No matter how you prepare for your life in a new city, it is still overwhelming to finally arrive and take it all in. You may have done your research and filled out the paperwork. You must have visited the city before, signed the lease, and gone around the neighborhood. But the first week of settling in your new home is always quite unsettling—pun intended.
Luckily, there are a lot of things that you can do to settle into this new life and make the city feel like home. If you move to Gold Coast, join a fitness club because you can meet a lot of people there. For some reason, fitness-conscious people are the friendliest. It might be because of the absurd amounts of endorphins in their bodies. As you know, exercise causes the secretion of endorphins, the happy hormone.
It is understandable that people get jittery when faced with the prospect of moving to a new city. Don’t be afraid. It is still as exciting as people say it is. Although your first week can get a little scary, you can fight against booking a flight back home by:
Unpacking and Organizing Your Place
Make your apartment your own. Unpack as soon as you arrive. The earlier you can organize your place, the more settled you will be. Once you see that your things are in order, your feelings about moving into a new city will change, too. Unpacking and organizing your stuff will give you that sense of normalcy. It will make you feel like you’re back home.
Downloading Local Mobile Apps
Know what local apps your new city has. Download them and begin using them as soon as possible. You should look for apps for delivery services, sharing rides, ordering food from home, and public transportation. These are the essentials for moving into a new city.
Going Around the Neighborhood
Get to know your neighbors. You will need them in the future. Share stories with them about what to expect living in that part of the town or city. You’ll learn a lot from your neighbors such as which local diner to avoid and which laundry shops have better services. These are nuggets of wisdom the Internet won’t tell you.
Updating Your Family
This is the first thing that you must do upon arriving. Let your family know that you have arrived safely and that you’re doing well. Update them about the places you have explored so far. Keep connected with your friends. The only way not to feel homesick is to get updates about what’s happening with their lives, too.
Exploring the Tourist Spots
Get the tourist spots out of your system. Go and do all the things that you need to do as a tourist. If you move to a city like Milan or Vienna, you have a lot to see. You will feel more at home once you’re done seeing all the tourist spots. That way, you can begin exploring the city on a more personal level. You can look for hole-in-the-wall restaurants and bodegas that only the locals know.
The first week of moving to a new city is always the hardest. But you don’t need to worry about it. You’re courageous enough to get on that plane and land in this new city. The first week of getting lost in the subway won’t even matter to you.
