"International transferees frequently are frustrated in their search for a comprehensive guide that will help prepare them for their move abroad and orient them to the new location. Moving abroad is a stressful experience for employees and their families, and they often may "derail" entirely from the preparation process, primarily because they do not have enough information to "stay on track."
Many international transferees have been heard to lament, "I wish I had a checklist," "I wish I knew what to expect," and "What are my responsibilities, and who is there to help me with the rest?"
Well, Jan Dickinson's 100-page book, "The International Move," contains just about everything an international transferee needs to know about preparing to move to a foreign location.
The table of contents alone is an immediate indication of the comprehensive nature of the book, individual sections of "The International Move" cover such topics as household goods shipments, contraband items, electric appliances and transformers, dress rules, overseas banking, moving with pets, traveling with children, overseas schools, entertaining, culture shock, servants, and income taxes, to name a few.
Helpful hints are included about legal documents and important family/financial papers and how to prepare them, as well as which ones to leave home with someone and which to take along. Formerly, such information could only be learned from someone who had done it correctly, or who did not and encountered a problem.
The general information section includes 15 pages of incredibly helpful reference material such as international dialing codes; holidays; conversion tables for temperatures, measurements, and distances; men's and women's clothing sizes; and international symbols and signs. This information undoubtedly would be extremely valuable for an international transferee and family during those frustrating first weeks and months as they try to become accustomed to a new country.
Say, for example, you and your family have been transferred to Venezuela. Do you know the answers to the following questions?
What is the historical relationship between this country and the U.S.?
What is the attitude of the predominant religion toward other religions?
How do people spend their leisure time?
What recreational facilities are available for teenagers?
What is the attitude toward gambling, drinking, and drugs? What legal penalties or fines are in force?
"The International Move" provides brief but helpful information on these and a variety of other topics, and also furnishes hints on how one can prepare for life in specific countries.
This book could serve as a tool to help the family decide whether or not to relocate abroad, but functions best as a device for preparing them once the decision to go has been made. Its conciseness enhances its readability."
Reprinted with the permission of Mobility Magazine
