November 10, 2009

Thinking about Relocating?

Are you thinking about relocating and don't know where to start? There certainly is a lot to think about, a lot of things to consider! When we decided to move, we thought about what we didn't like about our current situation and what kinds of things were important for us to have.... And not have. So, to help you decide if and where to move, I've made a list of questions that may help you.

Note: I occasionally work with married couples who either have opposite ideas of the perfect house ..... or don't know what the other person is thinking. I've actually heard conversations like this: Husband: "I always wanted a house with a real fireplace!".  Wife: "Really?, I hate fireplaces; they're so dirty!".

So I encourage you to fill out this list with your partner. Good to know these things ahead of time!

•1.      What do you like about where you live right now?

•2.      What do you dislike about where you live right now?

•3.      Imagine a place where you would like to live. What does the dream location have in amenities?

•4.      Will you be working in your new location? What kind of job do you want / need?

•5.      What kind of salary do you expect?

•6.      What is the price range you can spend on a house?

•7.      What are your hobbies?

•8.      What can you not live without?

For us, weather was important, cost of living was important, country living was important. We wanted to avoid high traffic, large volumes of people and snow. Once we understood some of these things, we moved to the next phase. So based on that info, we knew we wanted the southwest. But not Albuquerque, Tucson or Phoenix.

If you do some exploring on the internet, you will come up with some of the locations that will work for you. Being the Project Manager that I am, I created a spreadsheet. Across the top was names of towns. Down the left-hand side of the page I wrote down what was important to us. For us, it included the following: Mild climate, cost of living, University, historic flavor, hiking trails, size of town, hospital, distance to airport. Then I started writing in towns that seemed to fit. Some of the towns I thought would fit, did not. A few that seemed wrong, fit in well with our needs.

The next step is to visit some of the places that meet your criteria. That's when you call me and we go and look at properties! ;  )

 Today's Saying:  No one is in charge of your happiness but you.