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3 Ways to Have an Awesome Life After a Big Move

  September 17

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awesomelifeMy husband and I have moved so many times in the past few years. We’ve lived in Louisiana, Virginia, the Caribbean, and just outside of New York City.

Every move has had its challenges, but they’ve always been exciting too.

For example, the day we landed in the Caribbean when we moved there, we were tired but so incredibly exhilarated.

Then, there was the harrowing move when we drove across the country with our five pound twins from Louisiana to New Jersey. Good times!

But, we loved our neighborhood and our town in New Jersey so much once we got there that we both agreed it was the best place we ever lived.

Somehow, despite all of our time living away from home and despite all of our preparation and planning, our recent move to Michigan has been hard.

A Michigan Update

We’ve unfortunately had numerous mishaps in our new house and mishaps with our cars. We need to replace both of our cars, although we’ve only replaced one thus far. It took us a long time to find a babysitter we love. We also had a huge issue at the gym we joined because their childcare facility lost our 2 year old son (true story – I found him riding the elevator by himself.)

Plus, unlike the New York City metro area where everyone is mostly from somewhere else, everyone in Michigan seems to be from here with established networks and groups of friends.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does make it hard for an outsider to come in. Luckily six weeks in, I’ve met a new friend or two, but it’s definitely been a process.

Because I have moved so many times, and I know moves can be challenging, I wanted to share some tips that anyone can use to make sure they have an amazing life after they move, even if they didn’t want to move at all to being with.

Here they are:

1. Get the Help You Need Right Away

If you have children, there’s nothing worse than arriving in a brand new place with no friends, no family, and no babysitters. I had a really hard time finding help with my twins when I moved to Michigan. Finding our nanny in New Jersey was so simple, but we had a lot of not-so-impressive candidates this time around, and it took us weeks to find our current babysitter.

I ended up using Care.com to find our current babysitter, and she is truly amazing! Although it took a little bit longer to find the perfect match for our family this time around, she was worth the wait. I need to do a longer post about the process, but I highly recommend signing up for Care.com to find a babysitter especially if you’ve moved to a new place. They have a lot of quality candidates with reviews and references and background checks.

It makes me feel great to know we found someone so caring to watch our children. Now that my husband is finished with medical school and in residency, there are many days throughout the week where I am the only parent that my children see from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep. For that reason it’s nice for the twins to have another friendly face and another connection throughout the week with our babysitter.

2. Stay Connected to Your Old Friends

Just because you move doesn’t mean that you have to lose touch with your old friends. In fact, I’d argue this is one of the most important things you can do. Let them know your new address and how you’re doing so you don’t feel so alone!

I just finished doing this myself by sending out a combo graduating/moving card to our friends and family. I want to thank Shutterfly for partnering with me on these cards because they came out so great! I love how they allow you to put several pictures on cards, so I was able to put a picture of Hubs by himself on the front and a picture of us on the back of the card (see below!)

shutteflygraduation1 shutterflygraduation2

I also ordered a custom self inking address stamp to celebrate buying our first house but also to make the whole process extremely easy. The quicker it is to send out cards, the more likely it will happen, right?!

So, if you move, make sure that you let everyone know your new address! That way, you can receive Christmas cards and birthday cards at your  new house, which will make you feel more at home.

3. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

The last tip I have for being happy in your new place is to get out of your comfort zone. I am an introvert through and through. It’s very difficult for me to get up the courage to meet new people, but it has to be done if you want to be happy!

Since moving here, I’ve asked two moms at the park for their phone numbers so we could see each other again. I also made friends with the family who I bought my couch from off of Craigslist!

When my husband picked up our couch, the couple was so nice and had a daughter just a few weeks younger than the twins, so we became friends. It’s a funny story, but the point is that you have to always be open to meeting other people and being willing to put yourself out there.

It’s hard to be an adult and ask someone for their number like you’re on a date, but it’s a good exercise in being outgoing. I’ve found that there are many adults out there looking for new friends or wanting a way to connect with others. So, if you become the connector, you can enrich your life and the lives of others too.

Ultimately, I feel like I can finally say that I’m finding happiness in Michigan, learning my way around, and meeting friends. It was very challenging at first, but now I think things are going to be just fine here. If you have a big move coming up or recently moved, try my tips above to make sure you find happiness in your new place. It won’t be easy, but it is definitely possible.

 

If you want to learn how I’m able to move to different places but still work remotely, check out my story of how I built my blog to a full time business <—- here —-> 

 

Did you ever have to start over after a big move?

9 responses to “3 Ways to Have an Awesome Life After a Big Move

  1. Making friends as an adult is so tough, but you’re right about that NYC advantage of everyone being from somewhere else. Never thought about that.

    I can’t believe the day care lost your little man!

  2. I’m so sorry you’ve encountered so many challenges with the move. I 100% agree that it’s important to stay in touch with far away friends and create a new support network. Not going out and making friends when I moved to NC was one of my biggest mistakes. It’s definitely hard when you’re an introvert, and making friends as an adult can come with its own challenges. Glad you’re settling in now!

  3. Cat, since you haven’t posted for a bit, I wondered how you were getting on. Sorry to hear about all of the difficulties, but Fall and Winter and settle-in times. Now that you have a great babysitter it will get easier. I do hope you will post about your elevator child care experience. Curious to know how your son got lost.

    The smile on Jon’s face is the best. And you look great for someone in the middle of so much shifting as you were in June! Here’s what I learned from many moves and new communities — often in foreign places: you may work on your own, but Jon has new colleagues. Even if they are sleepless from working long shifts, they will always appreciate a good meal and conversation before they fall off their dining chairs from fatigue. And, effort though it is, you are right — aside from being open to meeting new people, you often have to be the one to reach out first when you are the new person in the area.

    And unpack as quickly as you can and get it all settled. Being in boxes sends messages to our bodies and well as our minds that we are unsettled, and just getting things out of boxes begins to shift that.

  4. Yay! I like how you get in touch with your old friends and the Shutterfly card is so amazing. It’s a nice idea! Congrats again to you husband!

  5. I hope you start becoming more of an extrovert. It’s really more advantageous to be an extrovert than an introvert. It lets you have more friends. Extroverts are very outgoing and are usually motivated to attend social gatherings and mingle with new people exposing themselves to a variety of social interactions. Have fun!

    1. Actually many people would argue that its far more advantageous to be an introvert than an extrovert. There have been numerous studies about this.

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