How I carefully plotted a move abroad

Before I actually took the plunge, moving to South Korea sounded like the worst idea in the world to almost everyone I spoke with. Now, two years in, they've totally changed their mind. But I can't blame them for thinking this was a wild idea.

That's because the average American does not travel very far, nor very often. Only around 42% of Americans had a passport in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and many can't stray far from home because of the high cost or poor vacation policies at work. Let's be honest: Tavel is still a privilege in the United States, and moving abroad without a secure job is a risk that most can't afford to take.

I always wanted to be a reporter in South Korea, but only a piece of me believed that it could actually happen. When I started my first full-time journalism job in Boston, I slowly started putting away money every month in case of an emergency. Once I had a decent emergency budget, I kept building my savings. The idea was that the more money I had put away, the more freedom I would be able to achieve. Korea was in the back of my mind, but I had no real plans to exit. I was excited about my job and imagined myself having a long career there.

Then I started to become unhappy at work, and that unhappiness at work slowly became unhappiness at home, too (as it often does). About seven or eight months into my job, I realized that things weren't going to get any better. I started looking for other gigs within the United States, but Korea started calling my name. There were a few reasons for that. For one, I knew that the more I built my career in my home country, the harder it would be to walk away later on. Two, much of my family was in South Korea, and I wanted to be around the elderly family members (such as my grandmother) before it was too late. So I found an otherwise unideal contract reporting job that was remote, brought up the prospect of moving and took the plunge.

Here's the logistics of it all.

• I saved a little more than $10,000 before I left. I think the final number was $12,000 or so. I was living in the expensive city of Boston on a $40,000 salary, but I freelanced on the side every chance I had to put away this money. I wanted enough savings to survive at least six months without work in case something happened, plus by a plane ticket home in the event of an emergency. I ended up using half of this ($5,000) for a "key money" housing deposit, though that rental system is somewhat unique to Korea.
• I had to work at night. Because of the time difference, I knew that I would be working nights to stay in correspondence with my editors. This turned out to take a toll on my health, but I made the sacrifice for a while. Eventually, I maneuvered myself within the company to covering Korea and was able to work more daytime hours. When you work remotely like this, it's up to you to manage your own schedule.
• The pay was bad by American standards. I need to make this clear for other aspiring foreign correspondents out there: The pay I was receiving would have been unlivable in the United States (and there were other contract reporters making that money and living in U.S. cities, too — bless their souls). However, I researched the cost of living in Korea extensively before making the move, setting up a budget on excel of the worst-possible expenses for basic needs like rent, food, utilities, WiFi, transportation, health insurance, etc.
• I made mistakes, and you probably will too. I don't have any scamming horror stories, but you do throw away money when you live in a new country for the first time. Account for this. Do your research. Know your rights. I remember when I was searching for apartments, several realty agencies tried to rip me off by charging enormous broker fees. I used English legal sources online and learned the legal maximum a realty agency can charge, then challenged people when this issue arose. I know other foreigners who lost thousands this way, unfortunately.
• I found a community. I have a whole side of my family in Korea, but they are often busy with work and raising young kids. Within three days of landing, I went to a mixer at the Asian American Journalist Association (AAJA)'s Seoul chapter, and I continued to engage and learn a lot from this community. The camaraderie and support was priceless. 
• I made a community. I wanted friends outside of journalism, too, so I attended a part-time academy to brush up on some skills and make some friends with other adult classmates. I also ran a bilingual, conversation-centric, coffee-appreciating meet up group for a while and made friends that way. I signed up for HelloTalk and Conversation Exchange and also met some language partners. All of this helped me combat loneliness.
• I got a pet. I live alone and, without my cat, I don't know if I would have made it this long. Kongi has added so much to my life and helped fend off loneliness. However, before getting a pet, I strongly recommend you look into what you'll have to invest in terms of regular vet bills, emergency vet bills and flying your pet back to your home country in the future. It's very expensive, and leaving your pet behind should not be an option.
• I hustled from the very beginning (and proved others wrong). I was filled with doubts after hearing so many friends and family members tell me I was crazy for packing up and moving abroad. But the very week I landed, I started pitching stories about South Korea and my career here exponentially grew. I gave myself no time to settle. This sent the message to friends and family members that they didn't need to worry about me, and also made me realize I could pull this thing off, too.
• Make a list of English resources. I speak Korean, but it's not my native language and there are just some things I'd rather do in English. Before arriving, I made a spreadsheet of English resources in case I needed them. This includes legal resources, English-speaking doctors, immigration hotlines, English-speaking companies (for mobile services or internet, for example), etc.

I learned a lot from moving abroad. The biggest takeaway, however, is that the best way for me to get the job I wanted was to just start doing the work myself. I knew that the dwindling foreign correspondence offshoot of the media industry wouldn't hire me and move me abroad. Those days are long gone at most news organizations, sadly. So, I decided to take the risk myself and hopefully prove that I was hirable. The worst case, I thought, was that I'd fail and go back home.

Anyway, I'm just sharing this information in case it helps others. If you have any questions, I'm happy to respond. Shoot me an email at kekasulis@gmail.com.