How to prepare your move back home

Last month Tara and her family moved into a new home in rural Iowa after 8-years years as expats in South America. Her banker husband found a job back in the USA and within six weeks she “moved mountains” to extricate themselves from one life and create another — most urgently, a home to rent and school places for their three children. 

The lure of the dream expat life had faded, says Tara, 38, who did not want to give her real name. “Trapped on an island by the Draconian quarantine rules meant that ease of travel — one of the main reasons for being there — no longer existed,” she says, referring to the 14-day period that inbound travelers are required to stay in a government-assigned hotel, at a cost equivalent to £1,127 a person. “The rise in anti-foreigner sentiment was another factor,” she says, which she blames on increased competition for jobs caused by the economic downturn. She is not the only economic migrant — someone who moves abroad to take up a job opportunity and is commonly referred to as an “expat” — opting to return home due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Tara had a lot to do in the last weeks, days and minutes of her family's expat life. Some simple steps could have eased the transition, lowered the stress and formed the urgent move just a little, less urgent.

Jot down security codes

Yeah. I know. This goes against the grain of anything ‘security experts' and your bank tells you. Yet, once you think about it, this does make sense.

98% of people already save their financial security codes in apps like Evernote or Notion. So it makes sense to have the same codes accessible in non-digital format.

Even Amazon's former Chief Security Architect, Jesper Johansson, urges people to write down their passwords. This is excellent advice, and I've been saying it for years. Simply, people can no longer remember passwords competent enough to reliably defend against dictionary attacks, and are much more secure if they choose a password too complicated to remember and then write it down. 

We're all skilled at securing small pieces of paper and, I recommend, that people write their passwords down on a small piece of paper, and keep it with their other valuable small pieces of paper: in their wallet.

Change your WhatsApp phone number

So your current WhatsApp number is in Costa Rica, and you're on your way to America. What benefit will the CR number do for you in the USA, anyway?

Using the Change Number feature in WhatsApp will migrate your profile information, groups and settings from your old phone number to your new phone number. It will also delete the account linked with your old phone number, so your contacts can no longer see your old phone number in their WhatsApp contact list.

To change the phone number on the same phone:

1. Open WhatsApp Settings.

2. Tap Account > Change Number > Next.

3. Enter your old phone number in the first field and your new phone number in the second field, both in full international format.

4. Tap Next. ...

5. Tap Done.

6. You'll then be prompted to register your new phone number.

Find more than a single means of payment

Your money is safe on your Visa card connected to a Dutch ATM network. But what happens if you lose your Visa card? And you're in halfway back to the “land of the free and the home of the brave”?

This is particularly true for digital nomads and expats who freelance from within their host country.

Before it's time to hit the panic button, take the time to get multiple methods of payment like a Payoneer Card or even an International Visa and American Express. Leave some cash on the supplemental cards so you'll always have cash available for emergencies.

As online tools make it easier to connect with global customers, more and more businesses are selling overseas. One study found that 70% of online businesses are selling internationally today. While it's easier than ever to reach a global audience, online businesses are also faced with a new challenge: How do you address the diverse customer preferences of a global audience during the checkout experience? The way customers prefer to pay for goods or services online varies drastically based on where they are located. 

Buy odd colored luggage

Traveling from London to America may be fun, until you get to the luggage carousel from hell in New York's LaGuardia. Tying an oddly colored piece of ribbon to the handle worked back in the day to help your luggage stand out from the rest. 

But then, everyone else caught on to the idea. Suddenly, yours isn't the only piece of luggage to have a taupe-and-red piece of worn ribbon it. So invest in new luggage, but this time, make sure your suitcase will stand out in a crowd of suitcases.

Traveling in style doesn't stop when you find a cute and comfy outfit to wear to the airport. 

It also extends to your travel companions and, by that, we don't merely mean your S.O. Your luggage rolls along constantly by your side, so probably pay some attention to how it looks. If that's not a good enough reason for you to swap out the old suitcase you've had since college with a new, more stylish one, let's not forget the general feeling of distress you probably experience each time you get to the baggage claim and wonder if you'll recognize your black bag in the queue of similarly unremarkable-looking black bags on the carousel. 

It doesn't hurt that there's a world of cute luggage options to choose from right now. If your biggest concern is someone else mistakenly taking your suitcase, opt for something instantly recognizable. A pretty pattern in vibrant colors or a bold-hued spinner will eliminate any future baggage mix-ups with your fellow travelers. To keep things consistent, select a full luggage set of checked and carry-on suitcases, and add a monogram for good measure.

A side benefit is knowing the odds of a baggage thief owning the same weird colored suitcase are slim and can help you identify the suitcase which is rightfully yours.

Assemble a “Back Home” basket for visiting

Still, have the keys to your apartment — and your apartment is 3,000 miles away? What about cash? Your home country's currency is apt to be different from your ‘host' country.

What else can you think of which you don't need on a daily basis as an expat, but will need when you visit home? Toss ‘em in the ‘Back Home Basket” and when you're ready to leave for the airport, you don't have to scurry around like the proverbial chicken hunting for that ‘item' you must have when you return to visit your parents — or children.

Just grab the basket and put it in your uniquely colored suitcase. Then when you step off the plane in the USA you already have with you, everything you need.