Moving to another country is a big step and it takes a lot of preparations. In case someone is thinking about moving to another country, I have some suggestions based on my own experiences. These are suggestions for a family though. If you are young and single this doesn't apply as much because if you are young and single the experience of working in another country alone is worth the move, and you don't have to worry (too much) about financial issues, how to move a family, or how to provide a comfortable home.
But moving to another country while being "Married with Children ..." is different.
First have some money ready which you can burn without having to think about it. I would say 3000 - 5000 Euro.
Second - find a job with a company which understands what it means to move a family to another country. Better even if this company gives you a good package that includes some support for a move.
The money aspect - You need plane tickets, you might have to send some stuff from the place you live to the country you want to move too, you need money for the apartment, you need to buy furniture, etc.
The money for the apartment not only includes the rent, but usually a deposit of two or three months rent and if you cannot find anything else you have to pay a commission of roughly 2.5 months rent to a real estate agent. So you might have to put down 3000 to 4000 Euro first, before you even pay rent and can move in.
I was talking about the money you need for the apartment, but before you can spend this money, you have to find an apartment. And that is only one issue you have to deal with and spend time for. You have to get health insurance, an account, discuss with the tax office in which taxation category you are ("so you are married, so you should be in category 3, hm, but your wife and son are not in Germany yet, so they don't count, so we will tax you as a single) discuss visa issues with the related government agencies, etc.
And to do all these things, you have to get around, and unless you don't have another roughly 5000 for a new (or used) car, you have to take public transportation which means spending another 3 or 4 Euro for each trip.
So you not only have to spend a lot of money in the beginning, but also a lot of time. So it would be a big help if the company you just began working for supported you. There are many things a company could do to help - helping to look for an apartment, some subsidy for public transportation (I don't even ask for a vehicle, though my company couldn't even get me a bike though we are a bike company - unless i borrow a bike from a coworker), and a lot of other little things.
My wife said "no company or boss is willing to care like this for their employees" which might be true (though I know that many Taiwanese companies actually help their foreign employees to find a place to live, especially if they promised it - and i am not talking about the "dorms" for migrant workers from South East Asia).
But - in the end, a company that doesn't supports its employees will suffer too, though it looks like that most bosses don't really understand that or don't think it matters.
If i don't think I get enough money I will leave as soon as I find something else. Or I will see, if I can make something else on the side.
If I have to spend a lot of time to look for an apartment, and do other things, I will not be able to dedicate my full attention to my job.
Anyways, if you move a family try to find a supporting company - and not just with words.
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