From School Tours to Grocery Stores: How to Test Drive Life in a New Country
A Week That Could Change Everything: Your Family's Guide to Scouting
Ever wonder how families actually decide where to move abroad? Let me share a secret: smart families do a scouting trip first. Think of it as test-driving your future life.
When our family considered moving to Copenhagen and Doha, we didn't just look at pictures online—we lived like locals for a week. Here's exactly how you can do the same.
Before You Go: Smart Preparation
Join Local Parent Groups Start by joining Facebook groups for expat parents in your target country. I did this before both our moves, posting something like:
"Hi! We're a family of four considering moving to [country]. We're planning a scouting trip next month and would love advice on family-friendly areas and must-see places. Any tips are appreciated!"
The responses you'll get are gold - real insights from parents who've already made the move.
During Your Stay: Live Like a Local
Home Base Selection
Book your Airbnb strategically. When we scouted Copenhagen, we chose an apartment in a family neighborhood. This isn't about fancy accommodations - it's about experiencing daily life in your potential new home.
School Tours
We toured four nurseries in Copenhagen and three schools in Doha.
Book these tours before your trip. Good schools often have waiting lists, and you want to get on them early.
House Hunting
Don't be shy about seeing lots of options. We viewed 16 apartments in Copenhagen and four compounds in Doha. Yes, it's exhausting, but each viewing teaches you something about local living.
Daily Life Research
Do what local families do:
Shop at grocery stores (check prices and available products)
Visit playgrounds
Use public transportation
Walk the neighborhoods
Visit shopping centers
Time the school commute
Real Family Example:
During our Copenhagen scouting trip, we spent one day timing the commute between potential apartments and schools. This led us to completely change our preferred neighborhood, which we never would have known from online research alone.
Make It Work For Your Family
1-Week Sample Schedule:
Monday-Tuesday: School tours
Wednesday-Thursday: Housing viewings
Friday: Neighborhood Exploration
Saturday: Shopping and amenities
Sunday: Transportation testing
Pro Tips from Our Experience:
Bring your kids if possible - their reaction to places matters
Walk everywhere you can - you notice things you'd miss by car
Talk to other parents at playgrounds
Visit at different times of day
Try the commute during actual rush hour
Common Questions
How long should we stay? We found a week to be ideal - long enough to get a real feel but short enough to maintain focus.
Should we use a relocation company? You can do it yourself (as we did in Doha) or use a company (as we did in Copenhagen). Both work - it depends on your comfort level and the local market.
What if we don't speak the language? Don't let this stop you. In both Copenhagen and Doha, we managed fine with English while getting a realistic view of the language learning we'd need to do.
Your Action Plan:
Choose your target country
Join local parent groups
Book accommodation in the target neighborhood
Schedule school tours
Arrange housing viewings
Plan daily life activities
Create a realistic schedule
I'd love to hear your thoughts! Join the chat and let us know where you plan to scout for your family's future home.
Our community members have experience in destinations worldwide, from Portugal to Singapore, Mexico to Dubai. Let's help each other make informed decisions about where to create our next chapter.
What’s your advice for empty nesters? My kids have finished under-grad, they’re working and in grad school or preparing for it. They still live with us but are preparing for their independent transition as we’re preparing our next chapter. My husband is semi-retired but I will need to work for 10 more years or create a sustainable living w/o touching my social security.
What advice do you have for families in our situation? I really liked your article about Immigrant vs expat vs digital nomad. I think my approach will be a hybrid (correct me if my thinking is wrong), I truly want to put roots somewhere and we’re leaning heavily to Portugal - the Algarve region for me, Porto for my husband, so we still have work to do. So I think truly I want to be an immigrant and hopefully a dual citizen there one day soon; but since I need to work, this is where the digital nomad comes into play - I’m thinking virtual work will be my income lane, so I’ll need to understand how these visas work in order to move but also stay employed.
Thank you for creating this discussion.