Moving is generally a pain in the butt. Let’s call a spade a spade, right?
There are a couple of things you can keep in mind though when moving to a new city or even state like we did two years ago!
Check out this post I just dug up while frantically trying to get ready for our Colorado trip! (follow my travels on Instagram!)
It’s a throwback to two years ago when I had JUST moved to the twin cities! (It was actually a guest post for Alex, the gal who’s wedding I just attended in Iowa)
Since we plan on moving back to our hometown in Nebraska soon (eep!), I thought this post was quite fitting. It’s also just fun to look at old photos AND my old header! (<-which seems to change about every 6 months or so…what can I say? I LOVE updating the blog!)
I’ve also decided to add my thoughts from today in a different color in parenthesis in the old post. 🙂 I hope you enjoy and find this helpful if you are moving to a new city yourself!
………………………………………
Hello there! My name is Amanda and I blog over at Diary of a Semi-Health Nut where I share my newfound love of running, my obsession with baking cookies, and my two cents on living a well-rounded, semi-healthy life.
I met Alex through blogging and social media, but finally met her for REAL at Blend Retreat this year!
I recently made the move to the twin cities with my boyfriend of five years. It’s been an eye-opening experience (both good and bad) as this is the first time either of us has lived in a different city AND lived together.
First of all, I need to say that I’m not an expert on the topic of moving. After a month I still feel like I am settling in and learning new things about my new city and state (and still getting lost)!
8 Essential Tips for Moving to a New City
1. Tell people you are moving before you do. A Facebook announcement isn’t really the same thing as telling each of your friends and family members you are moving six hours away. Some people might want to say goodbye in person rather than finding out through the grapevine you are gone! (yeah, I didn’t really follow this tip myself mostly because I knew we wouldn’t be gone forever, but also because I HATE goodbyes)
2. Remember when you are packing to make a box to “open first.” There are so many little things you will need the first couple of days! Think basics like what you would pack in an overnight bag plus things like hand soap, paper towels, scissors, toilet paper, eating utensils, trash bags and paper plates/bowls/cups just to name a few. (we sat on the floor eating on our “table” which was a box for the first week while we awaited our furniture. fun times.)
3. Along that line…mark your boxes clearly! Certain people think that they will just remember what boxes they put items in *cough* Dave *cough* but after a couple of weeks…trust me, you will have forgotten all about that. If you have people moving you also make sure to clearly mark which room the box should go into. We only have a one bedroom apartment, but even then the movers were asking me about where to put half of the boxes. (I remember unpacking was nuts because Dave barely labeled anything. And of course it was my job to do the unpacking and organizing since I didn’t have a job yet.)
4. Start making connections before you even move! This is where things like Twitter and blogging come in handy. I already knew a couple of bloggers (Lee and Becky) before I moved up! It made it feel less lonely to be able to go for a walk or grab coffee with a friendly face. Also, Dave and I found out that a lot of people have family members living in the area (which also means those friends might be more willing to visit!). (hardly anyone visited though haha. it probably didn’t help that we knew we’d be moving back eventually AND I traveled back so often. also Becky moved to Chicago a couple of months after we got here and Lee is always uber busy. but I found other Minnesota blogger friends! I’m also a part of the Omaha bloggers Facebook group so I’m excited to connect with some of the ladies I already “know.”)
5. Do some site seeing in your new city! We haven’t done much yet, but we did get out to the Twin Cities’ Big Bang Boom for the fourth of July (and got to hang out with our new friends watching fireworks). If you do end up moving “back home,” you will want to have said you’d actually LIVED in the city! (I kind of want to do this when we move back to Omaha actually.)
6. Drive around your new city without using a GPS system (but have it on hand for back-up). I think we get too darn reliant on our phone telling us where to go that we don’t truly learn our directions. Getting lost a couple of times will actually help you learn your way around a new area.
7. Figure out a way to keep in contact with family and friends. The only times I used to see my immediate family was during birthdays and/or holidays…so about once a month! I think I just felt like I could see them anytime, so I really didn’t make a huge effort. Okay, when my nephew was born I definitely started hanging out with my sister Courtney more often…but still! Now I plan on calling/texting my family members once a week. (The whole calling people every week didn’t really happen, but I did make an effort to see most of the family every time we came back. Now I have to make sure to keep in contact with my Minnesota friends, though!!)
 |
| My dad (or Papa Kirk) with my cutie pie of a nephew |
I try to keep up with friends on Facebook, but as Alex told me in a comment on a recent post, I will have to deal with the fact that I might not keep in touch with everyone….which is sad, but is also a part of growing up.
8. Something that goes along with this…make plans to go back home! I’m missing my family like crazy, but just knowing I will be able to go back this weekend makes being away from them seem easier. (I seriously went back home like every other weekend, but it got better as I got less homesick. Now I just hope I don’t take advantage of the fact that my family is so close!)
 |
| Sisters! |
………………………………………
[Tweet “8 essential tips for moving to a new city or state! #life #moving #tips”]
How about you? Any tips for me moving back home??
And what is the cheapest way to get all of your crap from one state to the other?? Last time Dave’s job moved us (we got spoiled) and now we’re looking at prices for moving companies and want to cry a little!
[PS I’m loving how gaga you guys are going over the chocolate covered strawberries. They need to happen again SOON!]
recipes, workouts, tips + exclusive content…right to your inbox!
I’m all about Pinterest this year, so I would LOVE IT if you could pin one (or two!) of these images!
Pin with me! Follow SemiHealthNut
Visit Diary of a Semi-Health Nut’s profile on Pinterest.
Linking up to: Thinking Out Loud Thursdays, Friday Favorites (All of the lovely link-ups I participate in here.)
I’m going to guess a moving truck and doing it yourselves is going to be best….it’s not going to be fun but if you’re looking to keep it cheap, it’ll probably be best. Especially since it’s not that long of a distance, the truck shouldn’t be too pricey.
Very true. We did think about at least hiring movers to help get our furniture into the truck and then we will have friends and family to help once we get back to Omaha.
I can’t imagine moving from Cali to Chicago though!! Or Boston to Cali? Was that a move you made?
The open first box is huge. When I moved for the very first time post college I packed everything with no rhyme or reason and then of course procrastinated on unpacking. I had to rip apart boxes to get the few things I needed for the first few nights and it just made it more of a mess and hassle for me. Now I always pack one box of a few dishes, toiletries, and a few other necessities for when I know I won’t want to unpack straight away but will still need to live.
The things you learn after moving a few times! I have definitely gone through the “oh my gosh I can’t find my toothbrush in all of these boxes” thing!
Very helpful tips. Thank you for sharing, Amanda! When we were moving, the thing I thought would be the easiest, happened to be the hardest one – to tell all my friends we were moving. We also had difficulties unpacking because not all the boxes were labeled, which made the task really difficult. I’m glad it’s done now 🙂 However, my point is that it is good for everyone planning to move to get information before they do, because tips like this can really be of great help. Regards, Tiffany, Removal Service London Ltd.
http://www.removalservicelondon.org.uk/battersea-man-and-van-SW11/moving-van-battersea.html
Moving can be a huge pain in the booty! I definitely am trying to keep all of these things in mind because we haven’t moved in 2 years so sometimes it’s hard to remember the little details. 🙂