No matter how stressful and busy you are while getting ready to move out, you just have to plan some time in your MOVING CHECKLIST to say goodbye to your friends.
If you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by really good friends, then you’ll most likely find it extremely hard to part with them.
You don’t know what your future holds for you, and nobody does for that matter, but right now your heart must be aching from the thought of having to say farewell to the people who mean so much to you.
Moving away from friends is both sad and painful. Nevertheless, you do realize that there’s nothing you can do to stop the move from happening.
You’re moving house, and now is the right time to act like a grown-up – that is, to not let overwhelming emotions take control of the situation.
Your mind must be frantically searching for the best way to say goodbye to your friends when you’re moving so that you can all feel some sort of closure.
Even though the move will not and should not be the end of your friendship – now it’s easier than ever to keep in touch with loved ones after a move, saying goodbye to friends properly will be really important for your sanity.
Read on to learn how to say goodbye to friends when you’re moving away, PLUS how to keep in touch with loved ones after the move.
1. Break the news to your pals ASAP
It’s never easy to tell your friends that you’re moving away and that now the long distance between you will be a big factor in your attempts to keep your friendships alive.
Nevertheless, you shouldn’t procrastinate breaking the news to them because the longer you keep it a secret, the less time you’re giving your pals to get used to the idea that you’ll be gone soon enough.
Also, choosing to keep your closest friends in the dark until the very last moment will surely make them feel undervalued because they will tend to think that they are the last people to hear about the big news.
Make things easier for you and your buddies by informing them of your home move as soon as it becomes only a matter of time.
Saying goodbye to friends will be your hardest task when moving away.
Saying goodbye to friends when moving will often be the hardest task in your moving calendar – sometimes even tougher than packing for moving.
To save time and make things easier, you may choose to let your pals know about you moving away via a social media post.
Now, while that largely impersonal approach may be okay for Facebook and Twitter friends what are just that – Facebook and Twitter friends, you shouldn’t do this to your best friends. Instead, make an effort to meet your dearest ones and tell them about the move in person.
Seriously, how would you feel if you learned that your best pal is moving away from a social network post or a mass e-mail message?
You can be sure that your personal touch and thoughtful gesture will be appreciated by your closest friends, be it not right away.
3. Set the right goodbye tone
Sometimes saying goodbye to friends when you’re moving will require the right tone to deliver the big news. Remember that your attitude towards the entire residential move will set the general mood, so it’s a good idea to focus on the positives.
Generally speaking, your good friends will support you if you show them that you’re happy with your decision to move out.
Don’t be afraid to show your excitement about moving away for career advancement, love, or whatever the major reason to move house might be – your loved ones want what’s best for you so your overall enthusiasm and positive thinking should make the upcoming separation a bit more bearable for all.
On the other hand, you don’t want to sound too excited and impatient to move out because your close friends may come to think you’re actually happy to get as far away from them as possible.
Make sure you let them know that you feel sad to be leaving them, and assure them that will miss them very much after the move.
4. Tie up all loose ends
Saying goodbye to friends when moving is a difficult period as it is, so you should make sure that you’re leaving your pals without any extra emotional baggage such as unsettled details or unaddressed issues.
You may feel like your upcoming move is the perfect opportunity to run away from any unresolved problems. Only, it’s not.
Do not leave any problems between you and any of your friends, but make a genuine effort to resolve them before your move-out day. This way, you’ll have the peace of mind and the emotional serenity that you’re not leaving behind any hard feelings.
Try to work out the existing issues you may have with any friends of yours by having an open conversation with them. It’s always easier to just run away, or move away in your case, but that will only complicate things with time.
Ultimately, you should do what you have to do to fix your personal relationships.
5. Organize a farewell party
A farewell party gives a good opportunity to get a sense of closure when you’re moving away.
One of the best ways to say goodbye to friends when moving house is to organize a farewell party shortly before your scheduled move-out day.
At first, such a going away party may seem like an extra stressful and time-consuming task in a moving checklist that is already full to the brim with things to do but think of it as an excellent opportunity to see your best friends and family members one more time and tell them a final goodbye before you relocate.
Saying goodbye to friends is really important, so do consider organizing a small get-together of close friends. The party doesn’t have to be fancy at all – considering the transitional period you’re in at the moment, pizza, sandwiches, refreshing drinks, plastic utensils, and most importantly – good music will usually suffice.
Try to make the farewell party as much fun as possible – reminisce about the old times, tell jokes, play games, make a karaoke contest.
Considering the occasion, there will probably be pretty sad moments and tears as well, and that is ok – just let your emotions show and make it a goodbye party to remember.
Insufficient time or lack of energy will definitely influence your decision whether or not to organize an informal get-together with your pals.
So, how to say goodbye to your friends when moving? Farewell party or not, you must seriously consider preparing gifts for your friends – a thoughtful farewell gesture and a token of good friendship.
The gifts don’t have to be expensive at all – in fact, your best bet is to get creative and create something yourself that will really resonate with your close friends.
Write a goodbye letter, compose a poem to tell them how much your friends mean to you, or write a song to mark that special moment in time.
Other creative ideas for goodbye gifts include painting a picture depicting a fun memory, drawing a portrait of you and your buddies, or writing an individual gift card for each good friend.
7. Spend quality time together
You’re about to move house soon but you haven’t yet done so, which means that you still have time to create some great and long-lasting memories with your friends.
Depending on the time constraints that your own moving checklist will create, you’re strongly encouraged to spend as much time as you can with your closest and dearest people.
One excellent way to find enough time to say goodbye to your friends when you’re moving away is to hire a full-time mover.
This way, experienced professionals will take care of the toughest and most time-consuming tasks in your moving calendar while you sign up for much more pleasant activities with your mates: going to the movies together, taking long walks in the park or in the woods, going fishing by a lake or a river, going to a rock concert or attending a theater play, playing sports or just hanging around doing nothing in particular.
If possible, plan to spend a long weekend with your best pals or with one extraordinarily special friend – enough time for a proper farewell when a house move takes you away from your circle of friends.
That’s right: saying goodbye to friends can be a challenge.
Ultimately, a good way to say goodbye to a friend or friends when you’re moving away is to promise them that you’ll keep in touch after the move.
A promise is a promise, right?
A house move and the subsequent great distance between you and your pals should never be a good reason to end meaningful friendships.
At the peak of the Information Age (aka the Computer Age), it’s really easy to stay in touch with family and friends – all you need is the desire to do so and an electronic device connected to the Internet.
That’s all it takes, really, to stay close to the people who mean the world to you.
The best ways to keep in touch with friends after moving are:
1. Talk on the phone
Use your phone and you won’t need an Internet connection to hear the voice of your best friends. You don’t even need a modern smartphone for the matter – just any phone will do.
Your only concern may be the cost of long-distance phone calls – contact your phone service provider and see if they can offer you a monthly subscription plan that includes enough or maybe even unlimited free minutes for national phone calls.
And then, once you’ve made sure that your phone bill will be relatively affordable, you only need to set a convenient time and day to stay in touch with long-distance friends.
2. Make free Internet calls
Considering the high cost of moving, it’s highly possible that your budget right after the move will be rather tight. To keep your post-move expenses to a minimum, you should definitely consider the convenience of the Internet to keep in contact with your friends.
You’re still going to need to pay for the Internet service, of course.
3. Write real letters + postcards
Snail mail will never go out of fashion because few things can be as touching as receiving a real letter from a good friend.
Exchanging letters as a type of long-distance communication is really something special and you shouldn’t underestimate its huge emotional impact despite the convenience of e-mailing and instant messaging.
Mailing postcards to your family and friends still remains a good and creative way to tell your loved ones that you’re thinking about them and that you have not forgotten them.
4. Send e-mails
Nothing compares to the magic of exchanging real letters.
It’s hard to deny the advantages of snail mail, but a stamped envelope sent across the country will take time to reach its destination, and sometimes it never reaches the destination address.
Thanks to the higher level of reliability, e-mailing may be your preferred way to keep in touch with friends and family after you’ve moved to a new city, state, or country.
5. Use instant messaging
Instant messaging programs are still hugely popular, especially when they are combined with social networking.
The importance of staying connected with your dear friends after moving away cannot be emphasized enough, so make sure you stay close to family and friends thanks to free instant messengers and free video conferencing software.
6. Use social networks
The easiest way to keep in touch with friends after moving is via the most popular social networks – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and so on.
Your friends and family members will be kept updated about your post-relocation life as you post photos from the new home or the new city you’ve just moved to, or share your thoughts about how you’re adapting to the new environment.
Similarly, you can follow your friends on social media and keep up with their lives as well.
7. Visit each other
Without a doubt, the best way to say goodbye to friends when moving is to first promise that you’ll keep in touch, and then make actual plans to visit each other, whenever possible.
Such plans for real-life visits will make the separation a bit easier for both you and your dearest ones. Saying goodbye is never an easy thing to do, but a bit of effort from both sides can turn the farewell into a much more manageable affair.
Thanks for explaining that a farewell party doesn’t have to be fancy as long as it has elements like food and good music. My husband and I want to start looking at residential properties for sale because we want to move to a new area before the end of the year. Following your advice should help us leave on good terms with the friends we’ve made here!
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Thanks for explaining that a farewell party doesn’t have to be fancy as long as it has elements like food and good music. My husband and I want to start looking at residential properties for sale because we want to move to a new area before the end of the year. Following your advice should help us leave on good terms with the friends we’ve made here!