Sometimes, our lives, careers, and relationships take us on a path we never would have seen ourselves walking. We can find ourselves uprooted from the places, people, and experiences that were all familiar pieces in the tableau of our lives. We can feel distraught, centerless, alienated, angry, or resentful. Moving to a new city, state, or even country due to a change in career, a promotion, or new developments for yourself or your partner can be an extremely disorientating experience. Your comfort zone is taken away from you, and you’re plunged headlong into the unfamiliar…

But let’s not forget that life begins outside of your comfort zone. Rather than seeing this move as the end of something comforting, reassuring, and familiar, you must view it as the start of something exciting, vital, and transformative. The secret, of course, is to handle the relocation correctly, which is why we’ve compiled this checklist to help you make the most of your new home.

Choose movers who will help you get off to the best possible start

Even moving a few blocks down the street can be stressful. Moving somewhere completely unfamiliar can be nightmarish. As such, you must do your homework when choosing your movers. Check out https://www.mybekins.com/ for an example of what you’re looking for. Opt for a trusted company with well-trained, fully vetted employees, years of experience, and happy customer testimonials, and you’ll get the move off to the best possible start. A painless move will help you to look to the future with a sense of excitement.

Start making connections before you move

There was a time when you had to wait until you moved to an area to start making friends. However, the beauty of the digital era is that you can begin making connections online months before your moving day. Join Facebook groups for your neighborhood or your building. Get the skinny on the best restaurants, entertainments, bars, and coffee shops, and find out where people with similar interests to your own hang out. Feelings of isolation and loneliness can be crippling when moving somewhere new. Still, when you start making connections early, it’s much easier to knit yourself into the fabric of your new community.

Learn the best ways to get around

Transportation can define a city from the subways of New York to the iconic red buses and underground tubes of London and the Berlin U-Bahn. In many cases, the difference between a tourist and a local is proficiency with the city’s transportation networks. As such, it’s never too early to start doing your research. Find out where you can get to quickly and easily from your new home, and it’ll be easier.

Find yourself a happy place

In your old home, you probably had happy places where you’d go when the pressures of work and home got too much. Whether it was a stroll and a sit in the park, a favorite coffee shop, or a movie theatre, you’d take yourself to a date for one. To find happiness in your new home, you must take some time to find some happy places there.

Good luck, and have a great move!