Moving to a New City for Work
Starting a new job in a brand new city brings with it a whole lot of challenges but it’s also a great opportunity to make a fresh start. It might be difficult and sometimes stressful, but don’t forget the positive side. In a new job and a new city you’re free to build the kind of life you’ve always wanted from the ground up.
The first thing to do is find a place to live. If you’ll be staying in temporary accommodations for a while before settling into a new home, consider moving to storage rather than hauling all those boxes from place to place with you. Just take what you need- a few changes of clothes and shoes, toiletries, and personal items you don’t want to entrust to a moving company. It saves on costs and it certainly saves on stress. Once you’ve got a house or an apartment lined up, just get the boxes out of storage and unpack everything.
Some companies will offer financial assistance to relocating employees. That can help cover the costs associated with finding a new home, hiring long distance movers to handle your furniture and clothing, and everything else. As for the more informational kind of help, don’t hesitate to ask new colleagues what they think of a particular neighborhood or where the best places to shop and eat are. They’ll probably be only too happy to provide advice and it can be a great way of starting up a conversation and making a few new friends.
Kjersti Anderson, an employee at Latin America For Less, a travel company with offices in the U.S. as well as South America, was recently asked to pick up and move to Lima, Peru.
“For such a distant move I put a lot of thought into what I would bring south with me. It was initially tempting to want to bring as much items from home as possible, but in the end, I only took what I could carry. Lima has plenty to offer for purchase and is extremely affordable. It made more sense for me to purchase bigger items here locally rather than try and pay for shipping internationally…All in all, the combination of fantastic company support and pre-planning helped make this recent long distance move a wonderful and fiasco-free experience.”
Company support is a huge plus!
First impressions count, so go out of your way to be helpful and friendly to your workmates even if you might not feel like it (moving city can be exhausting). If you’re invited out for drinks after work do try and go along. Even if there are other things that need doing, remember that getting office relationships off on the right foot will improve your career prospects and make the day-to-day working environment much more pleasant.
When you know where you’ll be living, take the time to explore the area. Try out a few different restaurants- human beings are creatures of habit and we tend to eat at a few favorites and ignore other choices. Don’t settle for the first pizza joint you come across because there might be a better one just down the street. Experiment and find the restaurants you really like. The same goes for grocery stores, gyms, movie theatres, and even jogging routes.
Once the packers, movers, and cardboard boxes have gone, enjoy your new home. Check out the local tourist attractions and the museums and galleries. Go for a drive out to the nearest National Park or outdoor recreation area. If there are beaches, woods, or mountains close by, take a Saturday and soak up the views. You might have moved to a new city for work but once the job is running smoothly and you’ve got the basics sorted out, it’s time to start living in that city too.
