Everyone knows how to pack for vacation. And you have a to-do list of things to get or do before you leave. But for long term travel, there are a few more items to consider. Some we did, and some we forgot. Below is a list of items to consider doing before embarking on a long journey.
Visas: Get visas from countries you MAY want to visit. There are a few countries that require old fashioned visas. And to get one, you need to provide your passport to that country for as long as 6 weeks. Already underway, you cannot be without your passport. This has limited our ability to go to some countries, China and Russia are two. Most visas are good for a year and probably renewable if you have not gone yet. There is no reason why not to apply.
Banking: Consider opening a travel bank account. Only bring the atm card for this account. You can move money into it from your main checking online (when in a place that has a secure connection). This protects. your main checking and savings accounts from theft.
Have a pin with only 4 digits. In some countries, that is all you can have.
And notify your bank of the list of countries you will be visiting. This is easily done, and updated with online banking apps.
Credit cards: You are going to have some trouble with your credit card at some point no matter what precautions you take. Below are a few tips to minimize trouble.
- Notify your credit card company of travel plans.
- Shop around for a credit card that gives you the best suite of perks for a traveler: no international transaction fees, points or cash back for travel related expenses (you will have plenty of those). Best to use Visa or Mastercard, other cards are not as readily available.
- And (I cannot stress this enough) get new cards with lots of time before expiration. Getting a card delivered to you overseas will be a difficult and frustrating experience.
- Make sure your card is contactless. This is the only way they work in most other countries. Old fashioned USA credit cards do not work at tolls, parking kiosks, automated ticket kiosks, or really anywhere. A live body can make your card work, but they often don’t know how. Take our advice, get contactless credit cards. And expect that you will still have some difficulty getting your cards to work. That is why we suggest having at least 2 different cards. Once you get locked out of one, you’ll need the other until you can sort out the first.
Ability to wire money: There will be instances where you cannot use a credit card and need to wire money. Set up an account with a company like Transferwise that allows you to wire money in any currency. An added advantage of this account is you can generate ISBN numbers. ISBN numbers are international banking numbers that are required for some transactions. Without a bank account in that country, they are very difficult to secure. We first needed one when we wanted to rent a storage unit.
Driver’s license. Get an International driver’s license. Easy to do at AAA. Make sure your US driver’s license has some years on it. It has been impossible to get ours renewed from overseas. An unexpected hurdle since we expected it could be done online. Even if you could renew online, getting proof that it is valid delivered to you overseas is difficult and exceptionally expensive.
Cell phone: Make sure your phone works internationally (not all do) and is unlocked. In order to switch Sim cards the phone needs to be unlocked. Check into a company and plan that has a decent and affordable International plan. Buying a phone with dual SIM card slots is worth thinking about. Taking SIM cards in and out risks breaking them and/or your phone. You can always buy SIM cards with preloaded data from the country you are in, but we never have needed to do so. You CANNOT switch to a local plan however unless you have a bank account and address in that Country.
Turn off automatic updating, and turn off International roaming. Have your phone only update when you have good wifi to avoid using expensive international data.
Tip: you really will make few calls. Think about it, there will be a language barrier. You may think you know a little (fill in the blank… Italian, French, German or Spanish), but you know less than you think.You are relying on facial cues and hand gestures that you do not have over the phone. You will not be talking locally much. But you will be using data: transportation apps, Google Translate, and Google Maps. How people managed before Google, we do not know!
eBooks: Get a library card from your local library for eBooks. Or a subscription to Amazon Prime or another book borrowing service.
Local Resources:
- Give someone at home your checkbook, you will not need it. Just for expenses that arise at home. Best to give someone you trust the ability to bank for you.You get checks that need depositing: the rebates from your credit cards, tax refunds etc.
- Have someone look at your mail. Just in case you get a traffic ticket abroad (you probably will) or a jury duty summons.
- Register to vote absentee. And have someone at home do it for you. In times like these, you really want to participate in elections.
Update will. This will be hard to do from abroad. Good idea to look at your living will, durable power of attorney too.
Accessible documents. Make sure you have cloud storage for all important documents:
- Medical records
- Financial records
- Medical and homeowners insurance,
- Make sure you are squared away to file next year’s taxes
Health insurance. You are going to be pleasantly surprised, international health insurance is cheap compared to US insurance. We find we are pleased to pay out-of-pocket for doctors, dentists and prescriptions even without insurance. But we carry a policy for any big, unexpected unknowns.
Prescriptions. Prescriptions are not going to be valid in another country, but it is a good idea to carry them anyway. Also have a picture stored in your cloud storage. Make sure the doctor includes the generic name of the drug. US names are not always known by the doctors abroad.
I am sure this list will grow as we run into unexpected hurdles. Hopefully we can help you avoid some unexpected pitfalls.