Thinking About Moving – What to Do

Do have an itch to move?

It comes out of nowhere.  One day you’re living life like normal, the next you’re seriously thinking about moving to Seattle.  And it’s perfectly normal.  Of the tens of thousands of people who move each year, many of them simply want to move somewhere new.  However, even they don’t just move on a whim.

Where the idea to move was spontaneous, you still need to explore it before you actually act on it.  This means learning about the place you’e thinking about moving to and determining whether it’s right for you.

Research

The first step is to learn a bit about the place you’re thinking about moving to.  Spend a few hours simply researching it to make sure it matches up to your needs and desires.

First, create a list of things that are important to you, including:

• Job markets
• Weather
• Nature
• Public transit and/or highway systems
• Culture
• Food and drink
• Pricing
• Venues and attractions

Then get on the Internet and start looking for how your desired city matches up.  Take notes.  Here are some good sites to start with:

• City-data.com
• Wikipedia
• Yelp!
• The local newspaper
• Crimereports.com
• Google maps

After you do your preliminary research, you should have a much better idea about whether the place is right for you.  If it is, then you can start seriously looking into moving there.

Visit

Visiting is a great way to confirm your desire to move somewhere, especially if you’ve never actually been there before.  It allows you to get a feel for the place and experience what your day-to-day life would be like there.

If you decide to visit somewhere you’re thinking about moving, you need to keep in mind a few things, so that you get the most out of it:

• Don’t sightsee – You don’t visit tourist attractions when you live somewhere, so don’t do it when you’re visiting a place you’re thinking about moving to.
• Focus on daily routine – You won’t know where you’ll live exactly, but get a feel for public transit, if you expect to use it, or for the neighborhood you expect to live in, or the city sector you think you’ll work in.  Eat at restaurants, and check out the shopping options for groceries and other essentials.
• Talk to people – The best way to learn about a place is to talk to people who live there.  While visiting, try to spark conversation with locals.  Also, contemplate trying to set a lunch date with someone who works in your industry.