How to Plan a Scouting Trip Before Moving Abroad

The single best predictor of a successful move abroad is whether you spent real time in the place before committing. Not a resort week, and not a cruise stop, but a few weeks of ordinary life: grocery runs, bus rides, a pharmacy visit, a rainy afternoon with nothing planned. That is what a scouting trip is for.

A good scouting trip is closer to a job interview than a vacation. You are interviewing the place, and you need a list of questions before you arrive.

Before you go: set the questions

Write down what you need to learn. Most people's lists fall into five areas:

• Housing: What does a realistic rental cost in the neighborhoods you like? How do leases work? What condition are mid-range rentals in?
• Daily life: Can you buy groceries, see a doctor, and run errands comfortably? How far will you walk or drive for basics?
• Healthcare: Where is the nearest good hospital? Can you see a doctor without a long wait? What does a visit cost without insurance?
• Community: Who would your friends be? Is there a church, club, or group you would join?
• Logistics: How long does it really take to get to the airport? How reliable are internet and power?

If you are still choosing between countries, use our country decision framework first. A scouting trip works best when you are testing one or two finalists, not touring ten options.

Paperwork for the trip itself

• Confirm your passport has enough validity. The State Department notes that many countries require at least six months remaining and two blank pages.
• Check how long Americans may stay visa-free on the country's page at travel.state.gov, and whether you need an electronic travel authorization.
• Read the State Department travel advisory, including any region-specific warnings for the cities you plan to visit.
• Enroll the trip in STEP so you receive alerts from the local US embassy.
• Buy travel medical insurance. Medicare does not cover care outside the US, and many providers abroad ask for payment upfront.

Go in the off-season, or the hard season

Tourist season is when a place is at its most charming and most expensive. It hides the things that will bother you as a resident. Visit instead during:

• The hottest or most humid month, if heat is a concern. Air conditioning costs and how you sleep are not abstract questions.
• The rainy season in tropical countries. Flooded streets, mold, and power outages may be part of daily life for months.
• The coldest month in places like southern Europe, where many older buildings have little insulation or central heating.
• The quiet season in beach towns, when half the restaurants close and the town can feel empty.

If you can only make one trip, choose the season you are most worried about. If you can make two, visit in opposite seasons.

Rent like a resident, not a tourist

Skip hotels. Rent an apartment or house in a residential neighborhood you are seriously considering, ideally with a kitchen and a washing machine. You will shop, cook, and deal with the building like a local.

If the trip is three or four weeks, split it between two neighborhoods or two cities. The difference between them is often bigger than you expect, and comparing them directly is far more useful than reading about either.

Test daily life deliberately

Use your days to rehearse the ordinary. A useful exercise is to set aside two or three "normal days" with no sightseeing at all.

• Grocery shop at a supermarket and a local market. Note what is easy to find, what is missing, and what costs more than at home.
• Take public transportation to the places you would go weekly: a hospital, a pharmacy, a hardware store, the immigration office.
• Drive, if you would drive. Rent a car for a few days and try parking, traffic, and road conditions at rush hour.
• Work a normal day if you work remotely. Test the internet speed at different times, and see whether the time difference is livable for your meetings.
• Pay bills and use cash. Find out whether cards are widely accepted or whether you will be withdrawing cash often.
• Visit a government office. Even just observing the line at an immigration or municipal office gives you a sense of the bureaucracy.
• Go out at night in the neighborhood you would live in. Note noise, lighting, and how comfortable you feel walking.
• Keep a spending log for the entire trip. It will be the most useful budgeting data you have. Compare it with our cost of living guide.

Make a healthcare visit

Healthcare is the factor most likely to send retirees back to the US, so test it directly.

1. Visit a private hospital or clinic. Walk in, ask about consultation prices, and see how international patients are handled. Ask whether any doctors speak English.
2. Book a routine appointment, such as a general checkup or dental cleaning. It shows you scheduling, wait times, and pricing in practice.
3. Visit a pharmacy with your list of prescriptions by generic name. Ask whether each is available and whether a local prescription is required.
4. Ask about insurance. If you will rely on private coverage, ask the hospital which insurers it accepts directly. See our international health insurance guide.
5. Locate the emergency room nearest to the neighborhood you are considering, and time the drive.

Talk to people who live there

Guides and videos tend to show the good parts. Residents will tell you the rest, especially if you ask specific questions. Look for both expats and locals: expat clubs, places of worship, language exchanges, volunteer groups, and online community forums for the city.

Useful questions to ask:

• "What surprised you most in your first year?"
• "What do you wish you had brought, and what do you wish you had left behind?"
• "How long did your residency process take, and what went wrong?"
• "Who do you call when something breaks?"
• "Do you know anyone who moved back? Why?"

The last question is the most revealing. People who left usually left for a reason you should hear about: healthcare, family, isolation, safety, or cost.

Keep in mind that one person's experience is one person's experience. Ten conversations give you a pattern.

Scouting trip checklist

Print this or keep it on your phone.

After the trip

Within a week of returning home, while impressions are fresh, rescore the country using the same factors you scored before the trip. Compare the two. If the score dropped on something you care about, take it seriously. If it rose, you have your answer, and it is time to start the moving abroad checklist and review how residency visas work for your chosen route.

And if the trip told you this is not the place, count that as a success. A few weeks and a few thousand dollars spent finding out is far cheaper than a year spent finding out the hard way.

Last reviewed October 17, 2026. General information only, not legal, immigration, or tax advice. Requirements change, so confirm with official sources before you apply. See our disclaimer.