We talked about global living: What do you need from preparation to departure?

"I work 996 every day and feel life lacks meaning, but I don't know if living abroad would just be jumping from one pit to another?"

This was the real confusion of an AI engineer in our nomadic community's online discussion. On the other side of the screen, she had just graduated over a year ago and was already questioning this nine-to-five lifestyle.

The nomadic community, centered around nomadic life, has gathered over 600 friends. We regularly hold themed online discussions. In this online discussion on "preparation before living abroad," 8 partners with different backgrounds shared their stories. Some had already started living abroad, some were already prepared, and some were still hesitating.

Everyone came with different questions, but found similar answers in the exchange, and gained many practical living skills. Today I want to share the essence of this session with you, which might answer those questions in your heart about living abroad.

Mental preparation: Don't set out with an "escape" mindset

"Why do you want to live abroad?" This seemingly simple question tests a person's heart most. In the discussion, everyone's motivations were different.

There was a 40+ sister who retired early, wanting to explore possibilities for the second half of her life. Her child was in college, and her entrepreneurial work life seemed to have reached its end. She wanted to try if there could be something new in the second half of her life!

There was also a post-00s who doesn't work, full of curiosity about life. She wanted to experience different lives, go to different places and do different work. Under the condition of meeting basic life needs, more life experiences were what she wanted to gain.

There was also a teacher working in the system, wanting to use annual holidays to deeply experience different cultures—not superficial tourism, but using time for deep living and learning to improve comprehensive abilities.

Of course, there were also partners who jumped out of the original established track and quit without backup, wanting to rediscover a career they love and a sustainable lifestyle.

Everyone's answers were wonderful, but we also discussed that "living abroad is not our only purpose." Everyone has their own unique motivation for setting out, but having an attitude of accepting both good and bad on the journey, expecting surprises while also accepting challenges, is the key to having a satisfying journey. As one friend said: "Don't look for answers with answers. I can tell you, if you do this, 90% of results won't be good."

A couple already on the living journey also honestly shared: "After coming out, there's a lot of novelty, but also a lot of anxiety. We're not making money, we're always spending money. We'll consider whether the time spent here is worth it? These are all real anxieties."

This reminds us of an important understanding: living abroad is not a perfect solution to escape reality, but an active life exploration. If you just want to escape current work pressure, living abroad might make you more anxious.

Give yourself room for trial and error

Since living abroad isn't a cure-all, what mindset should we set out with?

Everyone at the discussion reached a consensus: living abroad is a process of trial and error. Don't expect it to solve all problems.

A friend suggested: "You don't have to quit immediately. You can first use vacation to experience, step by step expanding your comfort zone."

The couple also shared their mindset: "We gave ourselves two to three years to do this experiment, to see if we can stay on this path. This is giving ourselves room for trial and error."

The 40+ sister summarized it well: "The most important thing about living abroad is exploring with a theme, going deep into life, feeling truly different things. Whether domestic or abroad, the key is having an exploratory mindset."

A friend mentioned the concept of "life leverage": "Living abroad is life leverage. Spending one year might harvest precious memories that will be very useful for a lifetime."

After mental preparation is done, next comes actual material preparation.

Financial planning: Tracking expenses is more important than saving

"How much money do you need for living abroad?" This is what many people care about most. In fact, living expenses vary by person. We've also previously shared in detail our total expenses for five years of living around the world. More importantly, it's about reasonable fund planning.

At the discussion, everyone shared several practical financial suggestions:

1. Start planning a year in advance, fully preparing for living abroad 2. Establish strict expense tracking habits. We've been doing this since 2019, over 6 years now. Recommended apps: Shark/Quick Notes 3. Set daily living budget limits (e.g., 300 yuan). If exceeded, adjust in time 4. Reserve sufficient basic funds to deal with emergencies

One friend shared how her consumption views changed significantly since starting to prepare for living abroad: "I used to really like buying expensive clothes, but now thinking that this one or two thousand yuan could get a US visa, I instantly suppress my consumption desire."

Her method was to open a separate card for living funds and never touch it. "When money isn't quite enough, your mindset will waver, but when you feel this money is enough for one or two years of living, your mindset stabilizes."

So the core of financial preparation isn't how much to save, but understanding your spending patterns, so you can make reasonable budget plans.

Visa strategies: Applying while employed is the best time

Visas are the first hurdle everyone must face. For first-time living abroad, tourist visas can meet most living scenarios. We recommend prioritizing developed country visas, which not only provide more choices for future travel but also establish good visa records. The most experienced friend at the discussion shared several practical tips about developed country visas:

US visa core strategy: Takes the longest, can be prioritized. Prove you have ties at home (work, assets, family) + spending ability. Single and unmarried can consider binding with a friend who already has a US visa as a travel companion.

Australia New Zealand: Can be applied for simultaneously, materials are very similar.

Japan visa: Relatively simple. Currently multi-year multiple-entry visas. Depending on the region, only need corresponding deposit proof. For example, 3-year multiple needs 500,000, 5-year multiple needs 1 million.

Schengen visa: Need stable income flow, recommend preparing 3 months in advance. Story logic (like long vacation reasons) matching materials is key.

Applying while employed has the highest approval rate, because visa officers value stable work and income proof most. If you already have a living plan, recommend applying for developed country visas while still employed.

Practical tool list: These details can save a lot of trouble

Bank cards: Industrial Bank savings card has 3 free overseas withdrawals per month. Credit cards recommend having one VISA and one Master. ICBC Global Travel Card and ABC Colorful Card offer 2%-23% cashback, but need to pay attention to annual fee rules.

Documents: Driver's license translation can be done through Alipay or Ctrip.

Insurance: Confirm if existing commercial insurance covers overseas. If not, purchase overseas insurance separately. Here we recommend the most cost-effective overseas travel insurance we found in five years of living abroad.

Other: Prepare common medicines, electronic device chargers, important document backups, etc.

These seemingly trivial preparations can save you a lot of trouble on the road.

Living method choice: Must have goals and themes

Everyone in the discussion emphasized that pure play-style living often makes people feel empty. The best way is to have learning goals or exploration themes.

For example, going to Chiang Mai to learn Muay Thai, equestrian, or golf—these are all local advantage projects with extremely high cost-performance. A horseback riding lesson in Shanghai costs over 1,000, but in Chiang Mai you can find top coaches for 170 yuan.

Some also choose to learn English while living abroad, or explore specific themes like co-living communities and ecological agriculture. This way you can both deeply experience local life and have clear sense of gain.

A friend shared: "That month I went to Shanghai to learn yoga was especially fulfilling. Weekday learning was intense, weekends I went out to relax. This sense of rhythm is very important."

Final thoughts

So if you're also considering living abroad, we recommend preparing in this order: First do mental preparation, clarify your motivation and give yourself room for trial and error; then make a financial plan, start tracking expenses and saving; next handle necessary visas and tool preparation; finally choose a destination and theme with learning opportunities.

Of course, if you discover more things that need preparation and challenges during your preparation process, welcome to purchase our "From 0-1: Becoming a Global Living Expert" digital handbook. Inside is the experience and strategies we've accumulated over more than 5 years of living around the world. This content was previously only presented in our nomadic community knowledge base and has helped 600+ friends. But now, you can unlock this possibility of creating a new life for yourself at the price of a hot pot meal.

If you also want to participate in such like-minded discussions, meet more fellow travelers on the nomadic path, and build social circles and support systems for your living life, welcome to join our nomadic community!

Finally, I want to say: Remember, imperfection can also be a start, because the gains after setting out are always richer than imagined.

Are you ready to start your living journey?