130: How much money you actually need to move abroad (real numbers)

Everyone wants to move abroad, but most people either overestimate the cost or underestimate it completely.

In this episode, we break down how much money you actually need to move abroad using real numbers, So you can plan properly and avoid getting stuck.

Because it’s not just one number. It’s 3.

What You’ll Learn:

•  The 3 types of costs when moving abroad 
•  Real monthly budgets across Europe 
•  Hidden expenses most people miss 
•  How much you should realistically save 

Real Monthly Costs (Examples):

•  Lisbon: ~$2,050–2,250 
•  Valencia: ~$1,700–1,950 
•  Berlin: ~$2,150–2,350 
•  Bologna: ~$1,600–1,800 
•  London: ~$3,600–4,000 

The truth: moving abroad is more achievable than you think! But only if you plan with real numbers, not assumptions.

👉Take the free quiz: Which European city should you move to? 🤔

Grab my free guide: 5 exact steps to move abroad

Website: jordangiberson.com
Instagram: @jordan.giberson

Transcript

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So whenever you're thinking about moving abroad and the costs associated with that, a lot of the costs are going to be very obvious that you might be missing, these are the ones that I would be paying attention to. So how much money do you actually need to have saved before you move abroad? Hey, my name is Jordan Giberson. I'm a Texas girl living and thriving in London. The best thing I've ever done? Moving abroad, hands down. And I'm passionate about helping others do the same. Are you curious about finding a job abroad? You're in the right place, friend. I'll teach you the tried and true secrets of how to make moving abroad a reality for you and how to live a fulfilling life once you get there. We'll cover topics like choosing the best visa for you, how to get a job offer in another country, how to get over your fear of moving abroad, and how to live a life you love once you get there, this is The Move Abroad Podcast. Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Move Abroad podcast. Today we're going to be talking about money. So today's episode is how much money you actually need to move abroad with some real numbers. Everyone loves talking about moving abroad. But a lot of people either wildly overestimate or dangerously underestimate what it really costs. So today we're talking about the real numbers in terms of moving abroad. Now, I hesitated, recording this episode because I mean, the r ange is so broad, so it's really difficult to talk about numbers because of one, it depends on your lifestyle. If it's just you or if it's your whole family of five that are moving abroad, that changes the numbers drastically because one person's costs are very different from five people's costs. So that's a really big factor in terms of costs. And another one is the location. And it also really depends on your lifestyle, what you're used to. If you're used to spending quite a lot and you like having a very comfortable lifestyle, your own home I mean higher cost grocery shops, I mean, you name it, you could definitely live a more expensive life with just yourself versus some people that live a little bit more modestly, that's also a really big difference. And then there's also a really big difference because we're talking about Europe in general. I mean, it really depends on the location, it depends on if you're thinking about moving to London and you really want to live in Notting Hill or Chelsea, or just some really expensive area in London, versus if you're thinking, okay, I wanna move to Bologna, Italy that's a lot cheaper than thinking about London. So. It just really, really depends in terms of the numbers, and that's what makes this episode so difficult whenever we're thinking about how much money you actually need to move abroad. So I think we will really need to keep this in mind as we're going through today's episode, but my goal for the episode is to help give you a range or help. Give you some sort of idea of some of the cost of moving abroad and what that actually looks like and what the cost of living actually looks like. And then we'll just have to kind of think about how that might change a little bit based on if you have a family or which city you're moving to or your lifestyle preferences. So we'll keep that in mind as we're going through today's episode. But I do think that talking about money and moving abroad is an important topic. So we're gonna try our best on this episode, and I hope that by the end of the episode, you'll have a better idea of how much money it might actually cost and some helpful next steps so that you can figure out how much it's going to cost you in your move abroad. So we'll go ahead and get started with today's episode. So I would say that there are three buckets of money that you will need whenever you move abroad. It will be in the move itself, in your landing cushion once you first arrive, and then your ongoing monthly budget. So I would say that those are the three categories that we'll be talking about today and the three categories that I'd like you to be thinking about as we go through today's episode. So the first bucket is the move itself. These are the costs that you'll have to actually move abroad and to kind of get there before your feet physically land on the ground. These are the things that you'll need to take care of. So an example would be flights. You'll obviously need to pay for your one-way flight To move abroad. You'll need to think about maybe your shipping and storage costs, your Visa application costs, and any document prep that you might need. Maybe you also need to put down a payment for your apartment before you actually move there. These are all the costs that you'll need to incur to actually kind of move abroad. And we'll talk a little bit more about what some of those things might be. But again, think of the things that will actually help you get there. Like you have to have the flights, you have to have a visa. You need to figure out if you're gonna ship your stuff over, or if you're going to store it, or if you're just going to sell it. So you'll have to make decisions on that. And I don't think that there are many costs. Like, I don't think that there's actually a ton, but you do need to have some costs that you will incur for the move itself. I'd say a very, very rough range. Again, really, really depends on how much this is, but I'd say that you will spend anywhere from$2,000 to 8,000 plus. I'd say 2000 would be. If you are a single person and you're just moving by yourself and you don't have a very high standard in terms of cost of living and expenses. So I would say if that's you, I would think more around the$2,000 range. If you are still a single person, but have very high expectations, know you want to ship all your belongings because it's really important to you. You know that you're going to have a really expensive visa because it just really depends on the visa that you're going to get. And you want to have a really nice flight and you want to, maybe you have to put a cost in for a home there. Then I would think maybe more in like the five to 8,000 range. But that's if like. Top, top, top. That's if you want to spend top, top, top dollar. Or if you are moving with a family, you are going to end up spending more money because every family member, there's going to be an extra visa cost or you'll be shipping more items. You'll be paying for more flights. You'll be preparing documents for more people. You'll have a bigger home that you might need to put a payment into. Whether you're buying a home, you're gonna. Put a down payment, or you're going to be renting an apartment and you need to have the first couple months of rent and the deposits as an example. So you'll obviously be spending more there. So anyways, that's the move itself. And then the second bucket that we're going to be talking about is your landing cushion. That will be the cost to set up your life and get settled. So that's whenever you first, laying your feet on the ground, those first few expenses to get your life set up. So that includes things like your initial rent and deposit that we just talked about, maybe your furniture and setup costs. You'll have to buy things like, pots and pans and furniture and bedding and all the things. So if it's just you, you might say, okay, I'm moving into an apartment where I'm living with other people around my age, it's just me. That's something I'm comfortable with. So I'm gonna need to buy bedding and like a few things to make the room feel comfortable. But you don't need to set up furniture for a whole apartment. Whereas if you're moving with a family of five. Then you need to think about, that's going to be a really huge difference in terms of furniture and the setup costs for setting up your home. You can probably think about this as comparing to where you are now and knowing how much you had to put into whatever living situation you have now. Honestly, it's gonna look kind of similar to set up the cost in the new home. You also have to think about like just local admin costs and getting your first sim card there and setting up any bills that you need to set up there. There shouldn't be a ton of set up costs once you're there, but it's just kind of like if you were going to be setting up a new home, I'd say those are the main things that you have to think about whenever you're just getting settled. So I don't think that there should be any crazy surprise. Costs there, and we'll break down some of the costs later in more detail. But I think that the landing cushion is really just setting up your life in terms of the home that you'll be living in more than anything. And then the last bucket that we'll be talking about is the ongoing monthly budget. This is your new cost of living. This is your. Monthly budget that you will need to spend. This is the number that a lot of people, hopefully you actually want to know, because while you will have to think about the cost in terms of actually moving there, I'd say those first costs, it's a one-time spend. It's not gonna be extortionate. I think the extra costs that you might be thinking, okay, well I'm, this is my first time moving abroad, so what are the costs that I really need to be thinking about? I would say that the main cost you need to be thinking about is your visa. If you're going to be getting a work visa from a country, then you probably won't have to worry about paying for that visa at all. But if you are paying for a family of five and you're going to be getting a freelancer visa. Then you might be spending a lot more for that visa in that circumstance. So at the end of the episode, I'm going to give you a, an exercise that you can do yourself so that you can start thinking about the cost, the real numbers of what you actually need to move abroad. But I think as we're thinking about this number for ourselves. Think about what you would bucket in the move itself. So before you actually land your feet on the ground, your landing cushion, so the amount that you need to get settled there. So those again are one-time costs and the move itself once you first land to set up your life. And then the third bucket is going to be your ongoing monthly budget. So kind of start thinking about those numbers and. What you'll need to set up your life there. But we're going to be moving on just slightly to talk about the real monthly budget breakdowns by country. Now I could just start throwing out a bunch of numbers at you and we can do that. I do have a little table, which will be in the blog if you're interested in looking at the actual table, but we're going to just compare a few countries and a few cities in this cost breakdown to give you an idea of how much you actually might be spending as a single person. And obviously if you are going to be moving with. More than one person, you and your partner, or you and your family, then you'll have to think about increasing it from these amounts, but we're just going to start looking at one person to help give us an idea. So obviously we can't do every country in Europe, but just to give us a little example, we're going to be talking about Portugal and we'll be speaking about Lisbon specifically. So Lisbon, Portugal, Valencia, Spain, Berlin, Germany, bologna, Italy, and lastly. My most favorite London, the United Kingdom, which is of course the most expensive. So if we're thinking about some of these countries, there is really a big difference in terms of the monthly budget breakdown per country. So if we're thinking about Portugal, for instance, and we're thinking about Lisbon, you can expect to spend about.$2,000 a month or so. So for a one bedroom you might be paying$1,300 food and groceries would be like 300, transport, maybe$45. Health and insurance, maybe, a hundred to$200. And miscellaneous and fund.$200. So this is, if you want to live on a low budget, you don't need to spend more than 2000 a month. So you can think about the budget and your needs and how much you think that you'll need to be spending. But you can definitely live off of$2,000 if you're going to be living in Portugal, Lisbon, of course, if you want to live like a king or a queen, you'll end up spending a bit more. Or if you're going to be really, really careful and very tight with your budget, you could be spending less. Again, just so depends on the person, which is what makes this episode so challenging. But I do think that for having a fairly comfortable lifestyle in Lisbon, you can expect about$2,000. Now if we're thinking about Valencia, Spain as another example, a different country, I would expect about a thousand for rent there. Food and groceries, again, like$340. transport 45. Health and insurance 90 to 270 And miscellaneous and fund. We're gonna again give ourselves about 200. So with all these costs, it's going to total about. 1700 to 1900, so we can just say 1700, 2000 for Valencia, Spain. Again, you could always spend more or spend less. I'd say Portugal and Spain, like these are a little bit more similar in terms of costs and whenever we're comparing Lisbon and Valencia specifically. So I'd say these are kind of a little bit samey, maybe Valencia, you're spending a little bit less than in Lisbon. Another country that we're gonna give an example is Germany. So Berlin, you are gonna be spending a little bit more on your rent in Berlin, we'll say 1200 or so. For food and groceries, we're gonna say 400. Transport might be about 90 to a hundred dollars. Health insurance, it's kind of covered there, but. A little bit of a caveat. You might need to pay a little bit for, your health insurance in Germany, but not a ton. miscellaneous and fun will be like 300. So for Berlin, Germany, you might be spending. 2100 to 2300. So a little bit more in Berlin than in Valencia and Lisbon. And then if you're thinking about Bologna, Italy, you're going to be spending probably the least there. So for one bedroom, you might be paying$850 food and groceries, 400, transport 40. Health insurance,$115. And miscellaneous in fund 200. Which is gonna bring us to around 1600 and$1,800 per month in bologna. So that's actually the cheapest so far. And then to go on the opposite side of the spectrum in our last country that we're talking about right now is the United Kingdom in London. So for a one bedroom in London, you can expect around$2,400 for a one bedroom food and groceries,$530. Transport about 200 health insurance. It's covered by the NHS, but also you will need to spend a little bit there so while the health insurance is covered in the U.K, if you have a visa, you will be paying a health surcharge, which is actually a cost that you'll incur whenever you pay for your visa. And I think it's about a thousand pounds per year. So 1200 or so. Very rough estimate. So you'll need to double check the exact numbers. So that is a bigger cost, but it's, if you think about throughout the month, I mean you'll be spending what.$200 or so per month on, health insurance coverage in the U.K. Anyways, that's a whole other conversation. And the miscellaneous and fund will say$400 in the U.K, so you need to expect to pay around 3,600 to$4,000 per month. In the U.K and London, obviously London is very expensive. You're going to be paying 30 to 40% more probably in London compared to other smaller cities and rural areas in the U.K like Manchester or Bristol, where the costs will be a lot cheaper. So it really, really depends on where you move to. But again, we're talking about specific cities. I know a lot of people love London. I love London, so I thought I would throw that in there. So as a quick estimate. Obviously, again, it just really depends on the person and if you're moving with the family and your expected quality of life and how much you typically spend. If you know you're a spendy person, then obviously increase these a little bit. but if you know you're very careful with money, you could even decrease some of these, even a little bit depending on your lifestyle that you're used to. But we'll say the overall cost of Lisbon, Portugal is going to be 2000 to 2,500. So to summarize the cost of these five countries as a very. Rough estimate. In Lisbon, Portugal, you can expect to spend around$2,000 per month. Valencia, Spain, you can expect 1700 to 2000 in Berlin, Germany, you can expect 2100 to 2,400. In Bologna, Italy, you can expect to spend 1600 to 1800. And in London, the United Kingdom, you can expect to spend 3,600 to$4,000 per month. So that is the very rough estimate of those countries. Just to give you a bit of a comparison, I would say that again, London is nearly double the cost of some of the cheaper options like Italy that we talked about. So in thinking about the cost, there is big reality check in terms of the cost of living for the U.K versus some of the other countries that we listed, and just the difference in cost for different cities across Europe, which is going to be really similar to the United States. You might think about certain cities in the United States like New York or San Francisco, and you might compare that to London saying, wow, okay. I know that the cost of living in New York and San Francisco is super high. So you're talking about these costs in London of paying,, 3,600 to 4,000 a month. It's really comparable or maybe even cheaper to those cities like New York and San Francisco. So it might feel like a more compelling option for some of you knowing that the cost of living in other U.S cities is also really high, but sometimes that's where the really good job opportunities are for having a strong career depending on the type of work you do. So you might say, okay, well I know that the cost of living is higher there, but I really want to have a strong career and I know that I really want to go into this specific industry and it's really great in that city, So I think that depending on how much money you're making, you might end up doing really well there as well. You also need to kind of think about some of these cheaper alternatives. There are smaller cities or rural areas like Manchester or Bristol that cut London's cost by 30 to 40% or some of these other cities across Europe that are amazing, like Lisbon, Portugal, or Valencia, Spain, where the cost of living is a lot cheaper, but you have an amazing quality of life there where it's a bit calmer and you have the amazing European feel, but you don't need to pay 30 to 40% more, even 50% more, but you get to have an amazing lifestyle and enjoy Europe, but not have as much of a cost, and you still have an amazing job if you're going to get. Sponsored and have a visa, or you'll be living like a king if you have freelance work or are starting a business perhaps. So I think it just really depends on the pathway that you're taking to make money and in your circumstance with you and your family and what makes sense for you. So to move on slightly, something that I think is really valuable to talk about and I think would be the most helpful for people listening to this episode. So tune in and that is the hidden cost that nobody warns you about. I feel like this is the number one thing that a lot of people ask about. And I think that whenever people think about moving abroad, they want to know what the costs that they might miss are like, they want to know those hidden costs or things they might not be thinking about. So whenever you're thinking about moving abroad and the costs associated with that, a lot of the costs are going to be very obvious. But I think in talking about the hidden costs that you might be missing, these are the ones that I would be paying attention to. And some of these you might be like, oh, duh. But some of these you might say, oh yeah, I need to keep that in mind as I'm thinking about my own budget. So some of these hidden costs that might blindside people are the currency exchange rates and the wire transfer fee, so people might be losing every month without realizing it. If you're making money in the US, for example, and you need to constantly wire yourself this money to pay for your life abroad, that might be something that you weren't thinking in terms of a hidden cost, but you do need to be thinking about. So if you have to pay a wire transfer fee to transfer from your US bank to a U.K or a Spain bank or. Whatever. Then I think you need to be thinking about those costs and the currency exchange Currencies change, they fluctuate. And the comparison between two currencies does change a little bit. So you might want to look at the history of the currency exchange rate. From the US dollar to the Euro, for example, or to the pound if you're thinking about moving to the U.K and to see how much money that might cost you every month without you realizing it. So that's something to think about, especially if you're going to be making your money in the US, for example, and sending it over to yourself in Europe. So definitely be thinking about that in terms of your cost analysis for yourself. Another one is your tax prep. US expats still have to file for the taxes even if they're not living in the us, which is very annoying and it does cost money to do this. I would say, you can always hire a tax professional to help you do your taxes, and it might cost a little bit more, or you might have to hire an extra accountant to take care of this for you. But in all transparency, I just do mine online because I don't have a complicated tax situation, so I pay. I mean,$40 a year to pay for this, maybe 50 or$60, like it's not that expensive. But if you know that you have a more expensive tax situation where you have a business in the US and you have a property abroad in another country and you have X, Y, and Z, like extra things that are gonna cost you money, then you just need to think about that tax prep that you'll need to do every year. Another hidden cost might be the healthcare gaps. So whenever you move abroad, you might need to pay for travel insurance or health insurance to be able to access the public care there. So it depends on the visa that you have as a lot of things in this episode in moving abroad is the answer is it depends on your situation, but I'd say that healthcare, you do need to think about this because a lot of visas, like if you get a freelance visa in a lot of countries, they'll make you pay for your health insurance for the time that you're there. So that you're not just using the public funds. But if you are moving abroad in the U.K and you're getting a skilled worker visa, for instance, where you're getting sponsored to work there, then a lot of times the company will pay for your health surcharge, which is attached to the visa that you get. So long story short, a lot of times whenever you move abroad and you have a visa and you're working in another country, you'll end up paying for your healthcare. While you're living there. So that's a cost that you'll need to think about whenever you're talking about moving abroad. Another hidden cost might be the settling in spending spree. Everyone does it, so plan for it. You're going to wanna buy that new couch or buy the new outfits for the new country, or need to buy a bunch of coats because you're not used to wearing coats in the new country abroad or getting excited about. Just making your new space and your new home really nice, and that all comes with money. So you'll need to think about the settling in spending spree and make sure that you stay on a budget if that's really important to you, to make sure that you are spending the amount that you want. But I think that sometimes might be a cost that sneaks up on people whenever they're moving abroad. Another hidden cost would be the visa renewals in legal fees. So we buy our visa, we have to pay for the visa, but sometimes there are. Other costs whenever we need to renew the visa. So you might be having a visa for a year and then you need to pay to renew it. So you'll have to be thinking about that as well. Depending on the visa that you have and how long you have the visa for. Some visas might last just one year. Some visas you might get for three years. Sometimes the company pays for the visa. If you're going to have a nine to five job, then a lot of times the company will sponsor you and pay for the visa, and you don't have to worry about the Visa or other visas you'll have to pay for, and you might need to be paying. A legal fee for a lawyer if that's something that you want to do. Or maybe it's a really, really simple visa application and you don't need a lawyer. So that would significantly decrease the cost for you. So I think it just depends on the visa that you have, the country that you're moving to, to kind of thinking about those fees. But keep that in mind as you're thinking about your budget. And then the last one that I'd say is a hidden cost that people might not be thinking about is the trips back home, you will be paying for transatlantic flights and that can add up really fast, especially if you have a bigger family and you know you want to go back twice a year, then you'll need to expect that that's going to cost you money, and you'll just have to think about that as you're thinking about your budget. So how much money do you actually need to have saved before you move abroad? This is a very, very tricky estimate because I think that the short answer is that it really depends. It really depends again on. The city that you're moving to, if it's just you or more people and the lifestyle that you're used to. I think that those things dramatically change the amount. So it's really difficult to talk about amount because someone might be spending a certain amount and then another person has a higher. Cost of living because they're living in a different city and they're also just a more spendy person in general. And they might spend three times as much. Like, it just really depends. But I would say it would be helpful for you to think about the first three to six months of living expenses plus the moving cost. I feel like that would make. Me feel really comfortable when I was moving abroad. I think if I were doing it again, that would make me feel comfortable. But if you have a job lined up and you know that you're not going to need the three to six months of living expenses saved, plus the moving costs, then you don't need that. I'd say though, if you don't have a job yet and you just want to feel a bit more comfortable and you're gonna be looking for a job or building up freelance work, or kind of figuring it out after you move there, then I'd say three to six months of living expenses is. Definitely necessary. Plus you're moving costs. So if you're moving to continental Europe, I'd say maybe 15,000 to 25,000. For London, it's gonna be more expensive, maybe like 22 to 35,000 for London. This is, again, if you don't have a job lined up, you're just kind of moving there and just hoping to get by for a little bit while you're getting a job. But if you already have a job, then you don't need to have all these expenses. I'd say if you want a more comfortable move, then you can have three to 12 months runway of costs lined up. Continental Europe might be like 25,000 to 40,000. London might be 35,000 to$55,000, but my goodness, it just so depends. I moved abroad when I was young and I was broke and I did not have very much money to my name, and I moved abroad and made it work. Like I paid for a cheap flight. I have, I had a layover somewhere that was probably$600 or something. Maybe today, you might say it might be closer to$800 because the flight costs have gone up. My Visa, I think I paid like. A thousand dollars, maybe 1200 for my visa, because I paid for my own visa at first. So that's what the cost was. And then what, I moved into a flat that was a shared flat, so all the furniture was already there and I just needed to get bedding and like a few things to get comfortable. And I think I spent like.$250 and then maybe I had to buy like a coat and some clothing because I just moved with a couple suitcases. And so maybe I spent like$200 on clothing. So I really did not spend a ton, maybe what 2000, 2,500 that I spent that I, had saved and spent for my move. And that was all I needed. And yes, like I was not living like a queen at all, but I also was not gonna be paid that much. I was living off of. I mean, I think like.$2,000 a month in London, which is really, really, really hard. But it's possible. Barely. So I think that it just so depends. That's why I'm saying like, but in London, to be really comfortable, like theoretically you need more, like theoretically you need double the amount that I was spending every month. But I made it work, so I think that it just really depends on your lifestyle and what you're used to and what you're comfortable with. But if you're like, heck no, like I did those days, I'm not living like that. You know, wanna have a very comfortable lifestyle and I wanna spend more, then definitely like I now am in that position where I'm like, I don't wanna be living like that anymore. And it's, you do definitely need the$4,000 a month in London as an example. But I think, again, going back to that earlier section that we were talking about, with the real monthly budget breakdowns by country and by city, I think that it's important to know the cost of living in the city that you're moving to, because the costs do vary quite widely. So I think it's really important to consider in terms of how much money we're actually going to be needing. So here is the action that I would like for you to take following this episode because I feel like a lot of this episode I kept saying like, it just really depends. so I think I would spend time if I were, you spend time thinking about your situation and your expectations. Are you just moving by yourself? So you need to ask yourself three questions to start thinking about your budget and how much money you actually need to move abroad and the real numbers for you. So ask yourself these three questions. Am I moving abroad with just me or am I moving abroad with other people? And how many people is that? So you need to write that down and consider that as you're thinking about the numbers. The next question that you need to ask yourself is, what is my expectation in terms of my lifestyle? Am I willing to scrape by like. I did myself, I scraped by in the beginning, and I was fine with that because I just wanted to be in London. So am I okay with scraping by? Is that comfortable for me? Or I already know that my cost of living and my expectations for living are a little bit higher now, and that's, I'm kind of talking about myself. So I would think about that. So what is that range like? Do I know that I'm used? To a very low cost of living, or am I used to higher expectations on my cost of living? So think about that range as well as you're thinking about the cost in the city that you're moving to. And that brings us to the third question is, which city am I moving to? Because you can easily look up the city that you're moving to, to figure out. The range of costs for the area that you know that you want to live in. Like how much is the, the apartments that are listed right now, how much are those listed for? And like in the area that I want to move to, so I would know exactly how much that is and how much are groceries in that city that I'm moving to. Like, you can look at those exact costs. You could even look at the flights to know what the flights are going to cost. So I think that you can come up with a very, very realistic number of how much you actually need to move abroad if you know, if it's just you or other people, if you know. Your living expenses, your expectations for your lifestyle and cost of life that you are used to, and thirdly, which city you're moving to. So I think I would answer those three questions. And then from there, start to build a budget for yourself. Start to think about your monthly expenses, and we're going to again, talk about three sections. So the move itself, how much you need before you move, before your feet are on the ground, your landing cushion, how much you need once you first get there to set up your life. Think mostly your home that you're setting up and maybe your new sim card as an example, but like what do you need whenever you first get there, like a onetime cost. And then what is your third, like your ongoing monthly budget, you can start building that out. So ask yourself those three questions that we just talked about. And then I would build a budget for those three sections, the move your landing cushion, and your ongoing monthly budget. I would do those three sections and then I would start just building it out. Start thinking about the move itself and how much you know that you might need, how much of the flights for the place that you're moving to, which visa are you getting, and how much is that Visa? What is the shipping and storage like? Do I wanna ship my things or am I going to store them? And like, how much might that be? So just keep it simple. You don't need to make it super dramatic and get overwhelmed by it, but just start thinking about those costs and then start thinking about your costs for your situation, for your landing cushion. Know, like. How much is the rent? Like, do I need to send rent in a deposit? Like how much is that going to be? How much is the monthly sim card going to be? Like, how much is it going to cost to set up my furniture and set up like the, all the costs and think about like all those amounts. And then thirdly, what is that ongoing monthly budget like, what is the cost of living in. Like, I know I'm gonna move to Valencia, Spain for an example. Like how much is the one bedroom gonna cost? What is the range? What is the average in the area that I know I want to move to? How much are the food and groceries? You could easily Google that for the city that you're moving to. What is the transport? What is the health cost? What is my miscellaneous and fun cost? You can think about those costs that you are going to have your flights back home. You might wanna start thinking about to save every month to pay for those flights. So just start breaking down the budgets and honestly, start working with AI to break down those things. I would ask yourself those three questions. Put the cost in those three sections that we just talked about, the move itself, landing cushion, ongoing monthly budget, and just start breaking it down. And start honestly just chatting with ChatGPT or Claude, or your AI partner of choice, and start thinking about those budgets. You can get a really good idea for how much you actually need once you move there. And it also just depends if you have a job or not. Like if you have a job, you don't need to have, six months of living expenses worked out. But if you know you're moving and you're gonna look for a job later, or you're going to be building up freelance work in that new country or whatever, then you need to also be thinking about that. How much money do I need to have saved? So I think you can do an exercise with yourself. It doesn't need to be something that you go into crazy detail, like you don't need to spend days and days working on this. But I think just to give yourself an idea of how much it costs to give yourself realistic expectations and a realistic saving goal so that you can feel more comfortable about your move abroad and figuring out for you how much you actually need to move abroad because. I can talk about all these situations, but it just so depends on the person. So that would be my recommendation for you, is to do a bit of an exercise for yourself so that you can figure out that number for yourself and make you a lot more comfortable for your move abroad and to know that monetary goal that you need to save before you move abroad. So I hope that you found this episode really helpful. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Move Abroad podcast. I will catch you here again next week, same time, same place. I'll catch you then.