It Starts With You

18/07/2022

Stereotype VII – is the same everywhere

Hopefully you don’t have any health issues but it’s always better to ensure you’ll get medical help in case an issue arises. Be sure that emergency help will be provided! But still it’s good to find out specifics of the healthcare system of your new country. Depending on where you’re coming from, processes, system registrations, getting appointments and treatments could be either familiar or very different.

In most of the countries it’s impossible to walk-in to the specialised doctor, at first you’d need to see a GP - General Practitioner doctor and you’d need an appointment for that too. In the past 2 years due to COVID restrictions many clinics started offering phone or online consultations – usually easy to request a call back or online meeting on the clinic website.

In order to get register with the local healthcare system you need confirmation of your legal status in this country (tourists cannot use the local system, only emergency units and private clinics) and confirmation of your address in this country (rent or ownership). Specific details for each country can be checked on the website of the Ministry of Health and on different expat forums in Facebook and Telegram.

It’s always helpful to have travel insurance for the first few months while you’re working out registration details – at least some of the costs could be reimbursed for you. Also in all countries you can buy private health insurance to get extra protection and sometimes access to extra services or clinics. Global networks or specific local insurance companies will be happy to offer you different coverages – all depends on your needs and financial abilities. Please remember – having insurance doesn’t automatically mean that what you want to do is going to be covered/reimbursed by the insurance company. Always worth double-checking with the insurance broker or company directly.

Stay safe and healthy!

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

13/07/2022

recommendations on how to avoid heatstrokes and sunburns and what to do in case you or people around you got unlucky with the sun

Как избежать теплового удара или ожогов? В июле наша ставшая одной из самых популярных рубрика «112 First Aider” отведена рекомендациям специалистов о поведении в жару и на солнце. Пребывая под прямыми солнечными лучами, не забывайте, пожалуйста, о мерах предосторожности и проявляйте заботу о тех, кто рядом! «РК»

13/07/2022

Stereotype VI – public transport is the same everywhere

If your destination is UK or Germany, most likely you’ll be happy with the options public transport offers. In case you go to Cyprus, you’ll be surprised how undeveloped the entire system is (the island used to have trains while under British protectorate and now even bus services are more a history than something you can rely on).

In general it’s absolutely worth to try public transport services in the destination of your choice. In fact, in most of the cases transport will be comfortable, clear and convenient (especially if local language is not a mystery for you) but sometimes you may face lack of routs (e.g in Helsinki), high tariffs (e.g in London) and even unexpected strikes (e.g France).

Make sure you check local forums and governmental websites to learn details and be prepared.

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

11/07/2022

Stereotype V – houses are similar to what I’m used to

It’s quite cold in the European houses in winter. There are several reasons for that: building techniques and materials are different, climate suggests houses need to be prepared for the heat not the cold and the cost of electricity is high. Central heating as a concept exists only in the Northern Europe (understandably so, their winters are VERY cold). In the Mediterranean region you’d feel cold when it’s +15 outside as inside you’ll have similar temperature. Locals know that and got used to this change of temperatures in winter. They wear several layers of clothes, use extra blankets and electro-sheets and electro-heaters or even ACs, your choice depends on your financial ability to fund a solution.

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

08/07/2022

Stereotype IV – I will eat what I’m used to

Local food is usually represented by the regional traditional dishes but every year the variety of different food options grows. It is likely that you may not find your favourite restaurant chain, but definitely a similar one exists in this new country. It is also likely that you may not find groceries you are used to buy in your home country, although most of the supermarket chains have “regional days” in their assortment (e.g Italian, Spanish, German weeks in Lidl) or even permanent supply from alternative markets (e.g Eastern European, Asian, Mexican shelves in Tesco) and many cities have specialised shops (e.g Polish, Bulgarian shops in the UK, Russian and Indian shops in Cyprus).

Please keep in mind that portions could be significantly bigger comparing to what you’re used to and many newly relocated people gain quite a bit of weight in the first year which adds to the dissatisfaction. Don’t give up your fitness habits and try to pace food consumption 😀

Having said that, we still recommend to get familiar with local cuisine, find your favourite food and drink – that helps a lot with integration to the new culture and relationships building.
Bon appetite!

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

06/07/2022

Stereotype III – I’ll be just fine with my English...

And you may be, but unless you’re moving to the UK or USA or Australia or English-speaking part of Canada, only English may not be enough.
Each county has its own State Language (sometimes even several, e.g in Finland both Finnish and Swedish are state languages, in Cyprus – both Greek and Turkish).

If you speak English, you’ll be all right in most of the countries, you will always find people (especially in the capitals and large cities or touristic towns) who can either communicate fluently or well enough to understand and answer questions. The most English speaking countries where English is not a state language are Malta, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Cyprus.

If your destination is France or Germany, you’d better learn some basic phrases before the move to be able to explain in their native language that you’re a foreigner and you need help and you unfortunately didn’t learn their language yet but you can speak another language.

If you’re making your way to Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, you’ll be better off with Russian.

And there is always a Google translate to help 😀

In any case, in order to improve communication, to be able making friends faster and building connections, it’s highly recommended to learn and use at least 5-10 most commonly used phrases (Duolingo or Quizzlet or Memrise app will equip you with what you need).
Remember – 70% of is not verbal! So use gestures and don’t forget to !

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

05/07/2022

Stereotype II – Locals are.. strange...

Moving to another country, we bring with us our expectations and believes. In most of the cases local people would look, behave, speak differently and the initial reaction is to consider them wrong and strange. Don’t worry, it’s a normal reaction 😀 Although to make your own life more pleasant in a new place, try to put your initial reaction aside and understand locals. Majority of the local inhabitants most likely will be happy to get to know you and hear your story especially in case you show respect to their rules, traditions and habits and won’t be violating or making them change them. Your rules and habits could be much better, healthier and kinder but it’s their home country and they have been practicing their habits a while before you appeared at their door step. Take time to observe and figure out how everything works so local logic is not a mystery anymore. And you may like their rules and traditions or they may become open to try yours 😉

Should you like to get prepared to absorb cultural changes, do your own research – check local expatriates Facebook and Telegram groups, ask friends who already moved to this country, read funny descriptions about main stereotypes of different nationalities.

If you like reading, check out Erin Mayer’s book - The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business – she explains well how different nationalities think, speak, react – you may find it useful to build sustainable business (and not only) relationships in a new country.

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

04/07/2022

Stereotype I – I move to Europe.

Europe is the second-smallest continent, and it could be described as a large peninsula or as a subcontinent. Europe is the western portion of the Eurasian landmass and is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. Several larger islands belong to Europe, such as Iceland or the British Isles with the UK and Ireland.

Being the second-smallest continent, Europe is still very big and not equable, every country has its own significant specifics. Don’t expect the same level of service/bureaucracy/healthcare etc in different EU countries and even in different regions of the same country.

Europe is shared by 50 countries. By the conventional definition, there are 44 sovereign states or nations in Europe.

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 countries. It operates an internal (or single) market which allows free movement of goods, capital, services and people between member states.

Be more precise where you intend to go and do some research on this particular place!

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

02/07/2022

The war affected not only directly involved countries and their citizens but nearly all countries in the world. These days many professionals and businesses are considering changing their primary location seeking security, stability, better business opportunities, better future perspectives for self and children.

If you or your business belongs to this category, here are few things you need to take into account when thinking of a new location to move to.

Relocation is a VERY serious step in one’s life, you may compare it with a marriage or getting a child. Before taking a step, you need to understand what you may face in a new place, assess risks and opportunities, discuss your loved ones’ (incl parents and friends) attitude to this change and then make a decision.

Those, relocating from CIS countries, may notice that situation with the rules and requirements is changing nearly on a daily basis. Following Telegram channels with personal experiences and discussions and advices helps a lot, but often in order to make relocation and adaptation smoother and easier you’d need to involve professional relocation or consulting services to guide you and help avoiding pitfalls and major mistakes.

Having observed and spoken to many immigrants in the past 15 years we unfortunately see many disappointed people. From our perspective, most of them were not ready to change their lives and habits with the move. Reality didn’t meet the expectations.

Every day we’ll post one of the stereotype/expectation/complains many people have and compare them to the reality. Check them out, maybe you’ll find anything familiar.

Should you like to discuss your personal case, feel free to get in touch.
It Starts With You!

02/07/2022

https://www.facebook.com/342648825911784/posts/2157079367802045/