Katia’s book A Great Move: How to Survive and Thrive in your Expat Assignment provides the principles and proven process you need to follow to make a successful international move. Principles such as the importance of knowing your concept of home, understanding the stages of transition, and taking into consideration the needs of everyone who moves, will equip you to with the right mindset for approaching every phase of the move. Today’s LID Publishing blog looks at Katia’s advice on how to keep and maintain relationships during the move.

Don’t forget your relationships

If you are moving with your partner, make time for each other and stay connected. If one of you has to move earlier it is even more important to nurture each other.

Be a team

Do not expect your partner to know what you are feeling. Check-in regularly with each other on how you think the move is going and ask for and offer support. If you are an expatriate, budget enough time to go back and help your partner with the move. If they will be managing most of the logistics, acknowledge their contributions often and authentically.

Similar principles apply if you are moving with children. Check in with them regularly as they will inevitably have mixed emotions about the move. Encourage them to express their emotions, acknowledging these without trying to ‘fix’ them.

Build resilience

Whether it is a relationship with your children or partner, if feelings of loss and grief are left unexpressed, they are likely to resurface at a later point, most likely with higher intensity. It’s important not to insulate them too much from hardship. On the contrary, coping with difficult emotions, with your support, will help them develop lifelong resilience. Be open and honest with your own feelings of sadness, loss and excitement of a new life.

Keep perspective

Always keep in perspective what you have achieved already. It is probably much more than you recognise, and hold on to your sense of humour. On challenging days you, and your relationships, are going to need it.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” Winnie the Pooh

Want to find out more about A Great Move?

About the book

About the author

Katia’s professional background is in policy analysis. She holds a master’s degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a PhD from the RAND

Other blogs and podcasts I can tune in to

Read the Financial Times review of The Great Move.

Listen to Katia’s LID Radio Podcast talking about the book.

Discover more about The Great Move book event with Santa Fe to celebrate the book’s launch in June.

Read about how Santa Fe Relocation sponsored The Great Move.

Where can I buy A Great Move?

The book is available to buy here