Where to Start When Planning to Move Abroad: A Simple Decision Guide

Here's a conversation I have approximately twice a week: someone has been researching moving abroad for 6 to 18 months. They've read everything. They have 47 browser tabs open. They've watched all the YouTube videos and they know the approximate cost of a furnished apartment in Medellín, the name of the best neighborhoods in Dakar, and roughly what a digital nomad visa requires.

And they have not taken a single concrete step.

The problem is almost never lack of information, it's lack of a starting point. So here is the decision guide I walk through with people when they don't know where to begin.

First Question: Do You Have a Destination in Mind?

If yes — even tentatively — your next step is not more destination research. It's visa research. Everything else flows from your legal pathway: your timeline, your income requirements, your document preparation, your tax planning. You cannot meaningfully plan a move until you understand what kind of legal status you'll have in your destination.

Go to your target country's immigration website. Find the visa category that matches your situation (remote worker, retiree, long-stay tourist, or longer-term resident). Write down the requirements. That list becomes your roadmap.

If no — you don't have a destination yet — that's okay, but it means your starting point is different. Your first step is to get specific about what you're looking for in a destination. Climate. Cost. Language proximity. Safety profile. Community. Political stability. Distance from the US. These criteria will quickly narrow your list from 'everywhere in the world' to 3-5 places worth serious investigation.

Second Question: What Is Your Income Situation?

Your income situation determines which visa categories are available to you and which destinations make the most financial sense. There are four main profiles.

Remote employee or freelancer with stable income: digital nomad visa is your most likely path. Most destinations require $684-3,500/month in verifiable foreign-source income. If you're above this threshold, you have many options.

Retiree or passive income earner: pensionado or retirement visas are often the smoothest route. Stable monthly income from Social Security, pension, or portfolio withdrawals typically qualifies. Most thresholds are $750-1,500/month.

Employed locally in the US with no remote option: your options are extended tourist stays (90-180 days per year, depending on the country), transitioning to remote work before moving, or negotiating a remote arrangement with your employer. This category benefits most from the '3 options' framework, there may be a path that doesn't require leaving your current employer.

Self-employed or business owner: most digital nomad visas and temporary residency visas accommodate this, as long as you can document income. The complexity comes in the documentation — you'll need several months of bank statements, contracts, or tax returns as evidence.

Third Question: What Is Your Actual Timeline?

Not your wish timeline, your actual one. When can you realistically leave, given your job situation, family commitments, housing lease, financial preparation, and mental readiness?

Work backward from that date. Most visa applications need 30-90 days of processing time, which means your documents need to be ready before that. Documents, especially apostilled US documents and FBI background checks, take 2-12 weeks to prepare, depending on your state and processing speed.

If your actual timeline is 12+ months: you have room to be sequential. Start with destination research and community building, move to finances, then documents, then visa.

If your timeline is 6 months: you need to parallel-process. Start your document preparation at the same time as your visa research. Open your international banking accounts in month one.

If your timeline is 90 days: prioritize ruthlessly. Visa first. Housing for the first 30 days. International health insurance. Everything else can be sorted after arrival.

The Most Common Mistake

The most common mistake I see is people spending months gathering information about everything instead of taking the first concrete step on the one thing that matters most for their situation.

If you have a destination and an income situation, you don't need more research. You need to pull up your target country's immigration website and write down the document requirements. Then you need to order your FBI background check. That's it. That's the step.

Everything else — neighborhood research, shipping decisions, healthcare deep dives — comes later and is much easier to navigate with a visa in hand and an arrival date on the calendar.