7 Things You Should Know When Moving From a Small Town to a Big City

August 19, 2022Moving Tips
Blake Shaw

Bostonian and residential moving and packing expert. Blake Shaw enjoys bar-hopping, music, and writing insightful content.

Moving from a small town to a big city has the potential to completely change your lifestyle. Both environments have their advantages and disadvantages, and there is no denying that some habits are hard to break. But you shouldn’t be relocating to a bigger place with a negative attitude. Indeed, some changes might feel uncomfortable in the beginning, but once the period of adaptation is passed, you’ll see that there are many benefits of living in a big city.

Research Is Crucial When Moving From a Small Town to a Big City

What to know before moving to a big city? Make sure to put “doing research” on top of your relocating to-do list, especially if this is your first experience with relocations. This will help you overcome the adjustment insomnia much quicker. Here are the main things that have to be assessed:

Cost of living

It’s important to be sure that you will be comfortable after taking care of all the expenses and bills. Bigger cities demand different financial perspectives, and knowing what to expect helps a lot. Luckily there are great sources of information on the internet like Numbeo.

Quality of the environment

Available public amenities, public transportation, traffic, the quality of education facilities, and career prospects are some of the things that have to meet your standards.

Neighborhoods

When relocating to a metropolis, you will have to spend a lot of time researching the neighborhoods. In multimillion cities, each neighborhood has its own characteristics, given the fact that they can be bigger than your hometown, so be sure to at least check the reviews.

Finally, before you start searching for a USA auto transport company, consider visiting the potential places in person if the relocation budget allows it. This is considered to be one of the best house hunting tips since you will be able to inspect a potential home personally.

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Living in a Metropolitan Area Is More Expensive

How do you adjust to big city life? The most important thing is to be realistic about your current financial situation and live accordingly. Life in a big city is exciting, and each day you will have the opportunity to experience something new. However, especially in the beginning, try to take a more frugal approach until you have adjusted to the environment. There will be plenty of opportunities to try out all the restaurants and visit all cultural institutions.

You Can Save Money in the New City by Having the Right Information

As mentioned above, the best way to address the issue of how to move to a big city is to first research the cost of living. However, there are ways to save money, and here are some approaches:

  • Bigger cities will have a lot of different chains and local stores. The good idea is to ask your neighbors about the most cost-effective ones (this will be a great way to start making friends as well). Sometimes the differences in prices can be drastic.
  • Public transportation can be cheaper than driving. Therefore, if it suits you, consider using the metro or a bus for commuting. Driving stress will be avoided as well by doing so.
  • Try to make your own food at home as much as possible. Indeed, there will be a lot of fancy restaurants, but dining outside isn’t quite budget-friendly. Metropolises usually have a lot of lovely flea markets, and above all, such a diet will most likely be healthier.

If you are wondering – “How do people move to big cities with no money?” you should probably take it slow, save money to move before booking a car shipping company, and organize relocation once you feel financially secure. Here is a useful video on how to save money in metropolitan areas.

YouTube video

Going on Foot Won’t Be an Option Most of the Time

We have to be completely honest and state that living without a car in bigger cities can be difficult. Very few individuals have the privilege of walking to their workplace, and you will most likely have to either drive or take some public transport. But the same applies to everything else. Often if you want to visit some venue or a park, it will be impossible to go on foot.

If you are an avid driver, one of the factors which can affect your decision on where to live is the traffic system. There are some great US cities for drivers, but on the other hand, there are also cities with awful traffic conditions. If you are a person who is still struggling with driving anxiety, this will certainly be an important element.

You Don’t Necessarily Have to Drive to the New Location

If you want to save on relocation costs, driving might not be the best option for shipping cars in the USA because of gas prices. Hence, you should consider hiring a long-distance moving company and auto transport services. There are many benefits of professional car shipping. For example, if you have to ship your car in winter, the service of enclosed auto transport is available when an open trailer is not suitable, and you will also be able to choose between door-to-door auto transport and terminal-to-terminal car shipping.

Person driving a car to a car shipping company
Having a car can save you a lot of time

Your Home Will Most Likely Be an Apartment

Before booking a long-distance moving company and their packing services, know that when coming from a smaller place, the chances that you will be relocating from a house to an apartment are high. At first, this might seem like a disadvantage. However, apartments generally require less maintenance, and you will have to downsize for the move. People often get surprised at how much useless stuff they possess in their houses, and you will learn that many things are unnecessary after relocating to an apartment.

People Often Have to Find Roommates When Moving to Bigger Cities

How do you move to a big city alone? If you are struggling to find affordable housing, there is always an option to find a roommate. That means that you will be splitting with someone. However, finding a roommate is not always an ideal choice to make. When you ask a certain individual – “Why do people move from small towns to big cities?“, the answer will be the desire to start an independent life. If that is your case as well, it will probably be better to find modest housing than a roommate.

Photo of a room with a black sofa
There will be some adjusting, but an apartment has its advantages

Local People Will Go About Their Day and Not Care Much About You

This is one of the main points of the “Is it better to live in a small town or a big city” debate, and the outcome will depend on your preferences. In bigger cities, when you go out for a walk, hundreds of individuals will walk beside you without even noticing your presence. There is a chance that you won’t even get to meet all your neighbors. Minding your own business is a hallmark of all metropolises.

Nonetheless, Making Friends in Bigger Cities Is Incredibly Easy

The thing is, residents of metropoles have their own close circle of friends, and you have to make some effort in order to get introduced to one. However, that isn’t difficult at all. Workplace, university, parks, restaurants, nightclubs, wherever you go – it will be filled with opportunities to establish new relationships. You just have to be active. Isolating after the move is never good, and the relocation anxiety will just get worse.

Pedestrians crossing the street
Streets will always be busy

The Fun Never Stops in Metropoles

Why living in the city is better? Your smaller hometown probably has one or two festivals each year, a few nice restaurants, and other occasional cultural events like concerts or exhibitions. Naturally, young people get bored of such an environment and look to relocate somewhere else. In metropoles, you will have the chance to attend some events literally every day. However, you might want to take it slowly until you have learned how to balance your finances.

Children Will Like All the Fun Activities as Well, but They Will Also Be Able to Attend First-Class Schools and Universities

Is it better to move to a big city? This is a difficult question when relocating with kids. However, there is no denying that children will have the opportunity to engage in all sorts of fun and educational activities. Moreover, there will be much more educational facilities to choose from, and let us not forget that all bigger cities have renowned universities.

A crowd enjoying a concert
You will never run out of new things to do in a metropolis

Bigger Cities Usually Have High Levels of Cultural Diversity

How do you become a city person? By being open-minded. One of the greatest advantages of a metropolis is its high cultural diversity. That means that your neighbors will probably be of different nationalities. Hence, you will be given the opportunity to learn about different cultures, and by doing so, you will most likely adopt fresh outlooks and new healthy habits. Finally, in such environments, it’s much easier to establish friendships, as most individuals have probably gone through the very same process of relocation that you are going through.

You Will Have the Opportunity to Try Food From All Over the World

Now, we all know that nothing can beat home cooking, but in metropoles, you will get the chance to try any cuisine you can think of. And we are not talking about fancy restaurants. Expat communities often open their own authentic restaurants where they cook food in the traditional way, and it will most likely be more affordable than the mainstream places.

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Your Daily Schedule Will Not Be as Flexible as in Your Hometown

This is another characteristic that is, at first, perceived as a negative one. But, you could also think about it in this way. Life in a metropolis will demand much more responsibility and organization. There simply won’t be enough time some days to both fulfill all your obligations and enjoy leisure activities.

In order to achieve a healthy work-life balance, you need to plan ahead. Of course, studying or working is most important, but you mustn’t disregard leisure time which is equally important for a healthy lifestyle. Hence, you have to be realistic when making new plans and behave in a way that will be both beneficial to your professional and personal life. You have probably grown accustomed to things like impromptu visits to a bar after work or classes, but in bigger cities, that often isn’t possible without good organization.

A Person Can Benefit a Lot From Relocating to a Metropolis

In the end, you won’t know whether you like the metropolitan lifestyle until you have relocated. If you feel that the monotony is affecting your mental health or that your education pursuit or career is stagnating, it’s completely natural to think about relocating. As a person, you will develop in all respects from such a decision.

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