It’s more than just one moving day.
When discussing a move, one often may limit their minds to MOVING DAY - the actual physical move of household goods. It is easy to assume that there are a few things that need to be prepped beforehand and maybe a few things to wrap up after moving day…
If you could see me right now, I would be giving you that one-eyebrow raise.
Moving is SO MUCH MORE. There is a mountain of preparation that goes into uprooting your life and a mountain range of work that goes into rebuilding and starting over somewhere new.
Think about the preparation some of you put into vacation. Lists, packing a week in advance, research, making reservations, laundry, repacking, coordinating with family members, rental cars, pet boarding, packing your partner’s bag, double checking flights, mail hold, cash from ATM, etc…
As you can see, there are a bunch of little tasks that have to be completed just to spend a week relaxing on the beach.
Since you can easily find a list of moving tasks online, I won't bore you with those specifics. You now can imagine that moving your entire life somewhere else has about a zillion tasks that need to be completed to prepare.
This takes WEEKS.
Also, MOVING DAY is actually more than one day if you are moving farther than across town. Depending on if you pay for professional movers to load and haul your stuff, or if you bribe your friends with beer and pizza to help a DIY move, MOVING DAY can take 2 days to 2+ weeks!
So when your household goods arrive at your new address, you have some unpacking to do. Once that is completed (…which is it really ever done? If you’ve ever moved, you probably have moving boxes in the attic or garage that never got unpacked) and the dust has settled, you’re still not done.
Again, you could easily find a quick list of things you need to do to complete your move: change driver’s license, vehicle registration, new bank, new utilities, new providers, stock fridge, childcare/school, employment, address change forwarded mail, meet the neighbors, etc… But this is still not the end of your MOVE.
Really, the hard part has just begun. Everything before now was just lists, task delegation and timeline management.
Now is when you have to rebuild your life, and it is not a cut-and-paste of the life you had before. Every aspect in your life has been disrupted by the move and requires attention to be put back in balance. Some things will change and be different from before. Even something as simple as eating and exercising has been jolted with the move.
Now you get to navigate through the challenges that come with the rebuild. Can you imagine making new best friends from scratch? Pursuing your hobby within a new community? Maybe leaving behind your favorite hobby (surfing, skiing) and forced to find something new to feed your soul? Working through feelings of isolation, loneliness and resentment? Keeping a positive mindset? Building new modes of communication to stay connected with loved ones you left? Finding your favorite spots in town? Making your house feel like home? Refilling your financial reserves (moving isn’t cheap)? This list can go on and on….
At the least, this takes MONTHS.
Oh yes, and if you have a spouse or family they are going through their own transition that requires your support and guidance as well.
Understanding that a MOVE is more than just MOVING DAY is critical for employers, friends and family to understand. Days, weeks and months will go by as we work through this transition. Until one has been moved for at least a full calendar year, the transition is most definitely still in process.
Moving is a major-life-change. It is a process. It is a transition. It takes time. It is so much more than just one MOVING DAY.
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