Moving Abroad? What You Need to Know Before Starting Expat Life

New York: A 2025 Harris Poll found that 42% of Americans have considered moving abroad, opens new tab.

But life in another country is rarely like the hit Netflix show “Emily in Paris, opens new tab,” featuring a young American social media influencer who moves to France for her dream job in marketing, wears colorful couture and falls in love with hunky men.

“Living abroad looks wonderful on Instagram. It's actually not always what it's cracked up to be,” says Christina Tunnah, head of the ​Americas at World Nomads, a travel insurer.

Born in England and raised mostly abroad, Tunnah knows a thing or two about expat life. She has lived, worked, and studied across Europe, North and South America, ‌the Caribbean and Asia. She currently calls Northern California home.

She spoke with Reuters about things to consider before moving your life, job, family and finances to a new country.

This interview is edited and condensed.

I was offered a position in Hong Kong, and I went for a week to try to get a sense of what real life would look like. I got up early in the morning and commuted to the business district to get a sense ​of what a commute would feel like in Hong Kong weather.

What does a weekend shop look like? Go to the grocery stores. Go to hardware stores. Go anywhere you can – just to get a feel for what ​it would be like to set up a life there.

I did not accept the position, because it was not a place where I felt like I could be my best. ⁠I've been to Hong Kong many times since, and every time it's affirming. I love going there, but it's not a place for me to live.

I always play a little mental game where ​I say: “If I were to move here, which neighborhood would I live in? What's the rent? What kind of apartment will I get for the budget I have? How do I get from that neighborhood to my office? Do I need ​a car?”

There are a lot of expat blogs and community sites. Find those groups before you go and just have a chat. It's a great way to do a foundational layer of getting to know someone in your network if you decide to move.

Then, sanity-check with yourself. Ask: “Do I want to have an expat life and be with expats, or do I want to develop relationships with locals?”

It's for unknown events that happen in the ​course of your travels. If you're staying in a place for six months, it may apply. However, it's not healthcare coverage. If you have prescriptions, if you have glasses or lenses that need to be replaced, if you have diabetes or ​some pre-existing condition that needs care, then travel insurance is not intended to be that.

There are organizations that offer expat healthcare for ongoing, routine treatment. Ask other expats how they handle their healthcare. In some places local ‌clinics are a ⁠lot cheaper, and some people don't get any coverage. They're willing to pay out of pocket and self-insure.

Be clear on how long your travel insurance remains valid. And if something gets really serious, does the plan repatriate you? Does it cover your flights home?

Be smart about where you declare the money you earn. Not all countries have treaties where the dollar is only taxed once.

You have to be aware of what your visa entitles you to, too. A lot of people will just do three days in the US to reset the odometer and then come back into a country. That could be a big no-no.

Sometimes you might not be able to get a local bank account ​if you're not a resident. If you can open an ​account, be sure on the taxation side that there ⁠isn't any doubt about your reporting.

If you don't have access to a formal structure like a 401(k), think through your contributions with your financial provider.

And then there is Social Security: If you're not contributing while you're an expat, what's the detriment when you come back?

Living abroad and not paying taxes might not be the windfall they think it is. ​Is it really going to be tax-free if you're missing out on all these other bits that hit you five years later when you decide to come home?

Landlords, if they know you're an ⁠expat, might not have any recourse for things like deposits or damage, which is why they may require a year’s rent upfront.

Buying property is more complicated: Are you allowed to buy as a non-resident? What is the capital gains tax if it increases in value, and to whom do you owe it?

I personally think it's too complicated. Don't do it, unless you're getting the support of a company.

A friend moved with her kids north of Barcelona. She did a ⁠preview trip, set ​herself up with a great landlord and investigated schools before the move. The children are thriving, and they learned the local language. She did ​her homework, she met the right people and she leaned on others to help her out.

Someone I know moved to the Yucatan thinking it was going to be great. They didn't do their homework, and the weather wasn't what they wanted. Things were crowded and expensive, ​and they just didn't thrive.

I think reality is very different. It's a very personal experience that sometimes falls short of the hype. People really miss being near their mom, their mates and the food from home.