The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad (32 page)

Your U.S. passport can usually be replaced at the nearest U.S. consulate. This is why extra photos come in handy. With a driver’s license, birth certificate, photocopy of the missing passport, or an expired U.S. passport you can replace your passport more easily.

Report a robbery immediately to the local police. Their written report will establish your claim for your insurance company. Sometimes your homeowner policy will cover the loss of luggage, but check that it’s still valid before you leave for overseas. If you have sold or rented your home, the policy that used to cover you may no longer be in effect.

If your credit cards are stolen, contact the bank or credit card issuers immediately. Keep these phone numbers separate from the cards and in a place where they can be easily located in an emergency.

The Department of State’s Overseas Citizen’s Services can come in handy for Americans in emergency situations. Contact the nearest U.S. embassy. If your emergency is financial, the consular office can allow you to call home collect to arrange to get funds. Your bank or relatives can wire money using the U.S. embassy as your conduit for a faster response. If they wire the money through the State Department in Washington, D.C., as soon as the money is received there, the embassy or consulate near you will be authorized to turn over the equivalent amount to you overseas.

For more information about the Bureau of Consular Affairs, visit
www.travel.state.gov
.

I never thought it necessary to have special insurance on my belongings other than the homeowner policy on our home overseas and, of course, insurance on our car. However, there are companies that insure belongings specifically for travelers. Often this insurance comes complete with personal accident or trip cancellation policies.

It may seem from all these tips that the world outside the United States is a very frightening place. In reality, it’s likely the only danger you face will be a waitress who spills your cappuccino. As is true for many Americans overseas, chances are you’ll feel safer many places there than in the States. For many expats, safety is high on the list of reasons why they enjoy living overseas.

The secret to a successful adventure hinges on three things: planning, planning, and planning. You can’t manage a long-term change in lifestyle without a map to guide you. The sooner you start creating one, the better you’ll stay on track, avoiding pitfalls that can sabotage the experience. If an unforeseen problem does arise, a plan will keep you organized enough to cut that mountain down into a molehill.

Don’t trust your memory. Make lists galore of everything you need to do at each stage. Constantly update the lists, crossing off, adding, making sublists of lists as the time draws closer to departure. You’ll know you’re doing it right if you could end up papering a moving van with the crossed-off lists. Here’s a basic checklist to begin the planning process: