Secure a Job Before Relocating

• Before relocating, check with your current employer about opportunities in the city you are relocating to. If positions are available, contact your company's human resources department to find out about what costs are covered (housing, moving truck, lodging costs, assistance for your spouse and assistance in selling your home). Also, discuss your current salary and what changes, if any, will occur to your benefits. If your company has no jobs in the city you are relocating to, start searching for a job at least 1 year before moving. Don't wait until you get there to find a job---at least have one position secured before the big move.
  
  

Secure Housing Before Relocating

• The second thing to do before relocating is to find an apartment or house. An apartment may work better for the short term, especially if you are single. If you have children and a spouse, you may want to consider finding a starter home or a scaled-down rental house until you have time to house hunt. Start applying for apartments early. If credit is an issue, pay off delinquent accounts and get your credit cleaned up before you relocate. Most apartments and mortgage lenders will run a credit check as part of the application process. Secure possible housing in the new city at least 6 months to a year before moving.
  
  

Take an Inventory of Items in Your House or Apartment

• Packing up your house or apartment is the next thing to do. Start with taking an inventory of all the items in your house. Make a stack of items you want to pack and take with you. Then, make another stack of items you don't want to take. Decide what to do with the stack you are not taking---having a yard sale, giving them to relatives or donating them to a charity. Next, decide if you want to rent a moving truck and take your items to the new city or store the items in a self-storage unit. If you are single and can't afford to take your items right now, store them in a storage unit until you are able to pick them up.
  
  

Should You Take Your Car or Not?

• Should you relocate your car? If it is a new car, you are currently making payments or it is a paid off car you like, take the car with you. Car relocation options include having it shipped by a car transporter, towing it behind your moving truck, driving it yourself or letting a family member drive it. Older cars that need repair or a car you want to sell should not be relocated. Sell the car and purchase another car once you have relocated.
  
  

What About the Children?

• If you have children, you may want to wait until school is out before relocating. You will need to find out about schools, neighborhood information and school transportation services in your new city before you move. Most of the information can be obtained by contacting a local library in your new city or by searching online for school information in the city you are relocating to.