Moving to an independent living community like Harbour’s Edge can be an exciting opportunity for many retirees. Your prudence and financial diligence has paid off and you are able to take full advantage of this time in your life. Unfortunately, a big move isn’t always easy. While your years of preparation have brought you to this threshold with financial confidence and lifelong comfort in mind, the moving process itself requires emotional and physical adjustments that might be a little harder to manage. Let’s explore further.
What Are the Challenges of Moving?
Moving to a senior living community presents unique challenges. These can include logistics, the sale of your previous home, and the adjustments your new lifestyle requires.
Handling Moving Logistics
Logistics are the most tedious and time consuming part of moving. Cleaning, packing, the physical act of moving, unpacking and settling into your new space often happen in a short period of time. One of the best ways to deal with the logistics of moving is to hire professional help.
Staging and Selling Your Home
In the midst of packing and preparing to move you will also need to sell your home. Sometimes these two processes can be kept separate, allowing you to handle selling your home once you’re already in place at your new community. If you’re managing the move and the sale simultaneously, lean on the support and skills of your realtor to manage the staging and showing of your home to maximize your selling chances.
Prepping for Your New Lifestyle
As exciting as the move may be, there are challenges to changing your daily routine. Anticipating these shifts will help ease the transition between your current living situation and your upcoming one. Consider what amenities you’d like to utilize and how frequently you’ll use them. Plan your social calendar around some of the community events, and carve out time to explore something new in your new home.
How to Manage the Physical and Emotional Process of Moving
What are the best ways to manage the physical and emotional processes of a major move? Here are some strategies to help make this transition a smooth one.
Make the Physical Move Easier
Luckily, there is no shortage of reputable companies dedicated to managing the physical act of moving for you. Once you’ve researched and found a company that suits your needs, call to reserve the date.
When vetting potential movers, you’ll want to note:
- What services they offer
- If they handle packing or just moving
- What their day-of timeline looks like
- How many people will manage your move
- What the total cost will be
- If they offer additional white glove services
- How you feel when you talk to them
Hiring movers can provide physical reprieve, but you want to trust the people moving your treasured belongings, so feeling good about your conversations leading up to the move is a critical consideration.
Communicating with the move-in coordinator at your new retirement community throughout this process can also help. Move-in coordinators like those at Harbour’s Edge can suggest moving resources as needed and will be there to help you every step of the way.
Managing Complicated Emotions
The emotional aspects of moving to an independent living community are less tangible than the physical aspects, but are equally important. Everyone will handle this part of the process differently, but the key is to be honest about your emotions throughout the process with people you trust.
During the moving process, keep an eye out for emotional symptoms like anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, and loneliness, as these are important signs that can lead to long-term unhappiness.
If these emotions begin to overwhelm you, reach out for help. It’s vital to care for your emotional needs as you make this shift in life. Remember that you’ll feel much happier as you settle into your new home.
How Harbour’s Edge Makes the Move-In Process Easy
Putting your long time home up for sale, managing your checklist for moving and handling all the ups and downs of a major move can be a daunting task, but the team at Harbour’s Edge is here to help. When you move to our community, you will be connected with a dedicated move-in coordinator who will be with you every step of the way.
Discover more about the benefits of choosing Harbour’s Edge. Schedule a tour today.
