- January 12, 2021
Moving can be one of the most stressful but also one of the most rewarding feelings one can have. Moving to a new city alone is hard and you will face many challenges along the way. Whether you’re moving because you want to experience new things or moving due to work. Making sure you have the drive to continue to push forward is important when moving to a new city alone. Here we will give you the best tips on how to move to another state alone.
How Do You Move To A New Place Alone
Getting ready for that next big step in your life can be exciting, especially when you’re moving to a new place alone so make sure you do these steps before you settle in.
Do Your Research
If you are planning on moving the first thing that you must do is to research where you would like to move.
The more extensive the research the less chance you will be caught off guard with any surprises when you begin moving to a new city alone.
When trying to figure out where you would like to move you have to consider many things such as:
- Are there jobs related to my field there
- How much is the average income of that state?
- How will I get there?
- What type of apartment can I move into?
- What will the commute be like?
If you’re in the beginning process of doing research you can use online resources such as Zillow or Trulia. These resources will help you find and buy or rent a property or an apartment.
Once you decided on a place to stay and live make sure that you will have a job ready for you when you get there or interviews set up.
Create A Budget Binder
Creating a budget binder, folder, or notebook is as important as doing your research.
By creating a budget, it will give you a better idea of what you can or cannot afford.
How to Pack
Most of us dread the idea of packing because we don’t know what we need to bring, and we always find ourselves wanting to take everything with us.
If we pack too much, then it might be more expensive to ship all we had packed through the moving services.
Another great way to save some money while packing is to buy any type of cheap transporting material. This can include:
- Boxes
- Trash bags
- Foldable containers
By using these items instead of buying suitcases for your clothes will save you a lot of money when you’re moving to another city alone.
It’s recommended to just pack all the essentials you need and anything you don’t need you can simply throw them out or sell them to get a little extra cash.
If you know that you’ll be moving to an apartment that has furniture, then you do not need to bring your furniture with you on the move.
The less you pack the easier it will be moving to another city alone.
So, if you’re going to a state where it’s warm and most of your clothes are winter attire then here would be a great chance to throw the winter clothes away.
What Is The Best Way to Move From State to State
If you have extra money lying around, then the best way to move from state to state is by hiring a moving company.
With a moving company, they will take care of all your moving needs. This includes packing and putting all the boxes in the truck and unloading the truck and putting your belonging in your new apartment.
Some moving companies can be expensive so make sure you do your research before purchasing any services for moving to another city alone.
If you don’t have the money to rent professional movers, then what you can do is rent a U-Haul or ask your friends and loved ones for help by using their cars.
U-Haul
Renting a U-Haul can be more affordable than renting professional movers.
However, with a U-Haul you will be responsible for packing, loading, and unloading your items as well as driving yourself.
Some things to consider when renting a U-Haul is, they will charge you per mile and they will look at the truck before and after for any damages.
So, if your planning on moving far talk with a U-Haul representative first to see if they can give you a quote and or discount for renting a U-Haul.
Using Your Car
If the U-Haul and professional movers are still out of your price range when you should consider using your car for moving to a new city alone.
Now if you have friends and family members that can help you move with the help of their cars then that would be even better.
By using your car, you don’t have to pay any type of fees or pay for the mile if you use a U-Haul or professional movers.
Granted you won’t have the same space you would get from big trucks so depending on how much you packed you might need more than one car.
Depending on what’s your budget consider all three options and pick the one that will save you money in the long run.
How Much Money Should You Save to Move to A Different State
Moving to a new city alone can be quite expensive. So, make sure you saved enough for any type of emergency is crucial.
When you’re moving to a new state you should save about 3-6 months’ worth of savings.
What this means is if the apartment costs $2,000 a month then you should have saved at least $6,000 to $12,000.
Although this will depend on your living situations. This would be the general rule of thumb and also you can save a little more on the side for food emergencies or hospital emergencies.
Before you start your new adventure in another state calculate all of your living expenses and other types of expenses that you can think of. By doing this it will give you a better idea of how much to save.
Think about taking more shifts at work to earn some extra cash. If you can’t, consider finding a new job or start to sell some of your belongings.
You can even cancel subscriptions that you don’t need such as Netflix, Hulu, Men’s Magazine, and other types of subscriptions.
The more you save the easier it will be for you to take care of any type of emergency that you may face when moving to a new city alone.
How to Move to a Different State With or Without Money
Whether you’re moving with $50 or $3,000 making sure you’ve done your research on the cost of living in the new city is important.
Assessing Your Finances
Once you find out what you’re working with in terms of your budget start to access your finances.
This would include how much it will cost to move there, such as:
- Gas
- Food
- Transportation
- Housing
A great way to save you some money when your moving to a new city alone is to rent Airbnb.
With Airbnb, you will be able to rent out a room or an apartment for a very cheap and reasonable price. While you’re saving money, you can start finding a job.
Sell What you Don’t Need
Another great thing to do if you don’t have much money saved up to move is to sell the items at home you don’t need.
With selling the items that you don’t need such as extra cooking appliances that you never used or a dresser that is about to collapse any day now. This will lighten the load when your packing and give you some extra cash in your wallet.
You can sell the items on websites or apps such as:
- LetGo
- eBay and eBay Valet
- Gone
- Craigslist
- Nextdoor.com
- OfferUp
- Garage Sale
Live with Roommates
A wise decision you can do when moving to a new place alone is to consider finding an apartment where they are looking for roommates.
You may have wanted to stay in your place but if you’re moving to a different state with no money then you need to save every penny you can.
In some apartments with shared living, their rooms for rent could 2x cheaper than find your own apartment.
Living with roommates isn’t all that bad as what some people may think.
You’ll be able to create a relationship with new people and in the long run, the more relationships you have the more opportunity may come your way.
One of your roommates might inform you that there is a position available at their job and offer you a recommendation.
Find A Job
If you have money or don’t you will still need to locate a new job when you’re moving to a new city alone.
The sooner you find a job the sooner you’ll be able to purchase more things that you like.
It would be best to find a job or at least setup interviews before you move because the money you have saved up will only last you so long.
You can find jobs by going online on Indeed, Glassdoor, or craigslist and browse the available positions.
Avoid Spending Things You Don’t Need
We all have gone through this; we see a cool article of clothing and without a moment of hesitation we buy it. Or we go online and see our favorite store has a sale and we put everything in our cart.
When you’re moving to a new city alone you must only spend on things that you need and not things that you want.
Making sure you know the difference will save you money. You may need to stop spending your money on any type of subscription as well.
Now things like buying food, kitchen appliances, toilet paper are all necessities that you should take care of first.
Unpack Fast
Unpacking can be one of the most annoying parts of moving because we’re most likely tired of transporting and unloading our belongings to the new place.
We might tell ourselves that “I’ll unpack this tomorrow, or when I feel like it.” There are several problems with this mentality.
We can’t find things when we need them
This always happens, we’re in a rush and then we realize that we need our blender but because there are 100 different boxes in the place, we can’t find it.
We should always know where everything is just in case of an emergency.
Due to the excess of clutter, we become more distracted.
It’s known that where there’s a lot of clutter we tend to not concentrate as often. This is due to our eyes contently wandering around the place.
Especially if we’re doing work we want to be in a calm setting where there are no distractions. However, the more clutter we find the more distractions there are.
Having people over may be difficult
No one wants to go to a place where it’s a mess. If you have company over, they might think badly of you or how you treat things by the manner of how your apartment looks like.
You don’t want to offer them a drink and go to the other room and try to look in every box you have to find the cups.
To avoid these possible situations when you get to your new place start unpacking slowly but don’t stop.
Start to Network
When you’re moving to a new city alone you might feel lonely because you don’t know anyone there.
This is time to go out and explore what your new city has to offer. Whether it’s exploring your neighborhood, finding local eateries, or finding new friends.
Some popular ways to network with people are going to networking events around your neighborhood or going to bars and other social gatherings.
Networking with people will have a lot of benefits including making friends and having opportunities that can happen based on these friendships.
When moving to a new city alone try using these tips on making your move as easy as possible.
