Moving to a new city is a big decision to make. Regardless of whether you want to move for work, for love, or just for a fresh start, there are many things you need to consider before actually packing up your home and moving away. Whether the new city you plan on going to is ten minutes or ten hours away from where you live now, it’s not a decision to make lightly. So if you’re on the fence about it and are looking for ways to help you decide, here are some important questions we think you should be asking yourself.
Do You Know Anyone In The Area?
Moving is stressful no matter if you’re staying in the same city you’ve been in your whole life or moving across the country, and it’s important to have a support system around you to help you through it. So it’s important to consider whether you know anyone in the area you’re moving to or if you’re going to be completely on your own. If you don’t know anyone in the area, you need to know yourself well enough to know whether you’ll be able to deal with loneliness until you can make connections and establish relationships with the new people around you. Your old friends and family will always just be a call or text away, but if you’re the sort of person who needs to have coffee dates or lunches with the people you care about regularly, consider moving somewhere you’ll already have people to do that with, rather than somewhere entirely new and foreign to you where you’re completely on your own.
Can You Afford It?
This question covers a variety of different things that are all important to consider before taking the plunge and possibly stranding yourself with little or no money in a new city. So some important things to consider are:
- What’s the cost of living where you’re moving to versus what it is where you currently live? Is it drastically different or about the same?
- What are gas prices like where you want to move to?
- Can you afford the cost of the actual move itself?
- Do you have a job lined up already or will you be living off your savings until you can find one?
- How long do you anticipate it taking to find a new job, if you need to?
- What happens if you run out of savings before you can find a new job?
- How much do jobs in your industry pay in the new city versus where you live now? Will you be able to live comfortably or will you be living paycheck to paycheck?
No one wants to think about things like this when planning a big move, but they’re possibly some of the most important questions you should be asking. You don’t want to put yourself in a bad financial situation, so you need to carefully consider every aspect of what life will be like in your new city. How much it will cost to stock up your kitchen and fill up your gas tank will impact your life more than you think about until you have to deal with choosing between paying your bills on time and buying enough food to last you the week. Consider every financial aspect and the impact it will have on your lifestyle before making the big move.
What Do You Really Need To Take With You?
Moving is the perfect excuse to do a bit of spring cleaning, no matter what season it is when you take the plunge. As you’re packing up your life, it is a good time to go through your belongings to figure out what you do and don’t need. Do you really need that pair of jeans you haven’t worn in 15 years that you swore you’d be able to fit into again someday or can you finally donate them or throw them out to cut down on space and things you have to move? Ask yourself what you really need to take with you and what you can part with, what can be donated or given away or finally tossed to the curb. Doing this means fewer things to pack, fewer things to move, and fewer things to unpack and organize once you get to your new place.
Should You Move Everything Yourself?
Packing and moving everything yourself might seem like a good idea, but take a beat to consider whether it really is or not. If you’re moving just down the street and have a bunch of friends to help you, it might be fine to just load up your cars and get it done in an afternoon. But what if you’re moving four hours away and only know one person where you’re moving to? Sure you might have help loading up a truck when you leave the town you live in now, but when you get to where you’re going you’re going to have a hard time getting the truck unloaded. If you have a lot of things to move and no help waiting for you where you’re moving to, it might be better to hire a moving company to take care of things for you. It might cost more than doing it yourself, but it’ll save you time and frustration in the long run.
Contact Us
If you’ve considered all of these questions and then some and you’re sure you’re ready to take the plunge to move away, contact us today to help with your big move. Sunny Moving is ready to help you get settled into your new life if you are.