Moving to a new country

This does not happen every day that one is moving to a different country, to different continent. Still, nowadays, this seems not to be anything extrodinary any more. Imagining, how it must have been 200 years ago ..., breaking any connections with the past, a real adventure. No communications to back home, one probably would not see the relatives anymore who stayed back.

100 years ago, such a moving was already not so final, with steam ships around, telegraph connecting the continents, allowing a connection back to home.
And nowadays, with internet and globalization, all the adventure in moving has gone. It almost feels like a routine thing. The same shops are now anywhere in the world; Costco (US, UK), Ikea (US, UK), Staples (US, UK), Borders (US, UK), ... are everywhere. Through the internet, news and information about any place can be obtained anywhere (at least on this side of the "digital divide").

Electric power is different (110V in US, 240V in UK), but most electronic devices nowadays come with multiple input voltages, allowing an automatic use at whatever power is available. The only thing that needs to be bought is the right cable to plug into the sockets. Due to international standardization, this is no proplem (3-prong power cables are standard everywhere, they come with various plugs for each country).

So moving does not seem to be anything special, no break in customs or habits seems to be necessary. But still, there are numerous little things that one needs to consider when moving abroad. One of the most important is how to transfer money so that initial expenses can be covered. I decide to take travellers checks, for an initial deposit into a bank account in the foreign bank. So one of the very first steps after my arrival inthe UK would be to open a bank account. Then to get a cell phone, to be reachable. With a good plan for international calls. Then of course buy a car, to get around. All these expenses may quickly drain the initial deposit.

Fortunately in my own situation, I do have a bank account in Germany, with a small leftover from more than a decade ago. And within the European Union, it is no problem to electronically transfer money from one bank account to another, free of charge, even to another country. Yes, banking in Europe seems to be so much more advanced than banking in the US, where still these awkward paper checks are routinely used, and where it costs a fortune to transfer money from one account to another through a "wire transfer", even within the US. There is only this version of a "direct transfer" with ACH which is for free in the US, but rarely anyone knows about it or uses it. However, in Europe, transfering funds from any bank account to any other one is so easy, without any cost, and next day the money is on the account. Are the US banks deliberately refusing to allow such easy transfer of money? This always has puzzled me.

Anyway, these were the thoughts which I considered, as I began a new life in a new country, on a new continent. I was well prepared, and the transition was expected to go very smoothly.