One of the downsides to being a professional is that sometimes you are required to relocate; either at the request of your current employer or out of necessity because you have a new employer. With all the changes that occur at the job, moving can be a daunting task. Yet it doesn’t have to be. Below are some tips for relocating efficiently and effectively:
Finding the Right Neighborhood
If you are moving to a city with unique neighborhoods or have some flexibility in where you are going to live, you should research the areas first. If you know you don’t want to be in a certain area, you will be able to pare down your list of places you have to look at and make your life easier. If you know which areas you would like more than others, it will help you in comparing the places and figuring out the best fit for you. While this may be obvious, actually carrying out the tasks of doing the research may be another story. If you are familiar with neighborhoods of one city and want to be able to compare the new areas to what you know, try Homethinking Neighborhoods. The site is really easy to use and users also submit their reviews of the website’s comparison. If you are simply interested in getting empirical data on your prospective areas, try Yahoo Neighborhoods or City-Data.com. These sites provide information on demographics, crime, housing, school performance, and much more. Doing your research ahead of time will help prevent you from regretting your choice later.
Finding the Right Place
Once you have figured out what areas you could see yourself living in, you actually need to find a place. The first question is whether you are going to buy or rent. One place to look is HotPads.com. There are links for a Buy v. Rent Calculator, a map of foreclosure and pricing indexes, and renters and buyers guides. If you have decided to rent, Craigslist is still one of the most popular sites for listing rental properties. The problem with the site is that it is pretty much a blog, and as such, lists the properties and includes descriptions and possibly pictures. This leaves you trying to figure out exactly where it is by using GoogleMaps or MapQuest to find it. Solution? HousingMaps or MapsKrieg. Each site places the Craigslist listings on a map so that that you can easily click on the push pins in on the map to get more information. If you decided to buy, Zillow is a great place to go to do pricing research. The site compiles information from a variety of sources to give you a pretty good idea of what the true value of a house is. 
Actually Moving
Once you figured out where you are going, you have to actually get there. If you are not fortunate enough to have someone else take care of it for you (i.e. professional movers), you will need to pack your things up to make it easy to move them. Since buying boxes is expensive, try U-Haul Box Exchange or UsedCardboardBoxes.com. It’s a greener way to go and can prove to be much cheaper. Once you know when and where you are moving, you should transfer your mail to your new home. The best way is to contact all your credit card companies, financial institutions, cellular providers, and anything else that is important and change your address. Much of this can be done online. If you are afraid of missing something, fret not. Simply go to USPS Change of Address website. It costs $1 to do, but it forwards your mail and marks it so that you can see what companies have mail that is being redirected and need to be contacted. It’s also a good idea to run through your address book and send emails or postal mail announcing that you have moved. It’s a great way to reconnect with people as well as weed out the people you don’t want to have contact with in the future.
