Should You Try Living in a Country Before Moving Abroad?

A country can be perfect for your vacation and completely wrong for your everyday life.

You can research apartments, weather, neighborhoods, food, transportation and cost of living for months and still not know the most important thing: what does an ordinary Tuesday actually feel like there?

Vacationing Somewhere Is Not the Same as Living There

Imagine spending seven days in Thailand.

You stay in a beautiful hotel.

Eat out for every meal.

Visit temples.

Go to the beach.

Get massages.

Explore nightlife.

Take photos.

Then you fly home thinking:

“I need to move here.”

Maybe you’re right.

But you haven’t experienced normal life yet.

Living somewhere means eventually dealing with:

Laundry.

Groceries.

Bills.

Internet outages.

Rain.

Traffic.

Doctor appointments.

Banking.

Work.

Boredom.

Neighbors.

Noise.

Immigration.

Bad weather.

Loneliness.

Routine.

That’s the version of the country you need to understand.

A Reuters report about Americans scouting overseas retirement locations made exactly this distinction: prospective expats were encouraged to stay in residential areas and experience normal life rather than relying on hotels and tourist attractions.

That’s the mindset BooksofTay wants you to have.

How Long Should You Try Living There?

There’s no perfect number.

But here’s how I’d think about it.

1 Week

Better than nothing—but mostly still a vacation.

You’ll learn:

• First impressions
• Basic transportation
• Whether you enjoy the city
• Initial safety impressions
• Food
• Weather
• Neighborhood feel

But the novelty is still extremely high.

Everything is new.

You’re unlikely to experience much routine.

Good for eliminating places. Not enough for choosing your new home.

2 Weeks

Now you’re starting to settle slightly.

You can explore more neighborhoods.

You might get tired of eating out.

You’ll start understanding transportation.

You may notice things that bothered you less during the first few days.

But you’re probably still experiencing the country primarily as a visitor.

Useful scouting trip. Still short for a serious life decision.

1 Month

Now things get interesting.

A month gives you enough time to establish something resembling a routine.

You can:

• Rent an apartment
• Grocery shop
• Work remotely
• Join a gym
• Try different neighborhoods
• Cook
• Use local transportation
• Track spending
• Experience weekends and weekdays
• Meet people
• Spend ordinary days at home

The novelty will still exist.

But you’re beginning to see beyond it.

Good minimum trial for many remote workers.

2–3 Months

This is where I’d really start paying attention.

After several weeks, the honeymoon period may begin fading.

Things that initially felt:

“Different and exciting!”

may start feeling:

“Do I actually want to deal with this every day?”

And things that initially seemed unfamiliar may become completely normal.

A longer trial also gives you more time to test:

• Real monthly expenses
• Productivity
• Social life
• Neighborhood fit
• Homesickness
• Language challenges
• Healthcare
• Climate
• Relationships
• Daily routines

People considering trial moves frequently discuss periods of one to three months for exactly this reason: they’re trying to experience enough ordinary life to make a better decision.

🏆 The sweet spot when your circumstances allow it.

6 Months

Now you’re getting much closer to actually living abroad.

You’ve probably experienced:

Birthdays.

Bad days.

Boring weeks.

Weather changes.

Unexpected expenses.

Immigration logistics.

Maybe illness.

Maybe homesickness.

Maybe relationships.

Maybe loneliness.

Maybe you’ve built friendships.

At this point, you’re collecting much stronger evidence about whether the country fits you.

But a six-month trial isn’t realistic for everyone.

Jobs, leases, children, finances and visa restrictions can make it impossible.

You don’t need six months before you’re “allowed” to move abroad.

The point is simply:

The BooksofTay Trial-Living Method

If you’re going to test a country, don’t waste the opportunity by turning the entire thing into a vacation.

We’re going to test seven parts of your life.

1. Test the Neighborhood

Don’t automatically stay in the tourist center.

Research where people with your lifestyle actually live.

Ask:

Can I walk to groceries?

Is there a gym nearby?

How noisy is it at night?

How safe do I feel?

Can I get transportation easily?

Are cafés nearby?

Would I want to walk around here every day?

What’s the neighborhood like at:

7 AM?

2 PM?

10 PM?

A neighborhood can feel completely different depending on the time of day.

And don’t just visit the neighborhood.

2. Test Your Real Budget

This is one of the biggest reasons to trial-live somewhere.

You can read:

“You can live here for $1,500/month!”

all day.

But can you?

Track everything.

Rent.

Groceries.

Restaurants.

Transportation.

Phone.

Internet.

Gym.

Coworking.

Laundry.

Entertainment.

Healthcare.

Visa expenses.

Coffee.

Delivery.

Unexpected spending.

At the end of the trial, calculate:

Not a YouTuber’s.

Not a Reddit user’s.

Not BooksofTay’s.

Yours.

Then compare that number with the budget you created before arriving.

You might discover the country is cheaper than expected.

Or considerably more expensive.

Either answer is valuable.

3. Test Your Workday

If you’re working remotely, this is critical.

Don’t take the entire trial off work if your goal is to understand what working from that country will feel like.

Test:

Internet.

Video calls.

Coworking.

Cafés.

Apartment workspace.

Noise.

Electricity reliability.

Time zones.

Your sleep schedule.

Your productivity.

If your employer or clients operate on U.S. hours, calculate what that means locally.

A beautiful country becomes less attractive if your work schedule requires you to be awake from midnight until 8 AM every day.

Test the schedule before committing to it.

4. Test Transportation

Don’t Uber everywhere just because you’re on vacation.

Try the transportation system you’d realistically use as a resident.

That might mean:

Train.

Bus.

Metro.

Grab.

Motorbike.

Walking.

Taxi.

Bicycle.

Car.

Then ask:

Would I still enjoy doing this six months from now?

Transportation affects your life more than most country-ranking articles acknowledge.

A cheap apartment 45 minutes from everything you enjoy may not actually be a good deal.

5. Test Your Social Life

This one is easy to underestimate.

A country can be:

Beautiful.

Affordable.

Safe.

Modern.

And still make you miserable if you feel completely isolated.

A six-week trial stay in Mexico profiled in 2025 gave one American couple valuable confidence about living abroad, but it also exposed loneliness and the difficulty of being away from their established support network.

That’s exactly the kind of information a trial can reveal.

During your test:

Attend events.

Join a gym.

Try coworking spaces.

Go to language exchanges.

Meet locals.

Meet foreigners.

Explore hobbies.

Spend some time alone.

Then ask yourself:

Don’t assume your social life will magically appear after the permanent move.

6. Test the Boring Stuff

This may be the most important part of the entire experiment.

Spend some days doing:

Wake up.

Work.

Cook breakfast.

Do laundry.

Buy groceries.

Go to the gym.

Watch Netflix.

Walk around your neighborhood.

Go to sleep.

Why?

Because if you move there, most of your life won’t be:

BEACH! TEMPLES! WATERFALLS! NIGHTLIFE!

It’ll be normal.

And that’s good.

You’re trying to discover whether you like normal life there.

One of my favorite questions for evaluating a potential home is:

Everyone likes Saturday night in paradise.

Tuesday tells you whether you could actually live there.

7. Test How You Feel

This one doesn’t fit neatly into a spreadsheet.

Pay attention to yourself.

Do you feel:

Relaxed?

Excited?

Safe?

Lonely?

Overwhelmed?

Productive?

Free?

Bored?

Energized?

Anxious?

At home?

No country wins every category.

Maybe Country A is cheaper.

Country B has better healthcare.

Country C has better beaches.

But Country D simply feels like somewhere you could build a life.

That matters.

Your next home is more than a cost-of-living calculation.

What Should You NOT Do During a Trial Stay?

Avoid turning the test into something your permanent life could never resemble.

For example:

Don’t stay exclusively in luxury hotels

Unless that’s genuinely how you plan to live.

Don’t eat at restaurants three times a day

Unless that’s actually your budget.

Don’t spend every day sightseeing

You’re testing life—not creating a vacation itinerary.

Don’t stay only in tourist neighborhoods

Explore places where you’d realistically rent.

Don’t ignore work

If you’re going to work after moving, work during the test.

Don’t ignore bad days

They’re valuable information.

A bad day doesn’t mean the country is wrong for you.

But how you handle normal problems there tells you something.

Create a Trial-Living Budget

Your trial doesn’t need to cost a fortune.

Create a separate budget for:

Flights

Temporary apartment

Food

Transportation

Insurance

SIM/eSIM

Coworking

Entertainment

Visa

Emergency money

If you’re considering multiple countries, don’t necessarily test all of them for three months.

You might do:

Country A → 30 days

Country B → 30 days

Then spend longer in whichever one fits you better.

That’s much more useful than committing to a one-year lease based entirely on internet research.

What Should You Track?

Create a simple scorecard.

At the end of each week, rate your destination from 1–10 for:

But don’t blindly choose whichever country gets the highest mathematical score.

Your priorities aren’t equally important.

Maybe:

Healthcare = extremely important

while:

Nightlife = irrelevant

Your final decision should reflect your life, not an arbitrary ranking system.

What If You Can’t Trial-Live There First?

That’s okay.

Not everyone has the flexibility.

You might have:

Limited vacation time.

Children.

A job requiring your physical presence.

Financial limitations.

Visa constraints.

Family responsibilities.

In that case, maximize whatever scouting opportunity you have.

If you only have ten days:

Don’t spend all ten at a resort.

Spend several days living as normally as possible.

Visit residential neighborhoods.

Tour apartments.

Visit grocery stores.

Test transportation.

Visit hospitals or clinics.

Check coworking spaces.

Talk to residents.

Research internet.

Experience the city at night.

And do as much research as possible before making the final move.

A short test isn’t perfect.

But intentional scouting is better than blind commitment.

Don’t Buy Property Immediately

If you’re considering a permanent international move, I’d be extremely cautious about buying property before understanding what living there actually feels like.

Renting first gives you flexibility.

You may discover:

You chose the wrong neighborhood.

You prefer another city.

You don’t like the climate.

You underestimated traffic.

You want to leave after six months.

A Reuters report on people scouting overseas retirement destinations similarly highlighted renting rather than immediately purchasing while learning whether a location truly fits.

Your first goal isn’t to lock yourself in.

Don’t Sell Your Entire Life Too Early Either

If possible, maintain some flexibility during your trial period.

You don’t necessarily need to:

Sell every possession.

Cancel everything.

Ship everything overseas.

Buy property.

Sign a two-year lease.

Make irreversible decisions.

before you’ve spent meaningful time living there.

There’s nothing wrong with commitment.

But commitment becomes much more powerful when it’s based on experience rather than fantasy.

What If You Discover You Don’t Like the Country?

Then your trial worked.

Seriously.

Imagine spending:

$3,000 testing a country

and discovering:

“I don’t want to live here.”

That may feel disappointing.

But compare it with:

Selling your belongings.

Breaking your lease.

Shipping possessions.

Paying visa expenses.

Moving permanently.

Signing a long lease.

Then realizing three months later:

“I made a mistake.”

Finding out early isn’t failure.

You eliminated somewhere that wasn’t right for you.

Now you can keep looking.

What If You Fall in Love With It?

Then the trial becomes even more valuable.

Now you’re not moving because:

You watched YouTube.

You saw cheap apartments online.

You went there on vacation.

You’re moving because:

That’s a completely different level of confidence.

You know the grocery store.

You know the neighborhood.

You know how transportation works.

You understand your budget.

You’ve experienced ordinary days.

You’ve seen some imperfections.

And you still want to return.

That’s a strong signal.

The BooksofTay Rule

Before choosing somewhere as your new home, remember:

Stay somewhere you’d realistically live.

Spend what you’d realistically spend.

Work the hours you’d realistically work.

Use the transportation you’d realistically use.

Experience some boring days.

Track your money.

Meet people.

Pay attention to how you feel.

Then ask yourself:

Not:

“Did I have fun?”

Not:

“Was it cheap?”

Not:

“Did it look good on Instagram?”

Would I want this to be my normal life?

That’s the question.

Your Next Chapter Deserves a Test Read

Moving abroad is a big decision.

But it doesn’t always need to begin with one enormous leap.

Sometimes you can read a few pages before committing to the entire chapter.

Spend a month.

Spend two.

Spend three if you can.

Live normally.

Pay attention.

Maybe you’ll discover that the place you’ve dreamed about for years isn’t actually right for you.

Or maybe you’ll wake up one ordinary Tuesday morning, walk outside, and realize:

“I could build a life here.”

That’s what you’re looking for.

Not the perfect vacation.

Not the cheapest country.

Not somebody else’s #1 destination.

And if you find it?

Maybe you’ve just found your next chapter.

This article provides general informational guidance, not immigration, tax, employment, legal or financial advice. Always verify entry, visa and residency requirements with the relevant government authorities. Americans traveling abroad should also review destination-specific information and current Travel Advisories from the U.S. Department of State.