How to overcome the biggest relocation challenges

If you’re looking to (temporarily) relocate abroad, you’ll find that you’re in for an adventure. But as exciting and fun as that adventure will be, it will also bring along some challenges. That’s why it’s important to prepare yourself as well as possible. And with this blog post, we'd like to help you do just that.

Relocating abroad - even if only temporarily - is a little bit more complicated than just packing up your stuff and leaving. You are changing the course of your life, both personally and professionally. And that, of course, brings with it the necessary challenges. 

Why would one temporarily relocate abroad?

Everyone who decides to move abroad – again, even if only temporarily – has his or her own reasons for doing so. Some simply want to expand their personal horizon and experience a different country and culture for a while. Others move abroad because of their work or career opportunities.

One of the first challenges you will have to face has to do with housing: should you look for a house or an apartment? And should you buy or rent?

• Buy: if you are relocating abroad temporarily, you may decide - if you have the means - to buy a house or apartment. However, from a rational and practical point of view, this might not be a good decision. After all, when you decide to buy something, you almost always buy with a long-term view in mind, which isn’t the case if you are looking for temporary housing. It would be way too big of an investment for a rather short period, not to mention the practical issues and arrangements you would have to deal with if you want to sell again afterward.
• Rent: That is why renting a house or apartment for the duration of your stay is a way better choice. By renting you give yourself the flexibility you need in temporary accommodation. Also, you have to take into account much less practical matters and deal with less paperwork and other organizational stuff. In addition, renting also offers you the necessary flexibility in terms of furnishings. You can rent furniture and interior decoration. This has the great advantage that you can rely on quality furniture without having to ship your entire household contents abroad (immediately).

Besides housing, of course, there are other major challenges you will have to face when relocating abroad:

• Language and culture barriers: living and working in another country also means living and working in another language and in another culture. Therefore, it is important to prepare yourself well prior to relocating and gather information about the country you are relocating to. Ask yourself: What are the local norms, values, and customs? What is the work culture like? What is the language and/or lingua franca? Etc...
• Living and working environment: Furthermore, when you relocate abroad, you will also have to accommodate to a different living and working environment. If you are not immediately familiar with the country and the place where you are moving to, this transition can be difficult. Therefore, try to familiarise yourself with your new city or environment before you relocate.
• Personal and social life: Relocating to another country - even temporarily - also brings a big change in your personal and social life. You will have to leave friends and family behind and also create a new "home" for yourself. Therefore, it is best to make some connections in your new environment as soon to help yourself settle in and reduce the risk of suffering from homesickness.
• Practical matters: Finally, relocating abroad requires a lot of practical organization. You probably want to take everything with you from your current home, but will find that that is almost impossible. Moving furniture, for example, can be quite a challenge, especially if you have to move everything back again within a relatively short period of time. That is why renting furniture is a great alternative to temporarily ‘decorate your life’. And that is exactly what we at In-Lease can help you with.

At In-Lease, we specialize in furniture rental for international moves and relocations. We offer a variety of flexible rental packages that allow you to rent complete furniture packages or put together your own furniture rental package. An example of one of our flexible rental packages is the TEMP formula.

The TEMP formula is essentially our basic furniture rental package. It allows you to rent pre-composed furniture packages for periods up to 12 weeks. This formula is, for example, very suitable when you are waiting for your own furniture to make the big crossing. Within the TEMP formula you can also rent electrical equipment and upgrade to our other formulas. These are more comprehensive and allow you to rent for longer periods all the way up to 60 months. More information on our different formulas can be found on our rental formulas page.

Would you like to receive more information about our furniture rental services and our rental formulas? Feel free to contact us. Or would you like to secure furniture as soon as possible for your temporary move abroad? Then take a look at our different rental formulas.