u/ArugulaDeathSmash:

More of a curiosity thing for me. I’m a recent graduate with a strong portfolio, and while I don’t plan on doing it anytime soon; I would love to eventually work a stint in a foreign country—anyone have success doing this? How’d you pull it off?

I’ve worked in Madrid, Toronto, NY and various cities in Mexico. When I started out I didn’t really look into going abroad, I just got an offer for Spain from someone whom was a reader of my blog and we hit it off from there.

If you really want to go abroad I’d recommend consciously making your life fit in a suitcase. I’ve never owned a car, a house or anything else that ties me to a place. When I’ve had to sell my furniture it was very painful and nowadays and when I buy clothes I throw out the old ones. Having your life set up in a single place makes you think twice about moving.

I’m a web designer and developer, and the market for talent is really hot right now, so that helps. If you’re a graphic designer I’d recommend getting into web design, your native English is an asset in any foreign country that wants to tap into the English speaking market, which is often the case of tech.

If were in your position I’d choose a country where I’d like to move, make the jump and create something that is attractive for the locals, such as a map of the bicycle paths in the city, or if you have programming chops then create a web app where there’s liquor stores open. These are just examples, when you move to a new city you notice a lot of needs that haven’t been solved because you look at problems with a set of fresh eyes.

Legally I’m not sure about US Citizens. Canada has agreements http://www.international.gc.ca/experience/destinations_out-destinations_sortant.aspx?lang=eng&view=d which allows me to work legally up to a year in any of those countries.

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