10 Tips for Moving to a New City: New City Moving Guide

Moving to a new city will always be a big step in a person’s life – an adventure of some sort with an open ending where each decision – good or bad – will have a direct impact on how the relocation story ends.

If you’re facing a new city moving adventure yourself, then it’s important to know that you alone are the driving force behind the upcoming undertaking and its success depends on what you do before and after the residential move.

This guide will show you how to move to a new city with the help of logical moving steps and sensible moving tips that have been proven to work like clockwork.

Follow these 10 moving tips for moving to a new city to guarantee the success of your city-to-city relocation operation that happens to be just around the corner.

1. Decision Time

Before anything else, it’s important to decide if moving to a new city is right for you.

It’s normal to have your pre-move doubts about whether you’re doing the right thing – what if the whole new city moving idea turned out to be a big mistake? And a big mistake is the last thing you’d want in your life right now.

So, before you start ticking off some of the essential tasks in your checklist for moving to a new city, you’d better ask yourself if that’s what you really want and need. The first question is, of course, how do you feel in your current home and your current town or city – happy or miserable?

Have you been craving a radical change for years now? There may be numerous signs it’s time to move to a new city but you may have not paid attention to any of them… until now.

Living in a poor or dangerous city, feeling stuck in a dead-end job, being sick and tired of the climate in your area, and of course – finding LOVE or getting a CHANCE to advance your professional career are all good reasons to do what you should have done a long time ago – MOVE!

Move to a new city in pursuit of personal happiness.

Pros and Cons of Moving to a New City

2. Moving Checklist

Once you decide it’s time to move to a new city, there’s no going back. And there shouldn’t be one either. It’s like all the puzzle pieces have clicked together and you’re able to now see the whole picture. You just know what you have to do but you’re not entirely sure HOW to do it properly – or rather, how to prepare for the big change.

The answer is surprisingly simple: you’re going to need a detailed list of what things to do before moving to a new city. Good preparation is key to having a smooth move from Day 1 of your preparations all the way to the end of Moving day, and even beyond that.

And a great MOVING TO A NEW CITY checklist will help you get ready in the best possible way for what lies ahead of you.

All the tasks in your moving checklist should be 100% relevant to your new-city move and will tell you what to do before moving to a new city:

• take your pet for a medical checkup,
• gather medical and school records,
• cancel delivery services,
• change your postal address,
• transfer the home utilities,

and tons of other really important jobs you will have to take care of before moving to a new city, most likely in a new state as well.

The Greatest Moving Checklist for Moving to a New City

3. City to City Movers

You’ve made up your mind to move to a different city. Now, what you’ll need to do next is to come up with a home moving strategy that will work under your unique set of relocation circumstances.

As you already know, following a good moving checklist will keep you organized but you’ll also need to select the right tactic in terms of relocation options: are you going to hire the services of a professional moving company?

Trust is crucial when moving house because it’s your valuable items that will be at risk throughout that transitional period – will you be able to find great city-to-city movers you can actually trust with your belongings?

A good way to find top-rated and affordable moving companies near you is to use our quote form. You will be contacted by pre-screened licensed and insured professional movers that will visit your home for a visual inspection of the items you’ve got for moving and the potential difficulties and risks on the day of the move.

After the in-home survey, you will be given accurate moving cost estimates in writing which you should compare carefully before choosing which mover to go with.

Moving to a new city in the country often means moving hundreds or thousands of miles away, so it’s time to give up on any illusions of organizing a successful self-move.

How to Choose a Good Moving Company in 31.5 Steps

4. Moving Budget

One of the things to consider when moving to a new city is how your budget will be able to handle the relocation expenses, if at all. Moving between two homes is an expensive affair and a residential move almost always ends up being costlier than what you expected in the beginning. Extra costs for this, extra costs for that… and when you add it all up, the final bill often proves to be simply astronomical.

It’s very important to create a moving budget as early in your preparation as possible so that you can monitor closely your move-related expenses. As an added bonus, you should be able to respond adequately to a situation when a specific moving task requires more money than you originally allocated to it.

For starters, factor in the usual relocation expenses: the moving company cost, plus the additional services and extra charges and fees. Then, add the car transportation costs (How to Ship a Car to Another State) and the immediate post-relocation expenses such as covering the rent, mortgage payments, deposits, purchasing new furniture and home appliances, and paying for groceries and other essential items.

Be ready for a number of unexpected expenses as well!

Moving to a new city with no money sounds like an impossible task, and in many ways, it is. However, it’s still possible to move to another city on a tight budget by using a number of special cost-saving techniques along the way.

How to Move to a New City With No Money: A 5-Step Survival Guide

5. Saving Money

Your decision to move to another city may turn out to be very expensive. In theory, at least, the cost of your city to city move will depend on:

• the distance between the two homes (naturally, moving from Houston to Dallas will cost much less than moving from Houston to Chicago, for example),
• the total weight of the things you’re moving with you,
• the number of additional services you’ve requested (packing, unpacking, temporary storage, etc.), and
• the specific cross-country mover you’ve hired. It’s a fact that some moving companies are more expensive than others.

So, keeping in mind the major price-forming factors above, you must do whatever it takes to bring down the costs when moving to a new city. Unfortunately, you’ll most likely be burdened with heavy expenses right after the move as well.

SAVE GOOD MONEY by:

• DECLUTTERING your home and moving only the things you really like and will use in the future;
• SELLING, GIFTING, DONATING, OR RECYCLING all unwanted items you’re leaving behind;
• CHOOSING a low-cost professional mover after comparing the written estimates you’ve received;
• PACKING your things by yourself to avoid having to pay for professional packing services.

How to Cut Moving Costs and Expenses

6. Packing for a Move

All good tips for moving to a new city should include some pieces of advice on what’s the best way to pack for a move. Keeping in mind that packing just happens to be the most time-consuming task in any home mover’s agenda, you’ll need to approach that specific moving checklist item with the importance and urgency it holds.

Of course, the easiest way to pack when moving between two cities is to get in touch with a full-service mover and request PACKING as part of their professional services. It’s easy to do but it’s definitely not as cheap as packing by yourself.

So, in an attempt to reduce your moving costs, you may want to seriously consider packing most or almost all of your possessions on your own.

• Start packing up your things as early as possible to increase your chances of being done with packing before your move-out date;
• Inventory all your household items and choose to move only the things you love and will use in the near future;
• Prepare the necessary packing supplies: cardboard boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, stretch wrap, packing tape, and markers for labeling. Save plenty of money by securing FREE MOVING BOXES for your packing needs;
• Follow a packing timeline to monitor your progress and use your pre-move time more efficiently;
• Start packing up from the most difficult rooms to pack (the storage areas such as the garage, basement, attic, walk-in closet, and spare rooms) and work your way toward the much easier rooms to pack up for moving;
• Ask your good friends to help you pack if you feel you’ve fallen behind schedule. A great way to do just that is to invite your pals to a fun-filled packing party.

Packing Timeline: What to Pack When for Moving

7. Post-Move Expenses

Moving to a new city will offer many new challenges with varying levels of difficulty, so the more prepared you are for that post-move period, the easier it will be for you to face and overcome those minor or major obstacles.

Once you go through the first day in your new home (First-Day Survival Tips), you should get ready to cover many post-relocation expenses – some planned, some totally unplanned.

If you’re a renter, then you’ll most likely be asked for a security deposit along with the regular rent. Sometimes you may be required to pre-pay the rent for several months in advance too. If you’re a homeowner, then the down payments on the house or apartment should be taken care of without delay.

Your new utility companies may also require a deposit, especially when you’re a new subscriber to their services. Purchasing possible furniture and household appliances can seriously burden your budget so you’re advised to take it slow in the beginning and wait to see how desperately you need a new item for the home before rushing to the store to get it.

Moving to a new city without a job can be really tough due to the numerous known and unknown expenses you’ll be forced to cover. Therefore, your top priority should be to secure a much-needed steady income as soon as possible.

How to Save Money After Moving to a New City

8. Making New Friends

Moving to a new city without a job can be really tough for a number of obvious reasons. However, moving to a new city alone and with no friends can be a much tougher pill to swallow.

Interestingly enough, the solution to such a new-city scenario is both simple and complicated at the same time. Simple: Make new friends. Complicated: Ok, great, but how?

Luckily, there are many good ways to make friends when moving to a new city:

• Check if any of your old friends have friends in the new town or city, and if yes, then try to establish a connection with those people.
• Look around your workplace for co-workers who have the potential to become your friends in time.
• Say Hi to the folks next door and consider inviting some of them to a housewarming party shortly after you settle in the new place.
• Sign up for classes and join clubs where you can easily meet and befriend like-minded people.
• Attend local cultural events where, again, you’re likely to engage with people who have similar interests to yours.

Remember that while you should make a genuine effort to meet and befriend new people after the move, you definitely should not forget to keep in touch with your old friends.

20 Brilliant Ways to Make Friends in a New City

9. New city exploration

At first, the city you just moved to will be strange and unfamiliar, oftentimes unwelcoming and even intimidating, especially if you haven’t spent any time in it before the move. The strangeness and unfamiliarity of that new place will undoubtedly make you feel uneasy and anxious due to the fear of the unknown – you just don’t know what to expect from that new environment.

Note that the end of your new city move will mark the beginning of your adaptation period – a critical time when your top-priority mission will be to chase away that sense of strangeness caused by unfamiliar surroundings. And one excellent way to start your post-move acclimatization period is to explore your new city and discover its attractions and charms.

• Locate all essential places in the new city soon after the move: supermarkets and shopping centers, all important institutions that you’ll need, parks and recreational areas, entertainment and leisure locales, and city landmarks;
• Start by exploring your immediate neighborhood and slowly expand the perimeter of your new city exploration trips;
• Use every opportunity you get to take nice long walks in the city’s green areas, especially if you just moved with your family;
• Visit all historic city landmarks and tourist attractions to learn more about the history of the place you’ll soon be calling home and to take your mind off any stressful thoughts;
• Take advantage of these modern ways to explore your new city to uncover all the exciting secrets that the place has to offer.

How to Adapt to a New Environment When Moving

10. Relocation Depression

You’ll be quickly hurled into unfamiliar territory right after you cross the threshold of the new home – a strange place in an unknown city. Undoubtedly, one of the most powerful side effects of moving to a new city can be the so-called relocation depression – a highly undesirable psychological state where you feel strong pangs of nostalgia for the life you left hundreds or thousands of miles behind.

The depression after moving to a new city is also known as separation anxiety. It’s not only the comfort and familiarity of your old life that you will long for – more often, it’s the great friends you’ll no longer have around you that you’ll miss the most.

Moving to a new city alone is a strong prerequisite for falling victim to relocation depression. Nevertheless, it’s up to you to counter the negative effects of separation anxiety and stay away from its dangerous clutches.

• Stop hiding in your new home – instead, get out more often and explore your new city to chase away the sense of strangeness and alienation you may be struggling with;
• Make an effort to meet your people and even befriend some of them. That’ll probably be the hardest task in your post-move agenda but the reward will be worth it;
• Keep in touch with your old friends to get much-needed emotional support and encouragement;
• Don’t be too harsh on yourself if you’re not feeling quite like yourself after moving to a new city. The best piece of advice you can ever get is to just give yourself more time to acclimatize to the abrupt change – it could be months before you feel right again.

How to Overcome Relocation Depression After Moving to a New City

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)