15 Tips for Relocating to a New Town

Moving is always hard work but relocating to a new town can be exceptionally hard, even when you are excited about your next chapter in life. As your real estate agent, I can refer you to an agent in your new town to help you find your new home, and also give you referrals for other services you will need, such as recommendations for hotels, restaurants, child care, and pet boarding while you get settled.

To help make the logistics of your relocation as smooth as possible, here are some to-do items you may not have thought about yet that will help you when relocating to a new town

1) To keep or not to keep.

As soon as you know you will be moving, start to organize your belongings, getting rid of things you don’t want to take with you. The less you take with you when relocating to a new town, the less of a headache you may have. Also, sometimes the new space may not even fit what you currently have. Always remember, you buy furniture for your apartment not buying your apartment for your furniture.

2) Have a packing stash

Collect used packing materials like boxes and bubble wrap to reduce what you will need to purchase. Boxes and packing material pricing can get up there, especially if you have a large place and a lot of items to pack and protect. Simply saving those amazon boxes or stopping at local supermarkets or warehouses can help alleviate that cost. Even posting a question on your Facebook page for friends to see would help out too. When I relocated from NYC to Chester, NY, I had asked my clients who I had just recently helped purchase a home, if they had any spare boxes that they weren’t using. I was able to get two big boxes just by asking.

3) Pack rarely used items first

Start packing items you don’t use daily, like family mementos, holiday decorations, books, and décor accessories. Doing this will help you to not get overwhelmed when it’s crunch time.

4) Shop around for moving companies

Get an estimate from moving companies and schedule a tentative date with the one you choose, but don’t stop there. Check on Yelp, Google, Angies List, and Facebook (etc) for reviews, not all moving companies are created equal. Since you are relocating to a new town, you want to be sure that your belongings are safe while in transport and that there aren’t any delays. Ask your real estate agent, you can ask me for NYC moving companies, as well as friends, acquaintances and family.

5) Check out the neighborhood

Visit your new town, if possible, and arrange a driving tour with a real estate agent that can show you different neighborhoods, shopping centers, and the locations of hospitals, schools, churches, and recreational facilities or parks. Doing this will help you figure out if this is a good fit for you, and if applicable, your family.

6) Find out more about the schools

When you know what school district your children will enroll in, visit the schools your children will attend to meet the principal and tour the grounds. There is a lot you can find out just by going there and make a list of questions that you would want to ask the principal and staff to help ease your mind on things and make you more prepared for the school transition.

7) Get familiar with Nextdoor

Once you know what neighborhood you will be living in, join Nextdoor or the neighborhood Facebook group page to keep abreast of what’s happening there. I have joined several of the local Facebook groups in my area and learned a lot of things from people there as well as gotten referrals for local tax preparer, doctors, and veterinarians.

8) Keep your files in a safe and memorable space

Locate and pack your important papers and ID’s so that you know where they are at all times.

9) Work relocation services

If your company is offering you relocation services, make sure you know all the terms. Often, they will cover items you might not think about, like the cost of shipping your car or professional organizers to help you unpack. They may also be negotiable in what they cover.

10) Save your receipts

Save all your moving expense receipts. If you are moving 50 miles or more from your old job to start a new job, your expenses may be tax-deductible.

11) Connect and disconnect services

Make a list of services you need to terminate in your old town and services you need to initiate after relocating to the new town.

12) Cancel your future appointments

If you have a doctor, dentist, veterinary, or hair appointments scheduled ahead of time, call and cancel them. Sure, you’re no longer going to be using them so who cares, right? Wrong! These are professionals who had set aside time to serve you or your loved ones, or loved animals. Let them open up their schedule so that they can serve another in your place since you no longer in need of their services, unless you’re willing to travel.

13) Transfer your subscriptions and change your address

Remember to transfer subscriptions for things like magazines, food deliveries, and mail-order prescriptions. Lots of the time, updating your address with the United States Postal Service does that for you when it comes to magazines but just in case, update it through your service directly as well. Change your delivery address on your Amazon, Target, Shipt, or other shopping accounts so you don’t accidentally ship items to your old address and change your address on all of your credit and banking account as well.

14) Update the Department of Motor Vehicles

Schedule an appointment to transfer your automobile registration and driver’s license if moving to a new state or just update it to the new address within the state. Now a days, you can do all of this online if you’re staying in the state, so that saves a trip to their office while helping you to avoid their typically long waiting times. When you update your address through them, you can also take care of your voter registration at the same time.

15) Transfer your voter’s registration

If you didn’t do this at the Department of Motor Vehicles or just want to do this separately, transfer your voter’s registration. Get this done right away, especially if your move is close to a major election registration deadline so that you can participate and vote.

If you are in need of assistance with your move out of New York, don’t hesitate to contact me. I know some great trustworthy people that can help. If you’re planning on moving to the area, I’m here for that too! I service Orange, Rockland, Westchester and Putnam Counties. Feel free to contact me.