{"id":13699,"date":"2022-11-04T13:15:15","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T13:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/expatriation-guide\/questions-before-expatriation\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T08:16:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T08:16:30","slug":"questions-before-expatriation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/expatriation-guide\/questions-before-expatriation\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions we ask ourselves before expatriation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Questions we ask ourselves before expatriation Living an international experience is an incredible adventure. But it is a major decision that requires careful reflection. Even if you have already gone through all the preparations for an expatriation project, you are never fully prepared. Here is a list of questions we generally ask ourselves before moving abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Motivations and goals Departure is always motivated by a reason. Is it simply a desire for a change of scenery? What are the specific questions to ask in order to truly understand what you want?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why do you want to expatriate? Most often, an individual decides to expatriate for professional reasons. It is possible to find better opportunities abroad, an advantageous salary or a lighter tax burden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may equally be a desire for discovery, to immerse yourself in a new culture, to learn a new language\u2026 Whatever the argument behind this decision, it must be clear. You can make it clearer by defining your goals. What are your personal and professional goals?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What are your motivations in concrete terms? On a professional level, do you need to develop new skills? Do you want to become more independent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you want to have a more open mindset? Equally on a personal level, you should ask yourself whether you need to make more international friends, travel, step out of your comfort zone. Your motivations must be solid.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once abroad, there will be times when you need to answer why you made this decision. Also ask yourself whether your project matches your partner's wishes. A family expatriation can quickly become a failure when the partner is not satisfied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They may, for example, have had to sacrifice their career to follow you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choosing a country When choosing a destination country, what elements should be taken into consideration to prevent any disappointment? You will need to base your decision on several criteria. Which country best matches your expectations?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In expatriation, people are not necessarily looking for the same thing. Ask yourself about your real expectations regarding your host country. Are you looking for a country where life is good and life expectancy is particularly long?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you want to live in a dynamic and lively country? What type of culture do you want to immerse yourself in? Choose according to your deepest aspirations.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What are the living conditions, culture and cost of living? To help you make a better choice, find out about the living conditions in your desired host country. What is its cost of living?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it more affordable than in your country of origin? How safe are its main cities?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pour vous aider \u00e0 mieux fixer votre choix, renseignez-vous sur les conditions de vie du pays d\u2019accueil convoit\u00e9e. Quel est son co\u00fbt de la vie ? Est-il plus accessible que celui de votre pays d\u2019origine ? Comment est la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 dans ses principales grandes villes ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal and administrative aspects One of the least attractive aspects of an expatriation project: the administrative procedures and legal details to settle. Yet they remain essential for a legal expatriation.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What visas or permits are required? In order to settle legally in the country of your choice, find out about the administrative procedures to complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you need a visa to stay there? What type of residence permit will you need to apply for in order to settle there?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How does the healthcare and social security system work? If you are an employee of a company registered in the destination country, are you automatically affiliated with their healthcare and social security system?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your rights and the procedures you should complete at this level if you expatriate with a status other than that of an employee?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Si vous \u00eates salari\u00e9s d\u2019une entreprise enregistr\u00e9e dans le pays de destination, \u00eates-vous affili\u00e9 automatiquement \u00e0 leur syst\u00e8me de sant\u00e9 et de s\u00e9curit\u00e9 sociale ? Quels sont vos droits et les d\u00e9marches que vous devriez faire \u00e0 ce niveau si vous vous expatriez avec un autre statut que celui du salari\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employment and finances On a financial level, the issues you should address before an expatriation are not minor. Do you have a job or professional prospects?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you are about to leave, do you already have a job or will you only look for one once you arrive? You must be open to all the professional opportunities available in the country and begin your search well before your departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will your budget be and how will you manage your finances? Financial needs are not the same from one country to another.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You may therefore see your habits change regarding your budget. Analyse the monthly amount needed to live abroad based on the cost of living, your needs and whether you are leaving alone or as a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quel sera votre budget et comment g\u00e9rer vos finances ?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Les besoins financiers ne sont pas les m\u00eames d\u2019un pays \u00e0 un autre. Vous pourrez donc voir vos habitudes changer en ce qui concerne votre budget. Analysez la somme mensuelle n\u00e9cessaire pour vivre \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9tranger en fonction de son co\u00fbt de la vie, de vos besoins et du fait que vous partez seul ou en famille.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing In a new country, the search for housing does not necessarily follow the same principles as in your country of origin. Where will you live?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rent or buy? The question to ask concerns the type of property you wish to rent or buy in your new country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also a matter of its location, the number of rooms, the level of comfort required, etc. What are the recommended areas for expatriates?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Which city will you live in and what kind of neighbourhood are you looking for? Generally, there are areas often recommended for expatriates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out about them.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dans quelle ville allez-vous habiter et quel genre de quartier recherchez-vous ? G\u00e9n\u00e9ralement, il existe des zones souvent recommand\u00e9es pour les expatri\u00e9s. Renseignez-vous l\u00e0-dessus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Questions we ask ourselves before expatriation Living an international experience is an incredible adventure. But it is a major decision that requires careful reflection. Even if you have already gone through all the preparations for an expatriation project, you are never fully prepared. Here is a list of questions we generally ask ourselves before moving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7510,"parent":3209,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"niveau-2.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"Questions before expatriating | Reflection guide","_seopress_titles_desc":"The essential questions to ask yourself before moving abroad: motivations, destination country, legal procedures, employment and housing.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13699","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13699\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mc-expatriation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}