How to Adjust After Relocating for a Job by Lisa Evans

Uprooting your life and starting a new job is overwhelming. Here are a few steps to make the transition easier.

Starting a new job is stressful enough, but add moving to a new city on top of it, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Relocating for work is a huge adjustment both personally and professionally. Not only are you getting a new set of coworkers and a new corporate culture, you’re also getting a new commute, a new home, and if you’re moving with a family, you’re faced with a host of other challenges, including navigating a new school system and finding childcare.

Here are some tips to help you get through the change.

BE A TOURIST IN YOUR NEW CITY
If you’re relocating strictly for a job, it’s likely that you don’t know a whole lot about the place you’re moving to. While you can find out a lot about your new city online before moving, spend some time once there to explore like a tourist. Take a walk around your neighborhood to find the best local cafés, and explore local landmarks. Then get used to the local life, locating your nearest grocery store and getting familiar with your route to and from work. The more familiar you become with your new physical environment, the more comfortable you’ll begin to feel in your new home.

KEEP YOUR LIFE SIMPLE
Getting to know your new colleagues and your new corporate culture takes a lot of energy. Add that to getting to know your new city, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. “Simple things like figuring out how to navigate the subway system or deciding which supermarket you want to shop at can zap your energy very quickly,” says career change and business coach Avery Roth. She recommends simplifying your life for a few months while you get your bearings. Avoid overloading your schedule with social events or commitments while you focus on establishing a work-life routine in your new city.

MAINTAIN YOUR FAMILIAR ROUTINE
Maintaining familiar aspects of your routine from your home city can help you adjust to your new surroundings. If you’re used to going to a yoga class twice a week, finding a new studio and keeping up with this routine can help you balance out the big changes you’re experiencing.

SAY YES TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Moving to a new city and being surrounded by people who don’t know you means you have a unique opportunity to reinvent yourself, or to discover who you are as a person who lives in your new town. You may be invited to try things you didn’t have the opportunity to do before. Saying yes to these opportunities can help you branch out and discover who you are as a resident of your new city.

READ THE FULL ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90294972/how-to-adjust-after-relocating-for-a-job