How do you move abroad, if not with work?

[msrisotto]

Do people do this? Just decide they want to and make it happen?

I guess that would be harder/impossible for America due to difficulties getting a visa (?), what about other countries?

Do you need to be rich to make sure you can tide yourself over until you get a job? If you have a career, is it harder to take it abroad? I work as an allied health professional in the NHS here, taking that to a country were they don't speak English sounds hard - is there a way to make it work? I do speak Spanish on a conversational level although I can't follow a film unless I already know it IYSWIM so I could move to a Spanish speaking country but it would take probably up to 6 months intensive learning to get me up to speed.

I'd love to hear your experiences, I feel like I need to do this.

Yes rooty I should have been more specific. The op doesn't mention an NI connection though.

Personally i would not move without a solid job offer.

Depending what you do in allied health Aus is a good bet ..
Points based perm residency.
Jobs available online through agency and gov recruitment drives

We decided we wanted to move to Madrid so my DH looked for a job over there initially (as he speaks Spanish). When we got there I looked for a job too. We wouldn't have gone without a job to go to. His job then relocated him to Milan after 18 months which we didn't enjoy as much, then found out I was pregnant and came back to the UK. Would love to go back to Madrid though so my DH often looks out for job opportunities.

Hey,

Moving to the US isn't easy, but it isn't impossible. You are much more likely to get a Greencard if you have a job to go to when you arrive. Also, the US does a thing called the Greencard lottery, which you may be eligible to enter.

Also. I don't know if you know, but visas can take up to five-years to come through. You're looking at (I'd guess) an EB-3 visa, for expats that hold a degree or are skilled workers, but again, you're going to need that job offer.

This site may help you gain a little more clarity, but I'd be prepared for hefty expenses (visas to Canada cost around 5K) and lots of form filling in!

Good luck!

I moved to the US to teach, I was young (21). Teaching is one way to get a us visa. I moved back to the UK when I had children as maternity in US is appalling.
I moved to Brazil with my husband and struggled, I had a young child and no friends. We lived in Rio and it wasn't anything like life in the UK.
We moved back to the UK and worked, put the children in school and planned our move to Brazil far more carefully.
We live here now and it's fantastic. A small town and a far higher quality of life than we have in the UK.
I will say you need money. It cost about £50 grand to move (furniture, flights, visas, passports, documents etc). Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries are renowned for their bureaucracy. So check VERY carefully what you need first. In Brazil you would not be able to work in Medicine without Brazilian qualifications. I know Brazilian people that went to uni in Argentina, were qualified doctors and still spent 3 years getting permission to work as doctors in Brazil.
Also be prepared for life struggles. The younger you are, the easier it will be. A general rule of thumb. It takes 6 months to settle, so don't bottle out until you give yourself a chance.

I think it depends: do you feel you want to move abroad long term, or potentially just for one or two years, then move back? Do you have a partner/kids to bring with you? Do you want to make a career move or just do any job that would tide you over for a while?

I moved to France thinking it would be a short term 'experience' (I regretted never having had a gap year, and wanted to experience living abroad while I was young enough not to have any ties to the UK) but ended up meeting French DP and staying! To be honest, I probably wouldn't have stayed long term were it not for him, both a question of finance and also cultural/roots stuff. I saved a few grand from my UK job, did a CELTA course (teaching English as a foreign language) and just got on the Eurostar and turned up to start looking for jobs. Teaching English is an option pretty much all over the world, but unless you're prepared to go Middle East or certain parts of Asia, or else spend a while building up a proper career in it, it's never going to be more than a minimum wage job.