Starting Over

A new job, a return to family, better lifestyle, better weather – whatever your reason for starting over in a new town or city, the stresses of relocation remain the same. But there are some sure-fire tips for making the transition smoother, allowing you to view the move as an exciting adventure, rather than a dark leap into the unknown.

• Rent Free

Unless you’ve an in-depth knowledge of the place that you’re moving to, don’t rush in and buy somewhere before you move. Don’t even rush in and take on a lease on a house … Treat the first couple of months of your transition as a holiday. Thanks to websites like Airbnb, short-term furnished accommodation is only few taps of a finger away. Give yourself time to explore your new surroundings and get a feel for exactly where you want to live before you commit yourself to putting down roots.

• Get packing

To give yourself the freedom to move easily during the first months of your relocation, trust your move to professional home removers – not two men with plumbers’ cracks and a dodgy old van. Travel light – pack your bag as if you are going on an extended family trip – and pay the extra to have the contents of your old home professionally packed. Then organise for the removal company to have your goods put into storage at the other end. It doesn’t cost much extra for these services; and once you’ve decided on your long-term home, they can come and unpack everything, stress-free.

• Price check

Outsiders moving into an area pay more for homes than people moving within the same area – this is a fact. Once you’ve an idea of where you want to live, do proper research into the property prices in the area. Talk to real estate agents, talk to a local broker and tap them for advice on the average property prices in the streets that interest you. Don’t let your enthusiasm for an area cloud your judgement on auction day. It could end up costing you dearly.

• Get familiar

Tap into local knowledge by getting smart with Google. Every area has its own community websites. Local sites such as Sydney’s www.northshoremums.com.au are a great place to start when looking for the lowdown on schools and services in the areas you’re interested in. Making contact with other like-minded people in a neighbourhood is the quickest way of finding out whether the location suits you, your family and your lifestyle.

• Join in

Once you’ve relocated, become part of the community: show your face at school and help out with fundraising; get to know your neighbours; become involved with local groups or clubs. It’s very easy to shut your front door and retreat inside a bubble of domesticity, but if you don’t help work for your community, it’s never going to work for you.

About Louisa Sanghera
Louisa Sanghera is a Finance Broker for Residential Mortgages, Vehicle and Asset Finance, Commercial Lending and Budgeting and Cashflow Coaching with Zippy Finance. She has gained more than 30 years in the Banking and Finance Industry, and since founding Zippy Finance has become a multi award nominated expert in the field of finance featuring regularly in industry press and speaking at finance and investment seminars across the country.
http://www.zippyfinance.com.au
louisa@zippyfinance.com.au
1300 855 022