Moving to another city for a job can be scary. You’re going into the unknown. The most important thing to think about when moving is to envision if you can stand working there for years on end. It’s not that simple to change jobs, let alone change jobs in a brand new city.
In 2022, I moved cities for another job. I moved from Houston, Texas to Austin, Texas, a city that I was very familiar with already. Therefore, it wasn’t as much of a culture shock than it would have been moving from New York City to San Francisco, for example.
Moving to another city for a job is scary but also exciting at the same time. After being in the new role for over a year, I can completely say that I made the right decision. However, I can’t imagine what I would’ve done if I felt like I made the wrong decision.
Switching decisions back to the status quo is not as easy as some people make it out to be. Companies will always question why you left your prior city and company and they will always question whether you’ll be happy with the new city. I know because I experienced it myself.
Moving to another city for a job requires careful planning to ensure it’ll be a smooth transition. Your career is an important life decision that you will take with you through your entire life. We spend a third of our lives working. We might as well make sure we made the right decision.
Your mental health depends on it.
Moving to Another City for a Job? 9 Things to Do
Below are the nine things to do when you are moving to another city for a job. It’s not wise to overlook these steps.
1) Make Sure to Ask for Relocation Assistance
This doesn’t just have to deal with finding movers. This has to do with taking the day to find the new apartment, the costs it takes to apartment hunt, and even more. The relocation assistance is important and it cannot be forgotten about. This is NOT the same thing as asking for a signing bonus.
A signing bonuses is something that’s separate and apart from asking for a relocation assistance bonus. You’re moving to help the company make even more money. You have to be paid for doing so and you should not be paying out of pocket to help them make even more money.
Don’t let anyone bully you into thinking otherwise. Moving to another city for a job is more burdensome for you than it is for the company. After all, you already have an established family and life in the prior city. They’re the ones who want you to move instead of offering remote work.
Therefore, they are more than happy to foot the bill to help with your transition.
2) Moving to Another City for a Job? Getting a Feel of the New City
Some people just can’t live in California. These are diehard Republicans who, for no reason whatsoever, will move to California. That’s completely OK. One of my friends refused to even apply to University of California – Berkeley because she didn’t feel she will mesh well, politically there.
That’s completely OK. If you’re moving to another city for a job, it’s important to get a feel of the new city. After all, if you’re going to be calling the new city your home for the next couple of years, you might as well make it good. Your enjoyment matters as well.
We’re not robots. We’re humans and we have emotional needs that goes beyond where we live. You have to like where you live as well. The culture of the new city doesn’t matter to me that much. However, that doesn’t mean other people don’t value it heavily.
The people you meet will affect how you feel throughout your weekends and free time. It’s more impactful than we know.
3) Negotiate a Settle In Period
When I was moving to another city for a job, I negotiated a month vacation between the two periods. That was much needed not just to look at apartments, but to unwind from my old job. The old job was more stressful than anything I’ve ever experienced.
However, the new job is much better and came with a great pay raise and I’m working with people who I actually like and respect. A settle in period is something people overlook. They think, “oh, it’s a new job, that means I have to start work as soon as possible!”. No.
You have more power than you think. Companies are desperate for good employees with specialized knowledge. The more specialized knowledge, the more the company needs you. The less people who can do the job, the more companies need you.
You have more leverage than you think you do. It’s time to use that leverage to your advantage.
4) Meet People in the New City
You don’t want to be all alone in a new city. There are many events around the city that allows you to meet people. There’s MeetUp groups, company outings, City organizations, volunteer events, and much more. Whether you like it or not, you’re the new person in the city.
And as the new person in the city, it’s up to you to get out and find those opportunities to meet people. Other people don’t have any obligation to come out and meet you. Moving to another city for a job means there’s endless opportunities to meet new people and expand your network.
For me, personally, my weekends are so full of work that it’s hard for me to meet people on the weekends. I know that’ll be my biggest regret because life is not meant to be producing every single waking moment of our lives.
Once I have some free time from work and my side hustle, I know I’ll take full advantage of it.
5) There’s No Need to Live it Up
When you’re moving to another city for a job, there’s no need to spend $2,000/mo+ on rent, if you’re not living in a high cost of living area like New York or LA. In my first job out of college, the employer paid 24 of us a $52,500/year salary. Everybody was paid the same.
However, there were people who were paying $1,500/mo for an apartment. What?! They recently just graduated college and they needed a $1,500/mo apartment in downtown just so they could walk 5 mins to work? That was the biggest waste of money I saw because we were living in a low cost of living city.
I was paying $640/mo for my apartment. That means, in a given year, I was getting paid an extra $10,000 per year than my friends just because I didn’t live in an expensive apartment. There’s nothing wrong with living cheaply for 1 – 3 years until you get solid footing in the city.
Then afterwards, there’s certainly nothing wrong with gradually moving up the spending.
6) Give the New City an Entire Year Before Giving Up
When I moved to Birmingham, Alabama for a new job, I didn’t really like it. However, I didn’t really notice I didn’t like it until a year after I left the city. Until then, I was content and happy to be living in the city for the six months that I was there and I wasn’t going to give up before a year.
If you’re moving to another city for a job, then it’s not wise to give up so easily and quickly. It takes time to adjust to the new city, with the new quirks and culture and all. There are exceptions. If you cannot afford to live in the new city because you didn’t know how expensive the new city was going to be.
Then that’s a surefire sign that you should go into another affordable city. Moving to another city for a job will feel strange and uncomfortable at first. Especially if you don’t know a single soul in the new city. However, that’s when we have the most opportunities to grow.
You don’t want to give up quickly just because you’re uncomfortable. It’s time to give it a fair chance.
7) Discuss With Your Family About Moving to Another City for a Job
Maybe your family is close by and you don’t want to miss them. Maybe your family has inside knowledge on what it’s really like living in the new city. Whatever the case may be, it’s a good idea to discuss with your family. I don’t mean your family like your wife and kids.
I mean your family like mom and dad. For me, personally, my family lives in another continent so their input isn’t as valuable as some of my friends’ inputs. Moving to another city for a new job doesn’t mean you have to make the decision alone.
We’re living in the knowledge economy where information is king. Accurate information positions us for success. Sometimes, others don’t provide you with accurate information. However, having more information and rejecting the ones that don’t fit you is better than having no information to work from.
Having that choice is valuable.
8) Find Out Your Go to Spots in the New City
This applies to grocery stores, restaurants, late night snacks, and the like. There’s a lot of stores I can go to that are nearby. Whenever I feel like having a midnight snack, I go to a Sonic that’s a 10 minute drive away. When you’re moving to another city for a new job, there are go-to spots you should go to.
The grocery store (H-E-B) is only a 10-minute walk from where I live, not even a drive. Your go-to spots are what matters because that’s where they give you security. I frequent my grocery store, restaurants, Starbucks, and the like and it gives me comfort knowing I can always go to them.
There’s going to be many spots that you frequent. Research them carefully because you will visit them frequently. Life is completely different when moving to another city for a job because you are unfamiliar with the new territory and therefore you feel uncomfortable not really knowing where to go.
Knowing your go-to spots will help.
9) Physically Walk Around Your Neighborhood
There are actually people out there who don’t know their surrounding neighborhood very well, or at all. It’s not a bad idea to scope out the neighborhood so you can get a feel for how it’s like at night, afternoon, and morning. You may even meet a new person along the way.
Moving to another city for a job means getting familiar with your surroundings. It takes months before you get used to it. It took me six months to get used to my new environment when I moved cities for a new job. And even then, nine months was a better measure.
You can’t rush trying to feel at home because it doesn’t come that easily. There’s so much new things you have to get used to, like your new boss, coworkers, and the like. It first starts with your home because that’s where you’ll spend the most of your time in.
It feels really nice to know your surroundings.
Moving to Another City for a Job is an Exciting Adventure
When I moved to another city for a job, I was leaving a job I was miserable in and moving to a job I was excited about. I wouldn’t have traded that decision for the world. It is such an exciting adventure and it’s the best decision I ever made in my entire life.
Moving to another city for a job is a great adventure that you’re going to remember for the rest of your life. If you did all the research, then everything should fall into place. Even if it feels like you made the wrong decision, it’s up to you to take a decision and make it right.
When you get comfortable putting yourself in uncomfortable situations and conquer those uncomfortable situations, you’ll know how to achieve anything in life. It may just be the most important decision of your life that you’ll regret not taking on.
You only have one life. Might as well make it a good one that makes both business sense and a good story. Leaving a city that I was comfortable in because I lived there for 5 years was the best decision I ever made. Now, I’m at an even better city and I can’t wait for the future.
I actually feel like I found my home. Moving to another city for a job was the best decision I ever made, especially given how great the job opportunity was. I knew it was a good opportunity, I didn’t think it would be this great.
A life adventure certainly worth pursuing and taking.
Moving to Another City for a Job Shortlist:
- Make sure to ask for relocation assistance
- Moving to another city for a job? Getting a feel of the new city
- Negotiate a settle in period
- Meet people in the new city
- There’s no need to live it up
- Give the new city a year before giving up
- Discuss with your family about moving to another city for a job
- Find out your go to spots
- Physically walk around your apartment or house
