Studies show that moving to a new place ranks high on the stress scale. It’s one of the top life-changing experiences that a person can go through. There are typically four stages that most movers will pass through as they experience a relocation to a new home.
With all the details involved, a move can really exhaust one emotionally. There’s many legal requirements with securing the new home–regardless of whether it’s to rent or buy. There’s the disconnect of previous address’ utilities and connection for the new ones, making tough choices about what to take and what to purge, and of course, the physical task of packing, moving the household goods, and unpacking.
You can knock off many of those items from your ‘To Do’ list by calling on trusted friends, outsourcing what your can through businesses such as UrbanClarity.net, and starting your list of utility vendors on both sides well in advance.
Once these issues are squared away, then comes the process of settling in and making the new residence a home. Looking back on your last move, how many of these four phases did you experience?
1. Excitement – When it comes to a new address, the excitement of how this place will be better than the last is fresh on your mind. This location was chosen for a reason. It may be for a shorter commute, a new city, or to enjoy amenities that the last address didn’t offer, or more space to accommodate a larger family or less room to keep clean for a downsizing family. In this phase, the days ahead are filled with the eagerness to capitalize on those new opportunities.
2. Adaptation – After a few weeks, you’ll begin to discover the downsides to the new place, and at the same time, the novelty of those initial amenities has already started to wear off. You may even experience some regrets as you can now objectively compare the two living quarters against their pros and cons. While there may be some disappointments to overcome, you are adapting to the reality of the new home.
3. Relaxation – In time, you’ll grow more comfortable in your new surroundings. You’ll begin to establish a connection with your local community, learn your favorite resources for local businesses, and feel more relaxed and as comfortable as you did in the old place.
4. At home – In this final stage, the newness has worn off, the homesickness over previous homes has dissipated, you know your way around the new house in the dark, and it no longer feels like your just visiting. Undoubtedly, you still notice all the nuances associated with this home, but you’ve adapted to how to live with them or compensate for them.
If it takes too long to reach this fourth stage, you may be tempted to bail on the new residence and start all over again with a new location. Most people tend to know instinctively after about 9-12 months if that at-home feeling will ever be attainable. It is important to honestly evaluate if it’s an internal or external factor preventing the arrival of that fourth and final stage of experiencing a new home.
Sometimes, it’s just the matter of managing the expectations for a transition. Perhaps identifying the emotional experiences commonly associated with a move can help elongate the high points and mitigate the low points. Or maybe it’s just time to move on.
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