical and dental checkup before you go. Get a refill of any regular maintenance prescriptions, such as birth control or allergy medication and check to make sure you're up to date on your vaccinations, particularly tetanus.
At the dentist, go for a full cleaning, complete with dental X-rays. However, make sure to do this at least a month before you're scheduled to go, just in case you need to leave time to have cavities filled or root canals taken care of. Moving to teach in overseas programs knowing that you need dental work isn't a good idea.
Chances are good that you'll be moving to a country with a solid medical or dental system, but you'll likely be much too busy at first to worry about routine checkups, not to mention the doctors and dentists will speak the native language, not English. This is why it's a great idea to take care of this before you leave the United States.
Sell Your Car And Put Your Belongings In Storage
You probably won't be able to take your car with you when you move to teach in overseas programs. Even if you're going to teach English abroad in paid positions, you'll probably need to leave your car behind because transporting a car overseas can be prohibitively expensive and quite a hassle. Consider selling it or placing it into storage for the duration of your position.
Also, it's not uncommon for teachers to bring clothing and some personal belongings with them when they move. However, if you're going to teach English abroad in paid positions, the companies that set up these jobs will sometimes provide you with a furnished apartment, which means you don't need to bring large furniture items with you. Whether you put everything in storage or sell it is up to you.
Call Your Credit Card Company
Lastly, call your credit card company. This is a step that most people forget about, but it's an important one. You should be able to use your credit cards after you move to teach in overseas programs, but you should call your credit card company and let them know that you'll be moving. Many credit card companies have safety features in place to keep their customers from being the victims of credit card theft and this can cause your card not to work if the company thinks the charges in your new country are unauthorized.
If you're looking to work overseas, there are a lot of things to do in order to prepare before you go. These are just three of them. Make sure to keep a list to ensure you don't have any loose ends before you move.
