Have you decided to leave the US? Here’s a list of things to do from your initial decision to your last day.

For details on meeting the financial requirements, see this post.

Ready

  1. If you don’t have a passport, get one.
  2. If you’ve had any bankruptcies or interactions with the justice system, run your own FBI records check to see what shows up. (If you apply for a residence visa, it will probably require an FBI check.)
  3. Take stock of your finances. How much savings do you have? How much debt? What’s your equity in your house?
  4. Take stock of your health. What medications are you on? Why? Would getting in shape help?
  5. Stop buying stuff.
  6. If you’re single, stay single.
  7. Don’t announce your plans.

Aim

1. Do you want to settle somewhere or be nomadic, at least at first?

  • Settle: What type of visa would probably be easiest for you?
  • Nomadic: How do you plan to support yourself?

2. Which countries appeal to you?

3. What does each appealing country cost?

  • How much money would you need to live there?
  • How much will housing cost?
  • How much income and savings would you need to qualify for a visa?
  • How much would you pay in taxes if you established tax residency? Is there a tax treaty between the country and the US that avoids double taxation?

4. If you hope to get a job there:

  • Is your specialty on their critical skills list?
  • Do you have the language skills and licenses that they want?
  • Have you seen job openings that you could fill better than any local person?

5. List the top three countries that appeal to you and that you have a good chance of affording or being hired in.

  • If you’re going to be nomadic, these will be your first landing places.
  • If you hope to settle abroad, these will be the first countries you try to get into.

6. If you want to apply for residency:

  • Visit each country, ideally for a month each.
  • Not possible yet? Do this until you can visit:
    • Track each country’s news (use local sources, not US-filtered ones).
    • Follow what expats there are saying, probably on Facebook.

Fire

At this point, you should know:

  • Which 3 or so countries you’re aiming at
  • What standards you have to meet to go there (how much income, how much savings, what type of job…)

Now it’s time to meet those standards. This is the hard part and can take a while.

First, see these far more detailed tips on how to get enough money to leave. Then come back here to organize your plans.

1. Set measurable goals and give them deadlines.

  • Example goals for the pile of money approach:

    • Reduce my monthly spending to $X by date
    • Set aside $X per month to create an emergency fund of $Y by date
    • Put X% of my income into investments each month to create a portfolio of $Y by date
    • List X ways to increase my income and put the best one in action by date

  • Additional examples for nomads / entrepreneurs:

    • Work exclusively online by date
    • Increase my average monthly income to $X by date
    • X% of my income is passive on date

When it’s clear that you’re making progress

2. Start digitizing your life and minimizing your stuff.

  • Eliminate paper mail. Switch to email delivery of bank statements, get off junk mail lists, etc.
  • If you haven’t already, get a password manager and create unique logins for each important site.
  • Switch to paying all taxes and bills online.
  • Create a login to manage your Social Security account online, even if you’re not near retirement. It’s easier to pass the ID check when you’re in the US.
  • Scan important documents and store them in an encrypted cloud service (the last 3-7 years of tax documents, Social Security card, birth certificate, passport, will, real estate deed, etc.).
  • Scan favorite photos and store them privately online.
  • Buy ebook versions of your favorite books and sell or donate the physical copies.
  • Digitize favorite CDs or albums.
  • Periodically sell or donate stuff so you have less to deal with when your leave date is closer.

3. De-Americanize your finances.

  • If you live in a “sticky” state that will tax you even when you’re abroad, consider establishing residency in a tax-free state.
  • Move your money out of banks that require a US mobile phone number for verification. Check out your local credit union.
  • If you want to keep money in US ETFs, IRAs, and similar investments, research how they could be affected if you establish residency abroad.
  • Create an account at Wise or a similar service to economically transfer money from your US accounts to accounts abroad, and get a debit card for that account.
  • Learn to use a VPN if you haven’t already.

4. De-Americanize your health.

  • If you need a specific medication, find out if it’s available in your target country or if there’s a local equivalent.
  • If it’s hard to get your medication abroad, ask your doctor if there’s something that’s more widely available, and switch to it now to see if it works.
  • Continue to improve your health to reduce your need for special medication, treatment, or food.
  • Check your health insurance: Will it cover you when you travel? What would happen if you lived abroad for a while, and then came back?
  1. Renew US things that will expire in the next year: passport, driver’s license, professional license…
  2. Find out how to end contracts that might have a long lead time for cancellation, such as your internet service or health insurance.

When you reach your goals and can qualify for a visa or travel

  1. If you have a business or often receive important mail, sign up for a mail scanning and forwarding service and notify senders of your new address. (Don’t expect banks to accept this address.)

  2. Get an unlocked GSM smartphone if you don’t have one already, preferably with a physical SIM slot. Add a short-term US SIM and set up Whatsapp or Viber.

  3. Get a virtual US phone number that will ring your smartphone over the internet so US people can make a local call to reach you, and so you look like you’re calling from the US. This will work no matter what SIM you have in your phone. It probably won’t accept US SMS messages.

10. Decide what you’ll do with your US apartment or house.

  • If you rent: How much notice do you have to give your landlord?
  • If you own: What’s the impact of keeping your house? Should you rent it out? Sell it?
  • What will you do with your furniture and car? How much would it cost to store them? How much would you get if you sold them?

11. If you plan to apply for residency:

  • Pay a long visit to your top country.
    • Do you still like it?
    • Test how well you can manage your US finances and mail from there.
    • See if you can get your medication at a local pharmacy.
    • Buy a local SIM so you have a local phone number, and don’t let the number expire. You should be able to top it up online.
    • If your email address is difficult for people who don’t speak English, consider setting up a new one that’s easier.
    • Do what’s necessary locally to meet visa requirements. For example, you might have to get a local bank account, health insurance policy, or lease. Use your local phone number and email address. Changing these later can be bizarrely difficult.
  • Apply for the visa. You’ll probably do this from the US, through the consulate nearest your home. It can take months.
  • Start to seriously study the language.

When your departure date is 1-2 months away

  1. In the final stretch:
  • Cancel subscriptions and services for your home.
  • Buy US-specific things that you plan to bring with you, such as a laptop with a US keyboard.
  • Decide how much luggage you’ll bring and get rid of everything that doesn’t fit in that luggage.
  • Check with your airline or other transport to make sure you can bring what you plan to bring.
  • Tell people you’re leaving and set up ways to stay in touch. Most people can use Whatsapp or Viber; the tech-challenged can call your virtual US number.

What to bring with you

In 15 years of living outside the US, I’ve needed only the following.

  • My passport
  • My birth certificate
  • A photo of my Social Security card
  • Debit cards from US and international banks
  • An unlocked smartphone that takes physical SIM cards
  • A laptop for filing taxes and other federal documents online. A tablet might not work with the archaic requirements of some federal sites.
  • A USB thumb drive to bring documents to copy shops to be printed
  • My US driver’s license, but only temporarily. I was soon required to pass a test and get a local license.
  • A spare pair of glasses and a scan of my glasses prescription
  • Not a need, but I use it: An ebook reader. I use a Kobo.

What I didn’t need but that others bring:

  • Specific brands of supplements, self-care products, etc. Everything is available in some form unless you’re going to a seriously remote place. For example, Tylenol is paracetamol, widely available.
  • Ways to watch US TV, Netflix, etc.
  • A water filter like hikers use. If the tap water can’t be trusted, I boil it or have water delivered like the locals.
  • A money belt or heavy anti-theft bag. In pickpockety areas, I wear a cheap minimalist sling bag close to my chest.

If you’re significantly larger than the local population, you might want to bring a good supply of clothes and shoes. Eventually, you’ll find local sources for your size, but it could take a while.


Photo at top: Carnival near Mérida, Mexico