4 Tips to Take the Stress of Moving to a New Home

Congratulations! You’ve made the big decision to start a new chapter in your life and move to a new home. Since moving, even within the same area, can prove to be one of the most stressful experiences any individual can participate, moving oversea, therefore, can also prove to be very challenging.

But if you plan your move one step at a time and try to see the whole moving operation as an adventure, you can greatly decrease or eliminate the stress quotient that comes with moving to a new home. According to CairnsCoast Removals, here are some tips to help make your move a simple one.

Choose Your Plan

There are two major ways that you can transport your personal belongings and household stuff to an interstate destination. The most economical way is by sea and the more expensive option is by air.

Relocating within the country: The process of finding a good moving company can seem daunting. But doing a little research is worth it. Price alone shouldn’t influence your choice, there is other critical factors to consider. You should compare quotes from multiple companies to help you choose the best interstate movers for your upcoming relocation.

Shipping your belongings by sea: this requires them to be packed up in a container at your current location, then transported by truck or rail to the nearest seaport for loading onto a steamship carrier as cargo. Once they arrive at your new international destination, they must be cleared with customs, so your international shipper can provide you with the proper forms.

Shipping your belongings by air: this is definitely a much quicker process but costs a lot more. Your items are shipped packaged in sturdy cardboard boxes by an air freight company. In addition to receiving your items a lot more quickly, shipping by air always encourages people to get serious about downsizing all of the stuff they have accumulated and only choose to move those items that are truly important to the quality of their life.

Clear Out the Clutter

If you plan on making your overseas move permanent, you will want to really cull through your items in order to choose only those that are essential for your new life abroad.

If your overseas move is a temporary assignment for school or work purposes, you may want to investigate packing up most of your household items and placing them in a local storage facility for the time you will be gone.

Try to imagine going through a day of your life in your new international location in order to determine which sentimental items are necessary to help make you feel at home in addition to what other items you can’t see yourself living without.

Either discard, give away, or pack up the rest to be stored for future retrieval. Many people moving overseas have a garage or yard sale and find they appreciate the money collected to use in their new location much more than they would have appreciated their old household stuff.

Seek for Help When Needed

Find a reliable removal service who can help guide you about any restrictions or limitations about what can be legally moved into another country.

If you are currently in a cold climate and are moving to a tropical climate, the type of clothing and furnishings you have will be inappropriate for the new location, so don’t waste money shipping them.

Ask about restrictions regarding moving family pets and what you can expect in the way of quarantine time for them.

Prepare for an Uneasy Feelings

Even if your move goes smoothly, it can still be an uncomfortable experience to have to adjust to a new home. First, you’ve got to be prepared since you're going to be living in chaos for a while, with boxes everywhere and things feeling out of control.

Keep in mind that these feelings are completely normal and that they will pass. Give yourself some time to adjust, and try to forgive small outbursts and frustrations that may arise simply due to the discomfort you experienced.

Conclusion

By doing your research ahead of time regarding the culture and customs of the country you will be calling your new home, there is less likelihood that you will pack up and move items of little use to you in your new environment.

Learn from the mistakes of others who have recently made a similar move and investigate online expat forums that can provide firsthand advice that will help to take the stress out of moving overseas.

The U.S. State Department also issues Consular Information Sheets that can prove very helpful in learning about your new country and providing resources that will help you make the best decision possible about moving your household to another country.