Emigrating to America

Emigrating has always been a dream of mine but that's all it has been for me, a dream. Although I would love to move to another country I know it's not feasible for us with a small child, a mortgage and deeps roots in the UK but someone close to me made has recently made her dreams a reality. Last month I said goodbye to my little sister who emigrated to America.

When my sister told me she was planning on moving over there I was in denial a little as I didn't think it would happen. My sister is 8 years younger than me and she's the youngest in our family so has always been seen as the baby. With that in mind I thought the idea of her moving away would just be a phase but it wasn't. My sisters dream of emigrating came true and although I already miss her so much we are all so proud of her.

Preparing to make such a big move takes months and months of preparation and is a longer process than you think. With her move overseas fresh in our minds I thought I would put together a post on some of the tips she used to make the process a little smoother.

Be organised-
Emigrating and moving abroad is so complex and not as straight forward as either of us imagined to begin with. There is so much to remember and making check lists of everything you need to do, to arrange, to pack, to save is endless so preparation is key. Having lists to revert back to really helped my sister and is her number one tip.

Complete paperwork-
Along with the endless lists is the endless paperwork, they go hand in hand. It's quite difficult to be accepted for a visa to another country and there is so much paperwork you need to fill out. You also have to go through many checks including a major health check. There are also different interviews you need to attend and so much more. It only felt real to my sister and I when she finally got her visa and she was able to really start planning the move.

Travel and Health Insurance-
One thing that didn't cross my sisters mind is how she would need travel and health insurance. I don't know why because it's the norm to buy insurance policies when you go on holiday so why we didn't think the same when it came to emigration, I don't know. It's so important to buy International Health Insurance and my sister bought three years back to back to cover her for the first few years of living over there. To know you have the insurance in case something goes wrong is such a great peace of mind.

My sister has been living in America for a month and her and her partner have so many plans already, it's so exciting to listen to her tales and adventures. Next year they plan on buying long term van hire and travelling across the States. This is another dream of mine and one day I hope I can follow in her footsteps. Perhaps we will never emigrate ourselves but I am sure we can go on a road trip or two!

- This is a collaboration.