Three months ago I made a goal: To work in five continents in the next five years.

It’s always easy to make a goal but not as easy to follow through and make that goal a reality, so today’s the day. Today we build the blueprint of what you need before you leave the country to work abroad. Some of these steps will take substantial time (learning a foreign language) while others may be simple tasks; however, starting the list and getting your suggestions in the comments will help start the process and break it down into manageable pieces. If you want help building your blueprint, sign up for our world creation blueprint.

Before You Go:

Choose a destination – What sounds like an easy task may be the most challenging. With so many options, you first have to focus in on where you are headed. For my goal, South America or Asia are the next continents with Brazil or Argentina in South America and Thailand or Cambodia in Asia. Any suggestions?

Choose a community – Once you choose a country, then it will be time to research communities both in terms of cities/towns but also industry and social communities. For my work, I am looking for a tech-minded community in a city that is large enough to keep me entertained for at least a month, but also small enough that I can meet people and make connections. One tool I will use to accomplish this is CouchSurfing.org, not to stay with someone, but to be able to ask locals what they recommend. It’s a great way to get a local view of what’s happening on the ground and to hear the views (and stereotypes) of the residents.

Learn the language – To truly immerse oneself in their new home, speaking the language is extremely valuable. While I may not become fluent, a functional level will be the goal. I can already speak Spanish which makes Argentina the easy option, but I also love learning new languages so the other three would be great options. I’ve read a number of language theories and look forward to testing them out over the next 12 months.

Build a social network – This is not a competitor to Facebook but instead the idea of starting to meet people long before traveling to the new community. Through online social networks like Twitter, I can introduce myself to people online and learn about the activities going on in that community. Again through CouchSurfing I can meet like-minded individuals who will provide great social connections so I can arrive and have someone to have a beer with.

Research travel options – Ticket prices and accommodation prices will play a role in deciding where to go, so starting to look now at the prices will help determine where to go. There may be interesting options of buying an Around the World Ticket to make the trip a part of a larger trip for a reasonable price. This means I could fly to Brazil for example and from Brazil buy an Around the World Ticket. The United States would be one stop on that trip, and since a RTW trip allows you to stretch the dates out over 12 months, I could fly home and 11 months later use the rest of the RTW trip to go to next year’s destination. Learn more about RTW tickets here.

Learn the visa requirements – The countries I’m considering would be fairly easy to visit since I will be working in the US and just visiting the country. However, if I’m able to make strong connections before leaving, the option of a work visa may become more interesting for me. Research will have to be done here.

Start telling others – I’ve always found that telling people you meet about where you are going will lead to amazing connections and assistance. When traveling to Greece, I was able to find a relative who generously hosted me in Crete. When moving to Norway, a few calls put me in touch with a long-lost relative (although it did take us 45 minutes to figure out how we were related). Your friends and acquaintances want to help you start your adventure, so tell them what you’re looking for!

Research accommodations – If your goal is to move to a new community and get to know that one area, you’ll want to have a homebase where you can leave your bags and make yourself feel at home. Through the connections I make via social networks, I’ll start asking about what the most affordable, safe and cozy housing options are. I’ll need internet and appliances and close connection with public transit.  Knowing the estimated price of living in the different “candidate communities” will help me decide where to go.

The list is already long on tasks to complete. What am I missing? What else do you need to do before working abroad?

II’ll start working on the list and will keep you up-to-date on the progress and what I learn.

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What is your current project? How can you break it down into actionable steps?