As we surpass the three-year mark since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work continues to remain at an all-time high.
Millennials are eager to experience the digital nomad lifestyle they were never able to take advantage of during the “pre-pandemic” days.
In addition, older generations are looking to relocate away from larger cities and into less urban communities to help reduce mortgage costs and lessen their overall tax burden.
Let’s dive in and explore what we’ve found to be the 7 most compelling advantages of relocation to a new location, no matter your current circumstances or where you currently live:
1. Reduced Cost of Living and Tax Benefits
More often than not, we tend to see residents packing up their suitcases and leaving the big cities in pursuit of a more affordable lifestyle. Especially with the current state of the economy, folks are leaving the largest metro areas in the U.S. such as New York and Los Angeles in favor of smaller cities like Houston and Austin.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began to taper off last year and people moved back to cities like NYC in droves, it soon led to a massive increase in rental costs city-wide, making it nearly impossible to afford the costs of living in the Big Apple or even the City of Angels for that matter.
Major cities have seen steep rises in common living costs including:
- Rent prices
- Mortgages
- Taxes
- Clothing
- Groceries (yes, especially eggs)
As a result, the overall cost of living has been by far the biggest advantage and influence for someone to move to a new location.
2. Better Career Prospects and Fast-Growing Job Market
Once residents know they can move to a different location to save money on things like rent, taxes and groceries, the 2nd most popular reason for sparking the desire to move is for better job opportunities.
In the remote world we live in today, even tech workers that built their career in San Francisco and other communities across Silicon Valley are opting for cheaper cities on the east coast such as:
- Boston
- Washington D.C.
- Raleigh
- Miami (and virtually every other city in Florida)
By building valuable new skills that are highly sought after and gaining more experience in fast-growing industries, you can quickly become a very appealing job prospect to almost any employer.
Not to mention, let’s say you really want to live in Austin, Texas and you currently live in Kansas City. Leading up to your potential move, you can rapidly start acquiring the right skills that are highly desired by specific companies in Downtown Austin.
Regardless of where you’re looking, the endless opportunities for professional growth and career development is a crucial advantage of moving to a new location.
3. Personal Growth, Self-Improvement and Education
Next up on the list, another strong advantage of switching cities is the personal growth that comes along with it. Here are a few examples:
- When you move to a new town or city, you’re forced to adapt to a new environment, gain new experiences and learn how to navigate different situations that may not be present where you currently live.
- By adapting to a new way of life in a new location, you develop the essential skills that come with the territory such as being able to resolve conflicts with people of many different personality types and backgrounds.
- Moving tends to push you far outside of your comfort zone as you enter the unknown, which leads to opportunities for personal transformation and being able to reinvent yourself.
Education is also a very strong advantage for relocating, which goes hand-in-hand with the professional and personal development elements we’ve been talking through.
When it comes to education, certain cities tend to have better universities than others, and certain towns tend to have better school districts than others. Because of this, it could make perfect sense to consider a local or long distance move for either your own continued education or better schooling for your kids.
4. Larger Social Circle, Dating Opportunities and Networking Events
Relocating to a different city or state can help you expand your social circle, establish new friendships and connect with people to help enrich any aspect of your personal or professional life. Here’s how:
- Meeting people from different cultures and walks of life can enrich your own personal life with fresh perspectives, experiences and feelings of inspiration.
- Many fun adventures can come from connecting with locals as well. As you become familiar with the downtown area in your new location and get a chance to visit the popular bars & restaurants, you may build a close friend group who you regularly blow off steam with after work and explore new places on the weekends.
- Shortly after relocating, you’ll likely discover many social events that allow you to network and make friends with folks who share similar interests as you both personally and professionally.
- Lastly, let’s not forget those of us who are looking for new dating prospects as well. As much as younger people are looking for casual relationships, others are looking for more serious situations where they can hopefully meet “the one” and settle down with them.
For larger cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City, there are plenty of people who are looking for both of those options. In smaller cities and local towns, you may need to search a bit harder, but whatever your goals are in the dating community are achievable.
5. Take Advantage of Increased Independence and Self-Reliance
For many people, the location where they currently live is where most of their family and friends are also located.
As soon as you uproot yourself from that location and move to a new destination, you usually need to rely on yourself more than ever since your same support group isn’t as close by anymore.
This can be especially true if you are moving to a place where you don’t know anyone or are unfamiliar with how friendly people are.
For example, people tend to say that New Yorkers are some of the least friendly people they’ve ever met, but folks from cities across Florida and Alabama tend to be the nicest people ever.
Simply by having the courage and confidence in yourself to relocate to a new environment, this type of advantage can quickly create a strong sense of independence and self-reliance, which will help you learn new skills and make more friends.
6. Try Out New Foods and Experience a Different Culture
Without a doubt, one of the most exciting advantages of moving to a new location is being able to fully immerse yourself in the culture that’s celebrated the most there. A couple ways that people might explore the culture of their new location are:
- Let’s start with the obvious one: Food! Each town, city or state has its own unique cuisines, dishes and treats that it’s most known for. Whether it’s delicious dry rub BBQ down south or lobster rolls up in Maine, food tends to play a huge role in attracting people to a new location.
- Events, festivals, fairs and concerts are a very fun way to experience the culture of your new location. If you move to a city that coordinates year-round food festivals, then you get the best of both worlds by experiencing a new cuisine in a fully immersive environment.
- Museums, art galleries and classes are another great way to explore the culture of your new location. You can learn about the history and values of your community, giving you a deeper appreciation of the culture and people that influence your new hometown.
7. Sometimes You Simply Just Need a Change
There are definitely moments in life where people need to start over with a clean slate, especially if they’re going through a bit of a rut or tired of the same old routine.
One of the best ways to reinvigorate your life and kickstart a new adventure is to actually place yourself in an entirely new environment.
If you live in New York City, for example, moving to another sprawling city like Los Angeles or San Francisco can achieve this just as much as moving to a smaller city such as Raleigh or Austin.
Hopefully one or more of these advantages have started to spark some inspiration to encourage you to consider moving to a new destination, even if it’s only for a temporary relocation.
Moving to a new place can offer plenty of positive benefits that lead to personal growth, professional development, and sometimes, completely life-changing experiences that bring constant fulfillment.
To learn more about the nuances of moving locally, from city to city or nationwide, feel free to visit FlatRate anytime as we look forward to continue helping navigate you to wherever life takes you.