It’s no secret that moving to a new home is overwhelming and stressful. Despite the excitement you feel, relocating tugs at your heartstrings, too. If you reach your destination feeling as empty as the moving van your moving company just unloaded, you could be experiencing homesickness. Feeling this way could last a short time or reside in your heart until you resolve to make the best of it. So let’s explore how to alleviate homesickness after you move.
Do Your Homework
Researching your new hometown before moving will help you avoid homesickness. If you know what to expect and even plan to visit featured attractions in the area, you’ll look forward to moving. Connecting with other city transplants and joining meet-up groups will offer you social outlets and support. On LinkedIn, Dorothy Dalton suggests asking your company if they provide “relocation support” to their transferred employees which will help.
Great Homesick Expectations
One way to reduce the likelihood of enduring homesickness is to acknowledge that it will happen once the moving company leaves. WikiHow even says that feeling a sense of dread may devolve into homesickness before you move. Although you should allow yourself time to be sad and reflect on what you miss, don’t dwell on feelings for long. Resolve to snap out of it and take advantage of what’s good.
You May Be Homesick If…
According to WikiHow, here are the symptoms indicating homesickness: “nostalgia, depression, anxiety and abnormal behaviors.” You may experience just some or all and to different degrees depending on the situation, your personality is facing change, and how often you’ve moved in the past.
Stay in Touch…Sometimes
With the advent of social media and incredible ease of connecting with others, you may be tempted to constantly stay in touch with loved ones. While you should keep the lines of communication open after embarking on long-distance moving, distance makes the heart grow fonder and makes it easier to adjust if you’re not desperately waiting around for contact. Communicate occasionally, maybe at the same time weekly, so that you can relay your new adventures and check-in.
It’s New to You
Sitting around, and dwelling on the past will not heal homesickness but staying busy will keep you occupied and introduce you to new people and places. Seek out favored activities in your new city and see what they’re like or strike out anew, taking up new hobbies to keep your mind stimulated and off your supposed misery. If exercise is your pastime, that’s even better because endorphins cancel out sad feelings. Lifehacker suggests “creating new traditions,” whether it’s completing errands on a certain day or buying coffee at the same café every morning.
Happiness is a Security Blanket
All Linus from the Peanuts needs is his trusty blanket with him which probably would help if he ever became homesick. When sorting through your moving boxes either from storage or the move, select a few items that remind you of home and display them or keep them close by to bring sunshine to days when you’re lonely for home.
Find a Friend
One thing you may need most to combat the homesickness you contracted from moving is a friend. Find one who will listen when you vent your frustrations and regale them with hilarious tales, and you’ll be moving on faster than you think. Unfortunately, some cannot shake their depression over moving, especially if circumstances were less than ideal. In that case, do not hesitate to make a doctor’s appointment for further treatment.