Moving house can have quite the impact on your habits. Basically, your whole daily routine is disrupted or shredded by the most important part of the day you will (as well as should) be dealing with – your relocation. When establishing your moving checklist you are basically saying goodbye to most of the daily rituals you are used to and removing a lot from your day in order to make time for the planning and setting up your upcoming move. Don’t worry, all of this is natural, but it does take some time to get used to – not as much so as to make it into a regular habit, but just about enough to start looking for replacement ones. And you will have replacement ones, especially if you move to a place where many of your habits may be... undesirable.
The Habits You Lose
Once you are done with the house removals and you stand in the front yard of your new house, at first glance not many things seem to have changed beside the view. But especially if you move to another country, all your regular habits might start getting in the way instead of getting you through the day. Now you have different coffee places, different times for rubbish collection, different accent, dialect or even language, and different accepted customs and behaviours. Americans who move to the United Kingdom, for example, quickly learn that mimicking the British accent at parties will not be as accepted – or at all tolerated – so do leave your John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson impression at home. The same goes for the British and their Marlon Brando.
One of the most difficult things to get use to is dealing with the prices. If there was a change in currency, or if you moved to a richer region of your country, you will soon learn that you have to mind the content of your pockets at any time. Lose all concept of how much money you will be spending in one day and set a new standard to know how much pocket change you will need to make it through the day. This might be especially useful if you have to give allowances to your kid.
And then you have the most important habit to lose – the way you dress. This might not be of consequence if you are moving house to another area of your own country, but if you go to a foreign country with a completely different culture, your clothes might turn out to be inappropriate at the very least. Or just impractical, if you move to a country with a completely different climate. Going from the UK to Spain, for instance, might not have much of an impact, but going to Norway or Russia could give your wardrobe with a sense of wanting
The Habits You Gain
And then you have all the quirks and small things you gain in your new life. Some things you might be informed about by the movers during your relocation. Some things you have to discover. And some things you will have read about, but there is a plethora of new things to try out and many of them will turn into habits. Your morning coffee might not be a coffee at all, depending on what kind of cafes you find there. Or you might change the usual lunch plans depending on your new job and acquaintances. You will have new favourite diners and favourite markets, and even a favourite drive route to work
Overall, you have to get used to the idea that your habits will receive a forceful reboot the second you start penning down the moving checklist. Old ones will start fading, and new ones will take shape the more you settle into the idea of moving, and then into the new house as well. Don’t worry about the changes that will come – embrace them along with your new habits and make the most of them.
