It’s never easy to move house. You need to uproot yourself from someplace familiar and then settle down again someplace new in a short period of time. Moves are often accompanied by other disruptions, like changes in schools and jobs — combine that with the large amounts of money that are in question, it’s no wonder a lot of people consider moving house to be so stressful. In this post, we’ll lay out some useful tips to help you stay calm and collected.
Plan Ahead
It always helps to have a plan in place instead of trying to wing it. This goes both for the process of physically moving things from one house to the other and the broader experience of the life change of moving. Plan out how you are going to get all of your things to the other house, where they will go, and how you are going to pack and unpack everything. This will make the day go much more smoothly. As for the rest of it, don’t just plan one day- invest some time in additional planning. Look at your new commute to work and to a test run of it once or twice so it doesn’t feel so unfamiliar when it counts. Locate the nearby shops and services in advance. Plan out some fun activities in the new area to help you get acquainted with the local entertainment. All of this will ease the transition by making the new place feel less like a house and more like a home.
Read Your Mortgage Carefully
Learn your mortgage and how it will affect your finances. Even if you know you got a good deal, review the terms and conditions one more time just to ensure that you absolutely know what’s going on. Understand whether you have a fixed rate mortgage, and if not, under what circumstances your mortgage can change. You need to know if your mortgage payments can change in the future, and if so, why. The more you learn about your mortgage, the more comfortable you will feel with your financial decision. It is as much for your peace of mind as for the knowledge you will retain.
Recruit Help
Everyone knows to ask friends to help them move, but not many people take that to its logical next step. Don’t just ask for manpower to help you carry things. Find out about local hot spots and other things to know for your new home. Try to strike up some new friendships with neighbours and build a new social network. This is a great way to learn more about the area and make friends who can help you manage the transition.
Moving is hard on everyone, but if you keep these tips in mind, plus this checklist then you will have a much easier time of it. Above all, try to relax. It’s much easier said than done but it really does make a difference.