Moving to Europe – Three Tips
I'm writing because Seth Godin made me. Okay, not directly.... I listened to a webcast he gave about the importance of “shipping” aka getting things done even when you'd rather not. And believe me, I had a nice, long list of “legitimate” reasons about why I wasn't writing this post. So listening to Godin's talk I felt guilty about letting my “lizard brain” get the better of me all week. The result is this post, imperfect, but done.
....
I suspect that many of us end up in Europe with minimal forethought. I'm guilty of this.
I'm tired of America [or insert current hell-mouth]. I want to spend six months in France [or insert dream escape]. Let me see if I'll like it....
And many of us do—like it, that is. I mean, hello, five weeks of vacation, cheap beer (Prague, at least), siestas, aperitivos, ...
And then heart-/headache when we try to prolong the fantasy.
Some of us get lucky, some of us get by, many of us return home.
There's no one way or path to making your European dream a “feasible” reality. (I say “feasible” because anyone can come over here, but not everyone can stay here.) I'm going to share three basic tips for next-gen expats thinking of jumping continents:
This one is so obvious—learn a second language! Preferably one that travels well. Being bi-/trilingual can crack open the job market big time. Last December, I met a Portuguese woman who spoke French, English, German, Italian and Spanish—fluently. I doubt she'll have trouble finding work—ever. A NYT article about e-learning foreign languages. So if you're still a year or more away from coming here, get at it!
Get techy. I'm not talking about opening web browsers or using a word processing program. Get thee to Lynda.com—a terrific website for video-learning all sorts of digital and tech programs. For $25 a month, you have access to as many technologies and lessons as you have the time to digest. Second to being multilingual, having tech skills is the next big way to nudge the job market door even wider. PHP, SAP, XML, CSS—they may look like a bunch of acronyms or alphabets to you, but I see jobs and money.
Oh, here's another reason why being technically adept rocks: you can use your skill(s) to help clients located ANYWHERE, courtesy of sites like Elance, Guru, Odesk, or whatever the Virtual Job site of the moment is. Some people make good money working this way, such as Ms Expatria, an expat blogger who says she's able to pay rent from her gigs on Elance. Note: It will take some time to build up the cred to charge premium rates; read as much as you can about how to get the most out of these avenues.
Learn to network. If you hate the term “networking”, then think of it as “relationship building”, which is what it really is. I'm a work-in-progress in this department because alas it took me awhile in my life path to really absorb this one: who you know matters—a lot. So, in your new country meet people, tell them what you're about, what you did back home or what you're looking to do now. Someone is listening and filing away your information for future use. Trust me.
And if you're going to network aka build relationships, be likable, kind, sincere, reliable and generous. What's the point if the people you're trying to align yourself with find you intolerable? They'll show it, and unless you're a stone you'll know it. Sure some folks with the plum jobs and bank accounts we covet are jackasses; but do we want to be like them? I prefer to think that they don't sleep well at night or are terribly miserable about their lives. And yes, I know thinking this way makes me feel better about not having their disposable income.
Are there any other basics?
Seth, the lizard brain is asleep now. Thanks.
