800-345-1275

When Opportunity Calls-Tips on Moving to a New City

Posted Jul 18, 2014 by

When opportunity calls, sometimes it’s calling from a new city. Whether it’s the next town over, or across the country, setting up in a new place can be exciting and also a little challenging. Whether it’s a temporary move or a relocation, it’s good to get out and explore.

Four years ago I left my college town, and settled about two hours away. It took me around a year to really start to feel at home. Here are some helpful tips that made getting settled a lot easier…

Setting up a routine gave me a sense of familiarity since my city was totally new to me. Becoming a regular at a local coffee shop, or in my case brewery, really helped. Every Thursday we’d go to the same small hole in the wall brewery and it was like Cheers – everyone knew everyone after a few months. In fact, they became so much like family that the owner of the brewery ended up officiating our wedding ceremony.

Establishing go-to places really helps too. Within a year or so I had my go-to drug store, hardware store, grocery store, doctor, pizza place, Chinese take-out, Mexican restaurant, etc… Meet a hair dresser/barber that you really like and become a regular. Most people go in for a haircut, or some hair service, on a fairly consistent basis, so finding someone I looked forward to made me feel more at home. Finding businesses and people that I really liked took some time, but it was fun trying out new places and it helped me get to know new areas.

Finally, don’t be afraid to get lost and don’t stress out too much if you do. Getting lost is how I ended up learning my way around AND you might end up finding some really neat places along the way.

There are lots of great articles out there with more tips for moving to a new city. I’ve included a few of them below. What are your tips for feeling at home after a move?

Contributed by Katie Stewart| Consultant Services Coordinator

Tags:
, ,