Moving to a new city or town is seldom an easy thing to do – you’re leaving a place that is familiar, you’re parting with dear friends (your best friends), and you’re moving to a new area where your future is even more uncertain than before.
Unfortunately, things can and most likely will be even harder for you if you happen to be moving to a new city alone.
It’s definitely no fun to move to another city without family members or friends by your side – you won’t have their moral support during that tough transitional period. And while you can still get your pals to help you pack and move, you won’t have your best friends with you when the move is complete.
Unfortunately, things can and most likely will be even harder for you if you happen to be moving to a new city alone.
It’s definitely no fun to move to another city without family members or friends by your side – you won’t have their moral support during that tough transitional period. And while you can still get your pals to help you pack and move, you won’t have your best friends with you when the move is complete.
Moving to a new city alone is a huge step out of your comfort zone and this is exactly why you should be ready for the new challenges ahead of you.
Follow these 7 tips for moving to a new city alone in order to make the right choices before, during, and after the house move.
See if moving to a new city is what’s best for you
Above all, you have to be sure that moving to a new city alone is the right decision for you.
Maybe you’ve found a good job (or a better one!) in another state and you don’t want to miss your excellent opportunity to earn more money and follow the career path you’ve chosen for yourself.
Or perhaps you’re moving away to a place with a more favorable climate – are you sick and tired of the long cold winters in your home city?
Whatever the major reason is to move away, you must be sure that it’s the right one and you won’t have any bitter regrets when you find yourself in the destination place.
It’s not always easy to know the path you need to take so be sure to reassess your available options and compare the pros and cons of moving to a new city on your own. You can seek advice from the people you trust the most but your intuition and common sense should help you make a wise decision.
5 Signs It’s Time to Move to a New City
Be sure you can afford to move to a new city
Even when it turns out that you’re mentally ready for the big step, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the necessary financial resources to make the move a reality. Moving to a new home is usually an expensive affair and you have to be certain that you have enough money saved to cover the inevitable moving expenses.
To know for sure, you should create a moving budget that will tell you where you stand from a financial point of view.
- Request a moving estimate from the best interstate moving company in your area. Great Nation Moving is a fully licensed, properly insured, and vastly experienced moving company based in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.
- Ask the moving experts for an in-home survey – the best way to get an accurate cost estimate that will reflect accurately the moving costs to be incurred during the relocation.
- Speak with the pros about whether you will need any extra services such as packing and temporary storage.
Trust a good moving company
One of the troubles with moving to a new city alone is that even when you have enough people who can help you move out of your current place – parents, siblings, or friends, there won’t be anyone to help you move and unpack your possessions at the other end of the move. So, what can you do in such a relocation scenario?
Without a doubt, the best way to solve such an issue is to use the services of a reputable and trustworthy moving company. The pros will take care of all the move details for you and will make sure your belongings are safely delivered to the new address and promptly taken inside the new place.
Hiring a good moving company can be hugely beneficial for you regardless of whether you’re moving locally (only a short distance away) or moving long distance (across multiple states). And working with experienced professionals will give you the peace of mind that all your things will reach the new home in the same condition they left the old one.
Use your job as a shield against sad thoughts
Moving to a new city can be really tough in the very beginning, especially when you don’t know anybody in the destination place. You’ll be surrounded by unfamiliar faces and most things just won’t be like they used to be before you moved.
Unless the purpose of your move is either retirement or work, you’ll have to find a job as soon as possible so that you can pay the rent and the bills, as well as secure the food on your table. But believe it or not, having a decent job is more than just having a steady income.
By keeping your mind busy at your job, you’ll have less time to think about being alone in the new town or city and filling your head with nostalgic thoughts. Also, the daily interaction with your co-workers should help you breeze through the post-move adaptation period.
10 Things to Remember to Do When Moving
Look for new friends in the new city
After the move is complete, one of your top priorities is likely to be to know how to make friends in a new city. After all, who would want to be entirely on their own in a perfectly unfamiliar environment?
Most of the time, meeting people in a new city comes down to your own mindset. If you prefer to stay in your home and you shy away from people, including your colleagues at work, then you’re going to make things even harder for yourself in the long run.
On the other hand, if you’re more open to new experiences and you fill up your free time with activities where you’re likely to meet new people, then making new friends in the new city should come more naturally and painlessly for you.
Make a genuine effort to form new friendships after moving to a new city but don’t forget to keep in touch with your old friends.
Get to know the new city or town
The effects of moving to a new city or town are likely to be rather adverse at first simply because you are on your own – there isn’t a single friendly face there and everything seems strange, unwelcoming, and maybe even a bit scary.
One good way to feel more at ease in a new city or town is to get to know the place better by exploring it. Start with your neighborhood and expand your exploration trips little by little to search for and hopefully find the charms of the new place.
If you own a dog, then walking your animal friend in the city parks is a great opportunity to make the city less unwelcoming and to meet other people as well.
Also, do visit all the attractions that the destination place has to offer and consider going to cultural events at least several times every month.
Fight off any signs of relocation depression
Moving to a new city alone can be more difficult than you think due to the strong sense of nostalgia that you may get to experience shortly after you find yourself in the destination place.
Moving to a new home is usually a big step out of your comfort zone and there’s a good chance that you get to feel unrooted when you arrive in your new home. What follows for you is a period of post-move adaptation that can last anywhere from a few weeks to even months.
You’re on your own after the move, your family members and friends are not close to you at that moment, and you find yourself in a strange setting. Unfortunately, all that may lead to a condition that’s known as relocation depression.
You shouldn’t worry too much about relocation depression though. One proven way to deal with separation anxiety is to give yourself more time to acclimate to all the drastic changes you’re experiencing right now. Be patient! Remember that good things happen to those who wait.
