I stood outside the housing office of the apartment complex, and turned in a small circle. As far as I could see, nothing was familiar. I had no idea where the roads led and soon my mom and dad were going to leave and drive back to everything I knew. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, to my new place and my new life. Those were the first moments of my post graduation relocation.

Take it from someone who knows, moving to a new location is a scary, fun, exciting, and new experience. Here are some of SAPNA’s rules to making the most of it.

Before Take Off

Spend Lots of Time on Housing. Before moving you will come across 101 options for housing, make sure to do your research before signing away the next 6-12 months of your life! Go through the following checklist before deciding on where to hang your hat.

• The best source for housing information are the free housing magazines in grocery stores, apartment/house websites, and craigslist.org. Gather up the numbers and information you need and create a call list.
• When inquiring about your new place you need to get the following information. Security/Safety, Move in Date, Security Deposit, Parking, Utility costs, Access to grocery/gym/etc.
• Try to find someone local to check out some of the locations or tell you about the area. Unfortunately the cheapest housing (which works for our age group) isn’t always located in the best areas.
• Once you have your new home set and the papers signed. Call all the utilities and make sure they are set up before move in.

Get Networking Contacts. Let everyone know that you are moving to a new location and ask if they know anyone in the area. Meeting up with a friend of a friend is the best way to meet someone trustworthy and also will get you insider information on the area.

Once You Land

Map out your essential routes. There are certain locations in every town that a savvy girl needs to know how to get to by heart. Get driving directions or bus/subway routes to the following places!

• Walmart/Target
• Best Buy
• Department of Motor Vehicles
• Bank
• Post Office
• Malls/Shopping Districts
• Library
• Movie Theater
• Nightlife Districts

Get to know as many people as possible! Stepping outside your comfort zone when it comes to meeting new people is not easy for the average person. But a smile and a friendly, confident nature is contagious. Try some of the following methods of breaking the ice.

• Join the local South Asian organization. Be it NETsap or the university’s cultural organization.
• Volunteer with a group. Can you get a more optimal situation? A bunch of people whose interest is helping those in need (like you)!
• Get a job or second job in a social location. This can range from bartending to party promoting.
• Join a sport, hobby oriented club. This is self explanatory, love to paint or play hoops, kill two birds with one stone.
• Introduce yourself to all your coworkers or classmates. You are going to be spending lots of time with these people and everyone is local. Which is a resume for a good time if you want it to be. You will know right away who has future bud potential.

Fill in “Big Brother”. When you move, in the electronic age, you also have to move all your data! Make sure to change the following information to avoid future headaches.

• Bank/Credit Card addresses
• Post office mail forwarding address
• Give your friends and family your new contact information
• Avoid fines and make sure to update your car info and driver’s lic.

There is your recipe for success. Also know that there will be many more moves to come in the journey called life. Take the opportunity of being in a new area as a method of learning about yourself. Your strengths, weaknesses, what you love, what you hate, to understand how to make each experience better than the next!

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Posted on 24 September 2005
Tags: living, Natasha Khan