Moving, share your experiences

[Tenar]

Well, just thought I would share some of my experience.  I've moved across the county (Canada) in order to provide more opportunity for work for my myself and family.

Moving is not an easy thing and when you have been in the same place, in the same job for 10 years things get very comfortable.  It's scary to give it all up and leave but sometimes you have to look to the future.  Sometimes it takes a dramatic change so you can have the chance at something better.

I miss my friends and co-workers and the scenery is very different and alien. 

There were a lot of steps that happened.  I thought about moving for a while, saw a job that looked promising, Applied, had an interview, had a second interview.  I took my family out there to visit to see if we could feel comfortable there. 

I accepted the job and the next few weeks were like a blur.  Having to tell my current job that I was leaving.  Putting the house up for sale.  Doing touch ups on the house to stage it.  Trying to find a place to live while we waited for the house to sell.  Figuring out how to move our items, drive or hire movers?  Figuring out if we could afford it, what could we sell, what was important to pack and take (ponies duh).

Share your moving experiences and any advice on settling into a new community.

[kaoskat]

Oh my! I wish you luck in your new home! I know how scary that can be as I moved states when I got married and at that point I'd never been even away from home for more than 2 weeks.

[Kiwi]

I've only moved within the same city, but each move has been bigger (and more organized). Moving in with hubby (then fiance) was pretty low-key since he moved in first and had the furniture and everything, I basically just moved in my clothes and fish.

But that building kept going further downhill, and finally we got fed up. So our next move was done in under 2 weeks - very quick packing, just come home from work and stuff things into boxes as it fit. No organization, last minute packing, and a hunt to find things afterwards.

When we found and decided to move into our townhouse, we were able to take a couple months to pack everything. I got a pack of paper, packed things smartly and organized, and labelled each box with what was inside (detailed, not just "kitchen"), what room it was going into in the new place, and any special instructions (fragile, heavy, etc). We also hired movers which helped - they packed the truck so efficiently, and knew how to lift and move the furniture to get upstairs (none of us wanted to carry a queen size bed up to the third floor).

And since we got the keys a few days before moving day, we had a weekend to plan out where everything was going, and give the place a much needed clean. Hubby took measurements of all our furniture, and we went into the empty rooms with paper and a measuring tape, and figured out where and how things would fit, and then drew out floor plans.

[kellyponyfeathers]

Oh geez, I've been there!  I once moved from New York to Oregon, about 3000 miles, with pets and plants.  Everyone survived, even me!  More recently I moved from Oregon to New Mexico, so that was a huge change in scenery from forests to desert.  I've found that I like the desert a lot more than I thought I would.  It has its own stark beauty, and there's actually a ton of wildlife.

[Sprinklecupcake]

I have moved many times! I HATE it, Its really stressful, mostly because I freak out about my stuff getting lost and I hated saying goodbye to my new friends once I start to feel comfortable. Ive moved from Fort Wayne- Decatur IN back and forth the first 14 years of my life because my mom would get different jobs, it was never easy for me to make friends for very long because it was usually soonly followed with goodbye. Ive also lived in MN and in Florida, I left Florida because my biological parents despised the fact I wasnt their religion so I moved back to Indiana with friends. My husband and I now live here in Texas near his family, I had to work two fulltime jobs to afford the move here. Im comfortable here, but my body cant stand the weather and I have to work overnights to keep healthy. Im just glad I have the same friends here for at least 3 years (a huge record for me) and the same job. Sometimes I miss Indiana for its seasons and my family or Florida because I lived literally 45 minutes from Disney- my favorite place but I never want to move far away ever again unless its in a big mansion or a castle LOL.

[Katika]

I think of moving as sort of an adventure.  Before leaving home, I'd lived in three different houses in three different cities (two states) because my dad's work had him change regions, went to college about four hours from home, and then married into the military, where I've now lived in three different locations for.  Rumors are floating around that another move is in store for us sooner than later, so we'll see how that goes.

My least favorite part about moving is that I'm a creature of habit and I tend to get very fond of places that make me happy.  I see learning about a new place as an adventure, but at the same time I really miss the comfort of already knowing where my favorite Thai restaurant is and what the local traffic patterns are like and the hours that the local mom and pop feed store operates on.  All of that sort of stuff you have to figure out all over again when you move; some of it is better and some of it will never be the same.  I also DREAD trying to find reputable professionals to help care for my animals (vets, farriers, feed suppliers...), and how to get all of the animals from point A to point B to begin with.  That's probably the most stressful part of moving for me.

The best parts for me are getting to unpack everything (I'm weird in that opening boxes, regardless to if I already know what's in them makes me super excited) and getting to figure out how to get everything to fit in your new place.  Granted, this may only be exciting for me because I'm unemployed and typically have the time to mess with that sort of thing.  I also think that it's fun to personalize a new space.  Also, whether or not I'm resistant to the idea of change, exploring a new area is still an adventure to me.

I may have sort of a warped perception of moving, though, since I've averaged about one move every four years and I've kind of accepted it as a normal part of life (whether or not it actually is).

[Galactica]

I've moved quite a bit in my adult years, the biggest from San Francisco to Seattle.

If you are changing from one city/side of the country to somewhere very different with far fewer friends/supports, the most important thing to do is to make NEW contacts and friends!  Yes I know you have a family and that definitely helps- but you need friends too or you will drive them and you nuts!

I recommend finding as soon as possible meet-ups with people who share some of your interests (ie MLP, BJD, hiking club, knitting club, bug-club) it usually feels a bit awkward at first to hang out with people you don't know, but that really does just go away after a few times, and slowly you will make real friends!

Anyway, that's my advice. I LOVE moving and new places, but it can be isolating and somewhat depressing if you aren't careful.

[ringwraith10]

I have moved so many times over the course of my life that I never feel like any particular house I live in is "home". The best advice I can give is to not hire Covan - they break all your stuff. Generally I would advise against hiring movers at all. Thankfully I have a younger brother with lots of nice friends, so the last few times I or a family member moved we "hired" my bro's friends to do all the heavy lifting and stuff.

[Tenar]

I recommend finding as soon as possible meet-ups with people who share some of your interests (ie MLP, BJD, hiking club, knitting club, bug-club) it usually feels a bit awkward at first to hang out with people you don't know, but that really does just go away after a few times, and slowly you will make real friends!

This is very good advice, thank you