April 17, 2024
Taking a philosophical approach with moving to a new home is okay, but overthinking could easily happen and lead the whole thing to chaos and confusion. To avoid getting lost in the process, we recommend creating a list of steps to take when relocating to another place. Whether it’s an apartment or a suburban residence, the steps are the same.
There aren’t many steps to take before relocating, but some have details that require lots of attention. Still, if you organize and get all hands on deck for the process, it’ll go way smoother than you could imagine. The best, basic steps are:
These are just tips on some of the initial things to do while you’re at your old place. When relocating to another house, checking the state of it is the best option. All of this should be on your relocation to-do list.
We’re sure the house-hunting period went well and that your brand-new residence wasn’t just an impulse buy. Despite that, we recommend you revisit the place before settling in. Looking at it from a fresh perspective will help to see if it’s in perfect shape for your needs.
The place’s layout is probably great, and it has enough backyard space for everyone to relax. However, make sure the floors are in good condition everywhere and see if there’s carpeting in some of the rooms that you’d prefer to take out. Maybe the wallpaper is chipped in some areas, or you simply dislike the color on some of the walls. All these issues aren’t significant causes for concern.
However, a situation that may cause concern would be if the utilities at the place you bought didn’t work properly, but visiting it and checking let you know what needs fixing before it’s too late.
Whether you’re relocating to a smaller home or going to a high-rise apartment, each member of your household should have their needs met. The place should be as family-friendly as possible, so if you’re relocating with kids, naturally, it should have enough room and options to be turned into a child-proof space.
In addition, when relocating with pets, make sure the neighborhood isn’t close to a freeway if your furry friend likes to spend time outside. When it comes to having pets in a building, it’s good to know if the other residents have animals, too. In both urban and suburban neighborhoods, living with a pet, especially a dog, means there should be a dog park nearby.
Among so many things to do when moving into a new home, having friendly neighbors is the one thing out of your control. It’s hard to know whether the people next door are cool or not during the house-hunting period, but you get that chance during the visit just before relocation. If you don’t care about it so much, that’s fine, but it makes sense to get in touch with the people that’ll live close to you.
You should also check if the neighbors are close-knit or if it’s every household for itself. If you’re a friendly person, there shouldn’t be a problem fitting into a community that likes to be active, but if you prefer to keep to yourself, having nosy neighbors is bound to make you feel suffocated. Sometimes, a lot of these factors depend on the neighborhood’s safety.
After confirming that the house has everything you want, it’s time to prepare for relocation. You should start by doing the administrative work first, which means taking care of utilities at the current address and double-checking your contract with the long-distance moving company.
So many people get bills to their old address even after relocating. This is because they didn’t cancel utilities on time. Cancelations need to be done whether you’re renting out or selling the place. Taking care of utilities at the old residence should be done about one month before leaving to give time to the providers to cancel contracts.
If you’re renting out a place with utility bills still in your name, the tenants could simply take advantage of the services because they’re not paying for them. If you sold the old house to someone else and utilities are still in your name, they’ll have a hard time registering for services. It’s safe to say you wouldn’t want to be caught up in any of these situations, so while changing your address, take care of services, too.
Suppose you’ve checked the costs of cross-country moving companies and decided to hire one. That’ll solve many relocation problems that quickly come up when people move on their own, and it’ll be easier to handle relocation stress that usually creeps in.
Remember that hiring a long-distance moving company should always be sealed with a contract. If the cross-country movers don’t provide a written agreement on the services they’re providing, that might be a relocation scam waiting to happen. Take a closer look at the contract and see if their storage services are free for the first few weeks, if they’ve included car shipping as agreed, and if the contract generally seems legitimate.
Among the unexpected tips on what to do when moving into a new home, there’s also the part of saying goodbye to friends and family before leaving. You may all be separated, but with stable Internet connections at almost every corner of the country, it’ll be super easy to stay in touch. You can throw a going away party and gather everyone you want to say goodbye to by having lots of fun together and allowing them to plan out a time to visit you.
There are many ways to make the fact you’re relocating to another state easier for everybody, including you. If you’re relocating alone or for the first time, that could be both exciting and scary at once. Many tips online mention staying calm and focusing on what needs to be done when relocating for the first time, like in the video below.
After finishing all the administrative work, it’s time to get physical. The packaging part also requires planning and preparation, like reading about how to pack fragile items by yourself or how to pack and move furniture. One more interesting thing to read is how to protect floors during a move. Yes, it’s a thing, and a serious one at that, because every type of flooring requires different kinds of protection and care.
Once you start wondering what to buy when moving into a new home, think first about the relocation itself. The initial investments begin as soon as you decide to move. You need boxes to put all your stuff in, and that’s why there’s a need for packaging materials. However, there’s no need to spend lots of money on them, and sometimes you won’t spend anything.
The essential packaging materials to use are boxes for storage, some materials for padding and wrapping, and duct tape. Patience is also crucial for any move, and fortunately, that’s free, but it’s only up to you. As we already mentioned, reading about the packaging process is a great start. There’s tons of advice out there on how to pack literally anything, from boxing up a guitar to even transporting a gun safe.
You can use boxes from old shopping trips or online orders, as long as they’re not too big or too small. As far as wrapping materials come, invest in packing paper or bubble wrap, or opt for an equally great free option of wrapping items in newspapers, t-shirts, and pillowcases. Research is your best friend if you want to get creative during this phase.
It’s an excellent idea to hire long-distance moving services for all packaging needs. The way it works with experienced movers is that they provide the materials and the manpower, but you tell them what to handle by sending a detailed packing list, which also determines the costs of relocation. Additionally, there are often things movers won’t move, and that’s worth checking with them before getting disappointed.
Once you’re at the brand-new address, check if everything’s in good condition. This matters a lot because you don’t want to get caught up in fixing the house while movers wait with all your stuff. Arriving at your next residence before the movers is recommended, as that gives a head start for fixing potential problems.
The first step at the brand-new place is the cleaning and preparing it for when the furniture arrives. Once all the bulky, large furniture is in place, the cleaning process becomes way harder, so a cleaning session would do you and the family well. Dust and dander are so common and can cause allergies to flare up, which is another reason why a good scrub takes care of most problems.
You can do an electricity audit, which is essentially a quick check-up on the amount of electricity appliances and electricals at home usually consume. Confirm all sockets are working correctly and not near a malfunctioning disaster. See if water pipes in the house are sealed tight, and give them a good clean. Check if the bathrooms are functioning properly, whether the plumbing is set up correctly and if there’s a steady flow of hot water.
Before anything, ensure renovation was something you’ve been preparing to do. We already mentioned why it’s important to see the house at least once before relocating, and getting stuck with one that needs repairing while movers wait to assemble your furniture back isn’t the greatest start to a fresh life in another state. Make sure you’re ready, willing, and able to do renovations before settling in.
Another option, for worst-case scenarios, is to take advantage of the relocation company’s storage services. You can search ‘long-distance movers near me’ to check which companies provide free storage for a certain period. Having your items locked away in a safe space provides opportunities to deal with any disasters. Later, unpacking after the move can start without added pressure.
According to the ancient Chinese system Feng Shui, there are good and bad days when moving into another place. Choosing an auspicious day, also known as Cheng Day, means that everything will go well and good fortunes will come to the household. You can look up good Feng Shui days and pick the ideal one if you’re feeling superstitious.
Other interesting interpretations from Feng Shui say that arriving at a brand-new residence before sunset means a good work-life balance, and throwing a housewarming party by inviting as many people as you can drives out evil spirits. Whatever methods and beliefs you may have, we hope every part of your move goes as you’ve imagined it.
