Moving is stressful…but why?? Packing all your belongings, running for packing supplies, booking movers, handling oversized items, looking for a good house and neighbourhood, moving jobs, signing up for services in your new place….. and the task list goes on and on.
It doesn’t matter if you are moving alone, with friends, or even with your whole family; the stress level never goes backwards.
It is because moving is a tough job, with many steps, planning, precautions, and decisions, and one small mistake can ruin a large part of your plan. Hence with moving comes stress.
Why is moving so stressful?
1. Job Moving
Changing a job can either be a cause or consequence of moving. The financial and career weightage of the job makes it a stressful aspect. If you are moving due to a job transfer, then the thought of adapting and growing in a new work environment can be tenuous. If you are moving to find a new job, completing job-hunting prospects in a new place can be pretty stressful. Either way, job moving can be a huge source of stress.
2. Finding a good house
Finding a good house is vital for moving. But it’s always a challenging task. Expensive rents, inadequate facilities, crowded neighbourhoods, lousy locations, and meticulous landlords are a few roadblocks you stumble upon during house hunting.
As the house search goes on, so do your stress levels.
3. Finding a good neighbourhood
You may come across a decent house. The landlord is agreeable, the rent is reasonable, and you may like the house, too, but what if the neighbourhood doesn’t look good? The house might be far from your work or school, with unreliable public transport, tweaking utilities and gloomy security. Coming across a good house in a gloomy neighbourhood is as stressful as living there.
4. Finding best movers
You look up the best movers on the internet. You see hundreds of movers, each claiming to be the best. It is stressful to filter the search and find the best movers for you.
It can be stressful to go through their websites, receive price quotes, check moving dates, negotiate deals, and answer queries. But hiring the best movers can reduce your stress on a moving day.
5. Looking for service providers
Looking for new utility providers in your new house can be pretty stressful. You need to rally behind registration offices, stand in queues, fill up lengthy forms, and pay for new services. But what’s more stressful than moving to a new home only to find out that you have forgotten to sign up for gas, electricity and broadband connections?
6. Handling kids
Handling kids is an ever-stressful task but handling them while moving!! It is more than stress. Kids may not be happy about moving, fear losing their friends, fear adjusting to a new school and neighbourhood and can be against relocation. Handling such delicate and emotional matters can prove to be quite stressful.
7. Handling elders
You may be moving with your aged parents. Though elders might not be as stubborn as children, handling their relocation is difficult.
You may have to choose a suitable environment, spacious house, proximity to health care centres and a welcoming neighbourhood. All this needs time, effort and a stress-free mind.
8. Vehicle Moving
Moving your vehicle can be stressful, especially in long-distance or remote relocation. You must find vehicle movers, sign up for insurance (against damages), look up damage compensation policy (offered by the movers), and pay vehicle taxes and relocation bills! Hence, moving with vehicles can be very stressful, especially with expensive ones!
9. Packing your stuff
The heat of moving hits when you start packing your belongings. All your possessions have to be boxed and sealed. You may get puzzled about what to pack, throw and protect and where to start.
All these create stress when you need packing supplies and tapes to seal your belongings. One misstep and your belongings get lost in the maze of boxes(stressful enough!!)
10. Moving oversized items
You can hoard all the minor artefacts into boxes, but what about the oversized items like refrigerators, sofas, mattresses, beds and tables? They are hard to disassemble, heavy to carry, prone to damage and difficult to replace.
It makes packing them stressful. It would help if you were careful and attentive while packing and moving them.
11. Managing finances
Money and finance are significant sources of stress. Any step of moving needs money. You must pay deposits, rent, moving expenses, utility bills, service charges, and insurance until they drain your resources.
Ill-managed finances, debts, overspending, speculation, and extravagance can prove risky and stressful while moving to your new home.
12. Moving day
The big day!! There can be hundreds of factors to stress you out. There is a lot of stress and stress from unproductive packing, arriving movers, packing bags, moving your pets, handling your children, moving your plants, leaving your home, and embarking on a new journey.
13. Unpacking
Before you relieve the stress of packing and moving, you stumble on unpacking. It accumulates when your packing is unorganised, and moving is unplanned.
You need to treasure hunt your belongings, uncover them and finally send them to their destined places.
14. Settling in the new arena
Settling in a place can be a thrilling experience. If not planned well, things can turn stressful. Post relocation agreements, registrations, blending in the new surroundings, new expenses and a lot more to handle and stress you out!
What do you do when you are moving?? How to keep a check on stress factors??
As you have seen, moving can be stressful in a lot of ways for myriad reasons. But here’s what to do when you are moving that can help reduce and bust your stress.
1. Plan your moving
Stress builds up more in confusion, mislaid plans and emergencies. To ensure stress-free moving, the first thing to do is plan it correctly. You must be aware of the moving aspects of what, when and how.
As for emergencies, though you cannot predict them, you can be prepared for them. Keep emergency funds, extra leaves, help and essentials kit ready with your plan.
2. Spend within your budget
Creating a moving budget is the best way to keep out financial stress. Check the estimates for each expenditure (house, supplies, utilities, movers, expenses) and keep them ready.
Moving can turn unexpectedly sometimes. House prices may shoot up; utilities may become expensive, interest on loans may be increased, and your income may become unstable. Keep aside an emergency fund to meet such unexpected expenses.
3. Don’t rush things
Moving is an elaborate process. Any rush in selecting the house, job, movers or service providers can be stressful later. It’s about making delays rather than taking an informed decision.
4. Monitor your health
Stress can tax your health directly or indirectly. So keep a tab on your health. Amidst moving, remember your tablets, health checkups, healing sessions and appointments.
Do exercise regularly. You may think relocation is more of a physical activity and undermine your exercise, but regular exercise would build you more robust and more resilient for relocation. Keep an essentials box with a first aid kit and necessary medicines with you while moving(Don’t entrust it to the movers)
5. Have a stress buster
While moving, have a break in your schedule. Do what reduces your stress. It may be any exercise, activity, hobby, or stress buster. You can spend less than half a day on it; even 30 minutes would suffice. The goal is to have a simple move and not a stressful one.
6. Stay close to kith and kin
An emotional way to reduce stress is to stay connected to your friends and family. If you are moving with children and elders, ensure they are informed and optimistic about the decision.
If you are dealing with any concerns, share them with them. Bottling yourself with stress will only make it harder for you. Talk about stress and relieve it.
7. Take help
Take help when there is too much on your plate. If you have planned everything for the move, handling it alone may overburden you and stress you out.
Take help from friends and family, or you may even hire helpers. You need to manage it well but can do it with others!!
Now you know why moving is so stressful and what to do when you are moving to relieve your stress. The deal is to know what builds your stress and how to relieve it.
Have a Happy and Stress-free move!
