As someone that was in the military, I’ve had to move around the US and abroad many times. I know how it feels to pick up everything and move far away from family and friends. Giving a going away gift for friend moving overseas is one of the most thoughtful things you can do.
Show them how much you care by helping relieve a little bit of the burden of then having to pay for all of the moving expenses.
Not only have I received gifts for moving overseas from family and friends, but I’ve also given out plenty to friends too. At first, you may think, oh, let’s get them something cute, heavy, or bulky? Let me tell you, that’s a big no-no.
What is a good gift for someone leaving the country?
A good going away gift for friend moving overseas should be practical. Don’t buy something super heavy or a huge picture that can’t fit in their luggage. They will have to ship it overseas or they will just leave it. You don’t want that do you? So give them something practical and useful like travel adapters, headphones, or something sentimental.
Here I will share the best going-away gift for friend moving overseas. Gifts they can use not only while moving overseas but also while traveling.
This post contains affiliate links to the products that I use and recommend. If you click on any of the links and make a purchase, then I may earn a small commission. For more info, click my full disclosure.
Grab your FREE Travel Planner!
Plan your next trip like a boss with this ultimate travel planner.
Electronics going away gift for friend moving overseas
When thinking of gifts to buy a friend that is moving abroad, getting them a gift they can use is ideal. So first up is electronics. We cannot live without our electronics and will be lost without them. That’s why getting them a gift that they can use while moving abroad and things they can use while they are traveling overseas is the perfect gift.
Here are electronic gift ideas for someone moving to another country.
Portable Charger
A portable charger is a great travel companion to gift your friend moving overseas. A portable charger is a much-needed essential that they can use while traveling on that long flight overseas. It’s also good to have while traveling in the airport and waiting on their flight.
Let’s face it. You won’t always have a chance to find an outlet to plug in your electronics. When going through the airport, if your friend is not going to an exclusive airport lounge, they will have to fight over outlets with other people.
And most times, they are already in use. Why bother fighting other travelers when they can just sit anywhere and pull out their portable charger? I have tried several power banks in my time, but this one is my favorite.
Travel Adapters
When moving abroad, more than likely, your friend will need an Adapter. When I moved to England, I needed a two-prong 220 adapter for outlets here. The outlets in the US are 110, and those electronics and appliances will not work in a UK outlet.
If your friend tries to plug a 110 plug into a 220 socket, they might as well say goodbye to their precious electronics. They may even see it go up in smoke. That’s why having an adapter is an essential gift for a friend moving overseas.
Kindle Paperwhite
A Kindle Paperwhite is an excellent going away gift for friend moving abroad. I personally love reading, and I use my Kindle Paperwhite as well.
With the Kindle Paperwhite, they can download any books through the Amazon Kindle store and read while traveling.
Plus, they can use it at home, on vacation, at work, etc. It’s a great travel accessory for readers because they won’t have to lug a bunch of heavy books around either.
They could have 20, 30, or 1,000 books downloaded on the Kindle. The options are limitless.
Mirrorless Digital Camera
More than likely, your friend is moving overseas because they are either an expat, meaning they love to travel, a digital nomad, or they have accepted a job abroad. Regardless of why they choose to live overseas, I’m sure they will want to travel throughout that country.
Having a high-quality camera will be an impeccable going away gift for them.
Since living in England, I’ve taken many pictures with my mirrorless Sony A7 III camera.
There are beautiful landscapes, castles, historic buildings, and gorgeous cottages in England.
If your friend wants to capture all of their memories, get a high-tech camera. Yes, they can take pictures on a cell phone, but it’s not as great as a digital camera. I love my Sony A7 III mirrorless camera. It takes incredible photos.
Click here to see this camera and its prices.
Headphones
A practical going away gift for a friend moving overseas is a pair of noise-canceling headphones. While traveling, a good pair of headphones is a fantastic way to watch movies, TV shows, or music without disturbing others. Plus, these headphones will help your friend block out some of that background noise too.
Choose from a selection of wireless over-the-head headphones like this one or wireless earbuds.
Travel Speaker
Speaking of listening to things, sometimes you just want to listen to something loud, which will fill up the room.
Having a good travel speaker is a useful yet practical going away gift for friend moving overseas. This gift will be for that music she wants to jam to. Or that favorite podcast shows that they like to play.
Using a speaker will give them hands-free entertainment while in the hotel room.
A travel speaker like this one has great sound quality, is compact, cute, and light enough to carry in the palm of your hand.
Travel Accesories as going away gift for friend moving overseas
Travel accessories are functional gifts for a friend or relative moving abroad. Your friend or family member will be grateful for the thought of you getting them something they need during travel. These travel accessories below are practical and useful going away gifts for friend moving overseas.
Carry-On Travel Backpack
Having a reliable carry-on backpack will save your sanity when moving to another country. When you have a good quality backpack, you can use it for electronics, tablets, snacks, chargers, adaptors, and important documents.
A carry-on backpack is needed to have somewhere to put those valuable and critical items that they don’t want to go in their checked luggage.
An awesome backpack like this one is convenient and comfortable. It has lots of storage space for all of those items, and it’s functional.
However, there are tons of travel backpacks available.
To see a selection of backpacks , click here.
Hard Shell Suitcase
When it’s time for your friend to move abroad, they will need something else to put the majority of their belongings in.
That’s where you come in by gifting them with a hard shell suitcase. As much as I’ve traveled, I’ve seen how much the baggage handlers throw around our bags. They do not handle our bags with care.
So if you have cheap luggage, your things will likely get damaged. We don’t want that for your friend.
A hardshell suitcase will protect their belongings. It can survive the tumbles and falls that it endures during travel. Plus, this bag my current favorite brand of luggage, comes with a lifetime limited warranty.
Toiletries Bag
When traveling abroad, you will need the essentials to carry with you. That’s why having a toiletries bag with the essentials they need when landing is imperative. Your friend will likely go straight to a hotel or friend’s house the day they arrive. They will need to have their toiletries available to use right away.
After I’ve had a long trip, I know I’m too tired to go to the store to buy things as soon as I land. All I want to do is take a shower, relax, and sleep to get over the jet lag.
Save them the time of going out right away and give them a toiletries bag like this one. This bag on Amazon comes in medium or large. It’s great for holding bottles of the liquid upright. Plus, it has four different compartments, and you can hang it up for easier access to everything.
Electronics Bag Organizer
Since your friend is moving overseas, they will need somewhere to put all of their electronics that they are hand-carrying. An electronic bag organizer will be the perfect solution for them.
It keeps all of the gadgets, USBs, headphones, chargers, etc., organized and protected all in one place. No longer will those cords be a tangled mess. This electronics organizer can fit in a carry-on backpack.
There are choices of getting them a small compact single-layer organizer or a double-layer electronics storage bag.
Travel Water Bottle
Staying hydrated is a must anytime, especially when traveling. Get your friend that’s moving overseas a quality water bottle. Get a stainless steel water bottle that will last them for years on end.
I like these stainless steel water bottles available on Amazon. These bottles will keep that water ice cold all day and are cheaper than other water bottles, and the quality is just as good.
Travel Guide Book
When moving to another country, I like to research and find out about everything there is to know.
Buying a travel guidebook as a going away gift for friend moving overseas will assist them in navigating the new city and country. These travel guidebooks include getting to know the culture, places to go, attractions, and how to get around.
Browse through Amazon to find great travel guide books for that home country and gift them to your friend.
Click here to see all of the options.
Travel Insurance
In the days of the Coronavirus pandemic, you never know when travel restrictions will change. A country can go from green to red at the drop of a dime. They can close their borders at any time if they have an increase in Covid cases or safety concerns.
That’s why having travel insurance is vital to have when moving or traveling abroad. Travel insurance will protect your friend or acquaintance from last-minute changes, natural disasters, or emergencies.
Travel Insurance Master is a company that works with the top travel insurance providers. They will find the best insurance plans for your travel needs. Picking a travel insurance option for your friend moving overseas will be a thoughtful gift and give them peace of mind.
Check out the rates for Travel Insurance Master here.
Passport Holder
Having a passport holder works wonders with keeping tabs on your passport. When moving overseas, you have to go through immigration and show your passport several times.
Having a handy passport holder will keep you on track on where it is. Passports are small and slim. It’s easy for it to slip through the cracks in the seats.
Having the coverage of a wallet makes it more convenient to spot and prevent it from slipping away. Getting a passport cover with RFID blocking helps keep your personal information secure from thieves.
Passport Wallet
On the other end, if your friend likes more of the all-in-one concept, then get them a passport wallet instead.
With a passport wallet, they can keep their credit cards, money, and passports all in one place. It helps them stay organized while alleviating the need for a separate wallet.
Save this picture for later..more gift ideas below.
Subscriptions
Subscription services are all the rave these days. When someone is moving to another country, buying them a subscription is one of the best types of gifts. A subscription service will keep them entertained and can last for up to 1 year.
***Tidbit*** When living overseas, basic cable television doesn’t play all of the American shows or have all of the American networks either. That’s why a subscription allows them to keep up with the latest shows and music in the states.
For this reason, give them the gift of entertainment without having to weigh down their luggage.
Here are a few subscription service options to choose as a going away gift for friend moving overseas
- Amazon Prime for free shipping and streaming movies and shows.
- Kindle Unlimited to read unlimited books on top of books.
- Netflix for streaming the best movies, shows, and documentaries.
- Audible Gift Membership to listen to books of their choice.
- Hulu to stream and keep up with the latest shows from the US.
NordVPN as going away gift for friend moving overseas
NordVPN is a security service used to keep the government from intruding on your browsing. The online security system gives people the freedom to browse the internet confidently.
It allows you to connect to different servers and browse the internet while staying protected.
I use NordVPN to get on the US servers to connect to some of the US companies. Some countries abroad will block certain websites; therefore, using a VPN can bypass those restrictions.
Also, VPN helps protect your computer from cyber attacks and hackers, especially while using public wifi while traveling.
Hometown going away gift for friend moving overseas
They say it’s the thought that counts. Giving a personalized or thoughtful gift from home is the perfect going away gift for friend moving overseas. These types of sentimental gifts will ease their minds when feeling homesick. It’ll also help them feel like a piece of home is with them.
Here are a few suggestions for gifts from their hometown.
Seasonings from their hometown
Seasonings from home are such a unique going away gift for friend moving overseas. For instance, I’m from down South Mississippi, and one of the popular seasonings in the Southern states is Zatarain’s Crab Boil. Even when I was living in Virginia, it was incredibly hard to find.
So wherever your hometown is, it’s a high chance there are some special seasonings there.
Not only that, but there are seasonings in the US that just aren’t available abroad.
Thus, giving a relative or friend seasoning as a going-away gift is thoughtful and will remind them of home.
Hometown Prints
You’d be surprised at how your friend will feel about having a personal gift that represents their home state. I love having T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, and tote bags, with my home state imprinted on them.
It’s funny because sometimes you’ll find out that someone else is from that state or has visited there. It’s a conversation starter for sure.
Giving your friend a home gift will help them brag about where they are from to everyone.
Photo Album
I love giving personal items as a going away gift for friends moving overseas or anywhere.
Giving a friend or relative a photo album of your times together is such a wonderful personal touch. A photo album is by far one of my favorite kinds of gifts.
Why have all those epic photos just sitting on your phone?
All you have to do is go to a local CVS, Walmart, or anywhere else that has a photo printing machine. It’s super easy, and printing a picture is cheap.
After that, grab a small photo album and insert photos and Wa La. You have yourself a cheap yet personal gift to give that is full of memories.
DOWNLOAD THIS *FREE* TRAVEL PLANNER HERE
Gift Cards as going away gift for friend moving overseas
If you want to give them money, but in a polite way, why not give them a gift card?
You can’t go wrong when giving a gift card as a going away gift to someone moving to another country.
That way, they can buy whatever they need before moving or once they get to their new home country.
An Amazon gift card will work wonders because there are many things they can buy. From travel accessories to clothes, household supplies, electronics, and more.
There are Amazon distributors around the globe, and most countries will have an Amazon delivery service. For example, I currently use the UK Amazon while living in England.
Click here to purchase an Amazon Gift Card.
Other useful gift cards:
- Hotels.com for accommodation bookings while traveling
- Apple Gift Card for apps, subscriptions, and electronics
- Starbucks for tasty coffee while traveling
Travel Experiences
It’s obvious that someone moving to another country is doing so as an expat or as a digital nomad.
Traveling is one of the main reasons why someone will move abroad. They want to experience another country’s culture and explore the area. Therefore, giving them a travel experience as a going away gift for friend moving overseas is incredible.
It’s not a product or something they can hold, but you will be giving them an experience of a lifetime. A travel experience is something your friend can do in their new home country.
When I moved to England from the US, the first thing I did was take a Big Bus tour in London. I would have loved for someone to gift me with a travel experience to help keep a few dollars in my pocket.
Anywho, here are some excellent travel experience options.
- Get Your Guide for touring and attractions
- TripAdvisor for touring and attractions
- Big Bus Tours touring the city on a double-decker bus
- Viator for tours and activities
All of these gifts I mentioned are still amazing if you have a friend already living overseas. They will appreciate you for sending them something, especially from home after moving abroad. We love receiving care packages and reminders of home.
I hope this guide for finding the perfect going away gift for friend moving overseas has helped you. Let me know in the comments below.
Don’t forget to pin this post for later.
