If you’ve lived in American all your life, there might be a part of you that yearns to know what it’s like to live beyond the borders of the U.S. Especially if you love to travel and have already spent some time in other countries, living abroad for a while might seem like the logical next step to you. And who knows, you might even choose to stay permanently. But if you’re just starting off on this journey, there are likely a few things you’re unsure about or that are concerning to you. So to help make this process a little easier to bear, here are three tips for preparing to live outside the U.S. for the first time.

Set Up For Your New Life Abroad

Before you decide that you’re going to move to a particular country, it’s a good idea to begin setting up your life there, including finding a job and a decent place that you might like to live. According to Jennifer Lachs, a contributor to GoAbroad.com, there are tons of work abroad programs available that can help you line up a job while you’re living in this new country. If you work for a large company in the U.S., you might want to see if there’s a chance for simply transferring to an office in another country. And since it can be hard to find a place to live merely by looking online, you may want to book a hotel for the first few nights that you’ll be in this new country so you can get a first-hand look at a few places you’ve been considering before you make a permanent choice.

Prepare The Legal Logistics

Living in a different country is very different from just visiting that country for a short period of time, especially if you don’t necessarily have a timeframe of when you may or may not be leaving the country. Because of this, it’s important that you get all the legal logistics taken care of before you arrive. According to Elizabeth Preske, a contributor to Travel and Leisure, this could include applying for or renewing your passport, securing a visa, setting up a bank account, finding the right medical insurance, and making copies of any important documents you may need to bring with you.

Get Ready For Potential Culture Shock

Even if you’ve been to this country before, living there could be a whole different ball game for you. With this in mind, Diane Schmidt, a contributor to The Spruce, suggests that you prepare yourself for potential culture shock. To best handle this, you may want to start learning any new languages as soon as you can, do as much research about the area and customs as you’re able to, and prepare yourself to be open-minded and accepting of things you may not be familiar with or easily understand.

If you’re considering moving outside of the U.S., use the tips mentioned above to prepare yourself for this new adventure.