As we’re preparing for the arrival of our baby girl summer, we’re preparing our house to accommodate the upcoming addition. We’ve been besieged with advice by some friends, family, and random people.

Something that has came up already is whether we plan on moving in the future now that we’re having a kid. While we plenty of space and wouldn’t look at it until a few years down the road, it does bring up a good question. When is it time to move for a family?

Making the Decision to Move

This is a big decision, so it takes some time to reflect on the reason behind the potential move.

Why Do You Want to Move?

Are you moving because you’re cramped for space? Are you moving to be in a better school district? Are you moving because you want to be closer to your support group of friends and family?

Where Do You Want to Move?

You also have to ask if you want to stay in the area if you move or if you want to go ahead and try a new city or town (or state). Depending on where you move, some of your expenses may change drastically. When we moved from Virginia to North Carolina, our housing costs were reduced, but gas prices in this state is a bit higher than before. We had to adjust our budget accordingly.

Ask friends and/or family in the area you’re thinking about to share their thoughts. Once you have an idea, you can go ahead and figure out how much it would cost to move.

How Much Does It Costs to Move?

If you have some  time, bring out the calculator and spreadsheet. It will be wise for you to go ahead and analyze the costs if you do decide to take the plunge.

Do It Yourself (with Friends) or Use Movers

When we moved from our old apartment to our current place, we hired movers to handle the transfer. The moving company was charging $100/hr so we knew our goal was to minimize the time needed to move.

We went ahead the night before  and we boxed and disassembled everything we could before they came. We were also grateful that the new place was less than 10 miles away, so the commute between places was going to eat up a lot of time.

I’m happy to say that the movers came and worked quickly to load, transport, and unload our stuff. It took them 2 1/2 to get everything in place, which was much less than what it would’ve taken us based on our previous move.

Switching Utilities

If you decide to move out of the area and get new utility providers, then you may have to factor in the costs of having to put down deposits.

Changing Your Address

If you want to make sure all your bills are sen to to the correct place, double check that you fill out a change of address form. The easiest option if you live in the United States I found is going online and using the US Postal Service’s Change of Address Form.

Thoughts on the Moving Process

Are you thinking of moving because of your baby? How much did the moving process cost you and your family? What tips can you share on keeping it reasonable?

If you’re looking at cutting your baby expenses, please check out some of my other posts on the topic:

Laura Martinez

Laura Martinez