Moving to a new state was never meant to be easy. In fact, it can prove to be much harder than you thought in the beginning.
With a myriad of move-related tasks to take care of and countless key decisions to make, it’s only normal that you should feel overwhelmed by the complexity of your cross-country move. (What to do before moving to a new state)
And yes, surviving an interstate move is a feat in its own right, but the immediate post-relocation period should never be underestimated.
The moment you reach your new home in a different state, it’ll be the right time to concentrate on the tons of essential things to do after moving to a new state.
Remember that it’s entirely up to you to make the transition as smooth as possible. Minimize the negative effect of moving to another state by knowing exactly what to do after you arrive in your out-of-state place, when – and most importantly – how to do those urgent post-move tasks.
So, make sure you consult this comprehensive list of the most important things to do after moving to a new state.
1. Unpack your essentials
One of the very first things to do after you move to a new state is to unpack the most essential items you have taken with you. Some of those important possessions will be inside your essentials boxes while the rest of them will have been delivered by the cross-country moving company.
The whole idea of unpacking those Open-First boxes is to be able to set up the rooms you will need immediately after arriving in the new house or apartment – bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.
Yes, you will need the bathroom ready so that you can take a refreshing shower after a long and stressful Moving day. And yes, you will also need the bedroom – or at least the bed – ready so that you can take a deserving rest after that exhausting day.
Must-read: What to unpack first when moving into a new home
2. Get a new job
It’s very likely that you’re moving to another state because of your job or its lack thereof. It’s good to know that job-related moves are one of the most common reasons for people to relocate to another part of the country.
Therefore, if you have just moved to a new state and you haven’t secured a job yet, do so without delay.
Logic says that you’re going to need a steady income to keep things running smoothly, so a work position in your field of expertise (ideally) is your top priority.
Before you can even begin the job hunt, update your resume, request letters of recommendation from your former employers, and work on some cover letters. If you have acquaintances or friends in the new city, contact them and see if they can give you a helping hand in this tough, tough task.
See also: What to consider when relocating for a job
3. Register your car
The next post-move task also brooks no delay: registering your car after moving to a new state and transferring your driver’s license from the state you just moved from. Under certain circumstances, you may need to get a new driver’s license.
It’s not a good idea to postpone your visit in person to the local DMV office because the state-specific deadline you have for completing the job might be too short for your liking.
In order to register your car in the new state, you need to have proof of car insurance from that same state. Also, you will be required to present the vehicle title in your name and relevant documents proving that the car has passed an emissions check and a vehicle safety inspection.
Of course, you are strongly recommended to contact your local DMV office in advance and request more pre-visit information about your car registration after moving to a new state, including your driver’s license transfer or renewal.
Must-read: Do you need to update your driver’s license after moving?
4. Find a new doctor
Upon arriving in your new home, it’s not advisable that you forget or neglect your and your family’s health.
If you have followed our pre-move advice on what to do before moving to a new state, then you should have good recommendations for a new family physician from your former medical care provider. But if, for some reason or another, you don’t have a clue where to start your search for a primary care or specialized doctor, then it’s time to get some good advice from the locals there.
Ask your new colleagues, neighbors, and newly-made friends if they can recommend the right medical specialist for you. Additionally, the Internet will surely give you useful ideas, so take advantage of its power by accessing national medical associations and local doctor directories.
Read also: How to find a good doctor after moving
5. Enroll your child in a new school
Of all the things to do when moving to a new state, finding a new good school for your school-age child is a matter you need to address with the urgency it deserves.
It’s more likely that you have already taken care of this typical pre-relocation task, but a last-minute move may have forced you to leave it for after you have reached the safety of your new out-of-state home.
Again, recommendations from locals can serve as good guidance, but the most important thing under the new-city circumstances is to make your child an essential part of the school-hunting process. Do school tours together with your son or daughter, and discuss openly with them the strong and weak points of each educational institution before you reach an informed decision.
Useful info: How to find the best school for your child when moving
6. Secure the new place
There will be plenty of things to do when you move to a new state… but some of the tasks will be much more urgent than others.
What you should do almost immediately after you find yourself in the new state is to secure the place you’ll be calling home from that moment forward. But what does the job of securing the new home actually involve?
It’s a process that includes three separate stages:
- Secure the home against unauthorized access. Consider changing the locks of all outside doors, check if all doors and windows close securely, and think about installing a burglar alarm, if necessary.
- Protect the place against fire. Place one fire extinguisher on each floor, install smoke detectors in each room, and have an escape route mapped out in case of an emergency.
- Baby-proof all living areas. This task is critical when you’ve moved to a new state with a young child – either a baby or a toddler. Unknown places can hide a number of hazards for youngsters so you must go from room to room, find those potential dangers, and eliminate them, one by one. The same is true for pets as well – a process called pet-proofing.
7. Make new friends
One thing is clear – you can’t possibly be truly happy in your destination city unless you find new friends there.
And if you have moved to a new state alone (without a family or pals from your old life), then learning how to make friends after moving to a new state becomes vital.
To escape the cruel claws of relocation depression, approach the new-state chapter in your life with an open mind. Depending on the type of person you are, befriending neighbors, coworkers, and other people you happen to meet may come either naturally or not so naturally to you.
Nevertheless, you’re going to have to put some effort into forming new friendships that will help you stay sane, especially if you have moved across the country on your own.
Go and introduce yourself to the folks next door, make an effort to bond with your colleagues at work, and join various clubs, gyms, or groups where you can interact with other people with similar interests.
See also: How to make friends in a new city
8. Keep unpacking your boxes
While it’s true that your very first thoughts will be about how to organize the unpacking project and have your new house or apartment exactly the way you want them, unpacking is a notoriously slow process that can actually be stretched in time to accommodate your needs.
In other words, once you unpack your essentials, it’s usually a good idea to take care of the more urgent tasks mentioned above than to concentrate your efforts entirely on unpacking and arranging the multitude of moving boxes.
Thus said, you shouldn’t neglect the unpacking task and should get back to it as soon as you find the time to do so. Bear in mind that it’s easy to fall into the trap of procrastinating the job of unpacking after moving to a new state.
And since you don’t want to live among piles of unopened cardboard boxes, you’re going to have to follow a good room-by-room unpacking checklist that will guide you throughout the process of unboxing those containers and arranging your things in the new place.
Good to know: How to unpack quickly after a move
9. Keep in touch with your old friends
You may not consider keeping in touch with your old pals to be one of the urgent things to do after moving to a different state, but it often ends up being just that – something you should not forget to do.
It can be really tough psychologically to move away from the people you care about and the environment that is pleasingly familiar. Once you step out of your comfort zone, you’re going to need to maintain the mental balance, often by creating a link to your old life.
Staying in touch with your best buddies from the place you had to leave will help you get by the first weeks and months in the unfamiliar setting – the adaptation period that always takes place after a move. Until you manage to find your way in the new environment, your friends from the past will give you the all-important moral support you need to get back on your feet.
Luckily, you got plenty of options when it comes to keeping in touch with the people who mean so much in your life despite the great distance between you: phone calls, e-mails, instant messages, video calls, social media, and even ordinary old-school letters and postcards.
When there’s a will, there’s certainly a way.
Read also: How to keep in touch with friends after moving
10. Rate your interstate movers
Luckily, there’s one quick yet important job left for you – to rate the services of the cross-country moving company you hired to help you move to another state.
Click here to learn the numerous personal benefits and great satisfaction you will receive by sparing simply 10 minutes of your post-move time to write a moving review.
