I though moving abroad for a year would be the hardest thing I would ever do.
However, the reality was that the hardest thing I had to do was the admin to allow
myself to get abroad.
Now the admin is by no means impossible, I survived it as did my course mates. But
hindsight is a gift, and there’s some things I would have done differently. Hence, here
is a little early Christmas gift from me to you, for those of you who are thinking about,
or are planning, a year abroad. These are my top tips for solving the jigsaw puzzle
that is pre-departure admin.
(Just to clarify my experience is with planning for France, but most of this will be
applicable to all!)
Have documentation in order. Itās an obvious one, but the early bird really does catch
the worm. Check passports now, GHICs, drivers’ licenses, Birth certificates,
everything. Any document you can possibly think of- even if you donāt think you need
it, sort it. The sooner you have them all collected now, the less of a headache you
will face later when admin starts to pile up.
Set pre deadlines for yourself. Have a deadline for something? Set one for yourself
the week before. Aim to be early. Itāll help avoid the administrative procrastination
that I fell victim toā¦and regretted quickly. Your future self will thank you.
Talk to students at the university. I attended so many pre-departure meetings with Q
and As with students who did the year abroad before. But because these meetings
were early in the year, I did not have any questions at that point. By the time I had
questions, there were no more meetings. But if you email the year abroad team, or
check the forms on Moodle, a lot of those students will be happy to give you their
email to answer your questions all year round. Some of my most tricky pre departure
obstacles were solved with the help of their emails!
Do not fear the visa process. I promise, it is not as bad or scary as it is made out to
be. I remember walking out of my appointment thinking āthat was it?ā The people are
very friendly, itās not as formal as it is described- still take it seriously, but not
unnecessarily seriously. Just be prepared to be in there for a while! In the London
centre there is a lovely shopping centre a 5 min walk from the TLS centre; make sure
you get yourself a sweet treat after- you’ll have made a massive step in your year
abroad progress! I highly recommend the waffles from black sheep coffee.
Consider the golden ticket, the British Council. This may be slightly biased as this is
my job on my year abroad, and if you speak to other people in different placements,
they can also offer insight into their jobs. But this job is absolute gold dust. Whilst a
lot of the process does leave you in the unknown for a while, particularly regarding
your location for your year abroad, the visa admin was significantly lighter for France.
I did not have to prove I had accommodation sorted before I left, which was a
massive help! Additionally, I am only working 12 hours a week, leaving myself so
much time to travel! I also get to be part of a lovely community of assistants,
particularly in my city. This may just be a shameless plug for this job that I love- but
do consider it!
Have an international bank account ready. I would highly recommend Monzo or
Revolut. I used this before even leaving to pay my deposit for my flat share. It also
makes transferring between pounds and euros a lot cheaper.
Budgeting- the earlier the better. Any money you save now can be a trip for you in a
years’ time. I started off by putting small amounts of my monthly pay checks into a
separate account. This has allowed me to have a lot more freedom now that I am
here.
Let yourself breathe! Arguably the most important thing, yet the most difficult. The
year abroad can easily consume you, and it did me. It was eating at me months
before my departure, and it felt like I was constantly doing things for it- but I now
realise I didnāt have to. What I should have been doing was giving myself time to
take myself away from the admin and not check my emails every five minutes. Even
if it was just an hour a day of no screen time. I genuinely think that the happiest I was
during the summer before my year abroad was when I went to a spa with my mum
where phones weren’t allowed. Not being able to check my emails or search
anything up was absolute bliss.
Know that to compare to others is to poison yourself. Everyone will be at different
steps in their progress. Some jobs like the British Council require a lot of patience,
whilst some people will already have secured their abroad university housing or
modules. That is fine. Comparison is the killer of joy. Focus on yourself and your
progress, thatās what matters. Of course, support your friends, but donāt compare.
Again, the year abroad is massively about mental preparation as well as physical
preparation. Your mindset is just as important as your Visa.
Find Facebook groups or WhatsApp groups. Use the Erasmus chats, even if you
aren’t going abroad as a student. You can meet so many people your age in the
same position. Additionally chatting to some people before you go can really ease
the fear of being lonely. I ended up in a group chat with current and past British
Council assistants; some of the current assistants are now my closes friends here,
and some of the past assistants have given me invaluable advice.
I hope these tips help! And happy planning!