Moving Overseas - Am I making the right decision?

The idea to move abroad is born - and with it comes excitement, anticipation and a renewed sense of direction.

At first, there is just a small thought that sparks and we ask ourselves, “Could it be achievable?” Then a plethora of possibilities opens up. Not before long, we are enquiring about property prices, cost of living and employment. Our daydreams turn to visualisations of our possible new life overseas. We see ourselves smiling more - and enjoying life with increased vigour.

Most people have the idea and the spark, but soon lose their drive. They are the people who grow old and say, “If only.”

Then there are those who have the passion and desire to carry their plans to fruition. Regardless as to your resolve, however, there will always be times when you doubt yourself. Your excitement will allow you to make massive strides, but at some point you will stop to catch your breath and wonder if you are making the right decision.

Mrs Turner, new to the world of overseas living, explained “I spent all my spare time planning, preparing and ticking off endless lists. After a few months I felt overwhelmed – was I merely caught up in ‘living the dream’ or did I truly understand what was to come? And how could I make sure that I wasn’t making a big mistake?”

Unfortunately, there are quite a few people who return to the UK not long after an overseas move. Sometimes people repatriate due to health matters, missing family or simply missing their old way of life. Others move back because the dreams they floated on did not match the reality.

One way to ensure that you are making the right decision is to “play house” in your overseas location.

Try to make arrangements to stay in your desired location for as long as possible, be it a few weeks or a month. Then make plans to enjoy the location without being a tourist. This means rather than stay in a hotel, rent a villa or better yet, do a house swap. Instead of visiting the main attractions, check out all the things that locals do. Go grocery shopping, check out employment adverts and do everything you would normally do if you were moving from one town in the UK to another.

When Mrs Turner felt overwhelmed, she decided to book a two week trip to her future destination. Although she had spent several holidays there, she never spent the duration knowing that it would one day be called “home.”

Mrs Turner said, ‘It was the best decision I made. By spending two weeks in my future town I was able to better set my expectations. I went to the doctors, paid a visit to a community centre, made enquiries about a local art class and made sure to eat most of my meals at home. By the end of the two weeks, I realised that some of my expectations were a bit too high whereas others were too low. Overall, the holiday gave me the needed push to set me back on track.”

By giving yourself time to be a resident, rather than a tourist, you will get a more realistic idea of life in your desired location. As with Mrs Turner, time spent in your future destination may also give you even more reason to fulfil your plans.

As with all areas in the world, there will be pros and cons and without experiencing life as a local, it is very easy to make a move without knowing exactly what the negatives and positives are.

Spending time on holiday is very different from making a holiday destination a home.

During the process of playing “house”, you might want to test public transport to see how reliable it is, stroll through the area at different times of the day to listen out for noise, buy the type of groceries you normally purchase to determine if they are available and at what price - and definitely check out health services – how far away are they and will they cater to your needs?

The more you match your needs to your overseas destination, the less likely you will be to ask, “Am I making the right decision?”

Carol Dunning
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com

Mortgages – you need a degree to decide…!

Hello again. This has been a great week for me – one of my closest friends has come to stay for a couple of weeks and I am showing her London! Needless to say, we have stacks planned but will probably exhaust ourselves and slump in front of the telly after a few hectic days!

One of the things we are going to do is to see a favourite of mine - Martin Shaw - in a play at the Richmond Theatre. Plus a possible Bat Walk at the Wetland Centre…and there’s a jazz festival at Canary Wharf…whew, I feel tired already!

No matter how canny you are, today it just isn’t easy to predict what’s going to happen in the foreseeable future is it? Take mortgages: after the recent emergency budget, many industry experts are now predicting that the base rate will remain stable at around 0.5% until perhaps the end of 2012 – I even saw 2013 mentioned.

Even Chancellor George Osborne made reference in his budget speech to Bank of England governor Mervyn King’s recent comments that if growth does prove to be slower, interest rates will remain lower. So…for those of you thinking of buying a new home or re-mortgaging, where does this leave you over the next couple of years?

You can take a competitive fixed rate now – and with this you get the ability to budget. For those more risk-averse borrowers who simply want a planned budget, a fixed rate is a highly attractive option. It does mean however that you give up a low standard variable rate (SVR) and ignore the tracker rate linked to the Bank of England base rate.

In contrast, if you choose to embrace the prediction of a continued low base rate, in the short to medium term certainly there are some competitive choices. You can of course remain on a low SVR until you see signs of an upward trend, but should you want to exchange you may find that your lender excludes existing borrowers from their best products…

Perhaps you need to take advice here from a mortgage expert? If you don’t know who to ask about this I know that the friendly team at the Overseas Guides Company Resource Centre can recommend someone – give them a call on 0207 898 0549.

But sometimes even for the most experienced broker, there isn’t really a right or wrong answer. However I always feel that two heads are better than one, especially when that second ‘head’ has been concentrating on the mortgage market for years…!

I’m off to have fun – in the sun I hope – with my friend now. Fortunately, because she’s from South Africa, a few cooler days are quite welcome - I hope you are enjoying summer too.

Best wishes,

Carol.
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com/