Moving abroad: what now?

Moving Abroad Temporarily: What Should You Do With Your Home and Mail?

Last year, 144,000 Dutch people moved elsewhere in Europe or to another part of the world. From students and interns spending time abroad to expats working overseas temporarily or for a longer period. Where are you going, and what will you do with your current home, belongings and mail? Here is a handy checklist!

Leave, Sell or Sublet Your Home?

The first decision you need to make is whether you want to keep your current home or give it up permanently. Naturally, this depends on how long you plan to stay abroad.

Are you very attached to your home? You could consider subletting it. You can agree on a specific rental period, so when you know when you will return, your home will be available to you again.

What Should You Do With Your Belongings?

When you temporarily move abroad to study or work, you probably will not take all your furniture with you. So, what should you do with your belongings when you sell or sublet your home?

A useful way to make this decision is to divide everything into three groups:

• Items you will take abroad
• Belongings you will permanently throw away, give away or donate to a charity shop
• Items you cannot take with you but do not want to get rid of

The third group requires some thought. It may be nice to keep everything, but where will you store it? Perhaps relatives can store some of your belongings, but they probably value their available space too.

A simple, convenient and affordable solution is to temporarily rent a storage unit. By storing your belongings in a secure, climate-controlled and insured storage facility, you can be confident that they will remain safe until you return.

For very long stays abroad or permanent emigration, budget storage units are also available at an even more affordable rate.

What Should You Do With Your Mail?

You can have much of your mail forwarded to your new address. However, when you are not moving abroad permanently, you may not want everything to be delivered internationally.

A mailbox service is a commonly used solution that allows you to continue receiving your mail in the Netherlands.

World traveller, with this checklist you are ready to leave the Netherlands behind. Will you send us a postcard?