If you’ve moved house and now live somewhere else in the country, or even if you’ve just moved to a different region, everything can feel unfamiliar and getting settled in can take time. With our easy tips though, we’ll have you feeling right at home much more quickly, so read on for 5 things that will help you settle into your new home faster.
1. Make your new place feel like home
No matter how much you love your new home, it won’t feel like home until you’ve filled it with your familiar personal belongings and have put your own personal stamp on it. Don’t try to do too much at once though, a relentless schedule of redecorating for example can really take its toll, so break bigger decorating and DIY tasks down and tackle them bit by bit if they aren’t critical or urgent.
Instead, focus on putting up photos and placing personal keepsakes around the new property and in no time, it will feel like a much more familiar space and will start to feel more like home.
2. Familiarise yourself with the workings of your new home
When you buy a new home it can take time to figure out how everything works, and until you do, everything is likely to feel a little unfamiliar.
From working out how to use the timer on the built-in cooker to setting the alarm system or finding the fuse box. It makes sense to get to know the workings of your new home as quickly as possible as this will help to put your mind at ease and will make it feel more like your home.
3. Get to know the local area
Moving to a new area can feel extremely daunting, especially if you’ve lost your old support network. Getting to know the geography of the local area and finding out what facilities and amenities are close by can take time, but it’s not difficult to speed up the process.
Of course Google Earth is great for exploring new places, and it’s super quick and easy to do an internet search to find your local hairdresser, post office or fish & chip shop, even so, there’s nothing quite like getting out and about on foot to really get to know an area.
Local parks can often be tucked away, woodland walks might exist in the most unlikely of places and there might be hidden gems that you might never find out about without exploring your new neighbourhood on foot.
Walking has proved stress relieving benefits too, so after all the stress of moving, getting out to explore on foot could do your wellbeing the world of good too!
4. Make an effort to talk to your neighbours
Although the relationship we have with neighbours has changed a lot over recent years, being friendly with your neighbours isn’t difficult and it really only relies on you investing some effort and making an effort to interact with them. So when you move to a new area, it’s the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself!
Once you’re settled, instead of leaving it to chance and the occasional mumbled greeting or awkward nod, why not take the opportunity to go round to your neighbours and introduce yourself properly? Find out a little more about them and if you have any specific questions about the local area, then your neighbours are the ideal people to ask!
Alternatively, pop a note through your neighbour’s door inviting them round for coffee (and for extra awesome-neighbour points, cake) and spend a little time getting to know them? You might not turn out to be the best of friends, but being on civil speaking terms can make life much easier, especially when you’re out and need someone to sign for a parcel for you! Just remember to do the same for them too.
5. Get involved in your local community
Although for many of us our sense of community has been eroded over the years, local communities do still exist, you just have to work that little bit harder to find them!
Local groups provide the ideal way to get more actively involved in your local community and they are also a great way to make new friends too. So think about what topics you’re interested in and seek out a local group.
Whether its yoga lessons or learning photography skills, a book club, running club or community gardening group, getting involved will help you quickly settle into your community, helping to make your new home, really feel like home!
As well as providing tips to help you settle into your new home faster, if you’re at an earlier stage in the process, we can help you to move home faster too!
Our online conveynacing services are fast and efficient and could save you both time and money. Get an online conveyancing quote here.