Relocation Guide: Relocating from Sri Lanka
It’s always a hard decision to leave the country you were born raised and lived leaving your friends and relatives behind. Long story short, I am writing this post in a power cut. 72 years of corruption and misgovernance and 2 years of acceleration to destination fucked got us here. Sri Lanka might recover but I don't want to gamble with my child’s future. Sri Lanka is still one of the best travel destinations but not a reliable place to live.
For any person factors for emigration can be categorized into two. Pull and push factors. This can differ from person to person. So will try to list out all pull factors for countries but I strongly suggest you do your own research.
Southeast Asia — Singapore, Malaysia
- Tropical weather
- Dependents are legally not allowed to work.
- Good public transport at an affordable cost.
- Education and healthcare are expensive but taxes are low.
- The government doesn't treat expats well. If something goes wrong you are the first group of people they throw away.
- Good salaries and living conditions.
- Common practice is to visit there as a tourist and apply for jobs there then apply for a work visa.
- Not suitable as a long-term choice.
Europe — Nordic countries
- Almost all Nordic countries have shitty weather.
- Free/affordable education and healthcare.
- If you were doing a job and paying taxes the government looks after you in difficult times, so Nordics are often top in happiness indexes.
- Work culture is absolutely best.
- Finding accommodations is a bit hard, especially in Sweden. But generally a safe choice.
- The cost of living is high and taxes are high but you are well compensated and the government looks after you.
- Secure a job offer with visa sponsorship you will be there in no time.
- Public transport is so good that you don't need a vehicle.
- A minority of Nordics can be racist because of their attitudes towards refugees.
- Nordics like to keep it to themselves most of the time so it's difficult to make friends.
- They can speak English but You need to learn their language.
Europe — Estonia and baltic countries
I have no idea about other Baltics so I will only write about Estonia.
- Shitty weather.
- Taxes are simple and 20% relatively low for a European country. But they are put in to use very efficiently without many trade-offs. According to PISA rankings, Estonia has the best education system in EU.
- Free public transport and education, affordable healthcare.
- They can speak English but You need to learn their language.
- Secure a job offer with visa sponsorship you will be there in no time.
- Cost of living and accommodation costs are low compared to other European countries but salaries are also low. Do your math.
- Estonians also like to keep it to themselves most of the time so it’s difficult to make friends.
Europe — Germany, Netherlands, and rest of Western Europe.
- Better weather compared to other European countries listed here.
- They can speak English but You need to learn their language.
- Free/affordable education and healthcare and good affordable public transport.
- Secure a job offer with visa sponsorship you will be there in no time.
- Taxes are high, but the government looks after you well. In the Netherlands, some skilled migrants can apply tax reliefs called 30% ruling.
Oceania — New Zealand and Australia
- It's a bit hard to get there because everyone is trying to move. But there are lots of opportunities in jobs where they have talent shortages.
- Better weather but you will be living in the middle of nowhere. the closest country is a 6–7 hour flight away.
- Secure a job offer(which is a bit hard right now) and everything else is easy. The second option is applying for PR but it's a long hard process.
- They speak English but you need to prove you also can. You only need 5.5 IELTS if you have secured a job offer with a visa.
- You might need a vehicle but it is affordable.
North America — US and Canada
Personally, I am not considering this because I don’t like the work culture in the region.
- It’s a bit hard to get there because everyone is trying to move. But there are lots of opportunities in jobs where they have talent shortages.
- They speak English but you need to prove you also can. Guess “Kaputas englis” is also enough, if you are powerful.
Websites, Resources to support your Relocation journey.
Disclaimer: honeypot is an affiliated link. I included it because I recommend it.
Conclusion
I tried to summarize everything I learned from my relocation job search and documented hoping someone else could save some time on their research. Like I said the push and pull vary from person to person. So I strongly recommend doing your own research.
