A Survival Box of Ideas to Make Your Transition to a New Home Easier
Practical suggestions to help you adjust to life in a new community, from Susan Miller, author of After the Boxes Are Unpacked
Keep a journal. Putting your thoughts and feelings on paper will be healing for you. Months from now, it will be good to look back and see where you were and the progress you’ve made toward settling in.
Don’t procrastinate; get those boxes unpacked!
Plant flowers, bulbs, or seeds to remind yourself that you are putting down roots to grow here.
Dwell on the positive and not the negative.
Learn the history of the new town, city, or state you now live in so you can begin to appreciate the place where you live.
Find a new church. When you have found one, you are home.
Consider investing in your community by volunteering at a local charity, a library, a hospital, or being a guide at a local museum or city event.
If you love to read, join a book club. Check your local bookstore or library for an existing book discussion group.
Make a goal each week of learning about one new restaurant or place of interest or shopping.
If there is a local YMCA, community center, dog park, or recreational park in your area, GO! It could be a wonderful way to meet people.
If you feel like you haven’t made a connection in your new home or city yet, don’t give up. Remember, tomorrow is another day and, in God’s perfect timing, you’ll hear yourself saying, “At last I’m beginning to put down some roots.”
Excerpt from After the Boxes Are Unpacked by Susan Miller, p.21