Whether you’re moving for work, family, or another reason, going to a new place can incredibly exciting and scary at the same time.
There will undoubtedly be plenty of new things and it will take time to build a new life, but you can always take comfort in the fact that some things, like your favorite chicken or beef noodles, will stay the same.
To allow you the make the most of the move and help you settle in the new city, here are a few things you should consider doing when you move.
1. Make Your New Place a Home
When moving to a new city, the first thing you should do is make your new apartment or house a home.
Start by getting your internet connection and utilities set up. Also, go by the post office in the area and register your name and address.
Then, unpack everything as soon as possible. Most people leave this task for later, and it takes them months to get everything out. When your entire apartment or house is set up with your belongings, the place will feel like home and that is very important in a new city.
2. Be Realistic About the Move
If you’re moving to a new place, you might have a lot of expectations with life in the city, your new job, and many other things. Even if things come to you easily and you’re great socially, you shouldn’t expect things to be easy.
With realistic expectations, you can more easily cope with the move. Even if the first few months are a bit tough and lonely, you should have it in your mind that it would be a possibility. Many people have a fantasy in their heads that real life can never live up to, and they get sad and homesick after a few days of the move.
With a little persistence and some patience, your life in the new city can become amazing.
3. Explore the City
What better way to make the new city your home than exploring it?
Once you’re settled in your apartment or house, you should go around exploring the nearby areas. This will give you a chance to check out nearby grocery stores, cleaners, bakeries, coffee shops, restaurants, and anything else you need. Also, this will be a great way to know who you will be seeing every day and you can get to know the people in the community.
Then, you can start exploring the tourist destinations to understand why the city is great and why its people love living in it.
4. Find A Place for “Me-Time”
With the move to the new city, you will probably not know anyone or any good places around town. Your regular schedule might consist of work and home for the first few weeks. But other than work and home, you should try to find a third place, or maybe more, where you can go and relax.
If you liked going to the gym, had a favorite coffee shop, love playing sports, or had any other favorite places in your old city, you should try to find replacements in your new one. It will not only make the new city feel homier but also give you a great shot at making new friends.
5. Be a “Yes” Person
With a new city, you’re mostly starting a new life. You will always have family and friends in other places, but your daily life is completely different now. Therefore, you have the chance to change yourself and your schedule.
Instead of falling into the work-home routine, you should try to do something different. So, the next time you get invited to a co-worker’s surprise birthday party or your neighbor who borrows sugar is having a get-together, try saying “Yes” and meeting new people.
This way, you might find expected opportunities, unlikely connections, and great friends, among other things.
6. Don’t Forget About Friends in the Previous City
When most people move to a new city, they try to reinvent themselves or find people like them to make the city their home. In the process, they might get so busy that they start thinking less and less about the people they left behind in the previous city.
Even if you FaceTime with your friends in your old city every day when you move, that might become a weekly thing, then monthly, and then every holiday or not even that because life gets busy.
However, if the people you had to leave behind are important to you, keep them in mind and keep in touch.
7. Give Yourself At Least a Year
It’s not easy to leave a city you’re comfortable in, no matter what the circumstances of your move are because it is like leaving behind a life. But once you do it, you should try to make it stick instead of going back.
Many people get homesick, aren’t able to make friends, or just have a hard time settling into their new lives. That’s why they move back to a comfortable place. If you get that feeling, give yourself at least one year to get used to the city.
