Moving abroad can be stressful at the best of times, but there is so much more to consider when bringing your children along. Leaflet specialists at instantprint conducted a survey on what country was best for working parents. They discovered things like healthcare and house prices factor into your decision. Relocating abroad with children isn’t as simple as packing your bag and finding accommodation.
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It can be a lot to think about if you’re not sure what you should be looking for when deciding where to move. To make the process easier for you, here are some things to consider when relocating abroad with children.
Relocating Abroad – Childcare
Especially for the younger ones, you need somewhere safe to leave your children so you can go to work. The obvious answer is a nursery, but some countries offer better rates than others. It’s worth knowing those rates so you get the best value for your money. The instantprint survey found that Sweden came out on top as the best country for working parents. Its low nursery rates at just £106.83 per month compared to Australia’s average rate of £1113.84 are among the reasons. Other than costs, there are many things to look for when finding a nursery abroad like safety and staff regulations. All of these are important to consider when relocating abroad with children.
Things to Consider – Work Benefits
If you’ve got a baby on the way, choosing a country that offers you the optimum amount of maternity or paternity leave is in your best interest. Not only does this mean more time with your newborn, but also more time to recover and get back on your feet.
Bulgaria ranked second in the survey. It offers 60 weeks of maternity leave. There is also a further 104 available weeks of shared parental leave that parents can take until their child turns two. This is in stark contrast to the USA’s current absence of a policy on maternity or paternity leave.
Affordability – Housing Prices
When you’ve got a growing family, you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on rent every month. Romania was in the top 5 of instantprint’s list of countries. The reasons were a combination of their generous Maternity Leave policies and a lower cost of living. The average price of rent per month is £357.73, with utilities coming in at £100.49.
In countries like Luxembourg and the USA, the cost of living is well over the £1,500 mark. So, it’s worth keeping these differences in mind. You want to know where you’ll be able to comfortably afford other essentials for your little ones.
Relocating Abroad with Children – Health Care
Most countries have different policies when it comes to healthcare, and this can be difficult to get your head around when you’ve been used to living in the UK with the NHS. In some countries, you have to pay for medical care. Others have systems similar to the NHS so it’s worth working out which country has the best healthcare rates.
Young children get all kinds of scraps and illnesses and normally they recover with little to no assistance needed. It’s important, however, to know how much any medical intervention will cost in a worst-case scenario and how readily available it will be.
So, here it is. The most important things to consider when relocating abroad with children. What else do you recommend considering before making such a move? Tell me all about it in the comments below.