How to Move to a New City and Start Over

September 6, 2021Moving Tips
Milly Andrews

Born and raised in Portland, Milly has had a lot of experience moving and writing about the relocation process.

When you decide that it’s time for a change and start dreaming about different places, learning how to move to a new city should find a way on your relocation to-do list. Moving to a new city could be exciting and amazing, but it doesn’t come without plenty of preparation and work by your side. Let us be your guide – follow our instructions, and we promise you that your transition will be as easy as it gets.

Jersey City at night
Follow our tips and ensure that excitement is your strongest emotion during the move

How Much Money Should I Save to Move to a New City?

Planning your relocation budget would be one of the first steps when you decide to move. However, keep in mind that you have to think about more than the expenses of the relocation itself – when you find a housing option that suits you, you’ll have to cash in a deposit and buy furniture and other necessities. Maybe you’ll even have to pay for accommodations before you decide on the place you’ll buy or rent. That is why nobody could tell you the exact relocation cost by heart – there are just too many factors that could affect the final figure.

Relocation expenses could vary from a few hundred to ten thousand dollars, or even more, depending on your choices about the relocation process. They depend on whether you want to hire cross-country movers or move by yourself, will you need additional relocation services, the length of your inventory list, and so on. Each of your decisions will impact the final price, so when questioning what is the first thing to do when moving to a new city, think about determining a relocation budget – it will dictate most of the aspects of your move. In addition to that, count on about $500 more than you calculated, as the money needed for “just in case” occasions.

In conclusion, if you are wondering, “how do I move to another city with no money,” it’s more than obvious that it’s not the real possibility, which is why you have to start saving when necessary – but how to save money to move exactly? Start cooking instead of eating out, walk instead of drive and ensure to always keep track of your spending – that is how you’ll see the best where you could cut unnecessary expenses.

Finding a Roommate or Moving Into an Apartment With Friends

First of all, keep in mind that the common housing option when it comes to the cities is usually an apartment, with more possibilities for renting than for buying. One of the good ways of saving money while living in another town or, rather, a metropolis is sharing your apartment with the people who seek the same. It could be your friends, acquaintances, or strangers – just be safe if choosing the last option. If you are not already relocating with your friend, before you hire cross-country movers, consider to:

  • Visit and use safe roommate searching websites, like Roomi, that are keen on keeping their users safe, primarily by providing a background check of potential roomies.
  • Go through your online network and share your request for roommates on social media and online groups so that acquaintances could see.
  • Ask your friends if they know some people who would be interested in sharing costs.

Give USA Auto Transport an Ask for a Free Quote

Get A Quote

Choosing the Right Place for Yourself

If you have the freedom to decide where to live, you’ll experience the excitement, but also the trouble of finding the place that suits you the best. The most important thing is to be realistic – we could say with certainty that you won’t love absolutely every aspect of your future home. It is on you to create a list of your priorities and explore different possibilities until you find the right one. Keep in mind that you won’t need to explore only each of the cities, but their neighborhoods as well, especially if you are relocating to a metropolis.

Cost of Living – The First Concern for a Future Home

The cost of the rent, groceries, transportation, utilities, or taxes is the main concern for most people planning to live in different cities. The only rule that could serve as your guide is that life in big cities is costlier than one in small towns. However, if you opt for relocating to a small town, remember that you’ll usually have to make amends with smaller salaries, too. On the other hand, if you don’t have any other choice than to move to a metropolis for business, love, or just because you love that lifestyle, start budgeting wisely.

Safety – The Concern That Should Come First

Exploring a city’s crime rates and crime history should be the priority when choosing a place to relocate, but concerns about the money often prevail. One of the relocation mistakes that could have severe consequences is just that – choosing the cheaper instead of safer area. Safety always needs to come first, so try not to forget it.

Choosing the Right Type of Surroundings and Community

Relocating to a different home means that you’ll have to start fresh in entirely different surroundings, and it’s always best if it could be a match to your preferences. If you are an extrovert enjoying partying and vivid nightlife or a person of culture who wants to grow at a large culture scene, metropolises could be your soulmates. However, if a sense of community and family values are what you are chasing for, we suggest you take a look at smaller towns or cities’ suburbs.

A group of houses in the city's neighborhood
Smaller cities are known for more family and friendly-originated life than metropolises

Ensuring Not to Waste Your Time

If we follow the saying that time is money, it is no surprise that it has found its place on our list. When possible, you should always look for neighborhoods that will provide you with close-by amenities for you and your family, nearby schools, and reasonable commuting periods. Traffic jams and public transportation systems, on the other hand, will play a big part in your decision about whether you will relocate without a car or contact a USA auto transport company that transports cars from state to state and ask for professional help.

Getting Acquainted With Possible Job Opportunities or How Do I Move to a New City Without a Job?

Relocation to big cities is commonly reserved for those ambitious spirits who want to make big names of themselves and succeed at some of the best companies in their fields. If you are not relocating for work, be sure to explore the possibilities cities have to offer, and if you are questioning how do I get a job in a new city before I move, ensure to take your chances through the online world. Share your work biographies and try to land several interviews before the relocation day. The common technique people who want to find work long-distance use is changing their location on work searching applications even before they move so that they could appear in the search results for that area – try it yourself. And if you want to find out more helpful tips about securing a job in another state, don’t miss watching the following video.

YouTube video

How to Move to a New City – The Relocation Process

After you finally decide about the place that will be your future home, it is time to organize the relocation process itself. Relocation out of state is much more complex than the local one and demands your total commitment when it comes to each of the smaller tasks that are part of it.

After you decide about the amount of money that is at your disposal, you need to choose between a DIY option, as a cheaper one, or hiring long-distance movers, as one that is more likely to provide you with a stress-free relocation. And from there on, the tree is only spreading its branches – after the initial decision, you’ll have a lot more to make.

For example, if you decide not to contact professional movers, you will have to choose between relocating by using your vehicle or by renting a relocation truck or container. On the other hand, if the choice falls on a long-distance relocation company, know that there will be a lot of difficulties connected to choosing the reliable and trustworthy one. After you contact a certain company, ensure to check if it is a legitimate one – use the USDOT number their representative provided you with to gather proof of the company’s license and insurance.

The same goes for a car shipping company – after you contact one, use the USDOT number the same way, but be prepared to make other decisions about the car shipping process, like whether you want to choose the open trailer option or enclosed auto transport as well as if you want the more affordable terminal-to-terminal delivery or door-to-door one, as a more convenient option.

Don’t Underestimate the Nightmare Called Packing

Among all of the relocation tasks you are going to be faced with, we can guarantee that most of your energy will be spent on packing – if you decide against hiring packing services. In order to avoid more stress than needed, ensure to organize every aspect of it – choose the rooms you’ll be packing first, gather all of the packing supplies before you start with it, and plan which items you’ll use as relocation essentials. Of course, finding packing tips for moving and applying them will ensure that you’ll pack and move efficiently.

Keep in mind that thinking about what to get rid of when relocating could save your money and let you spend more hours on other things to do after relocation, and not waste all on unpacking after the move. Also, if you are downsizing and moving from house to apartment, this action will provide you with more space in a small living area.

Bonus tip: If you see that it is just too much trouble for one person, don’t be stubborn – ask a friend or family member for help.

Couple laughing before cross-country moving
Guilt your loved ones who live nearby to help you pack

Updating Your Personal Information After Moving

When you are starting over in a different town or metropolis, if it’s located in another state, you should also pay attention to all that needs to be registered, updated, and changed. Ensure to:

  • Change your address at USPS,
  • Notify all important subjects, like bank and loan providers, alongside IRS and life insurance providers about the change of address,
  • Transfer utilities, or, rather, look for utility providers for your future home,
  • Update your healthcare – know that it is highly possible that you will need to change the provider,
  • Register your car and get a driver’s license,
  • Register your pet and get a pet license,
  • Register to vote.
A cat in a box filled with foam peanuts
If having a pet is an essential part of your life, don't forget to get a pet license

Preparing Yourself for a Change

With all the physical tasks in front of you, it’s easy to neglect your emotions, but know that emotional preparation for such a big transition is crucial at preserving your mental health. People tend to focus on hiring companies, packing, and calculating but don’t do anything to prepare themselves for change. That, in turn, leads to problems like adjustment insomnia in the beginning stages, and depression after relocation, at the advanced ones.

One of the best ways to prevent anxiety about relocation is learning how to cope with all the hard parts of the move and focusing on the benefits. If you’ll miss your loved ones, for example, learn all the ways on how to keep in touch with friends and family, but also start exploring the place and meeting neighbors and other people. No matter your reasons to move, learn how to cope with the fear of relocation so that it doesn’t become your ball and chain after the move. Fight it with the power of positive thinking – and the positive will come.

Get a Quote

    check mark
    Download as PDF

    Moving Checklist

    Get a Free Estimate 855.675.3451