Nearly 40 million movers pack up their homes and head off to new places every year. If you hope to be among that group soon, congratulations.
Moving to a new place opens people up to new experiences, financial abundance, and a fuller life. Despite those advantages, there’s no question that moving can be filled with complications, many of which you’ll want to think about before hitting the road.
While there are a lot of implications that accompany moves, below, our team compiled what we feel are the top factors to consider when moving out of state. We hope our guidance aides you in experiencing a smoother transition and also enables you to pick a city that works best for your life circumstances.
Table of Contents
1. Moving Expenses
No matter where you move, you’re going to spend money transporting yourself from one place to another. That price tag gets significantly steeper when you’re heading out of state.
On average, moves out of state can cost nearly $4500. This number varies depending on how far the next state over is and of course, how many movers you hire to help with your move.
To save, you may want to rent a moving truck and manage transporting your property on your own.
2. Cost of Living
After you’ve gotten over the hurdle of paying for your move, you’ll be faced with the prospect of paying for daily living in your new city. Do you know whether that cost of living will be less or more than where you came from?
If you don’t have an answer to that, head over to a website like CityGuide and start doing research. We’ve seen too many people get excited about moving to Alaska or similar places thinking that things would be cheaper only to find that import costs make the price of goods more expensive.
If you can’t afford the cost of your new city’s living, you’ll be heading back to where you started much sooner than you might like.
3. Backup Plans
Moves out of state don’t always work out. Because of that, you’d be wise to have a backup plan prepared in case you run into a situation where your new life isn’t all you thought it would be.
In a perfect world, you’d have friends or family you could transition into living with so you can get back on your feet after a botched move. If you don’t have that kind of support system, you must have enough emergency cash reserves to transition out of the city you moved to and back to a place you know works for you.
4. Work Opportunities
Most people that move out of state do so with the prospect of work in mind. If you are not doing that and are just looking to try something new, make sure your industry of expertise exists in your new area and that the local economy is strong.
Unless you have tons of cash reserves, you’ll likely need to start working within the first few months of your landing in a new area. Be honest with yourself regarding how attainable that goal is and if it seems out of reach, wait to move until you already have a job lined up.
5. Tax Implications
One of the most forgotten aspects of moving to a new area that carries huge financial implications is taxes. Remember, state taxes vary from state to state and can look very different.
For example, if you’re moving out of a state like Washington, you’ll find that just about every other state charges income tax. That may set you back thousands of dollars per year.
Leaving a state like Oregon means having to contend with sales tax, which again, can cost a lot.
Dive deep into unique tax situations before crossing state borders so you’re not caught off guard.
6. Support System
Even for a self-identified lone wolf, being 100% isolated in a new place is difficult. Therein lies the value of having friends or family in the city you arrive in.
We appreciate that having a support system ready for you in a new place isn’t always a possibility. In these cases, make building one a priority by attending mixers, getting involved at work, and being active at local events.
One friend can mean the difference between you experiencing a rewarding move versus a move you come to resent.
7. Local Values
One of the beautiful things about America is that everywhere you go, people are a little bit different. While those differences can be interesting, to certain people that are steadfast in their beliefs, local values may come as a disappointing shock.
The best way to prevent being caught off guard by values in your new city is to visit it as much as possible before making your move.
After spending some time on the ground, you should be able to get a sense of what people are about in your new area and if you can live with their perspectives on things.
Out of State Moves Bring Incredible Adventure
Sure, moving out of state can be intimidating. Believe us when we tell you though that packing your bags and hitting the road can bring tremendous adventure to your life that you won’t soon forget.
Because of that, whether or not the place you move to ends up being a good fit for your lifestyle, you’ll likely be hard-pressed to regret taking the leap!
Our team wishes you the best of luck in your move and encourages you to read more lifestyle content on our blog.
