3 Steps to Take BEFORE You Move (Relocation Tips + Checklist)
I've lived in 15 countries on five continents and moved more times than I can count.
In this article, I'm gonna give you three essential steps that you’ll need to take before relocating, no matter your situation. I’ll even tell you how you can get paid to move! 👇
1. Create Your Non-Negotiable List
Picking where to live without preparing this criteria is like going to the airport without a flight. Preparation starts with knowing what you want because of why you're choosing to move.
Maybe you're tired of living in a place where the sun doesn't exist. Maybe you're looking for a better school system for your kids. Or maybe you work remote and the cost of living in your current city forces you to live in a shoebox. Prepare this non negotiable list like your life depends on it. Think about what aspects of a new location would make this a huge upgrade for you. Think about the things that you currently like about the city that you live in, and think about the things that are missing.
For me when I'm considering a new place to go, my non negotiable list starts with walkability, access to gyms, and the sun. I could live without ever seeing a snowflake again. What are the things you're not willing to live without? Whether that be the certain types of amenities that are available, the weather, or furry festival…Look, I don't know what you're into. If you're going to go through the hassle of relocating, you might as well relocate to a place that is worth it.
2. Make a List of Locations That Fit
If you already know exactly where you want to move, these are certain things that can really help you deep dive into the research of exactly what neighborhood to live in.
The first step in the research process is just to consider who's already in your network that might live in a place that you want to live. And secondarily, what communities are you part of that might have a presence in one of those potential places?
For me, I'm part of various remote work and digital nomad communities like the Dynamite Circle, Nomad Base, Remote Year, and all these different communities become great resources for me when I'm considering a new location. Because I can just tap into that community and find people that I may not know, but there are people that live there, so they can get me connected and get me an additional perspective.
When I was first traveling and relocating all the time, I wasn't necessarily part of all these communities. So I would even just go on LinkedIn and find people that were in that area that has similar interests or similar backgrounds. Or I would look at co-working spaces or different places that hosted events and find where the people were meeting with similar interests to mine. There are also a ton of websites dedicated to helping you get information about specific cities. Citydata is good for anything from weather to crime rates to median incomes to cemeteries.
If you work remotely and you want to get paid, check out Make My Move. They're a marketplace that connects cities that have relocation incentives to remote workers. If you go to the site, you can find places that are giving away cash, land, memberships, and all sorts of different incentives to people that want to move to those cities, some of which are offering over $10,000. What would you do with that extra 10K? Maybe you'd finally buy that 24 piece fondue set you've been hiding!
Melted cheese aside, to complete your research process, please visit the cities that you have at the top of your list. If you can go there for at least a week or even longer, it's going to help you get acclimated and really get a feel for what the neighborhoods are like that you're considering.
3. Plan and Execute Your Relocation
Let's say that you visited the places that you want to go. You've made a decision on the city, the state, whatever location it is you are locked in. Now it's time to execute. How you plan up to three months in advance of a move can make or break your success.
Use my 30-60-90 day plan worksheet to plan your move. Start with your ideal leave date and then back into all the different things that you need to do. ⬇️
Some very important high level things to remember:
Contact moving professionals early because there are different seasons in which they get really busy and have a really long lead time.
Set up an appointment in the DMV in your new city.
Set up the utilities, cable, internet, anything that you need from day one once you get there well in advance, so that's not something you're dealing with during the last week or once you get there.
Start giving away or selling your shit. You don't need everything and this is a really good opportunity when you're moving to start minimizing and getting rid of some things that have been sitting in your closet or sitting in storage for a long time. Whatever you haven't used in a number of months, you don't need it. And keep in mind, you can always buy new things once you get to the new location, especially if you're going really far.
A 30, 60, 90 day plan gives you enough components runway to make some mistakes but also make sure that you save money in the long run. So use the worksheet below and make sure you give yourself some space, some time and adjustment period once you do reach your new location.