Need help with changing regions after moving to a new country
Hey guys,
I could use some help with changing the App store region after moving to a new country, especially from other expats that were already deeply embedded in the Apple eco-system in their home country when they made the switch.
I’ve already read into this on Apple’s info pages and some other websites, but I’d still like to hear about your experiences and issues that you may have encountered.
So, I started using my home region’s store a long time ago and I am currently subscribed to Apple music and iCloud storage (as well as a couple of in-app subscriptions). I've also bought a couple of movies and TV shows as well as books there over the years.
I still have an address and payment option in my home region, but at some point the money on that account may become an issue. Also, my spouse already has an Apple ID from the “new” region I moved to, which is why we cannot use family sharing at the moment.
The biggest obstacle for switching for me has always been the fact that the Apple services in the region I moved to (and will be living in for the foreseeable future) are a little lackluster to say the least (e.g. there are no TV shows and only public domain books available in the respective stores). On the other hand, subscriptions are significantly cheaper (we could even use the family sharing option then) and switching may be more sustainable long-term.
It seems that there are basically two options for me right now, none of which is ideal:
- I could change the original region of my current Apple ID to the new region I moved to, but then I’d (immediately/eventually) lose access to all of the movies, TV shows and books I previously bought in the old region. This seems to be both a "clean" (and the official) solution, but also wasteful. (Also, I got really used to buying/reading books on my iPad, which would not be possible in the new region.)
- I could create another Apple ID for my new region and use it together with my old one on the same devices (new region for monthly payments like music and iCloud/family sharing and the old region for media and book purchases). However, I heard that there may be some issues with switching between stores frequently and I guess this would get me even deeper into fracturing the eco-system experience.
Anyway, I’d like to know how you’ve dealt with this if you were in a similar situation before. Is there anything else I should consider? (Is downloading all bought media on an external drive a good option, so I'd still have a copy?) Any helpful comments are greatly appreciated!
