Relocating

RELOCATION

My husband and I moved 680 miles south from a state we had lived in for over 50 years.

We have been blessed with this move. It was a scary thing because of our age and all of the things that needed to be changed. Specifically, registration of the cars, change of address, driver’s licenses and new medical care providers.

I’ve compiled a list of considerations to think of if you are thinking of making a change.

1. Find an area to relocate to by contacting the state department of tourism and ask for a state travel guide. That gives you an idea of activities and areas that you may want to investigate.
2. Compile a list of  your housing needs. If you are buying property, list your bedrooms and baths preferred and of course your price range. Sign up online to Realtor.com. This gives you an idea of what property costs and yearly taxes are for property being considered. Realtor.com also has the map feature of birds eye view, and others. I also looked at Google Street View.  Also you could contact a realtor in the area and ask questions about growth of a community and trends through a listed property in Realtor.com or a national company such as Coldwell Banker, Gateway, or etc.
3. Take time to visit an area once you decide where  you would like to consider.  We found a home listed that  we liked in an area near one of our sons and used the internet to look up city visitor’s bureau or chamber of commerce or city website.  I also looked up website crimreports.com to check to see what the crime rate was and where it was located in relation to the homes I had chosen to look at.
4. Once we found an area and did research we checked into congregations’ websites. I found area congregations and looked weekly at  their bulletins. It gives you a good idea of the teachings and activities. When we made the visit we made it a point to visit a morning worship service.
5. Before  you visit the proposed area of the homes you want to look at, you will have to pre-certify with a banker or the realtor, that you are a legitimate buyer and have the means to pay for that home at the listing price. Because we were buying a home out of state we had to find a bank in the state we were moving to. 
6. Take a notebook with you and a camera. Make notes of each home you see. Looking at it on the internet is deceptive at times and visiting the property is the best choice. We found that some homes we liked and may have worked but odors in the home changed our mind.  There were other factors also. Make a trip to grocery stores and businesses in the area to get an idea of the price of goods. We determined that services were close by and were adequate and we did not have to the big cities nearby to get what we needed to buy. 
7. When you get back home remember all the homes you saw and work on “staging” your home to list. DE-CLUTTER as much as possible. Sell or give away what you don’t need. Remember if it is a distance, the factors involved in moving those articles will be costly whether you move it yourself or hire a mover. If you hire a moving company everything you can do to cut costs such as packing yourself helps in expenses.
8. We chose to make a trip to be present for the closing. We packed items that would be useful to have if we gained access to the home and were able to stay there. Items such as air mattress, bedding, towels, toilet paper, soap, dish soap, dishes, silverware, electric fry pan, utensils, card table and chairs, folding lawn chairs and etc.  We also stopped by the city offices to set up ahead of time to keep the lights and water on. We also contacted the post office and filled out a change of address card and if we weren't coming right away to have them hold our mail until we arrived.
9. We packed our vehicles with items that the movers would not transport and cleaning supplies as we stayed over to clean the house and finish up after the movers left with our household goods. We also took paperwork and important documents with us.

The key is to plan ahead. Try to think of all the items that are needed to live a normal daily life as possible until the moving truck arrives or boxes are unpacked and items are put away. I didn’t have that freezer of food to depend on. We tried to reduce the freezer and refrigerator contents but even that was a surprise when moving day arrived.
Once we arrived and started settling in we checked out and asked about all the services available ,such as the Senior Center, and acclimated ourselves to the community. I let all the subscriptions of newspapers run out in the previous state and subscribed to the local newspapers to keep up with activities and news here.

I hope this has helped someone who is contemplating a move. It is an adventure for sure and takes stamina and a combined effort.
There were so many times that I have heard of parents moving close to their children and find disappointment in the fact that their lives were lonely and separate from their children’s. We were determined to find a life for ourselves with activities that include other people our age, “new friends” , because our children have left father and mother and have their own lives. We sure appreciate being close by though and are always available for a call or visit.
Until next time...............................................................

Addendum: It is April 21,  2012, as Ken and I reflect back to the move we made to Texas, we could not have done it without our realtor in Nebraska, Diane Hoffman of Gateway Realty in McCook, . When we moved to Cambridge in 2006, she and other realtors in the area were willing to meet us to look at housing. We did not buy a house listed but one from a private party.  We lived in Cambridge 5 years before moving to Texas and would meet Diane in the community occasionally. We decided to contact her on listing our house when the time came. We met obstacles along the way but with Diane's help we made it. Almost a year later we are still in awe of how it worked out even with all the anxiety.
Because of  hail and windstorm damage after a contract was signed on our house sale in Cambridge we relied on a roofing company from Kearney and a carpenter in Cambridge to repair our home. Scott Dauwen was available and worked so hard to get us ready to leave when the movers came to get our possessions.
Shirley