Has anyone found a way to change Music regions when you move without losing all the playlists?

It seems totally bonkers that I will lose all my playlists - those I created on my iPod all those years ago, just by moving to a new country!

Has anyone found a workaround to back up the information - obviously I understand that some music won't be available in all regions - but this seems ridiculous!!

Any help would be appreciated - but I have heard the suggestion of making lists of the playlists.