Your New City!

If you are relocating to a new city then you are probably very curious about what your new location has to offer. You might also be a little anxious to find out if you will be able to enjoy all the same activities that you had in your old residence. Moving to a new city can be exciting and scary at the same time. This is especially true for children. If you have kids, you already know that even the slightest disruption in their routines can send them over the edge. Moving to a new city can give them a great deal of apprehension. They may feel like they are leaving their best friends and that they will never be able to find new friends that could possibly measure up to their old ones. You might feel that way as well. For starters, it's a good idea to get to know your new city as thoroughly as possible.

Living in Your New City!

For all of the basic information about your new city you can turn to their Chamber of Commerce. Most cities will have theirs listed on the web. You can also go to city-data.com in order to get weather, crime rate, demographics and other vital information about your new city. You can even find out some interesting information about the place you are moving to without using the internet. If you have a realtor then ask them to send you a relocation packet for the city that you are moving to. You can also ask the local Chamber of Commerce to send you whatever information they may have.

Do Your Research

You might want to start a journal about the city that you will be moving to. If you are trying to decide between two or more cities to move to then you can have a separate entry for each one. This will allow you to compare the features that each has to offer. Your city journal can contain all the facts that you have learned about the new city as well as any thoughts and interpretations that you come up with along the way. If possible, it would be great if you could go on a scouting trip of your new city. It would be best if you could spend at least a few days there so that you could really get a feel for what it would be like to live there. Spend some time at the local parks, visit the downtown or 'old town' sections of the city. Pay attention to how people interact and if they seem to be friendly. Drive around your new city a various times of the day in order to get a feel for the traffic patterns. Be sure to take notes as you go. You might also want to take a few pictures that can help to jog your memory. A video camera would be even better.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Everybody has different opinions of different cities. You may be looking for some old world charm while the next person is looking for sophistication and modernization. When you start your new city journal, make a point to list all of the aspects that you would like to find in your new city. You might be interested in the local sports teams, the church offerings, school sizes and locations, local weather, shopping, etc. List your aspects in order of preference and then go down your list and check off each item as you comment on it.

Your New Home in Your New City

You might also want to check out the individual neighborhoods that you might be moving in to. You can make separate entries for different neighborhoods in your city journal. As with your city list of aspects, you can also make a list of neighborhood aspects. You might want to live in a neighborhood that has a nice local park, is close to shopping, has schools that are close enough so that the kids won't even need to ride the bus, etc. Sometimes you can find a great neighborhood in a not-so-good city, and vice verse.

Next - Use the internet to do some research about your new city.

Final Word: Do make a checklist and start organizing your move as early as possible!

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