It can be super disorientating to move to a new city, especially if it's a city you've never been to before. It's an uneasy feeling that you don't really belong, but when you're new you have to make waves for yourself to belong.
Time will often help you to overcome that feeling that you are foreign in a new place and move past those periods, but that can be quite tough in the beginning. You have to give yourself a break when it comes to moving to a new location because once you've moved into your new house, you then have a chance to settle in and get to know the area properly.
The post relocation period after you've moved doesn't have to be tough. All you really need is to be as organized as possible and ready for some good times with your new place. Unpacking usually comes next, but learning the secrets of your new home and learning how your new city will fare at nighttime, it's important. So with that in mind, let's take a look at the top things that you should be doing once you've moved into your new house and you finally have those keys in your hand.
- Work on getting connected. The very first thing that you should do once you've moved into a new house is make sure that your Internet connection and your phone numbers are set up. You need to make sure that you can reach out to other people, and it's important that you have these set up as early as possible. Once you get connected, you will feel like you are able to reach out to others and you'll feel like you're not so alone because you can still keep your links to your old place open.
Get organized with the boxes. Ideally, the movers won’t have overcharged you for the move itself, but hopefully they will have put all of the boxes in the right rooms so that you can get them unpacked as quickly as possible. This way, you can feel more settled quickly and you don't have to worry about trying to get things unpacked by lugging boxes to the correct rooms. Unpacking is going to feel like a huge task, and really, it is, but once you get started you’re going to feel so much more ‘moved in’ than you did the first night.
- Get to know your new home. Your new house is likely going to be completely unknown territory for you. And even if it's not just your house but the entire area, it's the time now to go and get to know it. You need to go and have a look around the residence for any signs of pre-existing damage, check any leaks in the pipes and keep your eyes open for any mold or any unpleasant pest infestation signs. Figure out where the fuse box and the main water shut off valves are in case as well, just for emergencies, and then write down any of the electricity and water readings for the meters. Then venture out into the Main Street and go and find the distance between where your new house is plus your local grocery store.
- Change your address. Now that you've moved, changing your address is a good idea. All of your utility companies, your phone bill, your Internet, they should all be newly set up at your new address. But you should also make sure that you reach out to the bank and to any other external companies, including your workplace, to let them know that you've moved address. The postal address of your new home is going to be vastly different from your last one, especially if you've relocated somewhere entirely new. Of all the things to do after you move into a new house, the task of changing your address should be an easy one. Just make a list of all of the places that you need to change it, and don't forget to go to the DMV.
- Register the kids at their new school. If you've moved with your family, you need to make sure that you've registered your children at their new school if they're changing areas. If you've just moved to a new house with a school age child, then understanding how important it is for them to settle into a new school is important too. It's exciting for your children to settle in and make new friends, and if you want them to merge with the new area as much as you have, then you need them to get into their new school as soon as possible so that life can resume as normal. Looking around educational institutions that are appropriate for their age is something you should have done before you moved. Ideally, you've moved into a great school district, so getting them started shouldn't take too long.
- Register at the doctors. Finding a suitable healthcare provider is vital if you've relocated to a new state. You may be able to stick to your current health care provider if you've just moved a couple of streets over from your existing house. But you do need to make sure that you have a new family physician for you and the whole family, and registering everybody is important. You need to make sure that you are local just in case somebody falls ill. You don't have to travel statewide or across town to be able to find your doctor.
- Socialize. Moving into a new home can be hard for everybody involved, so getting to know your neighbors and making new friends locally can really help. You want to get to know your neighbors so that you can reach out to them if you need to and you need any help for your family.
When you move into a new house, everything is exciting and new. You should make sure that you've ticked these things off your list so that you don't miss out on doing anything that could potentially set you up for your new life.