Initial Finances for Int'l Move (bringing money)

[GilliC]

I have a good friend who's about to move from the US to Europe, and he was asking how much money he should bring, and in what form.

I honestly didn't know how to answer, so I thought maybe you all could share how you handled this. Did you bring money with you, and in what form? How did you handle your initial finances (e.g. out of the money you brought, out of an account back home, etc)? Given the administrative overhead around here, there's a chance he might have to go a few weeks before he can open a local account.

(When we moved, we needed to clear out our account in China anyway, and the bureaucracy around an international wire was insane. So we just had the entire balance paid out in crisp US hundreds that we took on the plane with us.)

[clogged]

I left it all in my stateside bank and used my ATM to access. Once I got a bank here established, I XE traded my balance in.

I would not carry cash. Way too risky.

[mrsukyankee]

Same here. I used my ATM card until I established a bank account.

[Deleted]

Not sure if all European countries pay 1x per month but that is the standard in Switzerland. It took a month to set up a Swiss bank account and then we missed the cut off for the local pay to be in Swiss francs... so we had to wait an additional month for local currency. Therefor, we withdrew from our US bank account at ATMs and paid the $5 US fee every time --- it added up to probably a few hundred dollars in wasted ATM fees. If I had to do over again I would find a US bank that does not charge for ATM fees.

[GilliC]

Jun 25, 2012 10:21:28 GMT -5 clogged said:

I would not carry cash. Way too risky.

This is exactly why I asked. We didn't really have a choice leaving China, and this isn't a process I'd like to repeat myself! Even though it was just a few thousand dollars, it was nerve-wracking having it in cash, even for just a few days!

[allibally]

We left everything in our accounts when we moved.

[anna7602]

We didn't bring a ton of cash (just the standard amount we always want to have in our wallets in case we can't hit an ATM right away). We did, however, get a private banking account through DH's job (they waived all the fees and the $100,000 minimum balance) that allows us unlimited ATM w/ds out of network and the ability to do free wire transfers. We use the wire transfers to pay our bills here. So far, we haven't needed to open a French bank account.

Your friend might want to see if his company has any arrangement with a U.S. bank to offer this kind of service to their employees. There are other banks that count brokerage accounts and 401Ks as part of your minimum balance, so it doesn't have to be all cash, and others that will give you extra perks like this if you have your mortgage and other banking relationships with them.

We're both still getting paid in dollars, though, so the private account was the most practical for us.

[GilliC]

Jun 25, 2012 14:17:06 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Your friend might want to see if his company has any arrangement with a U.S. bank to offer this kind of service to their employees.

Unfortunately not. (He works for the same company as me and is coming over on the same contract I used to be on.)

The problem is that when we moved, the company arranged in advance for us to get a temporary personal number to open an account here when we arrived. The laws have changed since then, so he won't be able to get a local account for a while.

For those of you who never opened a local account, how do you handle big private expenses like rent? A colleague in a similar situation is trying to figure out how to pay the $7500 deposit for an apartment when he has no local account. Since that's a bit more than you can pull from an ATM, do you just transfer it via xe using the landlord's account number?

[allibally]

Jun 25, 2012 14:46:43 GMT -5 neeps said:

We have upped our ATM withdrawal limit though. I think the standard allowance is $300 which amounts to a pile of pennies in some places. This really bit us in the ass in Switzerland over a weekend (which only count as one day for your $300 limit). Now we can pull up to $1000 per day (per card), just in case we need it.

Haha! My mom was amazed at how fast her cash would disappear when she visited us. You truly need to pay attention to your withdrawal limit when you come to Switzerland.

[crimsonandclover]

ATM exchange rates aren't that bad. The 3 times I moved over to Germany, I carried about 200€ for emergency cash in case I couldn't get to an ATM right away. Then I just withdrew money from my American account until I set up a German one. Actually, the first time I lived in Germany as an exchange student, I never even set up a German account and just withdrew money from my US account the whole time.

[GilliC]

Jun 25, 2012 15:59:51 GMT -5 crimsonandclover said:

Actually, the first time I lived in Germany as an exchange student, I never even set up a German account and just withdrew money from my US account the whole time.

When I lived in Paris as an intern, I never set up an account either. I got paid in cash, and I kept it in my closet! I also had to pick up my monthly cash salary in the 10eme, and I was terrified the whole way home that I'd be mugged! I hate cash. Cash is scary!

[anna7602]

Jun 25, 2012 16:04:57 GMT -5 GilliC said:

Jun 25, 2012 15:59:51 GMT -5 crimsonandclover said:

Actually, the first time I lived in Germany as an exchange student, I never even set up a German account and just withdrew money from my US account the whole time.

When I lived in Paris as an intern, I never set up an account either. I got paid in cash, and I kept it in my closet! I also had to pick up my monthly cash salary in the 10eme, and I was terrified the whole way home that I'd be mugged! I hate cash. Cash is scary!

Definitely scary! This is how I feel whenever I go to Cuba. (Since I can't withdraw funds from a U.S. bank there.) I am always so relieved when I've spent my last dollar/euro and gotten back on the plane at Jose Marti airport.

To answer your question about paying big expenses, like for DD's school, we do it with wire transfers. However, getting our lease signed here, we had to get a guarantor-type letter from DH's Paris-based employer. Money wasn't enough. They had to write a guarantee that even if DH broke his job contract that the company committed to pay the whole year's rent, regardless of whether we up and moved back to the U.S. earlier or not.

[clogged]

Jun 25, 2012 15:56:50 GMT -5 GilliC said:

For those of you who never opened a local account, how do you handle big private expenses like rent? A colleague in a similar situation is trying to figure out how to pay the $7500 deposit for an apartment when he has no local account. Since that's a bit more than you can pull from an ATM, do you just transfer it via xe using the landlord's account number?

xe can handle this amount, and pay the other person by wire transfer or by check.

[Deleted]

I remember when I traveled like 10 years ago that I could walk into any European bank with my passport and credit card and withdraw however much I wanted. Of course you pay the credit card fee for a cash withdrawal so not ideal. Perhaps look into XE and their exchange policy. I also know that it's important to let your bank know you will be doing large wire transfer out of country before you leave the US. Sometimes you have to fill out paperwork in person & that would really bite if you had already flew over.

[potatopie]

When we first got here and needed money to buy furniture and a car, we deposited US dollars into a colleague's account and then he gave us South African rands.