Moving Abroad Temporarily: Start With a Month
“Could I spend a month there?” is a much easier question than “Should I move there?”
Moving abroad temporarily gives you a chance to find out what you enjoy about a place while keeping a home to return to. You can be curious about Panama without putting your house on the market.
I keep my home base in Fort Myers and spend time in Panama City and Medellín. There are things I enjoy about each, and keeping that flexibility has become part of what I like about my life.
Give yourself an ordinary week
A furnished rental and a return date can make the idea manageable. Choose a neighborhood within your budget, with somewhere to cook and do laundry. If you’ll be working, check the internet and find out whether there’s a comfortable place to sit for more than twenty minutes.
Then leave some days unplanned. Get groceries. Find a coffee shop you’d go back to. See how much effort it takes to do the things that make up your week. An apartment can look wonderful online and feel considerably less wonderful when the bar downstairs closes at two.
A month won’t tell you everything about living there, but you’ll have better questions by the end of it.
Count the home you’re keeping
The bills at home still belong in the budget. Add them to the rental, travel and everyday spending abroad, then compare that total with what you would have spent staying home.
Our time-away calculator helps you do that. Lower everyday costs may cover some of the trip. If they don’t, you can decide whether the extra expense is worth it, or whether a shorter stay fits better.
Before booking, check what the destination allows for your passport and planned activities, including any work, and what your insurance covers. Arrange for someone to check on the home you’re leaving, too.
You can like it and still come home
If the month goes well, perhaps you go again next year. Perhaps you stay longer, or try another place.
You may discover that a few weeks or a month in Medellín, Panama, San José, or Cuenca now and then, while keeping your home in the U.S., lets you enjoy the best of both. Or the experience may help you decide you’re ready for a permanent move. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.