Moving Abroad? Here's Which Subscriptions to Cancel, Keep, or Swap

Your Subscription Stack Doesn't Travel With You

Moving abroad is one of the most effective triggers for a subscription audit — partly by necessity. Services that worked perfectly at home may not work in your new country, or may be restricted, or may have cheaper local alternatives. At the same time, several subscriptions from your home country will continue charging you even after you've moved, delivering nothing.

Handle this before your move date, not after. Here's what to do with each category.

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Streaming Services: Usually the Biggest Headache

How streaming geo-restrictions work: Streaming services license content by territory. Your Netflix subscription in the US gives you access to the US library. When you move to Germany, you automatically see the German library instead — different content, often smaller in English. The subscription continues billing at the same price.

Options:

Keep and accept the library change: Works if the new country's library is acceptable to you and the service is available there.

Keep and use a VPN: A VPN can make services believe you're still in your home country, preserving your library. VPN use to circumvent geo-restrictions violates most services' terms of service, though enforcement against individual users is rare.

Cancel and subscribe locally: Many countries have local streaming services that outperform the international versions for local content. Research what's popular in your destination country.

Cancel entirely and rotate: Moving abroad is a good moment to assess whether $60/month in streaming services serves your new lifestyle.

Services that work globally:

• Netflix (available worldwide, library varies)
• Spotify (available in 180+ countries, same music catalog)
• Amazon Prime (available in many countries, Prime Video library varies)
• Apple TV+ (available in 100+ countries)

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Music Streaming

Music streaming services generally work globally on the same subscription — Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Premium all function without restriction in most countries. The catalog is largely the same (with some regional variations).

Action: Keep your music subscription. Consider updating your account's country setting to match your new location for proper billing currency.

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Cloud Storage

Cloud storage travels with you — your files are your files regardless of where you are. iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox function the same worldwide.

Action: No change needed. Your cloud storage works everywhere.

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Phone Plan

Your current US phone plan almost certainly doesn't work affordably abroad for long-term use. Roaming rates can be prohibitive, and many carriers charge heavily for extended international use.

Action: Research SIM options in your destination country. Purchasing a local SIM with a local plan is almost always cheaper for permanent residents than maintaining a US plan with international roaming. Cancel or pause your US plan if your US number won't be needed.

Keep your US number? Services like Google Voice allow you to port and maintain a US number cheaply (~$3/month) — useful for US-based services, banking, and staying reachable to US contacts.

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Banking and Financial Apps

Some US-based financial apps may not function from abroad due to IP restrictions or regulatory requirements. Test before you go. Financial apps that are simply convenience tools (budgeting, subscription tracking) typically work fine globally.

Action: Test your key financial apps from a VPN set to your destination country's IP before moving. Identify any that fail and find alternatives.

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Local Services: Cancel Before You Leave

Several subscriptions have no value after you physically leave:

• Local gym membership — Cancel before departure (see our gym cancellation guide). Moving abroad qualifies as a relocation exception in most gym contracts, allowing early cancellation without fees. Bring documentation of your new address.
• Local newspaper or news subscriptions — Cancel if specifically tied to local coverage you won't need.
• Delivery services — Amazon Fresh, Instacart, food delivery memberships tied to your old address.
• Public transit apps or passes — Monthly transit subscriptions for your old city.
• Local streaming (regional channels) — Subscriptions for local TV or radio services.
• US-based cable or internet — Contact your provider to cancel service at your old address.

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Subscriptions Worth Canceling Regardless of the Move

A move abroad is an ideal forcing function for a general subscription audit. Go through your full list and apply the "will I use this in my new location?" filter aggressively. If the answer is uncertain, cancel — you can always re-subscribe once you're settled and know your new routines.

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Your Pre-Move Subscription Checklist

4–6 weeks before moving:

• Full subscription audit (bank statements + Apple Settings)
• Research streaming availability in destination country
• Contact gym about relocation cancellation (get policy in writing)
• Research local phone/SIM options at destination

2 weeks before:

• Cancel gym membership with documentation
• Cancel delivery and local services
• Update subscription addresses where relevant
• Consider porting US phone number to Google Voice

Moving week:

• Verify streaming services work in new country
• Cancel any remaining home-country-specific subscriptions
• Update payment methods if switching cards

After arrival:

• Discover local subscription alternatives
• Update your Gravity tracker with the new subscription stack
• Cancel any home-country subscriptions that aren't working or needed

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The Bottom Line

Moving abroad typically justifies canceling 30–50% of your existing subscriptions — either because they don't work in your new country, because local alternatives are better, or because your new lifestyle simply doesn't require them. Treat the move as a mandatory subscription reset and start fresh in your new country with only what genuinely serves your new life.