How much does it cost to move to a different country

Moving countries can be costly, there is often a lot more to it than just your airline tickets.

I will try to outline the most significant costs we had to face when we’ve moved from Poland to New Zealand and then several years later to Japan. Even though, everyone can have different experience, I would like to use our journey as an example and outline the expenses you might face when moving to a different country. Doing so, I will also try to include some hopefully useful tips for moving to a new country.

Plane tickets

When moving to New Zealand in 2011 we’ve booked tickets through a travel agency and paid 7,000 PLN (around 2,100 USD with a current exchange rate) for two one-way tickets from Wrocław to Auckland. Back then, online booking systems were not that established as they are today, and we struggled to find tickets in reasonable prices. Nowadays with search aggregators like Skyscanner, Trivago, Kayak etc. it’s quite easy to find flights and hotels. It’s also worth checking airlines websites directly, as sometimes the prices might differ from those returned by the aggregators.

Making a booking through the travel agency was actually helpful for less experienced travelers like us, however when you know exactly which connection you prefer and have roughly fixed dates when you want to fly I would advice to just book online. On the other hand, if you are really flexible with the dates of your departure, the travel agent could use his stills to find a good deal for you and save you time going through countless options.

When relocating from New Zealand to Japan in 2017 we also used a travel agency. Because Alex’s scholarship was paying for her tickets, we had to use a designated agency in Japan. We only had to pay for tickets for myself, which was 99,500 JPY (~925 USD) and our daughter, which was 82,500 JPY (~765 USD) for one-way economy class tickets from Auckland to Tokyo. Generally, kids under 2 years old can travel on adult’s lap or in the bassinet, which makes the ticket price a lot cheaper as you pay only around 10% of a standard ticket price. For older kids like our daughter you have to pay around 75% of the price. It’s worth noting that the number of bassinet seats is limited (depends on the plane) and you might have to pay extra for that seat, as when not using the bassinet those seats offer more leg room. For example, we payed 50 NZD each for a bassinet seat when flying with Air New Zealand, but nothing when using Lufthansa.

Other travel expenses like hotels and bags

Beside plane tickets, I believe the biggest travel expense would be accomodation, assuming you travel far enough to have connecting flights you would probably like to have a rest in between your flights. Flying from Poland to Dunedin in New Zealand is definitely the longest journey we ever attempted. Our typical connection (we’ve visited Poland a few times while living in New Zealand) would add to 2 long-haul flights and 2 or 3 shorter flights, totalling in over 30 hours of travel, if done non-stop. We’ve done this trip non-stop on most occasions, however after our little pumpkin joined us, we’ve started to get tired a bit more easy. Booking a hotel room at, or close to, the airport tremendously improved our traveling experience. There is nothing like a shower and clean bed after 15 hours of traveling, especially if there is another 15 hours ahead of you. Prices of hotels are very different, but I suspect you should be prepared for $100 – $200 USD a night.

If you have time and budget it might be a great opportunity to stay a bit longer in a transfer/transit place and explore a little. We haven’t tried it yet, but few days of mini-holidays in the middle of your journey is a popular idea, that allows you to gather some bonus experiences even before you get to your travel destination.

Other, maybe not as obvious, travel expenses include your travel gear, bags in particular. I would advise getting a good quality bag so it will hopefully survive many flights. I would normally be tempted to get the cheapest, so I can get a new one in case it gets damaged somehow, however they’re often such a poor quality that they might not even get you through a single journey. I would also recommend getting a brightly colored, rather than black one and putting some sort of stickers on it, so it’s easier to identify on the conveyor belt and in case it gets lost. Recently you can even buy a stretchy covers with custom photo printed on them to make your piece of luggage stand out. There are millions of other gadgets you could use, from name tags to compression belts, but we haven’t used them yet, so apparently they are not necessary.

You also shouldn’t forget about the travel insurance. It’s price can vary depending on travel length, destination, number on people covered, pre-existing medical conditions and on the extent of coverage itself. For the three of us, and for up to several days of travel, the price is usually below 100 USD.

How much can you pack to take on a plane

I would advise fitting as much as possible to your checked and carry-on baggage, as most airlines already include some baggage allowance in the ticket price. Economy-class tickets usually allow for one checked baggage up to 23 kg, (I’ve seen 20 kg, 27 kg and 30 kg limits in some airlines, so better check). When traveling with kids under 2 years old you’re not always entitled for a baggage item for your child, because of discounted ticket, so I think it’s important to check that too. You can consider paying for additional baggage item or overweight baggage, but this is relatively expensive and it wouldn’t be my first choice for taking more stuff.

Airport staff usually let it pass if the bag is a little bit heavier than the limit, often 1 or 2 kg might be fine, but that’s up to the staff discretion. For that reason I wouldn’t count on it, especially that if you exceed the limit by just 1kg you may be charged for the overweight baggage.The price for overweight baggage or one additional piece depends on an airline, where your flying from and your destination. For example, Air New Zealand charges around $150 USD for overweight baggage or one additional baggage piece. Also, overweight baggage can’t exceed 32 kg.

The carry-on baggage that you can take on board is usually limited to 7 or 10 kg. Contrary to the checked baggage those aren’t weighted, unless the baggage looks really bulky, then you might be asked to put it on a scale.

The are also size restrictions for both checked and carry-on baggage, but most standard travel bags and backpacks should be within limits. However, to be safe it’s better to check on the airline website or on the ticket.

It may be a good idea to put your heaviest clothing on yourself when flying, so you can take  more with you without paying for an extra baggage. You know, things like your hiking boots, snowboard trousers and jacket etc. That is, if you really like suffering when traveling for many hours in a himalayan gear. You can take the boots and jacket off in the plane though, so maybe it’s not that bad – you decide. On our first relocation (from Poland to New Zealand), we’ve put our boots and jackets on, I even traveled in jeans. Alex payed for it with swollen feet after the first long-haul flight… Since then, we always dress as comfortable as possible when traveling.

Also, it’s worth noting that if you travel with a child it’s free to take a trolley and/or a car seat as an additional baggage items.

Minimize your possessions or pay shipping costs

When moving from Poland to New Zealand we didn’t have much stuff to take, I just moved out from my parents’ apartment a year before. Me and Alex wanted to start living together. She already had some stuff, but it wasn’t hell of a lot, as she was flatting with her friends in a small apartment. Alex’s note: I see it totally differently. I had a ton of stuff, but we were poor and had no money to ship it, so we were forced to give it all away, although I would prefer to take it with us, as it was “all good stuff”!

We still managed to sell few things on Allegro (Polish auction site), mostly books, and some sports gear Alex had. We gave away or binned most of our things, so at the end we’ve managed to fit our belongings into two bags and 4 medium size boxes that we posted just before leaving. It was quite affordable (but slow) at that time, I think we’ve paid around 100 – 150 PLN (30 – 45 USD) for sending each box by national post. It took few months to arrive, but it did arrive without loses.

Moving from New Zealand to Japan was totally different story, we had furniture, whiteware and all other typical household staff, not to mention it was 3 of use this time round and our daughter wasn’t so keen to leave her toys and books behind.

We started selling things we definitely didn’t want to keep a bit earlier, but still around 2 months before the move, we were faced with a vast collection of everyday things, furniture, clothes etc. We were considering to ship everything we’ve got in one big container to Japan, however at the end we decided to downsize as much as possible, especially that we knew we can get furniture and electronics at better price in Japan.

In New Zealand furniture is expensive, for new queen-size bed of mediocre quality you probably have to pay around $1,500 USD, for which we could furniture almost whole apartment in Tokyo. Mostly thanks to IKEA and sleeping on futon mattress on tatami floor. That’s another thing to consider, different countries have different standard of… everything, housing included. So if you’re moving from let’s say New Zealand or Australia where you live in big houses to smaller apartments in Tokyo or Europe some types of furniture (e.g., types and sizes of beds) might not make sense anymore.

We’ve finally settled for shipping some of our stuff. Freight is a great option, if you plan to take bigger things like furniture, bed, whiteware, bikes etc. as the moving companies usually require you to fill a whole or at least a half of the container and those are huge. Fortunately, we’ve found a company that allow you to send less and you pay per box.

It’s worth to consider all the options and make some calculations. By the second relocation we only took mostly sentimental things, and work related stuff. First time round, we would take things like duvet covers, thinking it will be nice to sleep in our favourite ones, but surprise, surprise, bedding can be different around the world, so our covers from Poland did not fit our new duvets in New Zealand. Needless to say that we spared ourselves this mistake while relocating for the second time.

In our relocation to Japan we’ve used a moving company and paid around 2,800 NZD (~2,000 USD) for the shipment of 4 big boxes. This was quite pricey, but sending those boxes by New Zealand post or courier like DHL would be even more expensive. The price didn’t feel that bad, as we were able to save a bit on ticket prices because Alex’s scholarship was paying for her tickets.

Accomodation

When you arrive to a new country there are chances you might need a temporary place to stay before you find something for longer, whether you consider buying a house or renting. It’s great when you can crash in a friends or family place for a short while, but this is not always possible.

Make sure to budget the temporary accommodation in, especially that it might take weeks to find a long-term rental and short-term accommodation is generally way more expensive as you pay per night.

Before we arrived in Tokyo we’ve booked a place on AirBnB for 3 weeks and it cost us around $2,600 USD for 2 bedroom apartment in Sendagaya, which is a very good location in central Tokyo. In some countries like New Zealand AirBnB accommodation tends to be on the more expensive or even somewhat luxury side, so it’s sometimes better to consider motels or budget hotels. However is Tokyo there is not many budget short-term accommodation available and  the prices of hotels are quite high. At AirBnB we were able to get a whole apartment for ourselves for a price of a hotel room.

When you finally manage to find a place for long term rental make sure that you are prepared for all the fees required to sign a lease. In Tokyo you often have to pay upfront an equivalent of few months’ rent just to sign the agreement, some of it you get back at termination, but most of it not. It’s important to do your research on hidden rental fees like bonds, key money, agent fees, management fees and insurance.

Health insurance and other expenses

Accomodation is not the only expense you will probably have to face after arriving to a new country. Health insurance and medical care costs are probably the second most important thing to consider. Please check them upfront, as countries can vary immensely in terms of medical care costs, from almost free to extremely expensive. It’s also worth double checking if your visa entitles you to sign up for a national health insurance, if there is one. For example, in New Zealand a work visa will entitle you to use the national insurance (there are some exceptions). However, a student visa won’t, so you would have to pay for private insurance cover (your university can help with that, as often universities negotiate discounted student rates with one or two insurance companies).

As you could see, I we’ve probably spent about 4,000 USD on the first relocation, and about 8,000 USD on the second one. There are of course other, arguably smaller things to have in mind such as the services you have to pay for upfront or require a bond, like child daycare / preschool, gym membership, language classes, bus / train pass, mobile / Internet / TV contracts etc. They might not be a huge expenses by itself, but can quickly add up to a considerable amount. I hope you that this will help you with planning your relocation. Please let us know what you would add to the costs in the comments?