How to move abroad and why

Hi I'm Luis, the owner of this amazing blog. Today after a long time I'm starting to write a post again…and I do it from my new home in my new city in my new country.

3 months ago I decided to move to Antwerp Belgium and today I will talk about why I decided to move and how I did it.

For those who don't know me, I'm from Italy, I'm 21 and I work as a Software Developer. After high school in Mechanics... (choice dictated by the proximity of the school to my home) I started working as a developer in a company a few hours from my home. The passion for information technology had already matured in parallel with high school. This first experience, which lasted about 9 months and ended with my dismissal dictated by my salary and work environment, proved to be fundamental in making me attractive to companies in the sector. After a few months I interviewed with my current company and have been working on a big project with a great team ever since.

Having said that, a question arises spontaneously ... why did you move?

Well there is no simple answer to this question, the one that dictated the decision to me in my case was this I felt like I had my wings covered by that country that for too long has felt like home, but a home that would never be 100% mine.

I didn't write it before but I was born and raised in Italy from an immigrant family, I am part of that second generation that has not suffered great discrimination but which is often reminded not to be at home.

This was probably the trigger for my decision that has been gripping my mind for a long time since the last year of high school until now my mind was always planning to go abroad but I never had the strength to do it until this moment. The second reason for the transfer was that of work, the aspect of professional growth that an experience abroad can give you is not comparable to any type of university or study in my opinion, studying a new language and being able to work in international contexts can give you an incredible boost for any workplace. The last reason that if i didn't mention i would be a hypocrite was love to get closer to my girlfriend who is studying in holland it was an even bigger incentive to do what i had in mind for years.

Why here ?

Why Belgium? Belgium seemed to me the most sensible starting point to start an experience abroad, it is literally in the center of Europe, the costs are not as prohibitive as other countries and it is the center of many international companies in the IT field

First step, find the house.

The hardest thing for those who move is to find a house ... get ready because it will be: hard, long and depressing. In my opinion, the most effective method is to subscribe to various facebook groups created ad hoc for those who want to transfer there are dozens for every major city in the world. Advertisements looking for roommates will be posted here, but most of the time you will not receive an answer or you will be asked to visit the property the next day. If you are lucky you will be able to find some compatriot who will understand your situation and will allow you to view it on videocall. if this search is not successful, the second option is to look for an Airbnb and move to the country for a few months and continue the search directly from there. I have no other advice to give for this topic I can only say good luck and do not give up

Second step, find an occupation.

Finding a job outside Italy is not difficult, if you have the skills you can sell, you just need to create a linkedin profile and move your position to the new country and HR will not be slow to write to you for job offers. in these cases, however, a knowledge of English good enough to be able to face an interview is indispensable. if your level of English is not high enough and you don't have great skills to spend in the world of work, you have another way forward, that of Italian restaurants...there are many and often they don't require a great knowledge of Italian but a great desire to Do.

Third and last step, find some friend.

Perhaps the most difficult part is to find a circle of friends, starting alone is not easy and above all if you do not know the native language of the place where you are going to live. my advice in this area is to try as much as possible to find international friends who are in the same condition as you, they tend to have no problem introducing you to other friends and introducing you to their circle of friends. Local people are always a great way to understand the local culture but they are also more complicated to approach.

Let's talk about money

How much is spent abroad (in this case in Belgium).

• Rent: we can identify it between a range of 500 and 800 for a room/studio flat
• Food: shopping with a little care not to buy the most expensive things and not go to the most expensive supermarkets, you can spend between 100 and 150 euros a month.
• Exits: this obviously depends a lot on you, you can spend insane amounts or spend nothing. you have a wide choice, going out to eat is very expensive but going to a dance can be practically free. I can say that this month I spent around 200/300 euros on outings etc

1300 euros is what I spent in the month of May.

How much is the salary

here in Belgium the average salary is between 2000 and 2500 euros ... you understand well that with what I have spent this month and what I receive as salary I am very well able to put some money into my investments without major sacrifices

CONCLUSION

in conclusion I advise everyone to have an experience abroad at least for a couple of years you will only have positive things to take home !!!!

Luis Beqja.