Explore and Research

Upon deciding to move to a new city, you may discover you don't know enough about it. If you can, take a weekend trip to your new city in the name of research! That way you will be able to envision what moving to the new city will actually feel like.

“I had always wanted to live in Florida. When I got a good job offer in Jacksonville, I took it right away and then realized I knew nothing about the place,” says 55-year-old Elizabeth Cote. “I took a trip down there and just drove around for an entire day. I drove on the main roads, the side streets, through shopping plazas and into parks. A few times I would get out of my car and walk the area instead."

To get a great overview of your new city, do a Google search for the city’s Chamber of Commerce web site. The site will likely contain information on everything from a city’s history to its cultural activities and resources for banking, shopping, health care, education and real estate. Send away for an information packet and start thinking about what it will be like to move to this new city.