The annoyances of living abroad 🌍
Hi friends, welcome back! I hope you’ve had an amazing and sun-filled week. We’re currently having a heatwave in London, and the temperature has been reaching 30 degrees almost daily.
Its definitely been a few sweaty days running around town trying to get items for my new flat. But having lived here for 4 years, I know well that good summer weather is never a guarantee. So 30 degrees and sunny, moving or not, I’ll take it!
Next week I’m heading off on a girls trip to Italy, meaning the next time you hear from me I’ll be somewhere in Lombardy. I know. I’m excited as well! Feel free to send me a message on Instagram with any recommendations, and arrivederci for now!
Maddie xx
She’s working on… living abroad 🇬🇧
One of the parts I nearly forgot about moving is all the admin work that comes with it.
Every country has its own systems for how things are done. Growing up in Norway, I took all these practices and systems for granted. It was easy to navigate as it was all I had ever known. I also had family and friends who could help. However, I can imagine that any foreigner moving to Norway would be confused.
💡 Did you know Norwegians are assigned a personal number at birth? This is used with a chip sent by your bank for everything from paying taxes, scheduling doctors appointments, and even reading digital post!
The same thing happened to me when I first moved abroad and had to deal with all sorts of admin. From setting up a UK bank account, to proving I was a resident. And having lived here for a few years, I had almost forgotten how confusing and frustrating this admin work can be.
For instance, there’s no public post register of your address in the UK (or at least to my knowledge). Meaning every time you move, you have to update every company you’ve ever received mail from with your new address. And odds are, you’ll forget some. For every flat I’ve lived in London, I’ve received at least 3 old tenants' mail through my postbox. I even received some Christmas cards!
My most frustrating admin work this week, however, was dealing with my council tax. In London you pay a monthly tax to your local council for their services based on the price of your flat in 1991. I know, I find this last part weird as well. Therefore, every time you move, you have to tell your old and your new council, so you don’t end up paying both of them.
Unfortunately for me, my old council’s website has been glitching for the past months. I have tried every way of logging in and filling out forms. Nothing has worked. So in my last resort, I decided to sit through an hour of static phone music and call my council. 1.5 hours later, I was met with a “I can’t hear you” and immediately hung up on 🫠.
What should I do now? I’m not sure. I don’t know anyone who’s had anything similar happen before, so I’ll just have to continue searching the web for help.
This experience has taken me right back to the feelings I experienced in my first few months of living alone in the UK. It can be incredibly difficult and frustrating to deal with the administration that comes with living somewhere, when you didn’t grow up with it.
So if you’re in the same position, here’s some things I’ve found that help:
How to approach admin work while living abroad
1️⃣ Ask a friend or google in advance. This way you’ll know more on what to expect and do during the different processes. You’ll save a lot of time by not having to figure everything out on your own as you go.
2️⃣ Get organised. I keep a list on Notion to remember all the admin work needed for our move. Like all the companies I had to update my address with.
3️⃣ Be patient. Figuring out your admin work, and going through the processes take time. A lot of time. I honestly think moving abroad is as much a lesson of patience as it is a lesson of anything else.
My favourite things
Here’s some of my favourite things I’ve recently read, watched and listened to!!
🎧 Music: Oh, the joy. I’ve been listening to this artist all week while working and even when relaxing.
📱App: TodayTix. A theater ticket app that offers exclusive prices on both same-day tickets and advance performances. Helps you save money (and you know I’m all about finding smart ways to save!)
🎙 Podcast: The Diary Of A CEO: Daniel Amen. This guy is the psychiatrist and therapist to the world’s superstars! He shares really interesting information about the brain and how it works.
📗Book: Everything I know about Love. One of my favourite books and one I’ll be re-reading over my trip next week.
📺 Series: There’s been so much good stuff released this week. However, we still don’t have any wifi in our flat, so you’ll have to wait until next week for my reccomendations!
