So you’re planning a big cross-border move soon. By now, you’ve probably dedicated your entire first year in your new city and filling it with countless trips to theaters, national parks, and diners to get a full, immersive feel of what your new home is like.
But moving to a different state, or a different city for that matter, does not only present an opportunity to go on an exciting adventure. Your pending move is also a chance for you to start with a clean slate in search of that lifestyle you’ve always wanted for yourself.
Depending on where you’re headed off to, here are some lifestyle changes that you might want to think about:
- Letting go of your car
If you’re moving somewhere highly bike-able, you might reasonably consider letting go of your car, especially if you were just compelled to buy one because of the sorry state of public transportation where you come from, or its inaccessibility for bikers like yourself.
In fact, if you haven’t settled on a city to move into just yet, you might want to add bike-ability to your list of considerations, especially if you’ve been dreaming of living a more sustainable life. Alternatively, you can simply move to a city where the public transportation system is good enough to get you everywhere you want to go. In any case, letting go of your car means letting go of the biggest pollutant you have in your disposition right now.
- Shifting to solar power
One of the most exciting things about moving to a new city away from your old life is getting to call your own shots, even on things you didn’t know possible. A good example of this would be getting to choose the kind of electricity you want to use in your new home.
If there was ever a good time in your life to finally try solar energy, that time is now. You’re lucky if you’re moving to a place like Illinois, where facilities like IL solar gardens abound.
What’s a solar garden, you ask?
Well, it’s a facility where power companies lease a parcel of land to build industrial-grade solar panels on. If you live near one, you can subscribe to the solar garden to enjoy clean energy in your home without ever having to buy or install solar panels on your own roof. If you’re serious about living a more sustainable life, you might want to look for a place where a solar garden, also known as community solar, is accessible.
- Staying completely in — or out — in the winter
So many people move cities before checking how winter is in the place they’re heading off to. This results in some extreme weather shock when people realize they don’t have the appropriate winter clothes nor the necessary winter-proofing knowledge to last them a solo bout of brutal winter in a place like St. Cloud, Minnesota, for instance.
Depending on how cruel winters are in your new city, you might have to adapt to a new lifestyle where you have to either stay completely indoors or fly out to weather the cold months elsewhere. This is an important consideration, so make sure you do your research before packing your bags.
- Making a career shift
In many ways, moving to a new city is like getting a fresh start in life and stumbling upon a magical place where the only decisions that will matter are the ones you will make moving forward. Now that you’ve got the chance to start again, you should absolutely use it to pursue something that you really want to do as a career or profession. You are no longer beholden to who you used to be — you’re getting a clean slate, so make sure to exclusively draw the path you want to take from here on out.
These are only some of the most underrated considerations or pieces of advice given to people who are brave enough to uproot themselves to start a new life elsewhere. Hopefully, this article gave you a fresh perspective and more things to chew on before you make the big move.
